Help Adopting a Rabbit?

[Brambino]

Hello

I am looking to find a friend for Bramble. She’s so affectionate and always wanting to groom us, i think she would really like a husbun.

I went to have a look around my local shelter today and a lot of the buns were a) MASSIVE compared to tiny Bramble and b) terrified or aggressive.

I know they have had difficult lives but how do you know a bunny is right for you if they’re too afraid/depressed to have a personality? It doesn’t seem like they have much human contact there. They each have their own shed and small aviary but when i opened the aviary door they ran like i had 12 heads and one bun just launched at me lol!

Is this shelter just not rabbit focused enough or do other people have similar experiences? I know it will be a slow process finding a bun that’s right for her (she’s so sensitive and highly strung) but i want to start keeping an eye out. I can 100% say none of those 20 buns were Mr Right! 

I know buns are naturally terrified of everything but this makes it very difficult to know Mr Right!

Any advice would be very welcome! xx

 

 

[Vienna Blue in France]

You’re in the UK with comparably good rescue centres to other countries, some must be specialised in rabbits – there must be another one somewhere… or foster bunny families who have been able to tame rabbits looking for a home.

Certainly DON’T go for one that you don’t feel 100% happy with – but there are others out there…. and also bunny people who know bunnies much more than this centre seems to… The centre should seem 100% focused on their bun getting a good home too….

[Gina.Jenny]

Podge was kept in a shed at his rescue’s foster mum, but the foster mum agreed to bring Podge here so we could see how he and Gina reacted to each other. Can you ask if you can bring Brambino in to see how she is with any of their buns? Or ask if you can bring a potential adoptee home? Gina is also highly strung, but is so much calmer since being with her Podge. Are any of the boys neutered, so hormones don’t cause problems?

Or like Vienna says, try a different rescue if there is another near you?

[jerseygirl]

How exciting! I hope you find the perfect friend for her. Will love to see photos of little Bramble snuggled up to somebun.
I don’t think the size of the bunny will matter. There have been lots of pairings with nethies and large breeds. They are often gentle too.
She might surprise you and be the boss of the pair.

[Brambino]

I’m browsing other rescues now, applying for rspca vetting and potentially thinking about Gumtree though I’m nervous there’s no ‘aftercare’ or guarantee of health. Some of the photos on Gumtree are so sad. Tiny, tiny hutches.

Very excited for Bramble to find a friend. She’s a little diva so I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the boss lol. She loves to thump in disapproval.

Thanks everyone and thanks, Jerseygirl I never really thought of a big bun but I’ll definitely look into it more. My boyfriend would probably prefer a bigger bun too

[jerseygirl]

Just had a thought; maybe look into getting the rhdv2 vaccination done before doing meet and greets? It should be available around now or the coming weeks.

 

This might help locating a bunny, in case you haven’t visited that site yet. 

[Aki]

She’s a girl, of course she’s going to be the boss, that’s the natural order of things ^^. Can’t really help you – to find a husbunny, I just went with a rabbit I liked both times and it went really well both times (maybe I’ve been lucky XD). I think you just have to trust your gut-feeling because any rabbit you’ll see or any meeting you’ll stage with your rabbit outside of your house won’t really be representative of what you’ll end up with in your daily life. If I were you, I would just go with a rabbit I like from a place where you know that they will accept to take the rabbit back if it is impossible to make him go along with Bramble – it’s not a pleasant outcome to contemplate, but it will be reassuring for you to know you have a way out. Anyway, with a male / female neutered couple your odds are pretty good if you follow the normal ‘bonding steps’ – you can’t never completely eliminate the possibility of personal dislike between the rabbits or one of the 2 turning out to be a real shrew but well…

[kirstyol]

We got both Bramble and Ron from gumtree actually. Bramble was the result of an oops litter and the person was looking for loving homes for the kits. Ron just had such a sad story and we had been thinking about getting another bun for a while so I went and got him with no idea what his personality was like only thing I made sure of before i agreed to take him was that he was neutered.

My Bramble is considerably smaller than Ron (bramble weighs a little over 2kg, ron a little more than 3.5kg) but Bramble is most definitely the boss!

When I went to pick up ron he was the most terrified bun i had ever seen, I swear he knew exactly what was happening and he didnt want to leave his home. I immidiately started worrying about bonding the two because Bramble is super friendly and loves to know exactly what is going on. After me and his previous human chased him about the house a little and eventually managed to get him into his carrier i took him to the car and he thumped the whole way home. I swear Bramble has never thumped a day in his life but when ron came home he thumped all night too, despite them being in separate rooms and never actually having clapped eyes on each other. I thought for sure I had made a terrible mistake, these two hated each other and they havent even met yet!

After a quick vet check the next day for ron to make sure everything was ok and he was actually neutered we decided that we simply had to let them meet because they were both going nuts (we had planned to give ron some settling in time originally). They literally fell in love instantly and were lying down together within an hour! They started living together in the same pen within a week.

My story shows that sometimes Buns that seem a terrible match just work somehow. Honestly that first night I was crying and everything thinking I had made a horrible mistake getting a bun that I didnt know as a friend for Bramble, but it has turned out to be the best thing I could ever have done for them. Ron was saved from horrible circumstances and Bramble is much happier having a friend (or someone to boss about really!)

[Brambino]

Thanks, Kirsty!! That’s an awesome story and gives me so much more confidence in looking around.

I’m hopeful about bonding as long as it’s the right bun. Definitely going for a boy. Thanks, Aki. We have a ‘rabbit whisperer’ called Julie near us. She also does bunny boarding and is so lovely and knowledgeable. She offers a bonding service and she’ll keep the buns for a week and gradually bond them in her home. Take in two carriers, come back with one!

RHDv2!!! I hadn’t even thought about it when going around the rescues! How terrible. Definitely will hold off until Bramble has her jabs. Our vet promised a few months ago to email when the vaccine becomes available. I will chase them and see when they’re getting it in.

Has anyone you know got hold of the vaccine yet?

[Author]

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