Rabbit advice please

clutterydrawer

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

I's not an animal whose care would be very time consuming.
However, my rabbit was quite a wild creature, didn't like being touched and was really vindictive! If it wasn't given what it wanted, it would go and eat some wallpaper or bite some cables, or !!!! on the floor.
As far as I know, they are mostly cuddly and cute, so probably mine was just exceptionally malicious

Not sure about that...my housemate has commented that my rabbits take up a lot more time than his dog. Any caged animal is going to be fairly time consuming just because they need cleaning out every day. Then you've got veg, hay, and pellet food to give, vaccs twice yearly and nail clipping....and because rabbits are prey animals they hide illness very well, so you need to spend a certain amount of time observing them each day to pick up on any slight symptoms.

I'm not saying they're unmanageable, because I love having them, but the time they take is definitely something to consider before getting one.

I find only a minority are "cuddly", too - most are very reluctant to be picked up and held and some are skittish and nervous being touched at all. I got lucky though cos mine are snugglers :o

Notsosharp

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could help.

I already have one (unneutered) female rabbit, I have had her for just over a year right from when she was young, she has always been kept on her own (apart from one VERY short period when she was with guinea pigs). She has a big two storey hutch all to herself and also run of my enclosed yard which she loves.

But I have read on here and other places that rabbits do actually prefer company but I have also read about the problems of pairing rabbits up.

I have been given the oportunity to get another rabbit but I do need to give it careful consideration before I say yes...its hard to think rationally when they are right there in front of you.

If I did get another one (and its a very big if) what would be the best way of introducung them, I think it would need to be a boy rabbit and obviously I would need to get rabbit one off down the vets pretty sharpish but I don't especially want to end up with two rabbits in separate hutches (although I do have a decent spare hutch) .

So what could I do to make the introduction as smooth as possible (after rabbit one has recovered from the vets?) Is it too late now for rabbit one to be paired off, she seems happy enough on her own and loves the cats (though they don't seem that enamoured of her) or does she absolutely need a friend?

Thanks Emma

JoolzS

How about doing some real research about the animals you pretend to want to take care of. I'll give you a freebie http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/.

It was ridiculously easy for me to find that link - why couldn't you find it all by yourself?

Julie

Notsosharp

erm, does the fact that I know its best to pair up a neutered female/male not show you that I have been doing research? Oh that and the fact I have stated I know its best for rabbits to live in pairs.

And the fact I am considering doing it rather than just going ahead and doing it shows I actually do care about the animals I look after. Thats why after the milkman let the rabbit out of my yard I spent hours looking for her and then hours trying to catch her. I could have just left it and though "oh well its only a rabbit"

I was only after further advice and people on here are usually very helpful......

Oh and I am sick and tired of having to defend myself from unfair criticism too, if you knew how much time I spend looking after my animals and how much I care about them. Makes me really quite angry.

1sue23

JoolzS wrote: »

How about doing some real research about the animals you pretend to want to take care of. I'll give you a freebie http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/.

It was ridiculously easy for me to find that link - why couldn't you find it all by yourself?

Julie

I think you will find that this person wanted advice and is doing the right thing by looking into all the options first ,if they only wanted to pretend to care for the animals surly they would not seek advice in the first place ,so stop being so critical and try being a little more constructive.:mad:

ClareEmily

OMG I can't believe people on here are so judgemental arghhh.

To Emma, the best thing to do (like you rightly said) is to get your bunny neutured at a rabbit savvy vet, then find your local rescue centre, somewhere like bobtails will actually bond your bunny for you.

http://www.bobtailsrescue.org.uk/care2.asp?newsID=14

Here are some more bonding tips below:

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/leaflet_pdfs/b_buds_jul_04.pdf

Hope this is some help and your bunny gets a friend soon. If you have time pop over to rabbits united forum, we are a friendly bunch there.

Clare xx

lowis

i would say the rabbitrehome site is really useful, when i had a rabbit it was such a brilliant source of help...and support when he got ill.

i would get your female rabbit 'done' asap as i think it still takes some while after the op for their hormones to completely disappear, this is the case with cats anyway maybe check with your vet in case i have it completely wrong!

i wish i could be more help, but only ever had a solitary rabbit, who seemed quite happy on his own...like yours, he had two cats to play with - he lived on my (large) balcony so he could always see in to the front room and interact with the cats through the glass door when i was at work or out and then of course there was the squirrel that used to climb the 11 floors to visit him too (and steal his food):rotfl:

BreakinEven

I'll be reading this with interest as I'm in a similar position. Originally got just the one but have now converted half the shed into a hutch so there is room for a little friend.

Only problem is that despite being spayed my female bunny is a moody mare at the best of times and any affection (either way) has to be on her terms - or else you will get a nip. Although to be fair on a bad day she will bite just for the hell of it. litteraly come to you purely to nip you then run off. Or sit and cuddle nicely for ages then go nuts and scratch and bite.

So I'm a bit wary of subjecting another rabbit to her unpredictable moods 24hrs a day. Did talk to the vet about it last time we were there and he said if she was his he probably wouldn't get another due to her attitude problems.

Unless anyone knows a rabbit beheviour therepist? When she's good she's very very good, when she's bad she is an evil little beast but we love her very much and wouldn't be without her.

Jen151

Hiya, good for you for looking into the options before making a decision!

We have a lovely boy bun and decided to get another one to keep him company as he's such an affectionate wee soul. We now have two rabbits living in 2 different rooms as we're going to get our new girl speyed before introducing them.

I'd recommend getting your girl speyed before you introduce anyone new. Girl bunnies are very territorial, especially if unspeyed. Its a good idea to get here speyed even if you're not getting another rabbit cos it will prevent uterine cancer, and means she wont feel like she has constant PMT!

There are lots of rescue buns available so the best thing may be to contact a rescue who can pair your girl up with a suitable guy bunny. Rabbits are like people in the sense that not everyone will get along, so a good rescue centre can let your bunny choose the one she likes and bond them for you. Go to the "Rabbits United" forum for great info on everything you've asked.

Good luck let us know what you decide :-)

clutterydrawer

Hi Emma

a while ago i was in a similar situation as I had a rabbit living by herself. She was a houserabbit so I presumed human interaction met her need for companionship, and she didn't seem unhappy.

but when I eventually got her a friend, i wished I'd done it sooner - it's soo lovely to see them pottering around together, sleeping next to each other, and grooming each other's ears!

I would recommend getting your current female AND the potential male neutered. Female rabbits can get quite frustrated if they're not spayed and leaving them unspayed also gives them a very high risk of uterine cancer.

A stress-free way to introduce them would be to pick a boy rabbit from a local rescue and ask them to introduce the two, on their premises, over a period of a few days. The workers there will have experience with rabbit pairings so know what to do and how to tell if it's going well or not. I have done this with 3 pairs of rabbits now as I'm too much of a wuss to do it myself. I gave them a little extra donation for their trouble but I thought it was well worth it.

Best of luck with your new bun if you do decide to get one.