Welcome to the forums!
A new bunny is always exciting! I definitely think you are on the right track by going to a rescue. Rescue volunteers and foster parents will have spent lots of time with their bunnies and will know their individual personalities. Bring up your concerns with the people at the rescue and let them know what you are looking for. They will then be able to select bunnies you can meet based on your criteria. It is true that it is hard to tell a bunny’s personality at a young age like 8 weeks. Most all bunnies at this age will tolerate being held and carried around, a lot of the time because they are too small to put up much of a fight. It is also common for people to think their bunny has turned into a monster when their sweet little baby turns into an angry teenager. However, most of the time after being altered, a lot of these negative behaviours will pass. Adopting an older bunny helps to bypass all of this and you will know what personality you are getting in the end.

Now, you say you want a ‘lap bun.’ This is a worrying thing that I hear from many potential bunny owners. In general, rabbits are not lap pets and although there are always exceptions, most of them don’t enjoy being forced to sit in one place or to even be handled that much. Although all of my bunnies are affectionate and loving, none of them are ‘lap buns’ and they all have their individual personalities. If your expectations are for a pet that will always be in the mood to sit and be cuddled and fussed over, then a probably bunny isn’t one of them! (At least in my experience, others will chime in on this matter as well.) Also, you say you don’t want a bunny that chews. This is a natural bunny behaviour and is necessary to wear down teeth. Of course there are those rare bunnies that don’t chew much, but regardless, you will need to fully bunny proof your house if you are wanting a free range bun. Anyways, my worry is that your expectations of what you want your next rabbit to be is kind of against their natural behaviours.

So talk to your local rescues and see what kind of bunnies they have. I’m sure you will find one that you ‘click’ with and even if they like to chew or dig, you will probably be able to overlook these behaviours as many of us bunny parents do because the other qualities of our rabbits are worth it! Good luck and I hope this helped somewhat. You will have to post pics when you find the right bun as well!

Posted By misskrisnyc on 06/20/2010 07:30 PM
I find watching run/play/jump/frollick/explore time fun to watch, so I am not necessarily looking for a lazy rabbit, but I am looking for a friendly/sweet rabbit who will be happy to snooze on the sofa next to me and enjoy pets too, somewhat of a lap bunny.

Well, I think we all want a lap bunny. And seeing that most of us don’t have one, I think that is quite a clear indicator that you will have trouble finding one. Bunnies are not like cats and dogs that love getting up on your lap and snuggle. Having bunnies mean getting down on the floor a lot and it means a lot of time just looking at them and not be part of their games. I know some people in here have bunnies that don’t even want cuddles! So, you really have to think hard before getting one.

I have had four bunnies within the last 1½ year and only one of them was a cuddle bunny. He would love getting into bed and snuggle, and he would come running when he saw me on the couch to sleep on me and be petted. But he was old. He was a senior bunny, when I got him, which I think has played a major role. Also, he had renal failure (among many other things), so he was more relaxed than my younger bunnies.

So, I would say you should go for a senior bunny as they are not as energetic and are more into just sitting next to you and be petted.

Also looking to start with an exercise pen and hopefully go free range if the rabbit is well mannered enough, so I’m thinking someone not as energetic or high strung may be a better choice for that (I’m assuming less energy to work out means less chance of being destructobun, but maybe there’s no correlation here?)

Yes and no. If you get a teenage bunny you could give him all the exercise in the world, and he will still be destructive. That’s the charm of teenage bunnies  But yes, if you provide your bunny with lots of run time, with tons of toys that suits his personality and you bunny proof your place, then the destruction should be minimal. But living with bunnies do mean, loosing some stuff now and then.

Anyhow… that was sort of a tangent. Point is, some of the rescues have rather young rabbits, one of them with a litter of 8 week old rabbits, and I’m told at that point it’s too young to have a great deal of insight into individual personalities. Is that true?

If you pick a 8 week old bunny, then you pick it because of its adorable look and because you would love to see it grow up and into a horrible teenager and later a calm and sweet adult. Don’t pick it because you want a certain personality. If you want a certain personality, then go for an adult and go to a shelter, where they actually spend a lot of time with the bunnies. Most breeders probably don’t know the personality of their bunnies, because they have so many and they live in outdoor hutches. So I think you are better off going to a shelter. But that is just one of my prejuidices so I might be wrong

Other questions: General tips for what to do when meeting a bunny for the first time? Questions I should ask, things to look for?

I remember when we went to pick up Karl at the shelter, my only test was “Does the bunny like to be picked up?” They all looked cute, so that was the only test. But later I found out that the reason Karl was so easy to pick up was because he was so shy and timid. I’m not sure what you should ask for, because it is also a matter of chemistry between you and the bunny. But look for clear eyes, healthy looking fur, check the bottom to see if there are any urine scalds or wet poop, check the ears. And just follow your heart.

