Bouncy & Co
New Kit
Does anyone have any experience of domestic / wild rabbit crosses? One of our two female Blue Rexs has produced 4 babies. The father is obviously a wild rabbit, and the mating must have occurred when she escaped from her run for half an hour or so, a few weeks back. (Needless to say, both females will be speyed once the babies are weaned).
My query is whether the babies will be domesticated enough to be homed as pets, or wild enough to be released into the wild (I live on a farm, so that wouldn't be a problem - and they're normal wild rabbit colour). I've received conflicting advice so far. A friend who had a similar experience said her babies never became tame and she released them on her farm where they were seen hopping around for years. One rabbit rescue has advised me not to try to domesticate them, and has given me good advice on preparing them for release into the wild. But now my vet has advised me not to, and said there's no reason why they shouldn't be domesticated if handled properly. Another rabbit rescue has told me that wild rabbit crosses rarely make good pets, but not to release them, and recommended that they be homed with someone with a big outdoor enclosure and receive minimal contact. They suggested I get in touch with this forum.
They're almost 4 weeks old now, and I've tried not to handle them until now, but now one of the babies has been unwell I'm having to give it antibiotics everyday, and it's starting to get fairly used to being handled. I'm at the crucial stage of having to decide whether to handle them or not.
I would appreciate comments from anyone with experience of this. Thanks!
My query is whether the babies will be domesticated enough to be homed as pets, or wild enough to be released into the wild (I live on a farm, so that wouldn't be a problem - and they're normal wild rabbit colour). I've received conflicting advice so far. A friend who had a similar experience said her babies never became tame and she released them on her farm where they were seen hopping around for years. One rabbit rescue has advised me not to try to domesticate them, and has given me good advice on preparing them for release into the wild. But now my vet has advised me not to, and said there's no reason why they shouldn't be domesticated if handled properly. Another rabbit rescue has told me that wild rabbit crosses rarely make good pets, but not to release them, and recommended that they be homed with someone with a big outdoor enclosure and receive minimal contact. They suggested I get in touch with this forum.
They're almost 4 weeks old now, and I've tried not to handle them until now, but now one of the babies has been unwell I'm having to give it antibiotics everyday, and it's starting to get fairly used to being handled. I'm at the crucial stage of having to decide whether to handle them or not.
I would appreciate comments from anyone with experience of this. Thanks!