Adopting 3 year old bun - new to rabbits

Hi! I’m new to rabbits. I’ve had rats and lots of other animals (cats, dogs, chickens, ducks, etc) and I’ve cared for rabbits, but never had my own. I’ve been slowly acquiring things to get my first bunny, and now a local is rehoming their 3yo lop. She is 3, not spayed, and the owner says, isn’t very friendly, but isn’t mean. Just tolerates people.

I don’t know a ton about rabbit behavior. I would prefer a bunny who I already know the temperament of as opposed to a young rabbit who could develop into anything. But I know her personality could also change after she’s spayed too, right? Does spaying typically make them more friendly or could it be anything?

Also, could she become more friendly in a home with lots of TLC and time and attention? Or are rabbits personalities pretty set? I’m not sure if they’re dependent on environment or set as they age.

In short, there aren’t good rabbit options around here. Just pet and feed stores. I’d much rather give a rabbit a home who needs it. But I also don’t want a standoffish bun who doesn’t like people. What are my options?

Bump!

Have cross-posted in Rabbit Chat

Her temperament could improve after she has been spayed, but she may never really want much human company. All of my rabbits apart from my current bunny Frosty, and my bridge house bunny, Boots have been pretty indifferent to humans and were happier doing their own thing. If she is an outside rabbit she will really need the company of another rabbit, and if her temperament remains the same, she will also need another rabbit to keep her company if she is indoors.

I think maybe once she is spayed and becomes used to a caring owner she may be more accepting of humans, however I wouldn’t think she would ever become a cuddle bunny.

It is a gamble whenever you take on a rabbit as to what they are like. Female rabbits are quite territorial so maybe she doesn't like people going into her space, but if that rabbit was allowed more space and time to grow in confidence, she might well become very lovable. All my Does are lovely really, and if you are kind to them they learn to trust you and treat you the same way.

Thanks!
I'm fine with her being indifferent. I like the idea of getting an older bunny who I know isn't aggressive. She seems to be being really up front with me about what she's like and what her needs are (she has some minor dental needs). I like the idea of giving her a good home and knowing what I'm getting into. She does say that she goes through cycles of being friendly and being secluded. I think that likely has to do with her hormonal cycle, which will change after she's spayed, yes?

She's an indoor bunny and would be indoor here too.

I would love to get her a companion bunny at some point, but I need to do a lot more learning about bunny bonding before I embark on that.

One thing she said was that she needs her teeth trimmed often. She said her original owner who bought her as a baby never gave her things to gnaw on and she never learned to chew down her own teeth. I don't mind getting that done. But I was wondering if that's a skill I could help her acquire? I also thought it might be an underbite or something they weren't aware of, I don't know.

tonibun said:

It is a gamble whenever you take on a rabbit as to what they are like. Female rabbits are quite territorial so maybe she doesn't like people going into her space, but if that rabbit was allowed more space and time to grow in confidence, she might well become very lovable. All my Does are lovely really, and if you are kind to them they learn to trust you and treat you the same way.

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Thank you. My sister had a very territorial doe when we were growing up and she became quite a biter. Though looking back I don't think she got the care and interaction she really needed.

Does spaying tend to help with the territorial behavior some? Or is that just the norm regardless?

Oh, I also think maybe it's possible she isn't offered enough hay to keep her teeth trimmed and too much feed. Is that a possibility? The pics she's sent show a lot of pelleted and minimal hay.

On further inspection, she may not have any hay at all. What I thought was a pile of hay appears to be a hay hut.

Elieb said:

Oh, I also think maybe it's possible she isn't offered enough hay to keep her teeth trimmed and too much feed. Is that a possibility? The pics she's sent show a lot of pelleted and minimal hay.

On further inspection, she may not have any hay at all. What I thought was a pile of hay appears to be a hay hut.

