Is this set up ok?

My rabbits would be over something that height in a couple of seconds, and are put off by things 3ft+ and then will scale anything under 3ft6 if they can get on a box. One of mine is quite atheletic, although she's very tubby so you wouldnt think it. The other hardly ever jumps like that - but put a barrier in his way and he'll be straight over, purely because rabbits dont like to be confined. I'd reccommend you get something higher and dont waste your money on something that may not be suitable - in my experience smaller rabbits are generally more athletic than the larger breeds. Have a look into getting NIC panels/NIC cubes, as then if you need to change it about you have that flexibility, and can also have levels etc.

I'd also recommend that you go for an older rabbit, as you wont know the true nature of your rabbit until it grows up really - and destructive behaviour is often something that comes in later around the teenage-adult stage. One of my rabbits I got as a baby, thinking as she wasnt destructive and was a sweet submissive thing that it would be okay - now she is quite the destructive menace when she puts her mind to it, and is also dominating and sometimes a bully towards my other rabbit.

But if you only want a baby, that is just something that you will have to be prepared for - have you thought about what you would do if she is like many rabbits and takes a shine to destroying clothes, duvets, chewing your bed and other furniture, eating your skirting boards, ripping wallpaper and weeing everywhere (weeing on beds is very common)? You need a back-up plan really, as she couldnt stay in that pen all day, its not big enough - the Rabbit Welfare Association recommend that rabbits need a minimum of 44sqft. I'm not meaning to scare you, but very few rabbits arent destructive, and the worst stage is often the teenage stage before they are neutered, so it would be sensible to have a back-up plan - could you buy a new run and hutch that is big enough (6ftx2ft hutch attached to minimum 8x4 run) in the garden? That could be a solution.

Ours is similar to that - my nethies have both escaped, but only once each - I think they 'can' scale it, but didn't particularly enjoy the experience (I imagine it was a bit of a scramble) and haven't bothered again.
We did have to be careful leaving anything inside it that they could climb on near the edge, as then they'd be out in seconds.

I have that pen but in the 6 sided version, you can persuade it to go in a rectangular shape as you can see here


I use it for bonding (and now for my chicks)

I'm pretty confused now :?
See this is what the breeder says on her page:
http://silvering.webs.com/salepolicies.htm

Read the Buying and collecting sale policies. She says ' i DO NOT sell my pets to anyone whom will house them outdoors or in cramped conditions. my pets are INDOOR pets ONLY !!!!'
So I'll kinda have to keep indoors. Though I guess that is what I want any way!
Looking foward to replies,
Sophia

CandyApple said:

I'm pretty confused now :?
See this is what the breeder says on her page:
http://silvering.webs.com/salepolicies.htm

Read the Buying and collecting sale policies. She says ' i DO NOT sell my pets to anyone whom will house them outdoors or in cramped conditions. my pets are INDOOR pets ONLY !!!!'
So I'll kinda have to keep indoors. Though I guess that is what I want any way!
Looking foward to replies,
Sophia

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I would look at a rescue hun, their bunnies will be neutered and vaccinated and they will know their true personality

I'm not trying to burst your bubble, but I don't much like the sound of the breeder. She talks about bathing the animals for a start and says the following about getting pets from a rescue:

"There is ALWAYS a reason someone gave them away so think carefully about what may be wrong with the pet & what you may be expected to take on."

which is quite frankly appalling.
This is her housing requirements
"Rabbits LOVE space so the bigger the hutch/cage the better nothing smaller then a 4x2ft for 2 small/medium bunnies & a 3x2ft for a single bunny. although i prefer a 6x2ft house a great size for 2 bunnies."

3 x 2 foot?! :shock: and there's a hutch for sale that her brother made that looks tiny. I don't care if they're mini lops, that's way too small. My rats have more space than that.

I wouldn't get an animal from a breeder with things like that on their webpage.

