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How did your opinion change?

lotsofsmoggies

Mama Doe
When you first thought about owning rabbits, what did you see in your mind? I saw a hutch and a run that went in the garden, you know the ones about 2 foot square. I thought they ate the rabbit mix and thats it (oh and carrots and lettuce). I thought they were better on their own. I thought they liked being picked up, held and cuddled.

Boy have my thoughts changed since then! A visit to the local RSPCA branch later and the two tier 4ft hutch was put into shame after we thought it was massive! :lol: I now understand the needs of rabbits much more, and still laugh at people who think we are nuts for our run and hutch. Our nextdoor neighbours thought we were buliding a shed! The only regret I have is we didn't end up adopting rabbits, we knew someone who had kits so we ended up with 2 of them. We didn't have the run until later on but still let them into the enclosed garden and house. When I look through how many paired bunnies need homes, I know I will never buy another baby bunny again.


So what were your pre-conceptions on owning a bunny? And how have they changed?
 
Well the first rabbit i owned was a dwarf lop called floppsey i had him for my 14th birthday he was a house rabbit (un heard of 13 years ago!) he used to get free run of the garden too he was a dental bun and only lived untill he was 3 years old admittadly he did get fed a mix but you couldnt really get pellets then,ive never had any of mine in hutches is just insnt something i wanted to do, my second rabbit lived in a 12ft x6ft pen in the garden so dont think my opinions have changed that much!
 
When I first owned a bunny (when I was about 10) she was a gorgeous opal coloured Netherland Dwarf, she had a 4ft x 2ft cage in the garden with a small run, I fed her and spent a bit of time with her everyday but that was that - I'm ashamed to say I neglected that poor little bun because I didn't know any better, that's why I would never buy rabbits for my own children if I have them. She was bad tempered because I didn't spend enough time with her or have her spayed.

I was wiser with my next two, Dana and Lucy, they lived in the conservatory when it was winter and they had a huge purpose built run that my Dad made from picket fence panels, it was great but I didn't get them spayed, didn't know about the benefits, I wish I had. Lucy died quite young at about 4 years old from flystrike because she had a problem with her spine that meant she couldn't clean herself properly, and again, I wasn't aware of rearguarding etc. although I had Dana rearguarded after Lucy died. Dana was about 6 when I had to have her put to sleep. She stopped eating and the vet said she had a blockage.

These too buns really affected me and the way I saw rabbits since. I loved them so much and they were the most affectionate buns I've ever known still to this day. I told myself if I ever kept buns again I would be a much more responsible owner, that meant 7 years without them.

Now I'm older and wiser and know much more than I ever did back then - it's as if I'm trying to correct my wrongs of the past.

All my buns are house buns, all vaccinated and neutered and with other buns. I'm more careful about what I feed them and generally much more aware of their needs. I feel like a much better bunny mummy now :)

I have to say, I think vets are much more savvy these days though. When my other buns went for health checks they never mentioned neutering or vaccinating, I know my parents would have had it done if they had.

Becky x
 
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I had a couple of rabbits as a kid, but they were lucky and had a shed and attached run and the last one had run of the garden.

When I became an adult I learnt about house rabbits through an American girl on another petty forum. So I got Molly to be a house rabbit. Through here I learnt more about bonding them and about the rescue situation.
 
I had them as kids too but my mum just kept them in tiny hutches in the shed and i never really got to experience what theyre really like. When i moved in with my husband he had 3 bunnies living in the house, and i was actually shocked:lol: I didnt expect them to be half as intelligent...i thought theyd be little friends to look at and stroke every now and then, not a massive part of the family, our children! This sounds awful doesnt it!:shock: But its truly the way i was raised. Dogs and cats were family, rabbits those things kept in crates in the shed and often bred for fun. My mum is an animal lover and really did care...its just the common perception i guess

Thankfully, the buns soon showed me how mislead i was!
 
i thought id get cuddle buns who would sit on the sofa and watch tv with me..... well i got well erm werent that :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

so much better tho i never expected to be so inlove with the species :D
 
i thought rabbits were nothing more then a cute fluffy pet that i could cuddle no problem.... Crystal was just that until her homones kicked in lol although i let Crystal out of her cage (which i swear was only 3ft for 2 rabbits aswell :shock:) i never thought it was inportant luckily i joined up to a forum (not this one unfortunatly) and learnt more about the proper care and everything
 
I got a new housemate who was allergic to cats, so my previous housemate took our cat with her. I was sad about this and remember her saying "you could get a rabbit instead".

