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How long have you kept rabbits?

Those were the days, though. Lots of lack of education. We make up for it now, and our rabbits have lives of luxury, interest and great food and forage :D

I've had rabbits for 25+ years. Multiple rabbits. All rescue rabbits bar my very first one. He was a teacher and didn't have a life in a hutch, as he was everywhere with me. But then he was that sort of a rabbit :D

I've worked extensively with four rabbit rescues and fostered and rehomed. So at any one time I've had (in addition to my own) up to thirty rabbits taking over all my garden in hutches and pens, spare rooms indoors etc etc. Not so many now though :lol:

Love 'em all to bits :love:

what a rabbity life you have led MM. I'm not far behind you in rabbit keeping years but you win hands down on quantity. Like me I expect your in the "bunnies forever" camp?
 
what a rabbity life you have led MM. I'm not far behind you in rabbit keeping years but you win hands down on quantity. Like me I expect your in the "bunnies forever" camp?


At one of the rescues I was the vet's assistant. It's been a privilege to meet so many new and lovely bunny faces :love:

Yes, bunnies forever now :D
 
All my life! My dad loves rabbits - kept them as a child himself - and got a lovely Dutch bun when I was just six months old. We had a succession of Dutch, Old English and one Silver Fox who lived until I was 22, then I acquired my first lionhead as an adult and now have a house bun. Can't imagine life without a bunny in it.
 
Those were the days, though. Lots of lack of education. We make up for it now, and our rabbits have lives of luxury, interest and great food and forage :D

I've had rabbits for 25+ years. Multiple rabbits. All rescue rabbits bar my very first one. He was a teacher and didn't have a life in a hutch, as he was everywhere with me. But then he was that sort of a rabbit :D

I've worked extensively with four rabbit rescues and fostered and rehomed. So at any one time I've had (in addition to my own) up to thirty rabbits taking over all my garden in hutches and pens, spare rooms indoors etc etc. Not so many now though :lol:

Love 'em all to bits :love:

How many do you have currently MM? :)

We had a large white rabbit (not sure on breed) called Bright Eyes when I was a child. I can't remember much about them, but I spent years thinking it had run away, when it had sadly passed :(.

Since then it's only a couple of years that ive been keeping rabbits. The first three are sisters from a uni student who had bred them. I don't know why I didn't think of rescuing at the time, but all the others are from either a rescue or gumtree (I keep an eye out for those in poor condition / cramped hutches). My biggest achievement is Buffy, she was living in a tiny hutch and with her Angora fur in a terrible state, she was so vulnerable to fly strike. Her life is transformed and she has her husbun Theo to keep her company.

We now have 8, but I'll be on the look out for number 9, a friend for our recent addition Spud :) x
 
He was a teacher and didn't have a life in a hutch, as he was everywhere with me. But then he was that sort of a rabbit :D
/QUOTE]

Was this Max the Mighty :)

I would be interested to know what prompted you to get him in the first place and whether it took a long time to decide or a spur of the moment decision.
 
He was a teacher and didn't have a life in a hutch, as he was everywhere with me. But then he was that sort of a rabbit :D
/QUOTE]

Was this Max the Mighty :)

I would be interested to know what prompted you to get him in the first place and whether it took a long time to decide or a spur of the moment decision.


No, Max came later. An unwanted rescue rabbit at Christmas Time when all my available accommodation was completely full. I used to take the R.S.P.C.A. cruelty cases and Max was one of them - he had to live and sleep in my bedroom before he got the courage to inspect the whole house. I always called him my 'Playboy Bunny' because of his ears and because he always made me laugh :D

My teacher was called Big. He was originally Sophie (he was the one rabbit we ever purchased, for my daughter - not an impulse decision :) I had been interested in rabbits for a long while and had helped out with them in the past) and she named the rabbit after a character in one of the books she was reading. He turned out to be a large Frenchie, and was renamed Big Sophie. Then he turned out to be male and the Sophie part was dropped forever :lol:
 
10 years now. One of my family's original bunnies, Sweep, is still here now :love: I was 15 when we first got bunnies but had piggies before that. We quickly learned and within a year we were on our third bunny house - a lovely playhouse and large run. A year later after the sudden departure of Sweeps wife-bun I first got into the world of rabbit rescues and have subsequently adopted / rescued 8 (hope to be 9 soon) rabbits and 5 guinea pigs since.
 
I had rabbits from ages 4 to 10. My dad bred them, got bored and gave all responsibility to me age 6ish. Goodness knows how they made it to their 3rd birthday.

As an adult, got back into them, but didn't do the research properly. :( Elphie is the one who has taken me on that steep learning curve. However, I still feel very bad for the 5 rabbits I let down before she and Galinda arrived. :(
 
I had rabbits from ages 4 to 10. My dad bred them, got bored and gave all responsibility to me age 6ish. Goodness knows how they made it to their 3rd birthday.