RedFraggle said:

I'm not trying to burst your bubble, but I don't much like the sound of the breeder. She talks about bathing the animals for a start and says the following about getting pets from a rescue:

"There is ALWAYS a reason someone gave them away so think carefully about what may be wrong with the pet & what you may be expected to take on."

which is quite frankly appalling.
This is her housing requirements
"Rabbits LOVE space so the bigger the hutch/cage the better nothing smaller then a 4x2ft for 2 small/medium bunnies & a 3x2ft for a single bunny. although i prefer a 6x2ft house a great size for 2 bunnies."

3 x 2 foot?! :shock: and there's a hutch for sale that her brother made that looks tiny. I don't care if they're mini lops, that's way too small. My rats have more space than that.

I wouldn't get an animal from a breeder with things like that on their webpage.

Click to expand...

^ This.

And I don't like the bit about indoor/outdoor either. Firstly, they aren't 'her' pets, they belong to whoever buys them and these are the people who should be making decisions about how/where they live. There's nothing wrong with keeping rabbits outside, as long as you understand their needs, they're happy wherever they are.

She is also letting unvaccinated rabbits board there, which is worrying.

I would really recommend you don't buy from her.

Also I thought most good breeders only allow 2 rabbits to go rather than one and that they are spayed/neutered, or like a rescue and allow one to go if there was one it was to be bonded with. She's only implying it towards guinea pigs when rabbits are very sociable animals too:?

I agree with helen01, there is nothing wrong with rescue buns at all. There are people on here who take on disabled buns and things but ones in rescue are usually agouti, black or rews, so harder to find homes but saying that there are plenty that aren't, plenty of mini lops, lion heads, rexs, contis, frenchies, everything. If they were given up it may have been that they were aggressive but rescues neuter and bond so they're always loads happier. It may have been a change in circumstance for previous owners or just plain neglect and cruelty. Seems a bit ignorant of the breeder to think like that tbh.

Oh dear, some of her advice is worrying... makes you wonder what else she doesnt know!

If you have your heart set on a baby, you could get a rescue bun still - they often have litters of rabbits come in, or pregnant does. My rabbit Anna was about 18 weeks and neutered when I got her, I could have had her at 8 weeks but I wanted her to be neutered first.

I dont even know if I can get a rabbit any more. The ispca & the dspca dont allow you to take a rabbit if you are a first time owner. Also none of the rabbits there are even close to what I want. So rescues are out.
I'll have to tell the breeder that there has been a circumstance change and I cant take one any more.
I really dont know where to get one any more :'(
I think I'll just give up tbh.

Why don't you have a look in Rabbits In Need and get in contact with some of the rescues there. Different rescues have different requirements. I'm sure there'll be one who will be able to help.

CandyApple said:

I dont even know if I can get a rabbit any more. The ispca & the dspca dont allow you to take a rabbit if you are a first time owner. Also none of the rabbits there are even close to what I want. So rescues are out.
I'll have to tell the breeder that there has been a circumstance change and I cant take one any more.
I really dont know where to get one any more :'(
I think I'll just give up tbh.

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if you want a baby keep a look out for one (or better yet, two). maybe rescues/shelters could put you on a waiting list. like nessar said, pregnant does and litters come into rescues pretty often. there's also free ads - i got 2 babies from a free ad, the owner had them 2 weeks and didn't want them anymore.

ok, take a deep breath! think of it this way, you have worked veryhard sorting out your room for a bun and i think thats great!:thumb: there are often youngsters at rescues so why dont you start a new thread looking for rescues that would rehome to Ireland? someone might even give you details of a place near you. all the best and i hope you find a lovely bunny friend soon:wave:

RedFraggle said:

I'm not trying to burst your bubble, but I don't much like the sound of the breeder. She talks about bathing the animals for a start and says the following about getting pets from a rescue:

"There is ALWAYS a reason someone gave them away so think carefully about what may be wrong with the pet & what you may be expected to take on."

which is quite frankly appalling.
This is her housing requirements
"Rabbits LOVE space so the bigger the hutch/cage the better nothing smaller then a 4x2ft for 2 small/medium bunnies & a 3x2ft for a single bunny. although i prefer a 6x2ft house a great size for 2 bunnies."

