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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 14sd replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 9 months ago by tabalab.

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- 07/14/2009 at 4:53 PM
  Miyuki
  Participant
  240 posts
  Hello all I know I haven’t been around much anymore but I hope you all are doing okay.
  
  I’m back to ask if anyone has any suggestions on how to talk someone out of getting bunnies. Or at least have them understand that they are not all cute and cuddly for kids. Okay let me explain. My mother gets a call from her coworker and few days ago asking about bunnies. We did have one for 6 years until recently. They talked for about 20 minutes or so. Then my mom hangs up and tells me her coworker’s kids were playing with bunnies and now they really want them. And her husband is like give them whatever they want! The kids are only like 5 and 7. The family already has a dog but apparently the dog doesn’t like the kids (don’t want to jump to conclusions but maybe they are terrorizing it?).
  
  My mom says the kids are rude and obnoxious. And if they get bunnies they have to get TWO because there are two kids. That in itself is bad because I’ll bet they have no idea that bunnies can have more bunnies at the age of 3 months! And I doubt they’d check out the Humane Society for ones that are already fixed. And they want to put them out on a patio! At least my mom told them they should at least build a shelter so that they can hide from the elements. The husband just wants to leave them outside on the grass!
  
  I almost don’t want to mention the Humane Society because that would be like I was encouraging them to get them in the first place. And what would they do if the bunnies hated each other? I doubt they’d know to go online and find tips about bonding.
  
  Ugh, I’ll stop now. I was just so horrified. Maybe I’m overreacting but this doesn’t sound like a situation where the bunnies would be well cared for. I guess if they get them anyways I’ll give them my House Rabbit Handbook and pray for the best.
- 07/14/2009 at 5:20 PM
  bunnytowne
  Participant
  7538 posts
  Well how about bunnies are especially delicate and their bones break easily. They are definitely too delicate for children that young.
  
  They are so fragile.
  
  Hope that helps
  
  Ohhh tell them bunnies care cost lots of $. Hopefully they don’t have lots of $ and that will deter them.
- 07/14/2009 at 6:28 PM
  FluffyBunny
  Participant
  1264 posts
  If you really want to stop them, tell them that rabbits can be shy and/or territorial, usually hate being held, are known to be destructive, can cause serious injury to children (or the other way around…), and need as much money and care as a dog or cat, if not more. Then tell them that rabbits must be spayed or neutered for health etc. and that can be very expensive, plus vet bills can be expensive too since bunnies are “exotic”.
- 07/14/2009 at 9:04 PM
  KatnipCrzy
  Participant
  2981 posts
  I always tell people that rabbits are wonderful house pets- but they are higher maintainence than a cat- food wise, cleaning wise and litterbox training wise. And that usually discourages people that are not suited for bunnies.
  
  If they keep them outside in the yard they will NEVER be able to catch them unless they corner them- then someone is likely to get scratched. Plus is the yard they are likely to pick up fleas and ticks and intestinal parasites- also may get sunburned. But the first 3 are a health hazard with young children. That is not healthy for the kids or bunnies.
  
  It sounds like they will be unable to adopt an already altered bunny due to their beliefs on keeping bunnies- they will most likely be turned down by everyone except the most lenient of rescues- and even then I am not so sure.
  
  Maybe they should look on petfinder.com to see where all the bunnies end up that kids get tired off when they can’t cuddle or play and the baby bunny cuteness is no longer there. Of course the kids won’t be able to take care of them anyway at that young age.
- 07/15/2009 at 1:02 AM
  lancy
  Participant
  263 posts
  Posted By FluffyBunny on 07/14/2009 06:28 PM
  .. can cause serious injury to children.
  
  i think this would be effective, coz parents concern about their young much more than buns. i can’t imagine any pet would fit young kids without supervisions.
- 07/15/2009 at 5:31 AM
  heather122
  Participant
  7 posts
  My kids (4 and 6) were thrilled when I got my bunny, but once they realized that this was an “adult pet” they quickly lost interest and decided that the cats were better pets! My kids are only allowed to play with the bunny if they are sitting in the floor and the bunny comes to them (which is rare!) and they can only pet her- no attempting to pick her up. We have very strict rules about bunny safety in my house and its really hard for the 4 year old to understand. He is very frustrated when the bunny gets to run freely and he has to just watch!
  
