Choosing A Rabbit

Hello everyone, I'm new here, so please bare with all my questions.

I need to figure out what breed of rabbit would be best for me. Overall I want one that's affectionate, cuddly and wants to be with me. I do want a smaller rabbit. I'd be home a lot to let it out, so one that will enjoy running around and playing would be nice too.:bunny:

Also, is there any good sites to look up rabbit breeders? I live in New York, and I've looked around but haven't been able to find many.

Thanks!

Have you tried looking at rescues? If you get a rescue bun they will probably already be neutered/spayed and health checked Rabbits should ideally be kept in pairs as they are social animals and they love to snuggle and groom, and its the nicest thing to watch :lol: So if you went to a rescue you may be able to get a pair, rather than keeping two seperate, letting them recover from their neuters and just hoping they will like each other

Im not sure if different breeds of bunnies usually have certain personalities, but they generally arent cuddly animals and dont like to be picked up. Although they do like to play with toys and each other :lol:

I agree with sillybunny. ^^

Rescue rabbits are wonderful in that they've been neutered/spayed... which can cost quite a lot. And rescue centres are often full, so there are many rabbits needing homes.

And rabbits are not really the cuddliest of creatures. Some are exceptions and can be very cuddly, but most don't like being held.

I would definately consider adopting an already altered adult from a rescue!! That way you don't have to deal with the "joys" of young-bun-hood (whether its girl hormones or male hormones and potty training nightmares).

After that, think about how you will be housing this rabbit,w hat kind of room do you have? Do you want a house rabbit, but only want to keep it confined to one small room? Or can you share you entire house, or even half of your house? If you want a smaller breed rabbit, one room would be fine (though the more the better!) If you were thinking a larger breed rabbit such as a Flemish or Conti, you would definately have to have at least a couple of rooms for the rabbit to run around and access/exercise.

And also, asthetically, have you looked at other breeds to see the difference? Everyone has their favorite breed Personally i LOVE rexes!! (and Mini rexes!!)

All breeds can make wonderful pets, as long as you accomodate to them properly!!

(A side note, some speculate that smaller bred breeds are more prone to develope genetic malocclusion opposed to the larger ones..)

The last rabbit I had was a rescue, came already neutered. Let me tell you, he was the most vicious thing on 4 legs. You couldn't get near him without being growled and bit at. I loved him to pieces though.
I want to get a young one from a breeder because I want one that grew up being well socialized and used to people. Though I'm sure rescues can be wonderful, I don't know if I'd be up to it if they had behavioral issues like my last one.

what do you think? Are most bunnies from rescues like this?
I definitely do want to give a needy rabbit a home, so I'm open to the idea, I just want one that will be sweet.


Thanks for all your advice, it's much appreciated.

Oops! I forgot to answer your question.
The rabbit will mostly be kept in a single room, so I can make sure it's bunny-proofed.

JuliesGonnaDance said:

The last rabbit I had was a rescue, came already neutered. Let me tell you, he was the most vicious thing on 4 legs. You couldn't get near him without being growled and bit at. I loved him to pieces though.
I want to get a young one from a breeder because I want one that grew up being well socialized and used to people. Though I'm sure rescues can be wonderful, I don't know if I'd be up to it if they had behavioral issues like my last one.
Thanks for all your advice, it's much appreciated.

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I think most people on here have rescue buns and dont have problems Most rescues will let you go along and meet the bunnies, and they should have a good idea of the buns personality and be able to help you choose one My rescue was neglected and starved by his previous owners and at least 2 years old when I got him in february, and he is the sweetest bunny loves grooming me and comes running when he sees me

Dogs were originally bred for specific jobs and have personalities suited for those. Rabbits were bred for looks so personality varies between individual rabbits rather than breeds.

If you go to a breeder you need to meet both parents and see what their personalities are like and quiz the owner about how much they handle the babies.

The best way to find a specific personality though is to adopt a rabbit that's over 6 months old and meet it and see what it's like. Rabbits personalities can change drastically when their hormones kick in. They can go from sweet and cuddly to lunging, biting, spraying bundles of trouble

Tam

I have mini lops and find that they are cuddly sometimes, and sometimes they want to rund= about unbothered, they are a small breed and they are affectionate.
Its best to keep any rabbit in pairs asim sure your aware as they are sociable and can get depressed on thier own x

I know you said you would like a small rabbit but French Lops are said to be one of the most friendly breeds although I think it depends on the rabbit itself and of course neutering can help to quell those pesky hormones!!

I have a Hustlander (the white bunny in my signature) and he is really gorgeous and friendly and reading up on the breed they are renowned for it but I don't know if you can get them in the States?

Hi! :wave: I'm from New York too! Anyways all the rescue rabbits I have seen have been very friendly, I don't think it's fair to assume all rescue rabbits will be aggressive like your last! I'm actually going to the shelter near me this weekend to look for a boyfriend for my girl rabbit-and you're right by the way there aren't many rabbit breeders in New York!! But anyways if you find what you want with a breeder then get it, but think about the poor rabbits who were given up sitting in the shelter waiting for a good home (by the way I'm not trying to make you feel guilty ) Good luck!