3 x 2 foot?! :shock: and there's a hutch for sale that her brother made that looks tiny. I don't care if they're mini lops, that's way too small. My rats have more space than that.

I wouldn't get an animal from a breeder with things like that on their webpage.

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Indeed! :shock: Most rabbits are in rescues because there is something wrong with the owner, not the rabbit!

And this... "some prices on young pets for sale may increase as they mature depending on the quality of the pet as it grows. this will NOT affect any agreed sale or reservation." :shock:

I would definitely avoid this breeder!

CandyApple said:

I dont even know if I can get a rabbit any more. The ispca & the dspca dont allow you to take a rabbit if you are a first time owner. Also none of the rabbits there are even close to what I want. So rescues are out.
I'll have to tell the breeder that there has been a circumstance change and I cant take one any more.
I really dont know where to get one any more :'(
I think I'll just give up tbh.

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I think you feel you want to give up because you're being told something you don't really want to hear. But you have worked hard to make a decent setup for a rabbit, and would your parents really be happy about buying a big hutch and toys etc, if you changed your mind? Personally if I were you I would be a bit more patient. I don't believe for a second that you have to be an experienced rabbit owner to adopt from all the rescue centres, just perhaps certain rabbits will need an experienced owner. Also, remember, what a rabbit looks like on the outside doesn't matter. You can fall in love with a rabbits personality and then learn to love its looks. Trust me

I really wouldn't buy from that breeder. She's not caring for her animals properly and seems to be over-breeding too. You couldn't pay me to take a rabbit from her. If you have your heart set on a baby of a certain type, why not look for other breeders? There are many good rabbit breeders about (despite what people on here may say). Breeders who keep their rabbits in proper accommodation with runs, vaccinate them, advise neutering/spaying, and charge the same no matter what colour, are signs of a better breeder.

There's also transport runs, if you see a rabbit in another part of the UK you like, it could possibly be got to you through volunteer drivers!

happysaz133 said:

There's also transport runs, if you see a rabbit in another part of the UK you like, it could possibly be got to you through volunteer drivers!

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The OP is in Ireland so that could prove tricky.:lol:

I can't see anything on the DSPCA page about rabbits that suggests you need to have owned a rabbit previously.
http://www.dspca.ie/Beforeyougetarabbit

Why don't you opt for 2 guinea pigs and in a couple of years, if you have a bigger bedroom or can afford a nice set up outside, then you can have a couple of rabbits. Your bedroom is only small, 8 x 8 I think you said earlier and when you get a bed in there and all the other paraphernalia people have it doesn't leave much room for a rabbit, who will be alone all day waiting for you to come home. 2 guineas will be company for one another while you are at school or wherever and you won't feel guilty about leaving a bunny on its own all day.

If i were to get two guinea pigs...Do you think it'll be alright to get them from the breeder I was going to get the rabbit from? She seems to know more about guinea pigs.

I don't see why not. She seems to be more into guinea pigs than rabbits. They can still run around your room for a bit of exercise and when you want to get them in put their food into their hutch and they should go in for it.

You certainly could keep guinea pigs in that, but I wouldn't advise it. Firstly, pigs stink. They're toilet machines and don't really take to litter training. They just go where they are, and they go often - you probably don't want that in your bedroom. Secondly, and this is just my personal opinion, but I think big, open, flat spaces are better for pigs because they love to run and it's easier to clean.

But if you do decide to do that - please don't use that breeder. She may seem 'into' guinea pigs but she also claims to be 'into' rabbits and doesn't appear to know enough about them - how can you know she looks after the pigs correctly? It's not even a case of 'what if something is wrong with the animals?', it's also because this woman isn't a responsible breeder and she needs to stop being rewarded for what she does. If people stop buying from her, she'll stop doing it.

As for the rabbit - why can't you just look on Gumtree and Facebook groups? Is there a problem with that I haven't understood?