Welcome and I am so sorry to hear about Mrs. Houdini I would suggest going and visiting a shelter or rabbit rescue in your area. All breeds have bunnies that fit that mold, it just depends on the rabbit. By going to a rescue you can go visit them yourself and see who appeals to you. You can ask them how the rabbit is around other pets, etc. I have a mini rex who is more social than my other two that are lop/dutch mutts.

Hi Alika! Welcome to the forum. I’m sorry it’s under such sad circumstances. I know how hard it is to lose a bunny. (((((binky free Mrs. Houdini))))

As for your question about breeds… I have a mini rex. At least, that’s what the shelter told me when I adopted him. He’s a bit too large to be a mini rex (5lbs) though, according to the ARBA breed standard. I don’t mind that he’s probably a mixed breed or a standard rex  – more to love! He is so much fun. I’ve heard other rex owners saying their buns have great personalities, but Leroy is my first and only rex, so I don’t know about the others…

He’s got a great quirky personality, and is a very confident, out going rabbit.  I don’t have other pets and he’s never met my parents’ dog, so I don’t know how he does with other animals, though my guess would be that he’d get along with them.  He likes people and LOVES my sister even though he’s only met her once.  He doesn’t seem to like my boyfriend much, but that’s becasue Leroy is a jealous bun! He’s very demanding of me, but he does it in such a cute way, with little head butts, that I don’t mind at all! He’s a terrible begger; I can’t eat anything without him coming over and having a sniff. If he decides he likes it, he’ll try to swipe a bite, but of course I don’t let him, and then he’ll stand around until I’ve eaten it all, giving me cute googly-eyed looks and nudges, and standing on his back legs trying to poke his nose in and steal some! If he decides whatever I’m eating is gross, he’ll do a quick 180 and run away, flicking his feet at me, as if it’s offensive to him that I’m eating something he doesn’t approve of! He’s very opinionated and likes things done his way – when he doesn’t get enough play time or when he’s had enough of being held, or when he wants a treat, he lets me know. Sometimes even with foot stomps and grunts! He thumps a lot though, and not always becasue he’s upset. He’ll thump when he’s excited about getting a treat or when he’s binkying and zooming around the house. He likes to climb all over me when I’m laying on the floor, and he’ll sit on my chest and let me pet him for ages. He’s a very affectionate bun, giving out LOTS of kisses, though he’ll only put up with being held for so long. He’d rather sit near me and get his pettings sitting on the floor.

Granted, all those traits are specific to Leroy, so it may be that not all rexes are like that. I’ve heard that the larger breeds are more cuddly and will “put up with” more pettings and lovings from a human slave, and that smaller breeds, like neatherland dwarfs and lionheads, are more finicky and at times stand off-ish. However, I had a neatherland dwarf for years ( she was 8 when she died, I believe) and she let me snuggle with her and from what I’ve heard, ALL buns can be finicky! So… it really does depend on the individual rabbit’s personality more than its breed. There are a lot of great mixed breed buns out there, and I know a lot of the members on here can tell you stories about their mixed breed rabbits.

Especially since you’re looking for specific traits, I would highly recommend looking for rabbits at a humane society or rabbit rescue. Most of the buns there are full grown, meaning they’ve settled into their personalities. At a humane society, you can spend time getting to know multiple rabbits and their personalities and from there choose one that you connected with the best (rather than picking a breeder pretty much at random and then getting a young bun whose personality hasn’t fully developed). And if you don’t find one at that particular rescue, you can try a different shelter, or you can wait until the “right” one comes along.

