I want a bunny!!

[Kaltenia]

Sometime within the next year, after my SO and I are all moved and settled, I'd love to get a bunny. I had one when I was a kid, his name was Sandy, and I was told he was going to stay little, but my big boy was a 20 pounder!! I came home from school one day, and my parents gave him away because of his size. I was so upset, I loved him so damn much! I don't know what type of rabbit he was, a Flemish (sp?) maybe, but the more and more I look at breeds of rabbits, I keep on going back to the mini-lops. Does anyone have experience with this breed? I'd prefer not to go to a pet store, and am having trouble finding breeders in the Washington area.

If anyone could help, you'll get karrrmmmaaa....LOL! :lol:

[Morgandria]

:p

[Celticscryer]

www.rabbit.org has links to adoptions for buns. You might also try petfinder.com. We have a couple of rabbit rescues in my area that advertise on petfinder.

[Kaltenia]

omg, I don't know what's cuter, the bunny or the kitten! LOL!

Thanks for the link! :hahugh:

[person of shadow]

Hello, are you sure he wasn't a french lop? http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:9kbSgqdFURXRlM:http://www.petoftheday.com/archive/2002/March/18.jpg

They get quite bid.

American rabbit breeders association (http://arba.net/photo.htm)
This link will help you learn about breeds and find breeders and such.(but if you want one just for pet, rescue is a very good idea)

[Kaltenia]

No, he wasn't a lop at all, his big ol' ears went straight up :viking:

I just keep going back to the mini-lops because I love their personalities, they remind me a lot of my Sandy :D

[person of shadow]

Oh I see, I thought you ment that that was what you thought he was.

Can't really tell you much about mini lops, I don't have that breed.

[Shanti]

I had mini lops. They needs are the same as any rabbit breed, daily hay, roughage, fresh water, lots of room, and attention.

Where you get one isn't as important as making sure you pick one that is healthy. Check its teeth to make sure they are nice and straight, not broken, crooked or overgrown. Check its bottom to make sure its all clean. You don't want a rabbit with a messy bottom because it could be sick. Make sure the eyes and ears are clear. Check its nails too in case they are over grown and all crooked.

Care:
Food in a topic of preference. Pellets were designed for the commercial rabbit industry for meat rabbits that get butchered within a few months of being born. They were designed for fast growth.
Rabbits are basically grass and weed and brush/branch eaters. A good hay with grasses and alfalfa and some branches from shrubs and trees is truly all they need. Not only do grasses, branches and alfalfa provide the nutrition a rabbit needs, it also wears their teeth down naturally as they eat and it provides a very important need pellets do not, roughage. Roughage keeps the digestive track clear and prevents hair blocks. Rabbits can not gag up hairballs like cats. Even short haired rabbits can get hair block which can kill them.

Branches from deciduous trees such as willow (a favorite) and box elder, maple, bass wood, elm, all are relished by rabbits. They love dandelion, chickweed, plantain, and various other weeds. Deciduous shrub branches like dogwood, and even tender shoots of wild rose are welcome by rabbits.

You can find tons of information on natural wild diets through googling.
Its your choice as to what and how to feed but always provide at least store bought hay every day as it is a need for health and teeth!!

I personally would provide a hutch not lees than 12 sq. ft. (that's like a cage 3ft x 4ft) That too varies. If your rabbit will be spending more time in a cage than out, the bigger the better and make sure his home has room to stand all the way up on his hind legs! Rabbits need to stand upright once in awhile too.

Heat is more an enemy for rabbits than cold. They can quickly die in heat. Never place the hutch where sun can shine on it. Never place it in a location where hot air doesn't circulate. Rabbits have a hard time cooling off. Air circulation and shade, that's important.

Cold is easier....lots of straw!! And warm water several times a day as it will freeze.

Bedding again is choice and it goes with your setup too.
My rabbits are on straw and also have litter boxes with wood pellets. Even my angoras I have placed on straw now, instead of wire because the straw doesn't mess up the hair much at all.
All my buns have litter boxes in their cages with wood pellets as all my rabbits naturally prefer to keep their cages clean and potty in one spot. Whatever corner a bun uses for a potty, give them a cat box their.

Never use kitty litter or anything dusty. Cedar is out. Cedar can irritate the lungs and so does dusty products.

Sex...without neutering a male may spray right out of the cage as they squirt urine out and back, behind them. So inside a cage with wire sides they can hit walls! They may also spray everything when outside of their cage. Males also have a stronger odor to their urine than females.
Females without spaying can be cranky sometimes. They do not have a heat cycle. Females can breed on any day. They come into their type of heat by being mounted by a male. Without a male, there is no cycle.
All personalities you can find in both sexes of rabbit.

If you ever want to breed, the female should be bred before one year old to prevent the possibility of her pelvis fusing. But breeding is a whole new ball game.

Hope I helped. Good luck! :)

[Kaltenia]

Shanti, thank you SO MUCH, you're a doll! :cheers: I already found a few on Petfinder, and now I'm impatient, LOL!

My SO bought me a plush bunny, cause we can't get a real bun yet, haha. 8O