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Pets Shop bunnies!!

Sue&Sooty

Sue&Sooty

Wise Old Thumper
One of the mums at my sons school has made me so cross :x

She told me one of her buns had died at the weekend and she wanted to get another one. So I told her about the local rabbit rescues and she thought it would be great to adopt a bun.

Then I see her this afternoon at school and she tells me she bought a bun from the local pet shop :evil: put it with her other bun who promptly attacked it! :roll: :( So STUPID WOMAN went and bought another baby to go with the baby she'd already got in the morning!!

She tells me these babies are 6weeks old :shock: and have both been sexed as girls :shock:

Now for starters surely 6 weeks is too young to be in a petshop :(
And is it relly possible to sex babies correctly when their that young?

They are mini lops apparently :roll:
 
i thought it was ilegal for petshops to sell rabbits younger than 8 weeks?
as for the sexing....very much depends on the experiance of the staff.... :?
 
It's not illegal though it should be! People who brred can geenrally tell at about 4 weeks if not earlier, but I doubt a petshop has a clue! I'd tell her to get to a vet sharpish and gewt them properly sexed.
 
babies shouldnt be taken from mum untill 8 weeks but petshops regualry sell at 4 or 6 weeks its just disgusting, babies should not be sold until 10 weeks MIN and preferably 12-14, but pet shops want cute fluffy bundles they can sell quick. the chances are babies taken from mum that early will not have long happy healthy lives. and if taken away that early the breeders obviously dont care so chances are they are from unhealthy parents. or from pet shop suppliers, hundreds of rabbits in tiny cages which are bred asap as often as possible 4 or 5 litters from a doe in her first year and if she isnt dead by then killed as shes no more use. I refuse to go into any pet shop that sells animals for this reason.

its unlikely the people in the pet shop could sex an animal at this age but it is very easy to do, i can sex a rabbit from 1 week old
 
I can sex mine about 6 weeks and I'm usually right, the one time I was wrong, the vet said he wasn't sure either! I always get my babies sexed by a vet so that people feel more reassured that they are getting what I say they are! Doesn't mean that the vet is right though!

It really depends on the breed when you need to seperate them from mum as larger breeds obviously have a lot more growing to do. It also depends on mum, she may very well get sick of them and refuse to have them near her. My latest litter were weaned at 6 weeks for this reason, there were seven so I can't blame here really as I couldn't handle 7 little fuzzballs pinging around me all day! (Well I could, but I have the choice of walking away etc)

Pet shops don't care, they don't research properly and they will take anything that is cute, if it dies, then thay can easily replace it which is an awful way to work.
 
Becki how on earth can you sex a bun at 1 week? :shock: I'm now good at this but don't guarantee the sex til they are at least 10 weeks old..
 
So I told her about the local rabbit rescues and she thought it would be great to adopt a bun.
Click to expand...

Best advice you could give. Just sorry that it was ignored.

I've just adopted male rabbit as ours sadly passed away the other week. Having sent out a few emails to the local rescue centres I must have had around 6-8 rabbits offered to me. (shocking!).

Why do people not research more or realise the responsibility they are taking on when buying a rabbit?

The one we've taken on is the most adorable bun you could imagine, I just gad that we've managed to give him a home.

Anyway that's my rant over with for the week - lol
 
That chuffing sux!!! I know some people are snobby about adopting rescue rabbits, I don't know why :eek: It's not just rabbits sadly it's the same with most domestic animals.

Did she say why the rabbit had died? If this new one dies as well, I'd be curious as to what she's doing and I would go round and speak to her, discreetly.

Makes me furious as well :(
 
Both the buns seem to be doing ok... She has had rabbits for years and generally she looks after them ok.

She spoke to the pet shop where she bought them and they have said that they were 8 weeks not 6 weeks... she'd got it wrong :? :roll:

She has now said to me that she'd wished she'd waited and gone to a rescue and next time she will as she didn't realise there was so many buns needing homes.

Hopefully she will remember this next time she wants another bunny
 
well you can tell what sex a rabbit is from as young as 3 weeks old but its never normally defonate untill 8 weeks & selling a baby bunny at 6 weeks could give it muccoid antropathy which will kill it slowly and painfully as the gut packs up, thats why if you are a member of the BRC u get kicked out for selling under 8weeks
 
not on

i checked up in a book and it says it is breaking the law if they sell rabbits younger than 8 weeks.bt i could be wrong .bt thats wot it said :?
 
I bought my rabbit from a pet shop (not knowing any better at the time) and he was 8 weeks. But I remember the girl telling me they had had him in for a while. So he wasn't 8 weeks when he was put in there to sell. Poor little baby.
 
i find that the easiest age to sex is 3 weeks, i check every few days tho, and i usually end up being right at this age... no thats a lie the easiest age to sex is 6 months + i have a litter of 2.5 week olds at the moment and im sure on the sex of all but1 who im almost 80% sure is a doe.

yeah i take mum away at 6-8 weeks depending on when shes fed up of them, and the kits remain together as a litter untill they are at least 10 weeks old, longer if they seem underdeveloped. no rabbit would leave my shed if they were under 10 weeks the risk is just too great.

unfortunately there is no law about the age you can sell them at, just like theres no law preventing pet shops from selling animals, or mass breeders who will breed four litters from a doe before she's a year old then toss her on the garbage heap when she dies of exhaustion... some people do horrible things and there nothing to stop them.
 
We have had a few in recently that have had 2 litters both died and they are only about 9mths old.

Its so sad, they have hardly any fur and are really skinny. :cry:

If the pet shops made sure of how old they are/health and didn't sell them to just anyone -it would be a big help to rescues and more importantly the animals- but its all about £££££££££ :evil:
 
This is my policy at the pet shop I work in.

No bunnys under 8-9 weeks for sale
They are all quarentind for 1 week (incase of mucoid entritis or any other health problem arises)
They live in a huge run and hutch
Litters are never mixed with each other
Never housed with guinea pigs
They are kept well away from the public ie screaming kids!!! (most customers have to ask to see the bunnys)
All must go in pairs unless some one has an exsisting bunny
Never ever get to go home if a guinea pig is going to be their friend
And most importantly I have the last say if you get one of my bunnys or not.
 
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