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Things we hear from so-called rabbit experts...

CarmenCole

Mama Doe
Ok, so we've all heard some stupid comments made about our own rabbits, and ones we've taken from people to save their lives...

I'm starting to wonder if the majority of so-called good rabbit owners have a phrase book of things to say to excuse their bad behaviour.

This week, I have heard...

- Oh, I had 3 rabbits and 5 gps, they all died in a month, I heard there was a virus going round. Was there a virus going round about a year ago that killed rabbits and gps? (girl on checkout at Tesco when I bought tubes,toys etc)

- I didn't know rabbits had to be vaccinated! (next door, re: Leo bun)

- Oooh! No, I cant do claw clipping, I'd rather leave it! (re Leo bun's 3cm long claws)

- I've kept rabbits, they really stink, I wouldn't recommend having them in the house! (my mother-in-law!)

- It's a swine, I hate it and wish it would just die (neighbour about Leo bun)

- oh yeah, he loves his straw. Hay? No, he never has that, straw is cheaper. (Leo bun)

- he prefers the cheap food from the corner shop, you wont get him eating that pellet stuff (Leo bun)

Is it me, or are humans getting worse by the day? :evil::evil::evil::evil:
 
A person said to my dad that they should be kept in shade 24/7 and not go out in a run unless it was in the shade - wtf? I was like yeah thats not happening as Mops always used to go in the run - i see where she may have come from with the shade thing but not 24/7 :shock: i think she got overboard with the sun strike thing.
 
unfortuantly its agai na lot of uneducation and what we need is more media coverage like tehre was about dogs so people learn... i wish there was a "rabbit rescue" programme.. .like pet rescue... but one that solely tought people all the needs of rabbits! its very frustrating. x
 
i had it the other day when picking my son up from school
i was asked how i stopped my two rabbits from breeding.. she was very shocked when i told her that rabbits could be neutured.
the problem is definately a lack of education, the majority are still very much stuck in the past with care of rabbits :(
 
"I don't give hay because of myxi...my bunny is now 8 years old and has never been vaccinated and has never had a dental problem so it must be ok"
 
Why dont you all think about making a magazine or come up with a website that is interactive so people can be educated more on rabbits and we could all put flyers out at schools to educate children about rabbits with website address on?
 
Someone I know won't neuter her lad because she thinks its cruel, she said to me how could I take that away from my buns :shock: They should be able to breed apparently thats what they are supposed to do :roll: And all she does is complain the bunny won't use his tray and gets annoyed when she goes into his room! He is brought to the vets for vacs and check ups but she insists not vet has recommended neutering to her :? Luckily she has no intention of getting any girls so at least her attitude won't result in babies
 
We have 7 buns inside (although today that's 13 :shock:) but a guy from my dad's work found out how many we had and asked my dad how we cope with the smell. :roll: Of course dad politely told him that they are cleaned out regularly and so there is no smell at all. I had a lady come to my house that I was training up for doing rabbit home visits and she was surprised by the lack of smell of them too.
 
I was told recently by someone who has kept rabbits for years..

"I'm reluctant to have him vaccinated for myxi as the jab hurts, you can see them wince." The rabbit in question free ranges and has recently been fighting with a wild rabbit :shock::shock:
 
One of my neighbor thought it was cozy to have their rabbit running loose in the garden.... I wouldn't mind...if he didn't come into MY garden too:roll: and left droppings in front of my shed which was stinking.... and I was scared of taking my own rabbits out in fear of them coming into a fight with him or Aroma getting pregnant. I took over that rabbit though so now he's safely locked up in one of my runs...relatively safe at least, there's no roof on the run, but he doesn't jump out and well...he's been running loose for months and not gotten eaten.

I hate it when people lift rabbits by their ears or scruff of their neck because their mother does it....anyone who's had baby buns should notice that mother rabbits NEVER carry their kits, unless she intends to kill them. Lifting by the scruff can cause them to get internal bleeding under the skin.

Rabbits are rodents...they're not. Just not.

Rodent mixes, worst food on the market for any species ever.
Rats, hamsters, guinea pigs and rabbits have COMPLETELY DIFFERENT dietary needs, heck the first two are omnivores, the latter herbivores (who also eat grass rather than seeds which are common in the mixes) how are those supposed to get a proper diet eating the same thing??
Most animals I've seen eating them end up looking obese and constant diarrhea is common.

Someone at a farm where they took in animals when their owners went on vacation told me she kept the rabbits on wire bottom because otherwise they ended up getting poop stuck to their tails...unless you feed above mentioned rodent mix or other bad food types their poop is supposed to be completely dry and doesn't get stuck.

