BunnyGirl88
New Kit
Hello,
There’s a wealth of information here and I’d be very silly not to take advantage.
I’m considering getting a male mini lop house rabbit and the two options seem to be either getting one from a breeder or re-homing one from a rescue or another owner.
If I go down the breeder route, there are plenty of cute kits being advertised but as I don’t want to encourage irresponsible breeders, I am currently looking for reputable ones. Unfortunately I’m struggling to find good ones that are near me and that I’m happy with. I was wondering whether my expectations are too high. Is it unreasonable to expect a breeder to:
• have all her adult rabbits vaccinated against Myxomatosis and VHD
• keep each of her adult rabbits in hutches that are at least 4ft by 2ft by 2ft
• give her rabbits a minimum of 3 hours of free running each day
• not breed more litters if she still has a lot to find homes for
I did visit a breeder recently but without asking many questions beforehand so was very disappointed in how her rabbits were kept and bred. Can any of you recommend a good breeder within a reasonable distance of London? So as not to stress the rabbit.
I also wonder that when a breeder says they breed healthy kits, to what extent do they know this? Do breeders keep their breeding rabbits for long enough to see whether they develop problems or do they re-home them and start using other rabbits after a few years?
If I re-home one from a rescue or another owner, I’m worried that they may be more likely to develop health problems later on (emphasis on the ‘may’!). Also, rescues seem to prefer that you already have a rabbit or are looking for a pair. I completely understand why and if I get a rabbit, at some point I do expect to get another pet (though it may not necessarily be a rabbit), but having no experience of rabbits before, I’m not keen on taking on the task of house training two to begin with.
I’ve read that house training an adult rabbit is easier than a young one and if I re-home a house rabbit who was already house trained (to some extent), that would be helpful.
Any help/advice would really be appreciated, thank you. (And if you think I'm putting too much thought into this, please also let me know!)
There’s a wealth of information here and I’d be very silly not to take advantage.
I’m considering getting a male mini lop house rabbit and the two options seem to be either getting one from a breeder or re-homing one from a rescue or another owner.
If I go down the breeder route, there are plenty of cute kits being advertised but as I don’t want to encourage irresponsible breeders, I am currently looking for reputable ones. Unfortunately I’m struggling to find good ones that are near me and that I’m happy with. I was wondering whether my expectations are too high. Is it unreasonable to expect a breeder to:
• have all her adult rabbits vaccinated against Myxomatosis and VHD
• keep each of her adult rabbits in hutches that are at least 4ft by 2ft by 2ft
• give her rabbits a minimum of 3 hours of free running each day
• not breed more litters if she still has a lot to find homes for
I did visit a breeder recently but without asking many questions beforehand so was very disappointed in how her rabbits were kept and bred. Can any of you recommend a good breeder within a reasonable distance of London? So as not to stress the rabbit.
I also wonder that when a breeder says they breed healthy kits, to what extent do they know this? Do breeders keep their breeding rabbits for long enough to see whether they develop problems or do they re-home them and start using other rabbits after a few years?
If I re-home one from a rescue or another owner, I’m worried that they may be more likely to develop health problems later on (emphasis on the ‘may’!). Also, rescues seem to prefer that you already have a rabbit or are looking for a pair. I completely understand why and if I get a rabbit, at some point I do expect to get another pet (though it may not necessarily be a rabbit), but having no experience of rabbits before, I’m not keen on taking on the task of house training two to begin with.
I’ve read that house training an adult rabbit is easier than a young one and if I re-home a house rabbit who was already house trained (to some extent), that would be helpful.
Any help/advice would really be appreciated, thank you. (And if you think I'm putting too much thought into this, please also let me know!)