Welcome! I’m so glad you are looking into adopting! That will give much better insight into the personality of any rabbits you look at.

Sounds like most of your concerns were addressed. I would look around for a good rescue that interacts with their rabbits often and will allow you to possibly place a deposit on a potential rabbit and come back a couple times to interact with this rabbit on different occasions. From the sounds of your posts, I bet you would do well adopting a bonded pair of rabbits.

Having a pair is great, you can see them play together, flop, groom each other… ahh bonded buns. PLUS if you get a bonded pair, you don’t have to go through the whole bonding process if you decide later on to get a mate for your single bun. It can be quite the ordeal for some, or as easy as a single introduction for a pair to bond. personally, if I were you, I’d go for the pair.

The only thing is it would cost a bit more in food, you’d need to clean more litter, and potential vet bills. But 2 is so much more fun than one, in my opinion

I said that since you are experienced with rabbits. And pairs tend to make LESS trouble b/c they have each other for company. Adopting a bonded pair is so much easier b/c you don’t need to deal with introductions and bonding sessions yourself. And this way they have each other when you’re not around. Food and vet costs are higher like Monkey said, but you’re saving money initially b/c both buns are coming already altered.

I would drive anywhere in the country to pick up a pair of flemmies!!! LOL!

Some rescues only adopt out paired rabbits, or singles to people who already have one at home. But it is true that it’s sometimes harder to place pairs.

Posted By misskrisnyc on 06/22/2010 04:13 PM

There’s a gorgeous pair of flemish giant mixes on petfinder around here, but I’m still waiting to hear back from that particular rescue. We’ll see!

Ohhhhh… A flemish giant pair!  (envious gasps)   I know you haven’t even met the pair yet, but I just love big bunnies, and in general, flemishes have a sweet disposition.   (Of course, there are many exceptions to every rule when it comes to breeds). 

Wishing you success on finding the right bunny or right pair for you. 

The fact that you are researching and asking questions beforehand is wonderful!  You’ll make a great bunny slave…again.  

Keep us updated. 

Everyone who’s talked about rescues here has said that the advantage of adult bunnies is that their personalities are known to the rescue staff. So if you describe what you like in a bunny, they can steer you to the ones that are more of the disposition you want. And if you’re open to big as well as 2-3 years old, you probably have some wonderful bunnies who would love to be yours to meet.

I have to add to the “adopt an adult or maybe a pair from a good shelter”.  While babies are adorable, they get psycho as teenagers and you also have the expense and worry of a spay/neuter.  A good rescue will have some idea of the personalities of their buns and will listen to you and let you meety with several buns.  Red Door set me up in a pen with access to some parsely for bribes and brought me buns one at a time to see which got along with me.

I’d planned to get her a friend after a couple of months but she had other ideas.  Bonding is HARD so if you thin you might like a pair you may want to consider getting a bonded pair to start with.  When Pepper finally leaves me that’s what I plan to do.

Maybe this was just the rescue by my house…
But it seems to me like there are ALOT of 1 year old – 2 year old rabbits needing adoption. So I say get a “young” adult in that age range.
I would imagine it’s because many people buy baby bunnies from pet stores and it takes them about a year for them or their kids to get bored and realize they want a dog

Lucy was a little over a year when I adopted her and she is perfect! Young enough that I know I will have her for a while and aren’t immediatly saddled with health problems, and old enough that I didn’t have to deal with any of the hard “baby” work.

Plus like you said…I got to meet the “real” her instead of trying to predict what she would turn into.

My experiance with ‘young’ bunnies vs mature bunnies … I’ll take the mature one anyday and not have the surprises that come with a young hormonal bunny.
When i found Aniseed she was 6-8 months old, the SWEETEST bunny ever. I decided I could not live without this bunny, soon after her spay the ‘adult’ Ani was a BAG, she grunts, nips, and just has a bad additude overall LOL… Where as PitStop was a mature bunny I met and then took in, he’s always been sweet as the day i met him.

My advice meet as many bunnies as you can, visit shelters and just play with them all… someones (or a pair of someones) bound to take your heart
Good luck!

I am in total agreement with all advice above, especially “ILoveLucy”.
The only other thing I will add is… I have found that Holland lops are more layback, calmer generally speaking — in case thats a factor you’re interested in. I agree whole heartedly that an adult rescue is always soooo sweet. I believe that they know they are getting a 2nd chance. Hope this helps.

@Minty:  Sully is gorgeous!!

I specifically asked for older females because I wanted to give somebunny a chance and figured that the cute babies would not go loacking for homes.  Pepper was about a year and a half when I got her.