Also, all the shelters, humane societies, and rabbit rescues that I know of spay/neuter the rabbits before they are adopted out. Then, for a small fee, usually around $50, you get a bunny that has had a full check up from a vet and the spay/neuter already taken care of – meaning less territorial behaviors (like stinky territorial poops and pee spots, aggression, and personality changes/mood swings), lower risk of cancer (rabbits are prone to reproductive cancers), and less hassle (in contrast to getting a baby bun from a breeder and then having to deal with the teenage years and all the terrors that come with them and then having to schedule the surgery and taking care of the bun post-op). In addition you get the satisfaction of knowing you helped a bun in need and gave it a second chance at life with a new, loving home! There are already too many rabbits out there without homes becasue of careless breeders and profit focused pet stores and weak parents who can’t say no to their spoiled kids and then later dump the rabbit at the shelter after determining that their kid won’t take care of the rabbit.  And buying from a breeder or a pet store only encourages breeders to breed more buns for the money… If you haven’t noticed, I’m REALLY pro-adoption!

Oh and just fyi, not a lot of buns like being held; probably because they’re a prey animal and when you hold them you take away their one defense – flight. Doesn’t mean you can’t look for one who enjoys being held! Keep in mind, that a lof ot shelter buns may be frightened and will turn to you for protection, so even if a rabbit seems to initially like being held, once you take them home and they get settled in, they may decide that they have better things to do, like explore what’s behind that open door or chew the carpet, than to be held by their human slave Only reason I mention is this is because the first couple weeks I brought home Leroy, he wanted to be held, but now he just barely tolerates it, for my sake.

i own a dutch rabbit. they are really great pets-with their outgoing personality and love to play- but they are very active! you must be willing to provide them with several hours of safe play each day!

ohhh as far as snuggling, i would go with a holland lop. they are VERY VERY docile and most would sit for long periods of time. however, it still relies on the individual!

Posted By bunnycutie on 09/02/2009 03:34 PM
ohhh as far as snuggling, i would go with a holland lop. they are VERY VERY docile and most would sit for long periods of time. however, it still relies on the individual!

  Not mine….well Archie used to but once he got bonded to Gracie he was whipped and spent time with her.  He only comes to me for treats now haha!  But he is very very cute!  But Sandy loves attention and being cuddled with.  Archie is a Holland lop, Gracie is a Mini lop, and Sandy is (I believe) a French lop…as you can see I love lops   But it really depends on the bunnies personality.  I fostered a 1/2 mini lop for a while she she wasn’t very socialable.  

We had a similar thread in Behaviour forum just recently. It might be worth a read. I’ll echo the others here – breed can indicate some of their nature but SO much more comes into it and everybunny is different. I cannot  over emphasise how much looking into shelter rabbits can help find what you are after. Usually adult and already fixed, all the hormones related behaviours are out of the way. The rabbits personalities have been observed also. Some in foster homes may have already lived with other pets and the carers can give a really specific information about behaviour, personality etc.

I’m sorry for your loss of Mrs Houdini.  I hope you can find your future rabbit soon and you can experience again the joys that she brought. They are great healers.

I second Jersey – the local SPCA here fosters out its buns ( if it can) – the foster parents can tell you so much more about the rabbit in a non-stressful environment. Jackson, our new guy, was a shelter Bun and had not been fostered. His temperament in the shelter was much more docile then he has revealed himself to be – He is also a bit more of a troublemaker than Coco and has already taught her that hardwood floors are not to be feared.
Jackson is a Chinchilla Grey (a LARGE one)

Coco, our Dutch girl, is feisty and SMART. A problem solver and root clearer ( biting and chewing are her fave activities) – she is FAR more affectionate than Jackson as she was the lone Bun for well over a year when we rescued her from the back of a basement. She is the one to show Jackson that the big people are harmless, the bringers of food and treats and nose rubs.

Depending on your locale, you will most likely be able to hook up with a rescue or shelter who can make a love match for you , Plus Foster buns are usually already litter trained/spayed and neutered etc, so that is one less thing to have to tackle!

Welcome!! I’m so sorry to hear that your bunny passed away. You must have a real sweet dog and cats, to notice and be so solemn

I think that the easiest bunnies are the biggest bunnies-they seem more settled and easy going.

If you want fiesty trouble-Dutch. They are super intelligent and fun, and hard to keep up with

Check out the shelters though for sure-then you can see how they are

Welcome and I am also sorry to hear about your loss.