  If you could borrow a bunny and invite the family to come over and interact/observe, you may quickly turn them against a bunny- especially if you feed the bunny well before it runs freely!! *lol* I think the poop would be enough to turn them against getting a bunny!
- 07/15/2009 at 8:48 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  I hope you can convince them not to get a bunny(ies). There are so many negatives to having a bunny (for the WRONG person) that any intelligent person should be able to recognize if a bun is right for them. Unfortunately, people act impulsively (PARENTS especially should be demonstrating to their children how to plan and evaluate pros and cons of every situation!!!)
  
  There may not be anything you can say to deter them. The stereotypes of multiple rabbits living in a cage outside is so prevalent that they will think you’re crazy when you start mentioning housing indoors, spay/neuter, proper diet. I would try to forward some HRS articles to them, but not get too emotionally involved. I worry that you’re going to feel pressure to “help them out” when they can no longer handle the bunnies and you may not be ready or want that.
- 07/15/2009 at 10:01 AM
  Sage Cat
  Participant
  1883 posts
  I think the exotic pet & money angle is always a good one to deter a lot of people.
  The “can cause serious injury to children” and “children can easily – accidentally – kill or cause serious injury to bunnies” would not hurt either.
  
  I think we should all start taking photos of the scratches we get from our bunnies as proof of what a cute little bunny can do. I recently picked up Kay when she was “not in the mood”. I had on a v-neck T-shirt. The scratches from her back claws went all the way across . . . um . . . . . a very sensitive part of my chest! Funny part was J. thought it was sexy!
- 07/15/2009 at 10:02 AM
  LizzieKnittyBun
  Participant
  2147 posts
  haha!
  
  rawr!
  
  ; )
- 07/15/2009 at 10:09 AM
  tabalab
  Participant
  309 posts
  I think the real issue is people esp parents who have never had a bunny before think its an easy pet to care for. Like you can just feed and leave it in a cage and it’ll be fine. Which isn’t the case. That was my biggest surprise for me. Is how much more needy a rabbit is then say a cat or a dog. They do fine if your not home all day but rabbits tend to get depressed and sad.
- 07/15/2009 at 10:23 AM
  Miyuki
  Participant
  240 posts
  Sage Cat: LOL… sorry I’m sure it hurt but the way you told it was funny I used to have stripes on my leg sometimes…
  
  Katnip: I forgot about bugs in the grass… I guess I don’t get out enough . I was just concerned the bunnies would end up in the sun and die of heat stroke! Since we are in Hawaii… and the sun is out all the time. But now that I think about it we also have roaches and sometimes centipedes running around in the grass. And we have a stray cat problem. The buns might get attacked!
  
  Thanks everyone for giving me ideas. They don’t know me but I can feed information through my mother. I’d hate for the coworker to bother my mother all the time. Then I’d never hear the end of it from my mom! Do you think maybe if they read the book they’d see how much work it can be? :-\
  
  If I still had my bunny I’d have told them to come over and visit her. She was not litter trained so the poop would be everywhere and I’m sure none of them would have wanted to clean it all up . We had a dust pan and brush and it was our bunny pooper scooper.
  
  But yeah they definitely need to know that bunnies don’t always like to be petted and played with. They will ignore you if they want to and sometimes only want food! And attempting to pick them up can lead to scratches and possibly them dropping the rabbit if not held well. Then there’s the nail clippings… the chewing everything… the carpet ripping… the cage/living area cleaning.
  
  Guess I’ll see if there are any updates from my mother today… hopefully the update will be they decided not to do it…
- 07/15/2009 at 11:39 AM
  tabalab
  Participant
  309 posts
  hahah when you put it like that they sound so bad!!!
  
  Even though mine are naughty and I cant really pet them or hold them I still love them. Mine are just like fish to me SO pretty to look at and fun to watch for a bit but not the bet idea to pick up. Though if i have a carrot in my hand they will let me pet their head for a second or to and then they snatch the treat and run off.
- 07/15/2009 at 7:46 PM
  lancy
  Participant
  263 posts
  Posted By Sage Cat on 07/15/2009 10:01 AM
  
  The scratches from her back claws went all the way across . . . um . . . . . a very sensitive part of my chest! Funny part was J. thought it was sexy!
  
  that’d really hurt, i guess. but since it happened, have you thought about make it a tattoo? a sexy tatoo painted by Master Bun, sounds cool!
- 07/16/2009 at 6:52 AM
  Sage Cat
  Participant
  1883 posts
  He, he he – a tattoo!
  I’m to fickle for a tattoo.
  Although, I spotted what looks like a cool one on Tabalab’s neck in a photo on another post!
- 07/16/2009 at 8:22 AM
  tabalab
  Participant
  309 posts
  thanks I have nine! they are so addicting and totally worth the pain.
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