• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Advice needed

Hi all, before I get my head bitten off for getting rabbits from pets at home, I got 2 because I was in there buying dog food & there were 2 very noisy, badly behaved boys throwing stuff in with the rabbits & it was the only 2 rabbits left. The kids were very feisty & pushing each around aggressively & begged their mum for the rabbits.

I couldn't leave them thinking they might be subjected to a life of misery with this family so snapped them up.

Expensive trip for dog food, ended up buying a double hutch for over £100 & a run to be attached for free run in my huge shed.

They'd settled in great, but 2 weeks later, today, we had them running loose in garden when a fight broke out! It wasn't just a dominant thing, it was a full on nasty fight! They were believed to be only about 3 months old.

The smaller one attacked the bigger more placid one.

When I went to clean hutch I saw more fur so must have fought earlier too.

Not know much about rabbits I phoned pets at home & they suggested I bring then back & swap for another pair, which I've done & got 2 sisters.

Problem is, the lovely placid one I returned (they wouldn't let us return just one) is still in the shop & I'm really missing her even though it's only been a few hours. She was so docile.

I'm really worried she'll be snapped up by someone, shut in a tiny hutch at bottom of some garden & forgotten about :( she had a good life at mine, free run of enclosed garden & shed at night.

They thought of some kid rough handling her kills me!

I want to go back & get her but no money right now for another hutch until I get paid on Wednesday! Where would I keep her in the meantime? Would she be ok in hutch with other 2 babies (it's a big hutch & free run of shed), could I split the double hutch in 2?

Would that unsettling them smelling each other?

Help needed quickly as would want to go tonight before they close or before she's gone? Should I leave her??? Argh, so sad :( x
 
What gender were the 2 original Rabbits ?

Did P@H explain that the Rabbits will need neutering ? The original pair were clearly hormonal so probably ready to be neutered. They may then have gotten along just fine once recovered from surgery and rebonded. What a shame they were taken back and swapped like some inanimate object :cry:It sounds as though P@H see their Livestock as just that 'stock' :cry:

If you are thinking of going back for the 'Docile' Rabbit will you be able to afford the neutering and vaccination costs of 3 Rabbits ? Approx £290-£300 ?

Then there is the issue of a companion for the 'Docile' Rabbit. What if he/she did not get along with the two you now have ? Would you keep him/her alone ? Obtain a 4th Rabbit ? Rehome him/her again ?

Also, were the 2 original Rabbits thoroughly checked for any injuries from the fighting ? Untreated bite wounds can cause huge problems. If they were both male then it is highly likely they have sustained damage to their genitals. Bucks dont fight 'nicely' :cry:
 
Oh wow! What an impulse buy, eh? :lol:
hmmmmmmm.... :? Not sure where to start....

First of all good for you for giving bunnies a better life, you sound determined to make them happy. :)

What genders were the previous two? A pair of girls? It seems a little odd for them to suddenly fight if they had been fine together so far.
If they were around 3 months then it's most likely that the reason for the fight is hormones kicking in and that they needed to be neutered, so Pets@home telling you just to swap them is a little disappointing :(

So you want the nice bunny back from the original pair. I assume you're thinking of eventually bonding them into a trio? Trio's can be really wonderful but they are difficult to achieve.
To be honest bunnies can only really be bonded once they are all neutered, so (I'm assuming that these buns are not yet neutered), adding another one into the mix might make the whole process even more stressful for you! :?

So yes, you could separate the buns and keep them in the same hutch for the meantime, but when the time comes to neuter them they may well all have to be separated for a while so that's something to bear in mind. Also if bonding is unsuccessful you must be prepared to potentially have separate rabbits which need to be provided for.

The decision is totally up to you and I understand that you feel attached to the bun and want to help her, so really it just comes down to you being willing and financially able to look after her. :)
Let me know what you decide!
 
Oh wow! What an impulse buy, eh? :lol:
hmmmmmmm.... :? Not sure where to start....

First of all good for you for giving bunnies a better life, you sound determined to make them happy. :)

What genders were the previous two? A pair of girls? It seems a little odd for them to suddenly fight if they had been fine together so far.
If they were around 3 months then it's most likely that the reason for the fight is hormones kicking in and that they needed to be neutered, so Pets@home telling you just to swap them is a little disappointing :(

So you want the nice bunny back from the original pair. I assume you're thinking of eventually bonding them into a trio? Trio's can be really wonderful but they are difficult to achieve.
To be honest bunnies can only really be bonded once they are all neutered, so (I'm assuming that these buns are not yet neutered), adding another one into the mix might make the whole process even more stressful for you! :?

So yes, you could separate the buns and keep them in the same hutch for the meantime, but when the time comes to neuter them they may well all have to be separated for a while so that's something to bear in mind. Also if bonding is unsuccessful you must be prepared to potentially have separate rabbits which need to be provided for.

The decision is totally up to you and I understand that you feel attached to the bun and want to help her, so really it just comes down to you being willing and financially able to look after her. :)
Let me know what you decide!

Hi, the original
Two bunnies were female.
First 2, I wasn't told anything about neutering or vaccinations! However, have since read up on it all & yes will definitely get the new pair done. The rabbits were/are only about 3 months so hadn't been done yet...
 