JuliesGonnaDance said:

I want to get a young one from a breeder because I want one that grew up being well socialized and used to people. Though I'm sure rescues can be wonderful, I don't know if I'd be up to it if they had behavioral issues like my last one.

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I have horrible experience w/ breeder. My current rabbit is from a breeder, because 99.99% of the breeders like to overbreed, my bunny has bone cancer at the age of 2.

The breeder that I bought from, they only use 2 sets of fresh DNA in a 20 yr. span. They breed from 5 rabbits to over 100+ rabbits, and that 100+ rabbits all comes from those 5 rabbits. And in that 20 yr., they only get 2 outside rabbits to breed with the family tree of the original 5.

The biggest problem w/ breeder is that they wants pure breed, as you know, the narrower the DNA, the much higher chance the rabbit is to all sorts of disease. Anyhoo, the guy that I bought it from, Bill Mair, who's also a breeder, got the above "bottom of the barrel" set of rabbits from that breeder, and introduce a 3rd set of DNA, but it's too late, the genes is weak due to overbreeding and not enough diversification on DNA.

Go the Rabbit care and read my thread on my bunny Goofball's bone cancer thread. I can see a rabbit have bone cancer at a senior age, but bone cancer in rabbits are rare to begin w/, not to mention a 2 yr. old. I paid $4K on vet bills on Gooball.

Rescue rabbits has healthy genes. The worst gene pool rabbit is always from breeders. They overbreed rabbits for zoo meat, for shows, but never for the concern of the health well being of a rabbit.

Read this thread on "rabbit breeder", you'll understand:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=93932

Before I joined this forum, I don't know much about rescue rabbit, if I joined this forum sooner, I would have get a rescue rabbit.

By the way, if you get a specific breed of rabbit, then the above scenario get much worse. Flemish Giant, the breed of rabbit that I have, there is really only a small no. of breeders in North America who breed them, so say you buy a Flemish Gaint from some breeders in NY, they could have borrow a Flemish Giant from my breeder w/ the poor DNA to breed their pure breed Flemish, and you can guess what you'll be getting.

Netherland Dwarfs are lovely little things, and although my little girl is only about 2 mos old and hormones haven't kicked in yet, she runs to meet me every morning and crawls up into my lap every time I sit on the floor. However, obviously all rabbits are different and you'll get a "good" one and a "bad" one from any breed you choose. good luck!

Rescues know their bunnies personalities so they will have a good idea which bun meets your needs.

Its very rare you get an extremely vicious bun tbh, and also you couldnt guarantee your baby from a breeder wouldn't grow up to be vicious

I woudl go look round a few local rescues I am sure you will find the bun of your dreams there are so many needing homes

I agree with the general consensus on here - temperament is to do with the bunny not breed and most rescues will be honest with you about the temperament of the rabbit you are adopting as they don't want the worry of (and I quote someone ref a bun near and dear to me) the bunny "reappearing on their doorstep with a bloodied owner!!"

what do you think? Are most bunnies from rescues like this?

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NO! You will find that many people, like me, have wonderfully loving and interactive rabbits that have been rescued and rehomed.

I don't agree entirely with the "raising it with me so it will be well socialized" idea. Because yes, theoretically, it is a good idea. There is only one catch. ALL animals have personalities of their own that even all the socialization in the world can't fix. You can end up with a bun you give all your heart to from wee babe to an adult, and it could have a rotten disposition still. Every bun is different, just like people!

Good luck with your quest on finding the right bun for your family.

JuliesGonnaDance said:

affectionate, cuddly and wants to be with me.

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that sounds more like dog behaviour really :? I have a rescue rabbit, Benny, who is very sweet natured and docile, I adopted him neutered, aged 18months - He is very easy to handle, so don't write off rescue bunnies as they all have different personalities, and don't need to be owned by you from babyhood to be sweet natured toward you. Benny is no particular breed - he was left nearly a year in rescue because he wasn't pretty enough to catch anyone's eye, so I felt sorry for him, and I'm lucky to have him - he's a wonderful bunny

Your best bet is to look till you find one you 'bond' with - anyone can bond with a baby rabbit, but they get to 4 months old and it all goes pear-shaped when hormones kick in - not something I've ever had to deal with as all my 6 bunnies were adult when I got them from rescue

Personality wise I have had two giant rabbits from breeders (one died very young), they were very friendly but didn't like being picked up.

I have also adopted 5 mixed species from rescues, out of which one was a total love - cuddly and affectionate - always grooming me - she was around 4 when I adopted her and was a love at the rescue too so I knew I wanted to take her home (mini-rex)!

Three were/are friendly but didn't/don't like being picked up, they much prefer to clamber all over me when I sit in their run (especially if I have food) (rex, english cross and dwarf lop cross).

The fifth had been badly treated by small kids and was very aggressive - she was obviously aggressive at the rescue but I took her on anyway (dwarf lop).

The best thing to do is find your local shelter and ask to meet all the rabbits up for adoption, it will be obvious then, which of the adults match best with what you want as a pet and what they need for an owner!

Caz