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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum THE LOUNGE Urgh! Irresponsible breeders!

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    • Minty
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         I was browsing the Pets for Sale section on Kijiji and found an ad for 1 month old bunnies for sale. I emailed the woman this:

        If the bunnies are only 1 month old then they are too young to leave their mother. They should stay with her until they are 8 weeks minimum. If people were to take a baby now there would be a high likelihood of complications because a baby bunny still needs its mother’s milk at this age. Their digestive systems are still developing and are very sensitive. Please keep these babies until they are 8 weeks and able to leave their mother.

        She replied and said that the babies are fine because they are eating pellets and hay and fresh grass. She then went on to say that it is okay to feed these babies broccoli and carrots. She obviously does not know much about rabbits, but there’s nothing I can do. Poor baby bunnies


      • jerseygirl
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          mmm…always risky when browsing the ads. Bound to come across something upsetting. I sort of use the term “wean” fairly widely. I use it to refer to being separated from the mother/nest/1st home etc/ and less for “being weaned off milk”. Kits can stop suckling around 4-5 weeks and eat solid foods but I personally think they would do better to remain for the full 8 weeks. They can strengthen their immune systems and get better gut balance by ingesting the mothers cecals. Also interacting with siblings that bit longer and hopefully getting accustomed to being handled.

          SullysMum, what happened with that mini rex Doe you went to see?


        • LoveChaCha
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            That person is upsetting


          • Minty
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              I didn’t know that about them being weaned from their mother’s milk that early! Oh well, I still think the bunnies should stay with their mom.

              I actually found a Mini Rex buck that I am seriously considering. I posted about him in the ‘Bonding’ section. I left multiple messages for the rabbit volunteers at the shelter where the Mini Rex doe is but no one got back to me. When I went there to actually speak to someone they wouldn’t even let me take her out of her cage because apparently the volunteers do everything with the rabbits and the actual staff know nothing about them. (They have horrible staff there!) The shelter is an hours drive away from me and I can’t really drive all the way out there just to find out there aren’t any volunteers in and there isn’t anyone who can give me info on the bun. It’s kind of sad because I know I could offer a great home but the people working there have left a sour taste in my mouth.


            • jerseygirl
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                That’s bizarre! So the paid workers don’t actually handle the animals?


              • Minty
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                  The paid workers deal with all the dogs and cats but they have a separate ‘bunny barn’ that the volunteers deal with. Probably because bunnies are more sensitive and require more specific care. I left my name and number with the staff at the reception counter, called back that day to see if I could talk to a bunny volunteer, called back the next day and they told me there were bunny volunteers there but they didn’t have a phone in the bunny area so I couldn’t talk to anyone, I left a message with the Adoption line…. and still nothing! I don’t know how they ever get any animals adopted with the way they act!


                • jerseygirl
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                    If the calls regarding bunnies are normally dealt with by volunteers, then the delay would be understandable. It would be good if they could have given you one of the volunteers private number but I guess they can’t just hand that info over. It is a pity as surely the volunteers want to see the bunnies get a new home. It does actually sound good that the rabbits are separated and it is likely less stressful for them to be handle by people that don’t smell like dogs and cats. But it’s not so good if they are separated and sort of forgotten by the main staff. mmmm…..

                    Well, if she is meant to be yours, things will happen. If not, they’ll be other candidates such as the buck your thinking of.


                  • Alika613
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                      As for the irresponsible breeders…

                      I got my rabbit, Victoria, from a family who got her outside a feed store. The litter of rabbits were in a cage with a sign saying “FREE”. In general that’s a bad idea, but it was also summer at the time, and since the kits were Albino and Albino (animals and humans) are notorious for being light and sun sensitive… I don’t know if it makes any difference that they were albino, but still, leaving a litter of kits outside a store. Not brilliant.

                      In my state, NH, is is ILLEGAL to SELL, GIVE AWAY, ADOPT, ETC ANY animal under 8 weeks- cat, dog, rabbit, lion, tigers, bears, etc. Unless you get special clearance, like being involved in foster care or rescue work

                      As for rescues, I’m a volunteer at a rescue that takes in small animals, and dogs and cats. There is Canine Staff, and Feline Staff. The Feline Staff must feed, water, and clean the small animals, but they don’t have to socialize with them. I don’t know why- I think most of them do not understand the needs of small animals. I let the rabbit there out of its cage to run around a little, and I remember somebody saying what a smart idea that was. I remember being flattered, but then realized it was rather sad- was I the only one letting him out?

                      Now I’m much more careful with the small animals- I spend more time with them, because you never know who is or isn’t spending enough time with them.

                      Plus, and I hate to say it, the #1 problem with shelters (other than too many animals in need) is that communication is often lacking. At the shelter I volunteer at, 1 dog was adopted out to 2 different families… Like, they came in, looked at it, their dogs met the dog, the paperwork was filled out, BOTH families were cleared, but one was scheduled to come in Tuesday to pick him up, one on Wednesday. Tuesday got there first, so they got the dog. Poor Wednesday. Where is the communication?!

                      -Alika


                    • Minty
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                        Yes, I do believe communication is definitely lacking in this shelter I went to as well. However, it wasn’t just the lack of communication but the attitude of the workers there. They were all pretty rude and were unable to answer my questions. Many of them were standing around and gossiping while I waited to be helped. I even submitted an application to volunteer there (with the bunnies) but haven’t heard anything. Oh well, I wouldn’t care as much if it weren’t an animal shelter where they are meant to be adopting out animals that need homes.

                        I wish my area had a law regarding the age of selling animals. Many people buy their puppies, kittens, rabbits, etc. at 6-7 weeks of age around here, if not younger. It’s usually just a case of trying to sell animals while they are still ‘cute’ and so many people fall for it!


                      • Alika613
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                          I hope you hear back, volunteers do a lot of work when it comes to the animals that aren’t always gotten to (rabbits, ferrets, etc). Each shelter has their own criteria when choosing volunteers though. I know where I’m at they stress things like punctuality, commitment to time, and an eagerness to get the job done fast and done right.

                          I was accepted as a volunteer, but my cousin wasn’t. Sometimes it comes down to personality as well.

                          Rude staff can be a big problem. One of my favorite people to work with, “John” loves animals. Loathes people. I asked him one time if he actually liked his job. “I love working with the dogs. Why do you ask?”

                          “You just kind of seem to be in a bad mood.”

                          “It’s the people I can’t bloody stand. I hate people.”

                          Haha, it was kind of funny. BUT even if the staff just got a really annoying person (I was once told by a potential adopter that our adoption fees are just ways for us to “squeeze every last penny” out of the animals before we adopt them out- of course it has nothing to do with covering the cost of vaccinations, heartworm tests, prevention, flea treatment, food, dental care, etc) before you came in, they still should have been polite with you. It’s upsetting that they were rude and ignored you.

                          As for answering questions. I find that a lot of people have forgotten that asking questions is a good thing! I repeat, A GOOD THING! Some staff (teachers, parents, bosses) treat questions like they are a hassle, or that it should be some other person’s job to answer. Not so! People should feel comfortable asking the staff questions, because it means they care! A potential adopter’s questions or concerns should never be treated as though they are a hindrance. People that ask questions are thinking, it’s the people that don’t ask questions that don’t always know what they are getting themselves into.

                          -Alika


                        • Kiley Rose
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                            I just emailed someone on Craigslist because they had 5 week old rabbits and this was the exact reply I got:

                            “ummm thanks for ur help but im a breeder been breeding rabbits fot 15 yrs i know when they are ready to go and no i dont fix them”

                            I said something similar to what you said Sullysmum but also suggested spaying the female to avoid cancer. Poor babies were just in an outdoor, wire bottom cage. It makes me so sad to think of all the poor rabbits that he/she has sold for $10 a piece these last 15 years…


                          • Alika613
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                              Posted By Kiley Rose on 05/02/2010 05:55 PM
                              I just emailed someone on Craigslist because they had 5 week old rabbits and this was the exact reply I got:

                              “ummm thanks for ur help but im a breeder been breeding rabbits fot 15 yrs i know when they are ready to go and no i dont fix them”

                              I said something similar to what you said Sullysmum but also suggested spaying the female to avoid cancer. Poor babies were just in an outdoor, wire bottom cage. It makes me so sad to think of all the poor rabbits that he/she has sold for $10 a piece these last 15 years…

                              “Silly person!  You can’t be breeding rabbits for 15 years when you are only 14 years old!  Honestly!  And you can’t be older than 14 because people older than 14 would know better, which is not to insult 14 and younger people, because even some of them know better!  So you see, your math must be off!”

                              All joking aside (I know there are young people on here, and it’s not an insult to you, I swear!), that’s horrible.  Given the average lifespan of unspayed females, 15 years could be the total lifespan of 3-4 differen’t female bunnies, very sad.  Not to mention, the chances that these rabbits are most likely undersocialized, improperly fed, etc is just so sad.

                              Putting two animals together, getting baby animals, and selling said baby animals doesn’t make you a breeder.  Anyone with access to the discovery channel and a basic understanding of anatomy can do that.  A BREEDER is someone who works for the betterment of a breed, who tries to accentuate desirable qualities such as temperment, health, and conforming to standard.

                              -Alika613

                               


                            • Kiley Rose
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                                I know, there’s soo many things I wanted to reply back to that person, but unfortunately there’s nothing I can do about it.. I can’t stop thinking about those poor babies, there were 4 of them in the picture, adorable little rex looking rabbits.


                              • Alika613
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                                  I don’t know why my reply above looks so wonky, but I feel your pain. The thing that gets me is people getting rabbits for Easter. I mean, if you are an adult and you want a rabbit and it just happens to be Easter, then fine, so long as you aren’t getting it from a some shady character who is looking for a profit. Don’t give rabbits as gifts either, unless you are prepared to take the rabbit yourself if they don’t want it.

                                  I remember the Homeward Bound II movie. A stray dog was reflecting on his past, and he was bought as a puppy for a little boy for Christmas. The little boy got bored, and the parents no longer interested left him in a cardboard box on the side of the road. It’s a shame this DOES happen. At the shelter we work at we found a cat left in hour donation box. A rabbit was left on the front steps with a note saying that he came from a loving home but that they couldn’t keep him.

                                  I sympathize with people that can no longer keep their pets, but they should have brought him into the shelter. Who knows how long he was out there in winter?

                                  Ooh, am I getting off track?!
                                  Alika


                                • Kiley Rose
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                                    Oh, I did the whole “no Easter rabbits” campaign this year and guess who ended up with an Easter rabbit she knew(knows) nothing about?? My aunt. She keeps the poor thing in the bathtub as it’s cage and won’t use anything but cat litter. I’ve given her tons of information on rabbits and tried talking some sense in her, but she won’t spay her, give her unlimited hay, or many toys. She says that the bunny doesn’t really like toys. -.- I brought over a huge bag of extra toys I was saving for my two and hopefully she’s given the baby some of them. The rabbit is a silky soft REW, so sweet, she fell asleep right in my lap. I’m bun sitting her for a week in June so maybe I can make some changes and tell her to stick to them. Ughhhhh.

                                    I don’t think I could work everyday in a shelter, I’d be wanting to save all of them and I would feel so horrible knowing they were putting down an animal in the other room. I do think I am going to try and volunteer after I graduate comm. college this semester…the shelters in my area are so rundown and constantly bashed on CL…they need all the help they can get.


                                  • LoveChaCha
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                                      I saw an increase in bunnies during Easter at the local shelter. I visit the site occasionally.

                                      I ran into this site randomly not so long ago.. there is a specialty shop someplace in Asia that specializes in Bunnies. They sell their buns for 100-200 dollars. I think that is a good price because bunnies deserve a good home, and good people to look after it.

                                      Man.. breeders make me SO ANGRY!!!!!!!!!!


                                    • Minty
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                                        I remember that scene in the Homeward Bound movie too!

                                        There have been many, many posts on CL in my area of unwanted easter bunnies for free. I have sent many of them emails directing them to my area’s House Rabbit Society shelter but haven’t had any replies. I’ve even offered to take the bunny for them and give it to the rescue but to no avail. It’s sad rabbits are so misunderstood and there are very few well educated bun owners. Forums like BB really help those first time bunny owners and make all types of info accessible! that’s why i love this place!


                                      • Sonn
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                                          There is a girl maybe 16 years old near me that breeds a whole myriad of rabbit breeds you name it she probably breeds it and posts them all over the local forum. When no one wants them she will trade the entire herd for a different breed. I was reading one of her ads and she sells the rabbits at 3 weeks old!

                                          I of course being me said something to her as politely as I could muster because it made me furious. And she responded with an email full of foul language basically telling me that I knew nothing and to keep to my own business. But the moderators informed me today that she would not be posting her ads there any longer but there are always craigslist and things like that so she won’t stop.

                                          Irresponsible people get under my skin like nothing else.


                                        • LoveChaCha
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                                            I think rabbits are sadly misunderstood by lots of irresponsible humans
                                            That is why there are books and informative forums about bunnies nowdays..

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                                        Forum THE LOUNGE Urgh! Irresponsible breeders!