Am I Being Naive??! UD I Saved Her! New Bun Home

:wave: Hi Everyone
I'm a soon to be bun mum.

We recently had a little black white bun sitting in front of our house a few days in a row, one day I followed him(her?) to see if I could catch him, kept my distance and sat nearby and he came quite close. I just thought he was totally adorable, I think he was somebody elses and has gone home now after seeing lots of veggies out the front of our house, which I assume was how they got him back home.

I was suddenly very interested in rabbits and started reading about rabbits, the more I read the more I wanted one. It took me a week before I asked my landlord if I could have one and I heard on Friday that its ok.

So you see, now I have this idea
that my bun will be good, easy to litter and house train, very affectionate, super cute and will make all my dreams come true. It wont chew my house up, it wont bite me, it wont wee where it shouldn't and my place will still look pretty.

Seriously though, any and every tip will be greatly appreciated. Even on top of all the info I have read, please feel free to add to it more info cant hurt right?

I have bought a double storey hutch (that will be for outside), a play pen for getting used to inside, a cat tunnel, a cat scratch play thing with a cubby and lots of holes to go in and out of, gnaw toys, a pet carrier, water bottle, bowls, a harness, cat toys, 3 litter trays (the breeder said he would be litter trained by the time I get him), a little bed - yeah I know I am going totally nuts, I found a supplier in my local area that gets oxbow timothy hay and am sourcing other local meadow hay supplies - the timothy hay is imported and costs about $20 per 450g?!

I no longer look at toilet rolls in the same way :lol: and was bummed when I realised that I only just recycled our old yellow pages.

I am totally obsessed and I dont even know if I am getting a doe or buck and while I am leaning toward a mini lop I dont want to rule out uppy ear kits so will see who I like or likes me when I go meet the buns.

I'm very glad I found this forum so that i can dribble about my obsession
Thanks for Reading
Q

If you approach a Rescue with the kind of bun in mind that you want - you may get lucky.

A Rescue bun would already be neutered, have an established personality & may well be litter trained etc. If neutered - you've already missed the terrible teens - the chewing & hormonal phase

For an outside bun - you might consider getting a ready bonded pair. Buns are very sociable *& would get lonely if left alone for hours on end

So you see, now I have this idea that my bun will be good, easy to litter and house train, very affectionate, super cute and will make all my dreams come true. It wont chew my house up, it wont bite me, it wont wee where it shouldn't and my place will still look pretty.

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Good luck :lol:

My Muppet is about as good as it gets as a house rabbit I think so I consider myself very lucky

You'll have lots of fun learning your bunny's personality - and him/her learning yours.

Thanks Angie
the bun will be inside and outside hopefully

I have looked at rescues here in Adelaide, but as it is my first bun I would really like a kit. The breeder I am getting it from runs a bun rescue here in South Australia www.wildwoodbunnies.com and what I would like to do is once I am comfy with my new bun to get it a friend from rescue.

Most of the rescues here are interstate and getting bun here would cost quite a bit. I do keep checking the RSPCA website and rabbit rescue though.

well, if youget a baby rabbit, it will more than likely..

start off cute and innocent, then get to about 4 months old and start wrecking everything until its about a year old! i haave four bunnies and when they were ALL under one it was manic here!

but neutering will help stop that, but if you want him to be litter trained and non destructive to begin with your best bet if sor an adult neutured bunny,

xxx

Now that I said, I will keep an eye out on the shelters I had a look and there is a lop female available near me at the RSPCA.

I was leaning toward a mini lop, and this says lop cross, but I was wondering if anyone could tell what type of lop she is from the photo?
I will definitely think about getting her.
http://www.adoptapet.com.au/photos//lostfound/72604.jpg
What about age, is there a way to judge that from a pic?

She looks a lot like my dwarf lop, just darker. She is beautiful and you would be doing her a favour by giving her a forever home

I don't know what the weather is like where you are, so it could be fine, but rabbits shouldn't be subjected to sudden changes in temperature. In the UK you should try to keep a rabbit either indoors or outdoors so that they get used to the temperature and don't get a shock.

If you do keep him/her outside then is your garden totally secure to stop wild bunnies getting in? I know the myxi vaccine is illegal in australia so you would have to be extra careful of wild animals getting close

Good luck, hope you find your perfect bun :wave:

Yes there are some bizarre rabbit rules in Australia!
1 of them is that the myxi vaccine is illegal and another is that you can be fined $30K for having a pet rabbit in Queensland?! even if they are desexed?
It's recommended here to get an outside hutch totally insect proof with fly screens over the wired sections.