I was quite annoyed at this as I thought rabbits did nothing and had no personality :lol: But a few months later another friend asked if I'd take hers because she was bored with it. :rolleyes: I'd never had a pet so I thought I'd give it a try.

I did do my research but didnt get everything right. :oops: I immedaitely bought her a new hutch and run which were much bigger than her previous hutch, but not really big enough. I didnt realise the importance of spaying and vaccinations for a few months either, but i got her done eventually and came here for advice about the VHD jab.

from staying here I learnt more about the proper care of rabbits and as a direct result have bonded much more closely with the three I now have because they are happy in their environment and able and willing to display their natural behaviours and their little idiosyncracies.

I truly think that they are amazing animals with a strength of character and range of personalities which few people are ever aware of.
 
My opinion on freedom and accommodation hasn't changed at all to be honest. My Dad doesn't like to see any pet/animal caged so when I got my first rabbit when I was 12, he made a 6 foot hutch for me (which 16 years ago was huge) and Gizmo had loads of freedom.

Diet and other rabbit company has changed but I guess that is just more about education rather than opinion.

The main thing that I've found most difficult compared to when I was younger is the time factor with working, owning a house etc... but now that I have a pair of rabbits, they get just as much freedom but not as much one to one with me but they don't seem to care as long as they have each other.
 
Im eccentric as I wanted ahouse bun straight away, weird really, think I decided I wanted a big bun and then when I found they could be litter trained I was sold.

I guess my opinions on animals have changed since ive had a bun, like finding out animal testing still happens :roll::shock: and how meat is personally wrong for me.
So I have alot to thank my Princess Lily for
X
 
Well for my first rabbit as an adult I was determined to have a house rabbit after reading about them in books as a child and never being allowed to bring either of my then bunnies indoors by my Dad.

However Fiver lasted about 2 weeks as a free-range rabbit....I completely understimated how destructive and untidy baby bucks were, so he ended up with a outside hutch and a male :)shock:) friend. They both came from petshops. :roll:

I now have 3 house bunnies....soon to be bonded and mostly free-range if the litter training ever improves plus I have 4 outside bunnies in two pairs. Oh and their all neutered (and mostly vax'd- a few health issues) too.

3 are from petshops but all mine in the last 2 years have been rescues.
 
My first rabbit was given to our family by my cousin because her little girl was bored:roll: She had a hutch but out grew it so she had the whole garage to herself and my mum left the back garage door open into the garden and she was free range. I never really liked the idea even though the garden is fully enclosed. We had her myxi vacc'd once but foolishly thought thats all she needed. She contracted Myxi aged approx 4 and sadly we had to have her PTS. She wasn't spayed because we were rather uneducated in that respect. I don't think Sassy was badly treated, she had tons of room and did her own thing. But there were some things i would have done differently had i been old enough or had the knowledge i have now

When got Lola i wanted her as a house rabbit and eventually got my own way. She is fully vacc'd and spayed. She has good quality food and is the centre of our lives:D

The main thing i have learnt is to always get a rescue rabbit. Lola is from a friend of my OH's at work whose Conti's had a litter. We weren't looking for a giant or even a bunny but the opportunity came up and we took it. We rescued Rory from Sooz and whilst we lost him too soon, we always felt happy to know we were giving him a good life, even if it was too short:cry:
 
I thought Buu would be easy to look after, then I joined here :shock: :lol: Now im obsessed with checking bunny poo and smelling hay and stuff :lol:

