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New Owner - Possibly

S

simondo

New Kit
Hi,

New to the world of rabbits but have previously kept pygmy hedgehogs, so please be gentle with me.

I woke up yesterday to find a small white rabbit feeding on neighbours lawn. I couldn't stand the thought of letting it stay out in the cold & rain even though it seemed quite content. So after what must have been like a scene from Laurel & Hardy, my wife and I finally caught it. This bunny does not like to be handled!

It now has the run of our lounge and seems quite happy and will come close and happy to be hand fed. I have put up leaflets locally and on local Facebook in the hope it may be reunited with owner. Should the owner not be found I am not happy with the thought of handing it in and then being pushed around pilllar to post or worse so I am quite willing to keep & care for it.

I've been feeding it on all the foods people recommend on this and other forums/sites and my first port of call is to get some mixed hay. Next up is to determine sex so i can name it and stop calling it 'it'.

I will no doubt be along soon for advice.
 
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Good luck finding the owner and I hope your new addition settles in soon!
 
Have you got a litter tray? If you have, put some newspaper and hay on top and hopefully bunny will use it. Please be careful if you have any wires that are within reach of the bunny as they like to bite through them. Rabbits do not like to be handled generally speaking so this isn't unusual.
 
Thanks for replies everyone. Got my hay & pellets earlier today. The little one is getting friendlier by the minute, when I walk in the lounge it comes out to see me, and comes to me if I lie down on floor.

Tonibun, I am waiting until it takes a pee/no.2 and I''ll set up the litter tray there (carpets getting professionally cleaned soon anyway). Wires cleared out of the way.

Going to wait a day or two before attempting to pick it up and determine sex.

Nobody told me that rabbits can be such a time stealer, it's great!

In the meantime notices gone up in Co-op, Bus shelter etc., but put it this way, I won't be upset if no one claims it!
 
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Awh bunny sounds lovely :D

Just another thought you could take the rabbit to any vets and ask them to scan it, it might have a microchip. All mine are chipped, but even people who buy bunnies for kids at pets at home are chipped by pets at home, so there's a reasonable chance the rabbit could have one imo :D
 
A quick update:
It's a dwarf Hotot. Very happy in our home doing high binkies and coming up to us and then running around us. Eating well. Very relaxed and will doze next to us. I've managed a gentle 1 finger stroke to the head & cheek which it tolerates when given a treat.

I put out a litter tray which it has started using almost immediately suggesting it has been kept as a house rabbit.

Off to vets on Friday for a scan for a chip and check up. I'm quite apprehensive about getting it into a box for transport. I'm comfortable handling animals and just concerned about upsetting my new friend as it hates being handled.
Any pointers would be great.
 
simondo said:
A quick update:
It's a dwarf Hotot. Very happy in our home doing high binkies and coming up to us and then running around us. Eating well. Very relaxed and will doze next to us. I've managed a gentle 1 finger stroke to the head & cheek which it tolerates when given a treat.

I put out a litter tray which it has started using almost immediately suggesting it has been kept as a house rabbit.

Off to vets on Friday for a scan for a chip and check up. I'm quite apprehensive about getting it into a box for transport. I'm comfortable handling animals and just concerned about upsetting my new friend as it hates being handled.
Any pointers would be great.
Click to expand...
Aww :) definitely sounds like it was someone's pet. Hotot.. Are they the ones with the heavy eyeliner? [emoji38] If I'm thinking of the right one they're so gorgeous [emoji7]
 
Bunny sounds to be very happy. For getting a nervous bunny in a carrier it’s a good idea to leave the carrier around in their environment for a few days before if you can, and you can put hay in there, and feed pellets and tasty favourite foods into it. Then when it comes to vet day hopefully you won’t need to try to handle him/her too much. Usually at the vets they are more easily handled because it’s unfamiliar surroundings, in my experience.

If the rabbit is not chipped and no one comes forward I would ask about vaccinations and neutering, there’s a lot of vhd2 disease around at the moment so I would have the vhd2 vaccine done first, the filivac vaccine also protects against VHD1. And then 2 weeks later you can vaccinate against myxomatosis.
 
Zoobec said:
Bunny sounds to be very happy. For getting a nervous bunny in a carrier it’s a good idea to leave the carrier around in their environment for a few days before if you can, and you can put hay in there, and feed pellets and tasty favourite foods into it. Then when it comes to vet day hopefully you won’t need to try to handle him/her too much. Usually at the vets they are more easily handled because it’s unfamiliar surroundings, in my experience.

If the rabbit is not chipped and no one comes forward I would ask about vaccinations and neutering, there’s a lot of vhd2 disease around at the moment so I would have the vhd2 vaccine done first, the filivac vaccine also protects against VHD1. And then 2 weeks later you can vaccinate against myxomatosis.
Click to expand...
Very good advice :)
 
Here's the beast!


46452824595_7f06d539bc.jpg
 
Zoobec said:
Bunny sounds to be very happy. For getting a nervous bunny in a carrier it’s a good idea to leave the carrier around in their environment for a few days before if you can, and you can put hay in there, and feed pellets and tasty favourite foods into it. Then when it comes to vet day hopefully you won’t need to try to handle him/her too much. Usually at the vets they are more easily handled because it’s unfamiliar surroundings, in my experience.

If the rabbit is not chipped and no one comes forward I would ask about vaccinations and neutering, there’s a lot of vhd2 disease around at the moment so I would have the vhd2 vaccine done first, the filivac vaccine also protects against VHD1. And then 2 weeks later you can vaccinate against myxomatosis.
Click to expand...

Absoloutely will do vaccinations & neutering if I get to keep him/her.

Thnks for advice on transport.
 
Surely not a beast but a beauty definantly :) she’s adorable and looks in very good condition. Sounds like she is in good hands to :)
 
Ooh - he/she looks beautiful. He/she body language is very positive - relaxed and content. Ears are tuning into their surroundings and they seem very happy there. I hope that the vets visit is positive and look forward to an update.:love:
 
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