Domestic rabbit/wild rabbit cross

[nick c]

Hi,
I am new to the forum, which I have specifically joined in order to get some expert advice.
A week before Christmas I came home and saw a black rabbit in the car headlights. The next day the very tame rabbit was still there so when I came home from work that day I put it in the greenhouse to keep it safe from foxes etc. We live by a main road but in a rural area [only 8 houses] and I am sure that the rabbit had been abandoned. No one has claimed her. She is very tame, very affectionate, climbs onto your lap if you sit down, but hates being picked up.
To cut a long story short the greehouse now contains one black rabbit [I think she is a Polish] and three miniature wild rabbits which are three weeks old.
We are in the process of building a 10 foot by 8 foot permanent run and are happy to keep Fluff the black rabbit. We would like company for her, but realistically cannot keep all the rabbits, as we don't have the spare cash to feed that many mouths!

If we kept one of her youngsters should we keep a male or female?
Would they fight?
Should they both be splayed? [If we keep a female].
Could we keep all four rabbits in a run that size? [I could increase the run size a little, but not sufficiently to create two big runs for two pairs of rabbits].
Would it be easy to find homes for half wild young rabbits?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Nick.

 

[tulsi]

Male female is supposed to be the easiest kind of pairing and yes, both rabbits (whatever gender) should be neutered/spayed.

I am sure half wild rabbits will be possible to rehome. If it was me (bearing in mind that I now have eight rabbits) I would be very tempted to keep them all.

 

[parsnipbun]

Yes they should all be neutered (and vaccinated); The males can be (and must be) done as soon as their testicles descend at about 12 weeks.

as they are accidents so to speak and you are taking them in you might be able to approach the local RSPCA or Blue Cross or a local rescue with help with costs for this:

Half wildies may either go down the flighty wildie route or the domestic and they can be just wonderful (and yes I have some and some full wildies).

The size you out line is fine for 4 rabbits - I find that 4 is a great number lots of interaction so no getting bored (them - not you!).

They will need more hay obviously than one (you cant keep just one anyway rabbits are social creatures) but you may get discounts when you go for vaccinations (yearly) - I get 20% off.

To keep a family together is actually a great experience. Do watch as they go through adolescence and make sure there is no bullying and also get all the girlies neutered before their hormones break out in tantrums!!

what a wonderful way to have a complete bunny family!

 

[nick c]

Thank you Tulsi and Parsnipbun. I hadn't thought about the rspca. If they would help out with some of the initial veterinary issues then we would keep them all. Thanks again.

 

[tulsi]

Thank you Tulsi and Parsnipbun. I hadn't thought about the rspca. If they would help out with some of the initial veterinary issues then we would keep them all. Thanks again.

Excellent. Very best of luck. I seem to remember someone posting that the RWAF may be able to help re; funding???

 

[Tamsin]

Feeding isn't particularly expensive, with multiple bunnies going down the route of buying a hay bale for hay and then bulk buying pellets (which they don't need much of). If you've got a garden/countryside you can pick a lot of food for greens too.

Neutering will cost a bit, as will vaccinations (they'll need jabs for myxomatosis). The ongoing costs is really vet bills, they are tough because they aren't predictable and can add up. You could look at insurance but it might be expensive to do four.

The other thing is do advertise her as found - if she's a friendly pet it could be she escaped rather than was abandoned and someone could be missing her.