When we brought her home I already knew her hutch was too small really, it was 4ft and the biggest I could find here. So we kept her in the kitchen with the door open until I got a run, then she went outside with the hutch open all the time so she wasnt shut in :)

My sister had a bunny when we were kids but we didnt buy a hutch, my dad made this big enclosure thing that took over my mums whole bbq area :lol: It was massive compared to what other people would have had back then, the hutch was about 7ft and was really high and the run was bigger both the runs I have now. It was kind of built to fit in the garden and when the bun died and my sister didnt want another one it was all chopped up :( I didnt even really remember how big it was, but found a photo last year of our cat sitting on top of it and was like :shock:
 
Care wise, nothing much has changed. I used to keep them in hutches but they always went out daily in a large run. The only thing I wish I had done was neuter and bond them. I always had does together but never males as getting them castrated wasn't the done thing. It was always the undertsanding females would get on but males had to be solitary. When it did become popular my rabbits were getting on a bit (lived to 14) so I was relunctant to get them done by then. Of course since then they I have always neutered, male or female. :)
 
We were bought our first buns when my sister and i were about 5 and 7, so they were the usual novelty of the moment and most of their care fell to my mum. They rarely got handled as i was terrified of being scratched, but they had a huge enclosure, probably about 12 by 12 feet under a weeping willow where they used to dig tunnels and stretch up to get the willow leaves. It certainly wasn't secure . They were then moved to a smaller 3 x8 or so run that could be moved around the lawn. We lost my bunny bella when she was 4. we used to go for a night away at my grandparents and the bunnies were left with extra food :roll: bella passed away on one of these nights. looking back now i feel so awful :( our other bun pepper was kept by herself and she lived to eight. I occasionaly spent time with her, but she must have been so lonely. she was pts when she lost the use of her back legs. as the vet said there was no cure :? that was when i was 15, and although I payed little attention to them at the time, they were special to me and i did miss them and ever since then its nagged me about how little i understood or knew them.

i guess its 2/ 3 years ago that i decided i wanted buns again, certainly in some capacity to make up for the past, but they seemed ideal for me as i was allergic to cats and dogs. I didn't rush the descision. hubby and i have thought about it long and hard. from an early stage i'd decided the buns would be rescues and i did research on their care which is how i came across here and have never looked back :D
 
I was 19 when i got my first bunny. By then i had already decided that it was a shame that rabbits got stuck in tiny little cages. My bf at the time made a 5 foot by 2 foot double hutch with shelves etc on it. I decided he was probably lonely and got a girlfriend who i had spayed for him. They got out for a good few hours each day to run around my flat and had a great time. The only difference now is their accommodation gets bigger and bigger each time! Im never happy with anything that contains an animal as its always in the back of my mind "could be bigger" So not much has changed really :D
 
Rabbits weren't really a pet I'd ever hankered for, it was always a horse.
Our first rabbit was accidental, it was Benji, a wild rabbit baby we scraped off the dual carriageway on the way home one evening. Initially we were just going to let him recover and then release him, but I was worried about how he would survive and if he could cope, so we kept him ( I also got very attatched, a BIG failing of mine.:oops:)
He introduced us to the joys (and worries) of rabbits and we have never been without a few since, that was 15 years ago. Finding out how neglected rabbits are generally has also influenced me and if I could I would set up a proper rabbit/ goat/ pony sanctuary as I feel these are the most misunderstood and unappreciated pets.
We are at the moment in the process of building new runs so the buns can get out all day, instead of having to do shifts, as they are at the moment.
 
i used to want a bunny when i was little, but the thought of all the poop they did made me change my mind, but now im glad i got 1 and the poop isnt that bad, apart from when he does it on the sofa :cry: even though he knows he's not to
 
when mitzi my 2nd outdoor bunny died i couldnt keep rosie out alone so she became a house rabbit then i got mo, mitzi akso used to love coming indoors
 
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