As an adult, got back into them, but didn't do the research properly. :( Elphie is the one who has taken me on that steep learning curve. However, I still feel very bad for the 5 rabbits I let down before she and Galinda arrived. :(


Wow, that's a lot on your head at age 6 :shock:

Rabbits teach us an awful lot. And not just about rabbits!
 
We had a few as family pets as a child

As an adult it was a few months after my depression was diagnosed, I wanted some sort of focus in my life and a reason to get up everyday, we had cats and dogs already as family pets so I asked my parents if I could get something like a rabbit and they agreed and that's when George then arrived and made such an impact on my life and helped me through some very rough times and then after he died I with how attached I was to him it didnt feel right replacing him straight away and then after a few months I got cupcake but then sadly once I lost her I decided that while I love rabbits it wouldn't be right to have anymore at the moment

I haven't ruled out ever owning one again though
 
My first 2 were Archie and Molly and I think I got them in 2012, I found this forum and I thought rabbits were brilliant but Mum kept saying no because she had one that bit people and ate his hutch years ago so she moved it into the shed and it chewed through the shed! She let me look after a pair of rabbits whilst the owners were away and she fell in love with them so she let me get Archie and Molly :D I don't think I'd be without rabbits now
 
We had a few as family pets as a child

As an adult it was a few months after my depression was diagnosed, I wanted some sort of focus in my life and a reason to get up everyday, we had cats and dogs already as family pets so I asked my parents if I could get something like a rabbit and they agreed and that's when George then arrived and made such an impact on my life and helped me through some very rough times and then after he died I with how attached I was to him it didnt feel right replacing him straight away and then after a few months I got cupcake but then sadly once I lost her I decided that while I love rabbits it wouldn't be right to have anymore at the moment

I haven't ruled out ever owning one again though


It's wonderful how they see us through our life phases. One of mine who lived to 14 did just that. It's something that most other people just can't get because after all - 'it's just a rabbit, isn't it?'
 
Honeybunny when I was four - my dad brought him home.
Sugar and Spice when I was about eleven. I went to get them with my dad. Not sure whose idea it was. Then, all their babies...
Hug and Snug when daughter was five.
Matthew and Tabitha when daughter was twenty four. She got Charles and Cecile at the same time on the understanding that I would take them when she had a baby. That suited us all very well. They knew me, and M+T, from being eight weeks old.
I'm 59, I had my first rabbit at the age of four - that's fifty-five years. But only intermittently. The only rabbits that were absolutely my choice, with no other person's involvement, were Hug and Snug. I was a complete volunteer for M+T (too many years of reading 'Rabbit Rehome' in department meetings) but had them because I knew Charles and Cecile would be coming to me later.
 
Honeybunny when I was four - my dad brought him home.
Sugar and Spice when I was about eleven. I went to get them with my dad. Not sure whose idea it was. Then, all their babies...
Hug and Snug when daughter was five.
Matthew and Tabitha when daughter was twenty four. She got Charles and Cecile at the same time on the understanding that I would take them when she had a baby. That suited us all very well. They knew me, and M+T, from being eight weeks old.
I'm 59, I had my first rabbit at the age of four - that's fifty-five years. But only intermittently. The only rabbits that were absolutely my choice, with no other person's involvement, were Hug and Snug. I was a complete volunteer for M+T (too many years of reading 'Rabbit Rehome' in department meetings) but had them because I knew Charles and Cecile would be coming to me later.


Hug and Snug are such cute names :love:

Makes me think of your duvet hugs :)
 
I had rabbits as a child and guinea pigs (not at the same time). I bred one of my rabbits and she had six sons. I kept two of them, Daniel (black) and Ginger (Ginger)! I had them neutered by our local vet who was delighted to perform such an unusual operation. (It was the 1970s). They lived in a large concrete shed with windows where I would sit with them. They were sooo tame, unlike my current crew.

I had other rabbits before and since including a lovely angora x called Jack who was a house rabbit.

Wish my current four were more friendly, still love them though. It is great to be living in a house with a rabbit proof garden so that they can have daily free range time.
 
Hug and Snug are such cute names :love:

Makes me think of your duvet hugs :)

I liked the names! But when they had to go to the vets it was just embarrassing. The receptionist used to call out 'Hug Smith! Snug Smith!' Not Smith but you know what I mean. That's how Matthew and Tabitha got such old fashioned names - to go with my old-style surname. But we went to a different vet and they just called out my name...

