Did you ever expect that rabbits could be so much fun...and hard work?

Bunnies have been a major part of my life since 1995...and I am constantly learning about them...and never fail to be surprised by their behaviour............

Young, old, fit, unwell, able, disabled, feisty, laid back.....every single one as individual as us humans.

I never thought that they could/would be so wonderful.........and now I appreciate every single second I get to share with them.

I've posted a similar thread a couple of years ago, however many new members have joined since so I'd love to hear new...and old experiences....shared with others.

Thanks in anticipation. x

Hi Mrs B - I think they become harder work the more you know about them.

happybun said:

Hi Mrs B - I think they become harder work the more you know about them.

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Definitely the more I've learnt about them over the years, the more determined I've become to give them the best life possible in every way :thumb:

I'm similar I guess, I had rabbits as a child and we made many mistakes, but we hardly worried because we didn't know enough about them!

Nowadays I do nothing but worry about them, although they give me such fun and happiness, I changed the rug in the enclosure the other night as the old one was getting raggy and dirty, once it was in there they both sniffed around it for aaages and then Finn did the biggest binky ever! I have no idea why really it jut made me smile!

They are such funny little things, but so complicated as well. x

The reason I bought my first ever Rabbits about 18 years ago was because I wanted a 'low maintenance' Pet....................... !! At the time I had a very elderly dog who had become my 'life support'. I knew I was about to loose her and vowed never again to get attached to a Pet. The pain of loss just being too much. But I reasoned (yeh, I truly thought it was 'reason' :roll that I had to have some sort of Pet to be responsible for to give me any chance of staying on the 'straight and narrow' (it was all about me, of course. What a self centred cow :roll So I decided that a Rabbit was the answer , easy to care for, cheap and I was not going to get to love 'just a Rabbit' was I..........................

How utterly shameful of me to have even dared think like that.

We really wanted a pet, but my OH is allergic to cats, and our work would have been unfair for a dog. We became a little interested in rabbits as a compromise pet, but were surprised to learn about their personality traits when researching them - I always just pictured bunnies as being quiet and a bit uninterested.

I never expected to laugh so much at our rabbit, he's got typical cheeky bunny attitude. My OH and I are always being cheeky to one another, so he fits right in. Definitely glad we adopted a rabbit!

I got into rabbits by accident. I used to have guinea pigs and it was my younger sister who bought the rabbit and then soon become bored with him. She would often say ' while you clean out your guinea pigs can you do the rabbit?' and so he became mine.
I sometimes wish I didn't love them so much. I can't imagine them not in my life but every time I loose one a little piece of my heart breaks.
Definitely agree with the statement the more you know the more you worry.

I NEVER thought I'd be able to love the small bundles of fur that they are...

Merlin I brought as company for myself to be honest, I'd moved out of home was on my own (it was a rash move after a massive row with my mum at the time.. And so I thought stuff you mum I can manage on my own - I ended up back home 6 months later :lol

I had piggies before Merlin 4 infact and I Loved their personalities, each talking to me when I played and especially at breakfast

NEVEr did I expect a rabbit to be so full of energy and personality, he truly was the best friend I could've asked for and it still breaks my heart he's not here for Christmas cause it would've been his first in our own home.. Just me, OH & Him sadly he didn't make it.

He taught me a lot about bunnies, and I don't think I could imagine a home or a life without them now.

It's sad that a lot of people still keep them in a small hutch stuck at the bottom of the garden with just interaction at feeding times/cleaning out times, I feel sorry for those owners as they are missing out on so much with their buns

Mrs. Bunnykins said:

Bunnies have been a major part of my life since 1995...and I am constantly learning about them...and never fail to be surprised by their behaviour............

Young, old, fit, unwell, able, disabled, feisty, laid back.....every single one as individual as us humans.

I never thought that they could/would be so wonderful.........and now I appreciate every single second I get to share with them.

I've posted a similar thread a couple of years ago, however many new members have joined since so I'd love to hear new...and old experiences....shared with others.