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It is possible that if you can wean her on to eating less pellets gradually, and get her eating lots of hay, that she won’t need dentals so frequently, but it could be the shape of her jaw and her alignment of teeth might mean that regular dentals will still be necessary.

You could offer her rabbit safe wood such as apple tree twigs to gnaw on too :thumb:

I’m sure she will be very happy with you

Zoobec said:

It is possible that if you can wean her on to eating less pellets gradually, and get her eating lots of hay, that she won’t need dentals so frequently, but it could be the shape of her jaw and her alignment of teeth might mean that regular dentals will still be necessary.

You could offer her rabbit safe wood such as apple tree twigs to gnaw on too :thumb:


I’m sure she will be very happy with you

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Thank you! I don't mind taking her for dentals when she needs them I just hope it's an easier fix for her sake. Getting her teeth trimmed that frequently must not be fun.

I'm excited to meet her! I'm gonna go out and grab hay and some safe chewies today.

Elieb said:

Thank you! I don't mind taking her for dentals when she needs them I just hope it's an easier fix for her sake. Getting her teeth trimmed that frequently must not be fun.

I'm excited to meet her! I'm gonna go out and grab hay and some safe chewies today.

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Fingers crossed with a better diet with you the need for dentals will reduce :thumb: she is going to be a very lucky bunny

I also forgot to say welcome to the forum, looking forward to seeing you and your new bunny around here :wave:

RE your sisters rabbit, being a female and not being spayed can be a nightmare. often they are quite grumpy and territorial, so lots of biting and aggression. also phantom pregnancies which I have heard some rabbits take quite "seriously", so they get quite protective of their nest even though they're not pregnant. spaying her helps a lot as it lessens the hormones making the rabbit a bit more loving and less "stressy" (although its not quite the word for it). unfixed animals spend their life looking for a partner to pass on their genes to ensure the survival of their species, fixing removes that aspect so theyre "happier" - not to say unfixed animals are miserable however. generally after fixing and allowing 8 weeks for the hormones to die down results in a less aggressive rabbit.

saying that though Luna (when she had her phantom pregnancy) decided to make her nest on me. I was most confused until I figured it out, it was very thoughtful of her though

hay is extremely important for the wearing down of their back teeth. most dentals are caused from poor diet, but some are due to the jaw being misaligned (usually through poor breeding). lots of pellet isn't good as it is very fattening and means she's filling up on that and not the hay, so you might find her back teeth are in a terrible state. sometimes due to poor diet from a young age can mean that it causes the teeth/jaw to form incorrectly, so it might be unfixable and require dentals every few weeks, depending on the bun. dentals can be expensive. but even frequent dental buns can be managed with a good diet, so rather than every 6, you might be able to go every 8.

dentals aren't fun and a lot of rabbits don't react well to anaesthetic, but like humans they all react different. my boy Orion acted as if nothing happened, Luna on the other hand was all over the shop like a drunk, poor thing couldn't hop nor walk without wobbling!

it doesn't sound like she is living the best life now, their heart might be in the right place but their actions aren't. you sound very knowledgable and loving - so I do reckon she'd have a lovely home with you

I'd say go for it. rabbits are lovely animals, they're different to a cat/dog but they show you their love in different ways. they're also very cheeky, or mischievous.. if you hear no noise at all, much like a child, panic :lol:

one condition though, if you do bring her home, pictures please!

I adopted two lovely 6 year old bunnies two years ago, and they were also the first bunnies I’d ever owned. Would recommend setting aside some money each month, just in case she needs a procedure/ op in the future.

Home with her just now. Poor girl does have a pretty bad underbite. I also think she only has one top tooth, though she wasn’t keen on me being in her mouth so I didn’t get a great look. Her bottom teeth grow toward the right, her top toward the left. Her mouth is just a mess.

