Thank you for considering her. Senior buns are often overlooked, which is a shame because they offer many benefits.

First off, I’m assuming she was spayed when a younger bun? If yes, the fact that she’s had no real health problems is a great sign.

Second, older buns have come into their own personality wise, so you can get a better idea of what type of bun she is and if you hit it off, so much the better. Not to mention that older buns are often more mellow, making bonding with them even more of a joy.

I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s litter trained too.

All in all, I’d always pick a senior over a baby if presented with the option.

Let us know what you decide and how it goes. This site has lots of great info for new bunny parents (Bunny Info tab at the top) and you can, of course, bombard us with questions once you’ve got your bun.

I suppose my main concern would also be whether she was already spayed or not. I’m assuming the rescue has spayed her if not?

While 6 is older, I wouldn’t call it old. Rabbit lifespan can range anywhere between 8-12 years. Like Q8 said, it’s likely she’s already litter trained. Adopting an adult you already know the personality. Of course an older rabbit is going to be more prone to illness and injury, the possibility of arthritis, or other issues cropping up, but that’s something you’d get with a younger rabbit once they grew older anyway. If they haven’t identified any current health concerns I wouldn’t say there’s anything more to worry about than if you were adopting a younger bunn. Vet care will likely increase the more she ages, but that’s just aging for you. You may also need to consider her living situation, once she starts to get a bit stiff and less athletic with age, she may not be able to jump on or off steps in her cage environment etc. But I think you’ve still got time before that yet. In terms of being a beginner, I think adults are better for beginners than baby rabbits, because with young rabbits you have to deal with puberty and going from being a cute cuddly baby, to a fiery and often territorial and urine spraying teenager before they settle into their adult personality.

Having had three rabbits over the last 12 years and reading rabbit forum posts for many years….all rabbits have different personalities!!!

My two now sister Flemish house rabbits have very different personalities!  They are now 10 months old. My previous rabbit was a rescue rabbit aged about 10 months when we got her.  My experience with rabbits is that the older they get living with you, the more they bond with you.   Almost no people understand what it’s like to have a pet rabbit.  For the millions of years of their existence, they have been prey animals…animals to be killed by dogs, wolves, foxes, eagles, owls, etc…..rabbits are social animals, but it it takes a while for a rabbit to really bond with you. The bonding process is individual.  Currently  one of my Flemish girls wants to have petting/massaging experience, the other Flemish sister is very reluctant to be touched. It’s just personalities.

From my very limited experience, I think that adopting a a senior bunny is a good thing.  

Most bunnies do well with litter box training. From this aspect, you can let them run loose in your house. The big problem with house bunnies is chewing.  With older and neutered rabbits, the chewing problem is minimized. Bunny, over the last many years of her 11 1/2 year age did not have a chewing problem.  Oat hay satisfied her chewing instinct. (Ok! in younger years she chewed a hole in our leather couch,, chewed holes in the carpet trying to make a bunny hole, chewed my shoes, chewed drapes, etc…but in old age she settled down…such a nice loving pet)

Cliffs Notes: A senior bunny can work out very well.

Yay for adopting senior animals !!
The only thing i would say (which is obvious) is you’re not sure how long bunny will live for (do any of us?).
Did she have a ‘harsh’ life before (living to 8 maybe) or a lazy, easy, luxurious house bunny existance (which could give her many more happy bunny years to maybe 12 or 13yo!?)
In any case, if she’s healthy now, she’ll be a Lucky bun to live the rest of her life out with you

We’re excited for you too !!!! Come by when you’ve got her and tell us how you’re getting on !!

Good luck at your bunny meet & greet!

I have a soft spot in my heart for the older buns. But like mentioned, I don’t really consider 6 old. Senior by definition but considering buns can live into their teens, not really that old. I currently have a little 9 year old boy.

Bright eyes and curiosity are signs of a healthy bunny. It’s hard to bond with a bunny during a short visit so I think I would just spend some time with the bun and decide if you like his personality. That’s what I did when I adopted my most recent boy.

My little boy nearly hurt himself trying to get at me from inside his hutch, and when I picked him up, he attached himself to my chest. It was either adopt him (I had come to adopt an older girl) or ruin a shirt I loved. He ended up coming home with me and the shirt only suffered one tiny little claw snag.

Q8 so funny !!

LPT – it wasn’t that simple though was it? hmmmm? – we almost had a “Bunxit” referendum on here for poor Sterling !!
We voted IN !!

Dakota- definitely you’ll feel ‘ohhh yeeeeesss’ or ‘maybe not this time’…. when you meet her. Good luck !!

Yaaay! But WE want tons of pictures.

Absolutely Dakota!!! Cute piccies please (it’s the market currency for helpful advice on this site) !!!!

Hooray! Congrats on adopting her! I’m so excited for you and I too can’t wait to see pics

It’s wonderful that you are giving her a home!

Yay!!!! Big Congrats to you and bunny!!!!!

She is just gorgeous

Bonding with rabbits can take quite a bit of time, a few months is pretty normal. Being prey animals, they’re naturally wary of interacting and being held by new people. She will learn to trust you with time and while she may not enjoyed being held, most rabbits don’t, I’m sure she will bond with you and come up to you to interact. For now, sitting or laying down on the floor when she’s out is the best thing. You’re already doing the right thing by offering her food, that’s the real way to win a rabbit’s heart Keep hand feeding her, also when she comes near you, it can help to just ignore her too. She needs to know that when she comes near you, that you’re not always going to react or try to reach out and pet her. So let her explore you without any reaction from you. With Bandit, I would sometimes lay on my back and put food on my stomach and then just let him climb on me to get it without me moving at all. You will get there, it will just take a bit of time.

I defintely echo what Az suggests : time, time, time and patience. Don’t try to pick her up until atleast… Christmas !

She (your bunny, not Az! ) will be very wary of you to begin with (and after every time you do something she doesn’t quite trust). But the “in between times” will become shorter each time.

So make her understand that you are all good, all food and all positive !!

She’s so pretty!!

What a beauty!!!!!!

Patience patience patience. It took Olivia well over a year to learn to enjoy my attention. Some bunnies, especially those that have a reason to be wary of humans, can take a long time to learn to trust their new person and surroundings.