:lol::lol::lol:
 
I'v had rabbits for 24 years, I never really thought of rabbits as a pet, although I loved all animals my main love was dogs, cats and I wanted a horse.
One winter evening, at around 11pm after a badminton match in the town, I spotted a small wildie lying in the fast lane of the duel carriageway on our way home. I shouted, 'stop the car, there is a baby bunny hurt'. We had driven past it by that time so Mike did a u-turn at the next roundabout, drove back to the next junction so he was heading back home and stopped on the slow lane while I ran across the road. When we got home, we put him in a quiet warm place and hoped he would survive the night. He was still with us the next morning, so off to the vet we went. He had a broken foreleg and a damaged eye. The vet didn't think he would survive and he was estimated to be a couple of months old.
We called him Benji, and was about the first rabbit our vets castrated and was the first one to get the Cylap vaccine for VHD. We bought him an English spot bunny called Daisy as a companion but she died very suddenly soon after arrival. In hindsight, I think she had megacolon as she never produced normal poohs. We then bought 2 dwarf lop girls, called Bramble and Clover, they were not neutered because back then it wasn't a common thing to do. Mike built a huge run, 14ft x 6ft and a big hutch to go into it.
The 3 lived happily and moved from our old house to Halfpenny farm. Sadly we lost the girls at quite a young age, or what would be considered young now, about 6. Bramble had e.cuniculi I suspect and I think Clover had uterine cancer. When they died we got 2 girls from a rescue, by then we knew about then. Benji died soon after aged 9 years old without an ill day, and I suspect it was because I tried to quick bond them and why I only slow bond now.
We then started to foster for a rescue, which included many rabbits....... and the rest is history.
 
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Since the 8th November 2003 :) So coming up on 14yrs.
We went to Birdworld in October that year where they have a farm (Jenny's Farm I think it was called - still there to my knowledge) and they had young baby rabbits all on a table-thing for people to stroke and interact with. Initally I liked the little black one but soon fell in love with a little brown one. She was the only one who would be stroked for a long time but was soon showing a cheeky side as she tried to climb the umbrella's that were attacted to the table. They were folded up and not in use - she tried to climb up the inside of the umbrella cover :roll:
By the time we got to the carpark I'd picked out the name Willow and spent the next few weeks trying to convince my parents. Birdworld said she'd be ready to leave on the 8th of November and that's when we picked her up. My Mum wanted to get her a friend to keep her company but my Dad wouldn't let us. She never did get a friend but she had such a close relationship with me I don't think she minded too much. We spent so much time together, we used to play together all the time. She liked to race me from one end of the front room to the other and we did that every day :) she liked chasing games too though prefered to chase me than the other way around (understantably!). She'd binky all the while and once she'd finally worn herself out, quite some time after she'd worn me out, she'd flop in the middle of the room and hug into me. Sometimes we'd lay there and fall asleep together.

She was my closest friend for just short of 11yrs. I miss her every day. She was such a special girl. She was my only friend growing up (I was about 11 when I got her) and got me through some very difficult times, especially a few years ago when my parents split and the nightmare that came with that. I can honestly say I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for her.

She's the bunny in my avatar.

I fell in love with rabbits because of her and since having had more I've grown to see what truly amazing, special animals they really are. Most people really don't appreciate how wonderful they truly are. I'd give anything for mine and I'd never be without rabbits now.
 
I've had rabbits for 29 years. I got the first ones (well, my parents did), when I was 5, just after I broke my arm, so I had something I could do and be interested in in the summer. Since then, we've always had at least three, but since 2007, have always had a minimum of 8. This is the least amount of rabbits I've had since then- I do currently have 8.
 
I'v had rabbits for 24 years, I never really thought of rabbits as a pet, although I loved all animals my main love was dogs, cats and I wanted a horse.
One winter evening, at around 11pm after a badminton match in the town, I spotted a small wildie lying in the fast lane of the duel carriageway on our way home. I shouted, 'stop the car, there is a baby bunny hurt'. We had driven past it by that time so Mike did a u-turn at the next roundabout, drove back to the next junction so he was heading back home and stopped on the slow lane while I ran across the road. When we got home, we put him in a quiet warm place and hoped he would survive the night. He was still with us the next morning, so off to the vet we went. He had a broken foreleg and a damaged eye. The vet didn't think he would survive and he was estimated to be a couple of months old.
We called him Benji, and was about the first rabbit our vets castrated and was the first one to get the Cylap vaccine for VHD. We bought him an English spot bunny called Daisy as a companion but she died very suddenly soon after arrival. In hindsight, I think she had megacolon as she never produced normal poohs. We then bought 2 dwarf lop girls, called Bramble and Clover, they were not neutered because back then it wasn't a common thing to do. Mike built a huge run, 14ft x 6ft and a big hutch to go into it.
The 3 lived happily and moved from our old house to Halfpenny farm. Sadly we lost the girls at quite a young age, or what would be considered young now, about 6. Bramble had e.cuniculi I suspect and I think Clover had uterine cancer. When they died we got 2 girls from a rescue, by then we knew about then. Benji died soon after aged 9 years old without an ill day, and I suspect it was because I tried to quick bond them and why I only slow bond now.
We then started to foster for a rescue, which included many rabbits....... and the rest is history.


What an inspiring story :D

You gave Benji a wonderful shot at life - more than three times what he would have in the wild. Of course he wouldn't have survived at all had you not collected him and nursed him back to health.

He certainly seems to have taught you a lot. That's such a good age :)
 
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