She warmed up to me okay. Wasn’t friendly, but I sat in her pen for a good hour and she went from thumping me away and squeaking at me to letting me pet her and check her over. She didn’t have anything in her pen at all besides her litter box and a little grass hut they said she didn’t touch. (And food and water) And she has “daisy” tattooed in her ear (they didn’t do that. The first owner did.). Do people do that? That seems so cruel to me. So in general I understand her not being real trusting of people.

Im gonna at her set up with her new cage (she was in a small guinea pig cage with a small x pen) and let her settle in for the night. I’ll post pics when I can figure out how. :lol:

Every time I pet near her rump she gets into what I assume is a mating position and puts her tail up. Does that mean anything other than she’s an unspayed female? Ha ha. I don’t know if that’s normal greeting behavior or a dominance thing or just her being intact.

I figured out pictures! Okay, she here she is checking out her new cage. I’m trying to leave her alone to let her settled in, but she seems to be liking it. She’s exploring all over. She especially likes her new hidey box.
Her previous family used pine cat litter in her litter box. I’m mixing what’s left of that in with the paper litter I got her to try to slowly transition her. Am I right that the pine litter isn’t best for her?






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She is beautiful if you can find a rabbit savvy vet to have a look at her teeth maybe they can work on improving them. Sitting with her is a great way of getting her to trust you I’ve never seen any rabbit having a tattooed ear

I don’t know about the rump raising, I’ve not encountered that!

Her new set up looks great, no wonder she likes it In the UK wood pellet cat litter is considered safe, but not pine wood shavings, I think in the US the pine might be different so I don’t know if your wood pellet litter is safe, maybe a US member can confirm, but the paper litter will be fine :thumb:

If you put hay on top of the litter as well as in the rack it might encourage her to eat it more :thumb:

I hope your new bunny settles in well with you and hopefully the Vet can sort her teeth out. I have never heard of tattooing a rabbit's ear but like Zoobec said, if you put hay in her litter tray, this will encourage her to eat it. My rabbits can graze on hay for 6 hours a day or more but if she isn't used to having a lot it will take time for her to get into the habit. It sounds like she has been used for breeding from what you say.

RE the tattoo in her ear..she was once a breeders rabbit or a show rabbit. they tattoo them in their ear for permanent identification

A legible tattoo in a rabbit's ear provides permanent identification for that animal. For rabbits to be shown at American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) shows, the personal tattoo must be put in the rabbit's left ear. The right ear is reserved for a registration tattoo placed there by an ARBA registrar.

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in the UK, we seem to put metal bands around their legs over a tattoo.

she looks stunning however she seems like she is in excellent hands with you!

I can't comment on the litter 100%, but I do believe pine isn't great. I use a non clumping wood pellet cat litter as its cheaper, but paper based is great too but I am in the UK, so I'm not sure what you guys have may be different :?

sitting with her is also a wonderful way to get her used to you. its the best way as they can come to you on their own terms and greet you. I do know in hamsters if they are in season they raise their tail up for mating, so it might be! but I can't say as both of mine were spayed early (ish).

its a shame about her teeth perhaps a vet with a few surgeries can fix them, but I'm not sure.

She’s so cute sitting there grooming herself!



I rabbit-proofed the living room and opened her cage to let her explore but she’s sticking to her corner for now. I set her salad and pellets just outside to cage door to coax her out a little and I’m just staying quietly nearby. She’s come out and sniffed me a couple times and run quickly back in. :lol:

I’ll put some hay in her litter box as soon as she’ll let me get back near that corner. I’m trying not to push to much on her first day.



You can kinda see her bottom teeth a bit in this picture. They’re super long. She’s in need of a trim already. Poor girl.

It’s such a shame about her tattoo. I would assume she was a show rabbit vs a breeder because we live in a heavy 4H show area, and the family I got her from said she belonged to a young college girl before them. I didn’t know they did that. That’s sad to me.



Aw, in the course of typing this she’s come out for her salad. How much pellets should I be giving her right now, as a bun who isn’t used to eating a lot of hay or fresh veggies?


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lovely bunny.