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One more thing I heard from these so called experts was when I considered getting Zakura neutered because of her bad temper.... and someone suggested I'd breed her instead. :shock:
Does anyone stop to think that the babies might end up just the same??? Then what? Breed them too? Congratulations! You have 30 aggressive rabbits! Lets breed them too so they'll calm down! GREAT PLAN PEOPLE :p
 
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at college from my teachers... there supposed to know about these things!

'no their not dwarf lops, dwarf lops are the size of Nethies' (when i took Crystals babies in to be sexed which they got wrong :roll:)

'you always restrain a rabbit by the scruff of the neck' (they made us all do this to a rex bun :( then i found a safer, easier way to restrain a rabbit)

ive also heard silly things like

'let your doe have babies and she wont get cancer'

'when your doe nests she wants babies so let her have some'

'a does homones should calm down after she has a litter of babies'

'brother and sisters cant breed so are fine living together'

'if a rabbit has dental problems its kinder to pts'

'a head tilt means they have brain damage'

i was also told be someone that 'rabbits are vicious creatures'
 
"Hetty, i really think that their house is FAR too big for them, let's get them a little hutch instead." My Mother :roll:
 
i give my rabbit guniea pig food because it is all he will eat he doesnt like the rabbit food i give him :roll:

nieghbour when we had guinea pigs we had a rat problem

other neighbour once said i have mice in my garden because of your rabbit ummm she feed birds from the ground
 
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I think a lot of the stuff said about rabbits is the same as people said about cats and dogs 30 years ago. We just have to keep plugging away and raising the bar for the ignorami out there.

I'm desperately trying to persuade my mum to tell her friend that Frank's brother (they said they'd had him neutered) needs a lady rabbit from rescue to keep him company and not be running loose in the garden all day with a guinea pig, who also needs a friend of his/her own kind. Thankfully she at least separates them at night when they go in their hutches. I live in hope, but she's a know it all and of course is a rabbit and guinea pig expert as she's kept them like that for years.

On the positive side, I was chatting to a lovely Polish girl who was buying a bag of Excel at the same time as me. She'd been feeding him on the muesli type stuff but he won't eat half of it so she's seen the light and at least cares enough to change him over. There is hope!
 
Crazy isn't it! I'm glad I'm not the only one that has to hear this drivel day in day out. :roll:

Here's more you guys reminded me of...

- Giants are the ones that live longest mine lived to 17, but nethies only live to about 6-7 years, none of mine lived past 8. (no flippin wonder - my great nxt door neighbour again)

- Oh, we dont sell toys for rabbits, they dont need them (pet shop)

- that'll last you over 6 months (when I bought a farm bale of hay for the 6 rabbits I had at the time.)

Website idea is a good one. Have to think on that...
 
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In Norway pet books and even the government info slips claim rabbits need a friend...okay that sounds nice enough. But it states the best is to have a same-sex couple from the same litter...which appears to be failing more than it works especially for males:? If neutering comes up it only mentions the boys.
 
On recommending that a male and female from the same litter were separated and neutered asap to prevent breeding (they were nearly 5m old):
"No, they are brother and sister, they wouldn't do that..."
 
i forgot a few things that have been mentioned to me in the vets while in the waiting room.

2 little girls were staring into the carrier to Rolo and Polo the 2 baby rescues from last year and said 'we have a rabbit but its not allowed out because it digs up the garden because its naughty' i politely replied most rabbits do dig because its a natural instinct.

a middle aged woman from jus a few weeks ago started asking me questions about my rabbits and said 'i had a house rabbit but he couldnt be picked up because he used to scratch and bite so we rehomed him as he obviously wasnt happy with us' i replied saying that neutering helps most bad behaviour in rabbits and explained how much Crystal calmed down after she was speyed.

when i went to the garden centre a few months ago for some supplies a woman was talking to one of the employees about her rabbit ripping up her carpet the employee said that teh rabbit was probably just bored and told the woman to buy a couple of toys and it should sort it out. needless to say the woman left with a tunnel and a wooden chew toy i just kept my mouth shut :roll:

i know one of the vet nurses at my vets and she was telling me about her neighbours rabbit how their never let out and the hutch is to small for them and when she talked to them about their welfare i.e needing a bigger hutch, needing exercise for health reasons and that they should be vaccinated they replied i wouldnt worry they'll be fine :roll:
 
People can be such A-holes :evil::evil:

In the waiting room at the vet's last December, I had 4 buns in two carriers (a pair to each carrier). This old duffer with his dog came up to have a look and said oh you've got two rabbits (one always hides behind the other in a carrier). I replied that there were in fact four and he exclaimed "4 rabbits, what do you want 4 rabbits for?" I said I liked to rescue rabbits as I saw them as a misunderstood and often neglected species and that it was best to keep them in pairs so they wouldn't get lonely. And do you know what this old barstad said? If there are so many rabbits needing a home, why don't they just kill them for meat? :evil::evil::censored::censored: I nearly exploded. The vet heard it too and asked him to leave :lol:
 
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