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I've been out looking at baby bunnies...

casu consulto

Mama Doe
... so, obviously, tonight no doubt there will be millions running riot through my dreams. Eeek.

On a serious note:
I've been searching for a number of weeks for a friend for my two year old neutered Dutch male bunny. Ideally I wanted/want a Dutch doe, purely because I really like the breed. However, all the rescue centres I have contacted or visited have perhaps 3/4 male rabbits, and 1/4 female. So far, the only Dutch doe I saw and was allowed to reserve was discovered to be pregnant and won't be rehomed for the next 10 weeks. I HAVE considered waiting this long... it's just that I had wanted to get a new rabbit now, when I have perhaps a month or so of free time to help her settle in and to bond them. I have two more places to visit in my area.

Today I was out and about looking at the hutch I intend to buy this week. I also found a new run, which got me rather excited. :) And, of course, there are baby rabbits in these places. I've already had my parents telling me how, if I cannot find what I want at a rescue centre, I could always buy a baby rabbit from one of these places and have her spayed and vaccinated myself. Vaccinating would be easy, but getting her spayed... The idea terrifies me. I mean, obviously I'd get it done. But the nice thing about getting a rabbit from a rescue centre - apart from helping the rabbit, and the people - was the idea that this had been done, the rabbit had recovered and I had not been all stressed and worrying myself sick. I, um, tend to do this. :rolleyes: I have certain issues with anxiety...

I s'pose what I'm looking for is experiences of people who have had their does spayed. It's just an option I'm now coming to seriously consider... I also sincerely doubt my local vets is experienced in dealing with rabbits. We have one vet who is quite good, but the evil :censored: of a woman before him happily admitted she knew nothing about rabbits and so never quite knew what to do with a previous rabbit of mine... It was so reassuring. I've had a complex over vet trips ever since.
 
I believe some rescues in the south are over run with dutch bunnies..perhaps you could contact them, and see if they will rehome to you.
Might be a good idea to contact before you buy any new accomodation so you know their requirements.
Janice and Donna from ARC are members on here and they have dutch girls:D
 
I've been looking at the Dutch girlies on the ARC website. I'm sure I sat, staring all longingly at the screen for a full 15 minutes before someone walked in here and snapped me out of my daze... :roll:

My worry is that it'd be very stressful for a bunny to come aaaall the way from the south of the country, to the north.
 
I've been looking at the Dutch girlies on the ARC website. I'm sure I sat, staring all longingly at the screen for a full 15 minutes before someone walked in here and snapped me out of my daze... :roll:

My worry is that it'd be very stressful for a bunny to come aaaall the way from the south of the country, to the north.


The rescue should know the temprement of the bun and whether it would be ok to travel or not:D Why not give them a ring and see?:D
 
Personally I think you would be better off getting a rescue rabbit from further away than buy a baby from a pet shop which you would love to death for four months until it is big enough to be neutered. We've been through the spay process 4 times now and I can assure you the days they were spayed were the most horrible days imaginable waiting for the ok from the vets that they'd come through the anaesthetic. Also with a spayed rescue rabbit it would be ready to be bonded with your existing rabbit immediately whereas a baby, even if you did bond until sexually mature enough to be neutered, would then need to be re-bonded afterwards.
In a nutshell, go the rescue route, even if it does mean a one 2 or 3 hour journey.

Neil
 
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I know! :( The idea of spending a very anxious day waiting for that phonecall would probably just about kill me... As unrelated as it may be, the last time this happened was with my pet rat. Who actually died after surgery as her heart just stopped. And I was devestated. I have a real fear of similar happening...

Like I said, I have another two centres to check, possibly three. I keep widening my search.
 
Don't let distance put you off Casu, if you're after a specific breed, there are plenty of chances of a bunny run on here :D !

Neil
 
I totally agree with the others. Apart from the stress and anxiety of spaying (owner and bun) at least with a rescue you know what your getting. A spayed adult with its personality already developed and no waiting around for the new bun to be spayed. I'd say a rescue bun everytime, it just makes so much more sense. As long as the bun is fit to travel, I dont see a problem with distance either, maybe a meet halfway, and let the buns bond in a carrier on the journey home (I'm no expert at bonding, but it worked wonders with my last pair). Good luck and hope you find what you are looking for.:)
 
Agree with what others have said...and also I don't think it would be a good idea to bond an adult and baby bun- as there is a very real risk your bun could injure a baby :?
 
Heh, I wouldn't bond a baby with him. I promise I'm not a beginner in owning rabbits, and I've bonded bunnies before. If I did end up adopting a baby bunny, I'd not bond until after she was spayed and by then she'd no doubt have grown a fair bit...

But an update on this situation; I phoned an RSPCA rescue centre a while ago, and they have rabbits there. Apparently they have one there they seem very fond of and keen to tell me all about.
 
I can only reiterate what I put on your original thread - - - -

I am fostering two very sweet dutch girls who have been spayed and are ready to go to their new home. They're Jill's Honeybunnies. A run could always be arranged!

CIMG8170.jpg
 
Hi Casu,

My original point was more about the bond you have with a baby rabbit only to go through the process of spaying and the risks involved compared with a ready-neutered rescue rabbit. I really hope this RSPCA rabbit works out for you :D !

Neil

ps or another of course!
 
Have you contacted Kay at Bunnyhops to see if she has any female Dutchies in? She is in Bolton not too far from you:D
 
They are gorgeous girlies - the yellow is Topaz and the agouti coloured one is Teasel. They are lovely girlies, they were quite shy but are a lot more confident now and they love to play.

Edited to add that that photo was taken when they first arrived and were a bit over weight, they have now lost the excess weight :thumb: :D
 
They're so beautiful. Teasel looks like my first rabbit, Benji. I'm doing that thing where I space out and stare at the screen with my mouth open... :oops:
 
I live in the Midlands and adopted an ARC rabbit 2 years ago. We picked her up on our way back from France! She travelled with no problems, part of the way in a carrier and the rest on my daughter's knee.
Jane
 
I've been looking at the Dutch girlies on the ARC website. I'm sure I sat, staring all longingly at the screen for a full 15 minutes before someone walked in here and snapped me out of my daze... :roll:

My worry is that it'd be very stressful for a bunny to come aaaall the way from the south of the country, to the north.

My bunny Domino travelled from Liverpool to Surrey and was fine, plus all 6 of my bunnies made a road journey from Cambridgeshire to Madrid without any problems at all. :thumb:

AMETHYST
 
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