Thanks in anticipation. x

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Ah Mrs B - someone else who remembers the 90's with rabbits

It was the start of the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund, which began as the Houserabbit Association .... I was advisor to the Association then and wrote for Rabbiting On!

I hope my knowledge has improved over the years .. there's so much to keep up with!

They keep us on our toes like nothing else on earth ..

I had rabbits as a child. I know so much more now regarding diet, enrichment and health which means they are more hard work than I anticipated.
I always knew how amazing they were and they've always been my pet of choice.

Hubby brought a rabbit home on impulse born out of desperate want for a pet - couldn't have dogs or cats at the time - that was Bobo. I knew absolutely nothing about rabbits - but my love of animals drove me on to learn - and I keep on learning and I love that aspect of it. Through all that my love of these amazing little creatures has grown and grown - and the work has gotten harder but more rewarding than I could ever have expected.

The grieving for a rabbit that has left me is also harder than I expected - but made easier by having the others who keep my mind focused on the here and now - and not the 'what ifs' and 'if onlys'.

When we first had rabbits - we did tend to try (consciously or unconsciously) to find dog/cat traits in them - purely because that was all we had experienced. But it was only when we eventually got our two dogs, that I've realised that rabbits don't have dog/cat traits - they are just purely rabbits and I love them even more now if that's possible, now that I see them as a completely different species

Jack's-Jane said:

The reason I bought my first ever Rabbits about 18 years ago was because I wanted a 'low maintenance' Pet....................... !! At the time I had a very elderly dog who had become my 'life support'. I knew I was about to loose her and vowed never again to get attached to a Pet. The pain of loss just being too much. But I reasoned (yeh, I truly thought it was 'reason' :roll that I had to have some sort of Pet to be responsible for to give me any chance of staying on the 'straight and narrow' (it was all about me, of course. What a self centred cow :roll So I decided that a Rabbit was the answer , easy to care for, cheap and I was not going to get to love 'just a Rabbit' was I..........................

How utterly shameful of me to have even dared think like that.

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Jane, I respect you feel shame about it, but dare I suggest, not shameful. You learned, didn't you? The hard way in many cases. Seems to me life's all about that, and rabbits sort of really seem that way too. Constant surprises. Amazing creatures!

I wanted an animal companion (or two) and I wanted to fall in love with them, but Smudge appears to connect with me on a different level than I ever expected. And yes they have also cost me a lot more time, money and work than I ever expected. Lol.

I love this thread!
I always wanted a rabbit when I was a kid, but was never allowed one (which now I'm glad about as it wouldn't have been looked after properly). Then when we were moving into a house we decided we'd get a rabbit, so I started looking up their care... 6 months later, we had a three story shed built for them, and our PAIR came home.

I never expected them to be so high maintenance, I never expected so many emergency vet trips...

But also, I never in a million years expected them to be so clever, cheeky, funny, loving... the list is endless... mainly, I never imagined to be so in love them both. They are truly amazing.

They're so clever, they know words, will go to bed when told (mostly haha), and they know how to get my attention if I'm not looking at them.

I am so glad I did the research before getting them, I remember reading about them needing hay and I was like wow I really never knew that! Luckily I learned all this before bringing them home

When i first got rabbits (a pair) I was quite surprised at how much hard work they are. How much space they need etc. I did about 6 months of research before my parents allowed me to get buns (you know those phases where you want fish, then hamsters, then lizards, then birds etc) Once they realised i was serious about buns i was allowed to get them.

Like Jane I will also admit to getting a bunny thinking they were low maintenance, not as easy to get attached to as a dog (having been devastated at having my pooch pts 4 years ago) and also because we just aren't in a position for a dog now with both working full time ........

Fast forward 8 months and I wouldn't swap my beloved bunnies for all the dogs in the world! So much more cleaning up after and much harder to keep them amused but so much more fun! Still learning as we go but both myself and hubby are converted to bunnies for good now