I hadn't thought of the change in temps between in and out, that is an important consideration.

that my bun will be good, easy to litter and house train, very affectionate, super cute and will make all my dreams come true. It wont chew my house up, it wont bite me, it wont wee where it shouldn't and my place will still look pretty

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Another good thing with getting a rescue is that you will be able to pick the right bunny for you, one that is already litter trained in your case :lol: By getting an older rabbit you will be able to ask questions about them, they all have very different personalities

You cant get a baby and assume they will be affectionate :lol: Two of mine arent very affectionate at all, but when I got Beau I asked about his personality at the rescue and they told me he was a cuddly boy which he is

With the whole not wanting your house destroyed thing, I think the best you can do is bunny proof your house and keep things you dont want chewed out of their way and provide plenty of toys to keep them occupied Mine havent destroyed anything, but dont have access to things like wires and havent chewed any of the furniture they can get at

Another thing to do is find a bunny savvy vet x

XMissySJx said:

well, if youget a baby rabbit, it will more than likely..

start off cute and innocent, then get to about 4 months old and start wrecking everything until its about a year old! i haave four bunnies and when they were ALL under one it was manic here!

but neutering will help stop that, but if you want him to be litter trained and non destructive to begin with your best bet if sor an adult neutured bunny,

xxx

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I agree 100%. All my Rescue buns came as adults with an established personality, so the rescue had neutered & could tell me what to expect. I haven't got a single bun here that I had as a kit/young from a petshop that didn't try to destroy my house first

timb0h said:

I don't know what the weather is like where you are, so it could be fine, but rabbits shouldn't be subjected to sudden changes in temperature. In the UK you should try to keep a rabbit either indoors or outdoors so that they get used to the temperature and don't get a shock.

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My indoor buns go outside all winter. I just keep an eye on the weather

you can't mixi vaccine???????

If that's the case I'd definately think about not keeping him/her outside full time as the fly screens will make it hotter in the hutch run than normal as it will cut down the breeze and in AUS it can get pretty hot. Bunnys don't usually like hot weather very much as they have no way of cooling down except for their ears acting like radiators.

I'd go with a rescue too if you can find one if not if not I'd personally go for a boy and get him a companion once neutered.

Angie65 said:

I agree 100%. All my Rescue buns came as adults with an established personality, so the rescue had neutered & could tell me what to expect. I haven't got a single bun here that I had as a kit/young from a petshop that didn't try to destroy my house first

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also, i adopted pebbles when she was around a year old, neutured, and shes a little angel, but domino...i literally had himf or day one, and oh my, he was a little terror!!

and you can all remember my tales about how Jelly used to be :shock: she was a devil.

ill never have a baby one again, its so much hassle!!

XMissySJx said:

ill never have a baby one again, its so much hassle!!

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I always think that when someone says they are getting a kit/kitten/puppy:lol:

Angie65 said:

I always think that when someone says they are getting a kit/kitten/puppy:lol:

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:lol: Me too

Except for baby rats if I have them in the future again The three ive had were so well behaved and lovely :lol:

Angie65 said:

I always think that when someone says they are getting a kit/kitten/puppy:lol:

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ive never had a puppy. Cesar our first dog, we got at 8 weeks old, but i wasnt born yet, he was from a rescue,

and then Bonnie was a year old,and rocky was 6 months from a rescue, i dont think i could have a young young pup :shock:

I would recommend getting a pair too, rather than a single, as they are very social animals - see this thread:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=146248

for evidence! I had two single buns and always assumed they were ok but since getting them each a partner they are sooooo much happier.

Aww, she's very pretty! she looks full grown and not too large. Breeds vary a bit between countries and with her being a cross it's hard to estimate her size/weight from the photo. There's not a lot of difference personality wise with size but small bunnies can fit in small gaps and squeeze to chibble things :lol:

It's hard to guess rabbits ages once they've past the young baby stage. She doesn't look particularly old though so I'd say 1-2 yrs (bunnies can live 8-10).

Why not meet her then make your decision. A second bun is a good idea so you've always got the option of a baby for number two

Tam

My partner and I went to the RSPCA this morning and she is so adorable, they said loves cuddles, desexed approx 8 months old was surrendered by a family cos she was chasing another bunny (before she was desexed duh!)

So I hung out with her there for a bit and she doesn't hate me. And did I mention adorable?!




All my bunny stuff has'nt arrived yet so she is in a makeshift corner at the moment, but has sniffed around and looks comfy. I cant wait to get to know her.