So...we found a rabbit!

[cassnessxox]

So a while ago I was taking my girl for a walk in this big grassy empty lot down the road from us. Next minute this rather large rabbit appears from nowhere! It seemed rather tame, not overly bothered by us though we couldn't quite get close enough to touch it, and with Cleo with us we didn't want to stir her up or cause any trouble. It was pretty healthy looking so I wasn't sure if it had either been living in that lot for a while or if it had recently escaped. We took this photo of it.

Last night a friend of ours found the same rabbit in the same place. It's been a few months since we saw it. Only they managed to catch it. They gave us a call because they knew we had rabbits, they asked us if we could take it as they have dogs. It spent last night at their house in a big dog cage they have and will probably be coming over to our backyard later today.

It won't be able to stay with us forever as I don't think we have space for such a big rabbit and I couldn't risk it being aggressive towards my two buns. I think we will put some posters up and see if anyone has lost their pet but I have a feeling its either unwanted or its family has long forgotten about it. Do you think asking a shelter to help us rehome it would be a good idea?

Also, as a matter of curiousity, any idea what kind of rabbit it is?

 

[Anaira]

Whoa, giant alert! I want Posters are a good idea, he might have a family out there, but you could also put on the posters that if his family isn't found, he'll be up for adoption. So if people are interested, they can contact you and be put on a waiting list for a certain period of time, provided no owners turn up. Asking a shelter is also a good idea.

Giants are usually very friendly, and placid...I'm sure s/he'd love your two.

 

[cassnessxox]

Shelters generally do health checks and such right?

Should we keep feeding it grass and what not from the area? I would hate to upset its diet but I'm not sure how nutritious its diet has been

 

[daisyandoliver]

Oh my; he is huge! He is bigger than my dog. Cute though.

 

[Anaira]

Yes I think so, but not all shelters know much about rabbits. I'd still go for it though. I don't know about diet, I'd just give him plenty of hay, and perhaps a small amount of pellets.

 

[MiniLopHop]

What a cutie!!!!! I have a giant mix and she is very calm and great with the smaller buns. Perhaps if you can get her a health check with your vet she might get to stay? The poster sounds great, but I doubt you will find anyone looking, unfortunately people think domestic rabbits can survive in the wild.

 

[ldoerr]

For breed it looks like it might be a flimish giant. Was probably an easter/christmas pet that got too big for the owners and so they abandoned it. Flimish are REALLY cute as babies but grow FAST and get HUGE. If you take it to a shelter take it to a rabbit rescue. I have a thing against shelters though (taking animals to them that is. The next pet I get will come from a shelter though). Too many animals get put to sleep in shelters for me to be comfortable with them except the no kill ones.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Lauren, just as an FYI- just because it is a no-kill shelter does not mean an animal will not be put down. They just send the "undesierables" to a different shelter who will put them to sleep. It sucks, but sometimes animals are not adoptable.

 

[cassnessxox]

I think I will just contact the shelter and take it in but act as a foster carer while we help them find it a home. Can I do that?

I've heard bonding 3 can be risky, I have a boy and a girl, the girl has been spayed recently and we are just waiting for Bambi to be old enough to be neutered before we start bonding them.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Fostering really depends on the shelter. While many do use foster homes, some only use them for animals who are not ready for adoption due to age (too young to be spayed/neutered), health issues or behaviour issues. Small shelters and rescues tend to use foster homes more for animals up for adoption and it is usually due to now having enough space in the shelter. You can certainly ask the shelter what their foster program is like. Also keep in mind with some shelters, once the animal is surrendered, you (as the person surrendering the animal) get no say is what happens, so you might not be able to foster anyway. Each shelter is different, so you have to find out what your local shelter is like.
Defiantly contact the shelter anyway, they may have a report of a lost rabbit that fits the description of the one that was found. It is a long shot, but might find someone who did have the rabbit get lost or stolen. Either way, I think that you do have work to find an owner or there can be issues if an owner does come forward.

Bonding would take a while. This one would need to be spayed or neutered and healed before you can really think about bonding. If there are any other medical issues, those may need to be dealt with first. Since you male is too young to be neutered, then you would have to wait until that is done as well if you want to bond them all without already having a pair bonded. This does mean at least a month, but probably longer depending on how old your male is. That can be a long time to wait and to care for a rabbit.

 

[Imbrium]

wow, HUGE rabbit!!

best of luck finding a new "forever" home for it

 

[woahlookitsme]

Good Luck! Im thinking Palomino for the breed

 

[daisyandoliver]

If you didn't live so far away I would take it.

 

[cassnessxox]

It looks like the girl who found it might be keeping it! She will still put posters up to be sure but if all goes well with the dogs (and I am happy with how she is keeping it ) Then he might have found his home already.

 

[holtzchick]

Awh! I am so happy to hear that. Beautiful rabbit, kind of looks like a giant version of my Phoenix

 

[agnesthelion]

Goodness that is a big rabbit! It almost looks like a photo shopped picture, lol.

Glad she might be keeping him/her!

 

[qtipthebun]

I had a dream last night that I adopted this cutie.
Glad your friend can keep it!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[ldoerr]

That is great that she is thinking about keeping it

 

[cassnessxox]

It ran away Urgh I should have taken it. She had it in an old chicken coop and when she got home on Sunday he was gone. I didn't even get to meet him! I knew he should have come to me or I should have gone over there to make sure she was taking care of it properly!

:sigh: Hopefully he really has been living in the wild long enough to take care of himself. It's quite a green area so he will have plently of food, I just hope he is big enough that predators will stay away from him!

Good Luck Barnabus! ray: