new baby bunny – questions

[peanutsmom]

Hi everyone.  I just brought home my new bunny Peanut a couple days ago.  He is supposed to be half dwarf rabbit.  I had bunnies as a kid but this is my first in a long time and I have some questions.

1.  Peanut is very, very cuddly and loves to be picked up and held.  He just lies there and lets me pet him.  He also loves to run around on my bed and periodically hop up on me and lick my face.  I read on the forum that it doesn’t matter how much you handle the babies as it won’t have any bearing on how much they like to be held when they grow up.  Is this true?  What are people’s experiences with this?

2.  How big do you guys think he’s going to get?  The lady at the feed store where they were up for adoption says the babies were “showing signs of dwarfism,” but I have no idea if he is really going to be a dwarf or a normal rabbit.  Even if he isn’t a dwarf will he be smaller since his mom is one?  He’s 8 weeks old now and he fits in my hand.

Thanks!!

Michelle

pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63851060@N08/

[Monkeybun]

Rabbit very very rarely “love” to be picked up and cuddled. they are prey animals, they like their feet on the ground. Being picked up means being eaten to them. Rabbits will often just stop moving when picked up, kind of frozen in fear. Best bet is to hang out with your bunny on the floor, and let him learn you aren’t a scary predator

I don’t see any bunny pics in the link you sent.. so can’t say what I think on his breed at all, sorry

[peppypoo]

I think that just as much as a bunny could become more a little more accustomed to being held at best, the experience could be traumatizing and work the other way. Basically, agreed with Monkeybun – most bunnies like having their four paws on the ground, and that’s your best bet at building a good relationship.

If you google image “dwarf rabbit”, you’ll see that a lot of them have teeny ears, which is a reasonable indicator of future size. Unfortunately, a lot of breeders and sellers will advertise a normal-sized or just slightly smaller bunny as a dwarf breed because these breeds are more popular, and buyers don’t know any better when looking at these tiny babies.

[peanutsmom]

Thanks for the feedback.

Monkeybun:

I just uploaded the bunny pics before posting so maybe it took them a minute to show up. I can see them there now, at the top.

The reasons I think he likes being held are that:
a) I usually let him hop around on my bed because his feet get better traction than on the wood floor, and he hops over to me and licks me and sits still when I pet him. He also hops up onto my chest to be petted and hangs out there. I always let him sniff my hands and approach me on his own.

b) He has a box to hide to hide in in his enclosure, and he comes out on his own to see me and lets me pick him up. I actually have a lot of experience dealing with shy bunnies and guinea pigs and he doesn’t seem like that at all.

Peppypoo:

I have looked at pics of dwarf rabbits and he doesn’t have teeny ears like that. I guess I am basically wondering if anyone can give me a guess on his future size based on the pictures.

Thanks again,
Michelle

[Monkeybun]

Bunnies are fine when allowed to sniff and nuzzle and come up to you for pets. They usually don’t like the picking up part. Most bunnies do adore being petted though.

I still don’t see the pics.. are they set to private somehow?

[LoveChaCha]

Hi there

As for ‘dwarf rabbits,’ people will often state that they are (specially pet stores, feed stores) so that people will buy them. Most often, people think of rabbits as always small creatures.. when there are breeds that can tip the scale at 15-20+ pounds!

baby rabbits will tolerate handling, cuddling, etc, but as they get older, they may or may not tolerate it My bunny never has, and I’ve had her since she was 7 weeks old. The only time that I have to handle her is when I have to clip her nails, groom her fur.

[peanutsmom]

Yeah, it makes sense that they wouldn’t like to be picked up, but this one really doesn’t appear to mind it. 

What I am trying to figure out is, has anyone had a baby who liked cuddling who continued to like it as an adult?  Or has anyone had one who ended up dislking it?  It seems weird to me that this little guy would end up hating attention since he seems so interested in hanging out with me now.

Pics: 

[peanutsmom]

sorry, pics here http://www.flickr.com/photos/63851060@N08/?savedsettings=6884425185#photo6884425185

It was totally set to private, oops.

[peppypoo]

In general, babies bunnies will be easier to handle, but very nearly all hit a point at which they decide that they don’t like being picked up anymore. After that, some will be okay with sitting on laps, some will tolerate being picked up for a short while…it really kind of depends.

Cuddling is very different from being picked up…none of my bunnies have ever liked being picked up (though some tolerate it) but most of them have loved cuddling with me on the couch or on my bed and begging for pets and attention, just as long as they get to keep their feet on the ground.

[peppypoo]

Ohh also, Peanut is adorable! He looks like my Remi, and there are a few others here on the forum as well with similar coloring.

Hard to tell since he’s so young, but I miiiight venture a guess and say that he’s false a false dwarf (don’t quote me on that!) which, if I am correct, would mean that he’d get to about 5 lbs, max – on the smaller side for bunnies. There was a thread a couple of weeks ago on dwarves/false dwarves, if you’re interested:

https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/119387/Default.aspx

[peanutsmom]

That’s encouraging. Thanks! I really hope all the time I am spending with him has some long term effects. I already hang out with him on the floor or somewhere where we can be on the same level so that shouldn’t be much of a change.

[peanutsmom]

I did notice he looks like your bunny. Thanks for the link and info!

[Elrohwen]

Very cute little guy! He does look like a nethie mix, though he doesn’t have the tiny ears because he’s not show quality (which says nothing about him being a wonderful pet, of course!). He probably won’t get bigger than 5lbs or so.

It sounds like he really enjoys hanging out with you from your description! Like the others I would focus less on the picking up and more on letting him come to you, as you said he does often. Bunnies are always more comfortable climbing on you and sitting on your stomach when they’re not being held, so the fact that he does it all on his own is great!

[LoveChaCha]

There are true dwarfs, and false dwarfs. False dwarfs tend to be 3-4 pounds. My netherland dwarf is not show quality, and is 4 pounds. she has bigger ears, limbs, a big booty, but I LOVE her anyway. She is great.
He does look like a mix, but he is cute!

[peanutsmom]

Yeah I figure he is probably a false dwarf because of the ears. I hope you guys are right and he doesn’t get too big, but I love him anyway.

He’s actually started nipping me in addition to licking and I’m trying to get him to stop. I tried pushing him off and saying “no!” and making high pitched noises, but he doesn’t seem to get it. I’m kind of scared to let him lick my face now because he tries to nibble on my lip. :/

[Monkeybun]

Not all bunnies the size and shape of yours are false dwarfs. There are specific breeds that can have the otter coloring. So don’t assume she’s a false dwarf She is more likely a mix of a couple different breeds.

[peanutsmom]

Right, yeah. His mom was a dwarf, but I’ll guess we’ll see how he turns out.

[floppysmom]

I’m new to the whole rabbit thing, so I don’t have any great wisdom here, but my bun is just a few weeks older than yours and when we first brought him (at 8 weeks) he also seemed to “like” being picked up and cuddled. It didn’t take long for him to change his tune, though. Basically as soon as he felt comfortable and secure (and decided that the house belongs to him now), he decided he wasn’t going to have any more of this being picked up nonsense. He does still love to be petted and he’ll kiss us and be affectionate, but not so much with the snuggling. So whenever I feel sad about it I just sit down on the floor and put a bowl of pellets on my lap–he’ll hop right up and eat while I pet him and get my bunny fix. It works.

[BinkyBunny]

 He looks alot like a Silver Martin (Marten?) breed or at least a Martin mix in there.   There have been rare occasions that a member’s bunny actually enjoys being held, and I even experienced this before with a shelter bunny.  When I was volunteering, it was a real rare occurance for a bunny to actually enjoy being held (not just tolerate it nicely).   I do know that all of the volunteers loved to snuggle with that bunny since it was such a rare treasure to have that happen.  So it is not impossible.   However, if your ends up growing out of it, don’t despair as we have found our snuggle fix on the floor with them.   Vivian comes out in the evenings to hang out in the living room while we watch TV and I grab a few pillows and a blanket and give kisses and snuggles to her with hanging out on the ground.   So either way, bunny snuggles, even on the floor are grand.  

Oh, and congratulations on your new bunny, and welcome to BinkyBunny!  

[Roberta]

I got the bunny snuggles from Piglet for the first time in ages the other night. Been so hard with Pepper and the two litters I have had to split my time between up to 12 bunnies at once. Now that Pepz is not pregnant and Piglet is unable to alter that status and all but 3 babies have been adopted we have a bit more time. Did a big grooming session and worked a lot of knots out of his fluffy French Angora X butt. When I was done Piglet decided it was my turn. So he proceeded to give me a grooming but got a little carried away and accidentally bit me through my shorts and T shirt. Poor baby was so mortified when I said OUCH he snugged up on my chest and stayed there gazing into my eyes until he was sure I was OK. We had lots of ear strokes and cheek scratches in the interim. But he refused to move until I offered to give him dinner greens with Coriander.

[Roberta]

Finally managed to get to the pic…. Peanut is definitely related to Chacha, Remi and Pepper

Footnote, Pepper is actually pregnant in my signature pic. She is only a little bun and though she look like a dwarf when I first got her I have since ascertained she was only about 3 weeks when rescued which is why she had the dwarf like ears.

See baby photo on day one post rescue

This is about 2 hrs post rescue. That is the inside of a medium sized dog carrier inside a small cat bed. At that time I knew exactly ZERO about bunnies.  I could hold both of them in one hand.

But we got there….

[peanutsmom]

Wow they’re so little!

[LoveChaCha]

A Chacha twin?! Her highness is pleased…

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