That's awful that they were swapped. Of course they will fight, they will need neutering and I can't believe P@H offered to swap them just because they didn't get along all the time. :? I wonder where they will end up, probably put in the adoption centre together where they will fight even worse than before. :cry: How horrible.

Rabbits take a lot to care for, and they cost an absolute fortune in vet bills. I hope you are prepared for that. Also I don't think it's wise to go and get a third bun, not until you really know what you are getting yourself into. From what you have said about their accommodation, it sounds good.
The minimum recommendations are a 6x2x2ft hutch with an 8x4ft run attached, if they are getting free range time in the garden, that is great. Make sure you never leave them unattended, though, as it only takes a minute for a predator to hurt them.
Don't take any of the advice that a pet shop tells you, it will be wrong. The best kind of bond is with a neutered male/female, same sex bonds can often result in fighting, especially as they reach sexual maturity (around 4-6 months old). Also, get them both to a vet ASAP to get them sexed, pet shops often mis-sex rabbits and you do not want to risk ending up with more bunnies.

I hope you get on well with your new pair. I think, in future, you should ask for advice from people who actually care about animals rather than a pet shop that simply see animals as nothing more than objects. Swapping animals is never the answer, it is never the fault of the animal for behavioural problems. It's generally our own ignorance or wrong advice that causes these problems. I really hope you will hang around here and really get to know how amazing rabbits are as companion animals.
 
Oh no :( Poor poor bunnies.
So p@h told you nothing about spaying the original girls, they had a fight and were returned and now they have been split up (you say there is only 1 left)
How can p@h fail on so many levels :cry:

I'm sure if you were told about spaying when you got the original pair you could have got them spayed and chances are they would have been fine.

Not having a go at you here at all, just hate :censored: p@h and how clueless they are.
This is more proof that they need to STOP selling animals.
 
Oh no :( Poor poor bunnies.
So p@h told you nothing about spaying the original girls, they had a fight and were returned and now they have been split up (you say there is only 1 left)
How can p@h fail on so many levels :cry:

I'm sure if you were told about spaying when you got the original pair you could have got them spayed and chances are they would have been fine.

Not having a go at you here at all, just hate :censored: p@h and how clueless they are.
This is more proof that they need to STOP selling animals.

Absolutely this.

Long before I joined the forum, I adopted a rabbit from them and, later, bought one. Nothing was ever said to me about spaying. Fortunately, I already knew because I'd already got rescue rabbits and had been given very good advice by my rabbit-savvy vet.
 
Hi sorry I wasn't online sooner.

Decided not to go back for the third rabbit as from reading all your replies, things could have been different if we'd got the information from here initially. Didn't realise neutering May have helped the situation & no pets at home explained nothing. When we took them back in, they put them on the floor behind the till & said 'well they seem fine together now?!' I think that was purely because it was somewhere new with lots of smells so they weren't interested in each other!

Anyway...the 2 we have now are 'I think' sisters! They are same very unusual colour, almost like charcoal. Got an appoint at vets booked for tomorrow to sex them & tell us age & vaccinations, also discuss/book them in for spay/neuter depending on sex/age.

Yes they will be well looked after, 5ft double hutch, open all the time within the huge shed, & free run of garden for at least 4 hours a day. They are never left unattended incase a bird to cat comes by!

I'm prepared for big vet bills, we have dogs too from a rescue who are quiet old now so not afraid of how much animals cost.

Away to walk dogs but will post pics this afternoon.

Thanks everyone for the great advice!
 
i think you've done the right thing sticking with the two you have and getting info from the vet :)

and at the risk of being ranted at lol i do think that whilst p@h clearly have undesirable breeding practices etc, i do think the amount of info you get really depends on the branch. I picked my molly up from the rehoming bit last week and they couldnt tell me enough info despite me having had buns for a few yrs now and even said that they had let molly hop round the shop a bit in the mornings when she was cleaned out, so i do think it very much depends on the individuals working there as to whether you get the correct info that you should

does however seem daft to give free neutering vouchers to animal rehomers but not animal purchasers, surely that would spark the thought to people that it needs to be done?
 
null_zps8d3b8f91.jpg


null_zpsd8525b07.jpg


null_zpsa616bdb0.jpg


null_zpsaaf2b438.jpg


null_zpsfdfc7604.jpg


null_zps4b05d13d.jpg
 
It's unusual for females to fight at that age, it happens, but usually around 5 months or later, but common for males to, especially nasty fights. Def get them sexed at the vets, as missexing happens very often at petshops, but hopefully they are both females, but best to check sooner rather than later, you can ask when they go for their vaccinations which I strongly recommend you do as soon as possible.

You're right about being in a new place and not fighting and was weird for them to say you could only bring in both and not just one. :/ and pretty odd they mentioned nothing about neutering as it's being pushed to mention it, it's on the scribe, and in the leaflet you should have gotten too.

That's the problem with getting animals on a whim though as you found out the hard way and the pair you got originally got aren't better off and back to where they came from. So let's make sure the girls you have now have a great life :D which I know you can provide! It's a bit of a crash course for you at the moment, but the majority of us started off in a similar if not the same way to be honest, so don't feel bad!
 
Back
Top