Hi there Nipikia

All breeds are different, and all rabbits have different personalities and it doesn’t matter what breed it is. A Netherland dwarf might be calm and friendly, another dwarf might be a bit scared and standoffish.

You don’t need to start with a young rabbit. A lot of shelters have older rabbits (1 year old +) and the personality of the rabbbit has already been established as well as litter habits. In shelters, you are saving 2 lives – the one of the rabbit that was there, and a spot for the next rabbit coming in.

I did research and I didn’t even think about shelters. It was my mistake. I have had my bunny since she was 7-8 weeks old. You don’t really know what kind of personailty you are getting when you get a baby, so that is why I recommend a shelter or a person that is fostering a rabbit.
 

I was very overwhelmed when the bunny actually came into my house. I did a lot of research, and it was a very tough few weeks, but after a while, it got better and I don’t know what I would do without my fuzz ball. Baby rabbits can be very scared, and will generally tolerate holding, but when the hormones kick in and as they get older, some just do not like to be held or cuddled period.

Rabbits can be easily litter trained. It helps to get the rabbit spayed or neutered early. Boys at 4 months, girls at 6 months. It also helps bring down the territorial and hormonal behaviors.

Beware that some house rabbits are more destructive than others, so you must tell your parents that the house/apartment needs to be rabbit proofed. Click on ‘ bunny info ‘ at the top of the banner for more info

No one can give you a definite answer on how long or how easy it is to train any one particular rabbit. Some rabbits are easier than others and there is not particular breed that is easier.

It’s great that your parents are making you do your research.

Spaying and Neutering is a must for any rabbit owner. Realize though that young rabbits may lose their litter habits when they reach puberty and it may take some time even after they are altered to get back into good litter habits.

There are techniques you will try once you get your rabbit but no one can say how easy or how long your particular rabbit will take to using a litter box.

I potty trained my rabbit in about a few weeks. Rabbits will go do their business in a certain corner, so it is always good to have 2 litter boxes (cat box sized ones, no lid on top) in the corner they go in. There will likely be stray poops, so just put the poop into the litter box. After spaying my rabbit, her litter habits became top.

Rabbit litter you can use is wood stove pellets, care fresh, paper pellets. Do not use pine shavings as it is harmful to the rabbit’s respiratory system.

You will need to find a good rabbit savvy vet as well. Just a warning, they are not cheap pets But very enjoyable when given good care

If your parents would prefer to have a rabbit that would adjust quickly – litter-habit wise – to your home, your surest bet is definitely adopting an already neutered/spayed rabbit from a shelter.

The shelter will be able to tell you how good the rabbit’s litter-habits are, and like others have said, they will also have a good idea of the rabbit’s personality. There is still a chance the rabbit might not initially react well to a new environment, but at least it’s not a complete shot in the dark like getting a baby bunny.

I agree with what everybody is saying! Though a baby bunny is absolutely the cutest thing on the face of the Earth, remember that each and every bunny in the shelter is just as special and was a baby once too. The bunny “teenage years” can be extremely frustrating to deal with, so adopting an older bunny means that you won’t have to deal with crazy behavior and the bun will already have developed litter habits.  When you buy a baby bunny, there’s no way of telling what his/her personality will be like, whereas older buns have already developed personalities that you can pick to suit what you want.  Welcome to the forums and keep us updated on your search for a bunny! Don’t hesitate to ask questions, we’re here to help

You’re already in the right place for research. Welcome!
If you scroll up to the top of this page, you’ll see a green banner. One heading is BUNNY INFO. Mouse over that for a drop down menu. It is full of all the basic information you need to set up house with a new rabbit and what to expect. Also, if you click the HOME page, it has different sections listed on bunny care, as well as what to expect on the costs.

If you want to share it with your parents, consider clicking on the info. sections you find the most helpful and printing it out. Then you can read it together, as well as have a resource for your information. Generally cruise around the whole site for descriptions and photos of what you need to get and learn.

The other best source of info. is the House Rabbit Society website, http://www.rabbit.org. There you can find listings of local vets when you input your zip code, recommended diets for bunnies of all ages, and other great info. I urge you to read up there as well.

Always consider getting a bunny at a local shelter. If you are willing to get one 6 months old, you can usually find a shelter that has saved a great little one and already had them spayed or neutered. The best part is you will save one bunny, make room there for another, save your parents hundreds of $ by having the speuter done already, and know that your bunny has been examined and is healthy. Plus you can ask about a personality that you would like. Lists of shelters are on HRS, or you can try Petfinder.com.

In my experience litter training is mostly about setting up their environment so they can be successful. If you don’t spay/neuter and always have bedding on the floor of the cage, the chances of full litter training go down. Every bunny is different though and some need more time than others. Both of mine were immediately “litter trained” and knew where to go, though Hannah isn’t always perfect – she has done some territorial marking (when we first got her) and will pee anywhere there is hay. As long as I keep hay off the floor and in the litter boxes/hay racks, she’s fine.

Sunny took about a day to get litter trained, and he was 5-6 weeks old I think. Like Elrowen said, I just had to figure out the best way to set up his environment for him . Now, he uses his litterbox in his cage, and when he’s out in the room that his cage is in, he will go in his cage and use it. It took me a while to figure out though, that he needed a second litterbox in the living room. He will use his litterbox in the living room too, but he does drop some poos in there from time to time. Bunny poos are super easy to clean up though, so I wouldn’t worry at all about that. Unless there is diarrhea, pee is what I’d be concerned with. And yes, he has peed on the couch! Be sure to have some type of cleaning spray specifically for this reason.