You have gotten some really great advice and I am just here to double triple ditto the suggestions about looking for a rabbit rescue or shelter group when you are searching for certain characteristics.Check out Petfinder.com as it is a great resource for shelters and people can check out a bunch of bunnies all at once from surrounding rescues and shelters. though.

Regarding finding a bunny that will enjoy being picked up: You will find that that most rabbits do not enjoy being picked up. That’s just part of being a prey animal. But on a rare occasion there will be some that actually enjoy it, not just tolerate it well. Many people think that if they get a baby rabbit and handle it, it will learn to trust and enjoy being held. I think it can help in making it easier to handle them, if they are used to it, but it doesn’t mean they will actually enjoy it. I know that it can be “typical” for smaller bunnies to be more high-strung and larger bunnies to be more relaxed, but with that said, plenty of bunnies haven proven me wrong.

I know someone mentioned Lops are docile, but not mine either! I also had a Holland Lop, and she was a major diva strong willed gal, far from docile. Lops can be so deceiving with that loppy lazy look!  However, she did love snuggling but on the ground only.  She loved tobe pet for hours, so I’d grab a few pillows and just watch TV or whatever on the floor.   She was more tolerant than my other bunnies of being held, which made it easier for me to clip her nails etc, but if I took too long, she’d try and eat my shirt. She did not enjoy being held at all. It was just a “Okay, fine, but let’s get this over with shall we?” type of behavior.  

Keep us updated with what you decide!

 your welcome i am sure if you look around you’ll find the right bunny spend time with it before you buy it so you know if its personality is the one you want good luck on your bun hunt

Petfinder.com has some good descriptions sometimes and you can find some close to your area.

keep in mind that not all rescues and Humane Societies list every pet on petfinder.  Our local Humane Society neuters or spays the bunnies and they are placed in local pet stores for adoption- and they are NOT on petfinder.  So it could be worth a couple of calls to local shelters and rescues.

I adopted Schroeder from a neighboring county Humane Society- and Schroeder was not on petfinder- most likely because he was in a petstore for adoption that has a high volume shoppers.

That’s true. There’s a Wildlife Shelter an hour from where I live that listed some very cute bunnies on Petfinder. When I called them, they said that those bunnies were gone, but they had about 80 bunnies there and they just listed them so people would know where to find bunnies. You actually had to make an appointment to visit and see who was on site that day.

Just adding more to the discussion – Jackson ( The gray guy in my avatar) is officially a “foster” rabbit and is actually still listed on the Montreal SPCA – we wanted to make sure he and Coco would be able to bond before we became his official forever home..So to get him out of the shelter ( and make room for other rabbits) we decided to foster with the intent and hope to adopt.

I just let their coordinator know a couple of days ago that the bond is progressing well, and that I took Jackson to our exotics vet to get a file started on him. Most likely next week I will return the cage they lent me and sign the official adoption papers for Jackson.

If we had more room I would happily foster more – But I worry that I would end up wanting to adopt them all! You foster Parents – how do you do it when it is time for them to leave?

Awwww! Yay! That’s so exciting! And it’s great that you rescued her from having to go to the shelter or sold to someone with a big hungry snake *shudder*

Pictures are a must! You might want to start a new thread. I saw that BB had started a new section in the Lounge, called Welcome for new forum members and their buns.

Congrats! Its good she found her forever home and doesnt have to be terrorized by little grabby hands and screams! Looks like it all worked out in the end, and everybun is happier! We will need pictures! I’m sure her name will come to you!

I have heard very good things about Dutchs, that they are moderate and energetic. I have always had mini lops, which are large with a good even temperament (cat-sized). I also have an American, I think, and she is very mild and shy, but I think they are rather hard to find at shelters.

When you’re ready for the rabbit, the rabbit will come! Congratulations. Definately post about her in the new Welcome forum section. You’ll be the first! Look forward to what you will name her.

Congrats on the new bun! Victoria is a great name! Can’t wait to see the little princess!