You’ve invested months in these little guys and have watched them grow. I bet it was really exciting. I think it’s only natural for you to want them to go to a loving home and to have high standards for their new home.
I agree with you to not want them going to a home with kiddo da, especially young kids. They can be rough and loud, and as you said they get bored quickly. I would wait for someone else.

Hi Minnie

I just read in one of your other posts that the babies are lionhead/angora mix. So my question is how much maintenance is their coat going to take? Has their full coat come in yet at this age??

The potential new owners will need to fully understand what grooming will be required. People experience with this would be most ideal.

As for the person with kids, have you visited the home at all? How old are the children and how much do they respect their parents rules?? Sure, we read a lot of stories about kids mishandling rabbits but that doesn’t mean all kids will. There are some great parents that teach their children proper care and handling. Hopefully those children become life-long rabbit owners & advocates.

I suppose what you’d need to establish is that this mother does know this will essentially be her rabbit and care will likely fall to her if the kids lose interest. Is she prepared for that? Has she had rabbits before??

Personally, Id want some sort of contract that ensured any rabbits came back to you if the new owner found it not working out for them. No questions asked.

It’s likely not something you could keep track of if they later rehomed the rabbit without your knowlege, but if they’re willing to agree to something like that when first taking a rabbit, it shows some level of commitment & responsibility.

I don’t envy you at all. I had a rabbit (Maple) who came to me pregnant and had only 1 kit survive. The plan was always to find her and the baby new homes when the baby was old enough. I couldn’t part with either of them! Lol. I think if the other kits had survived birth, I may have gone ahead and found homes. As it was just the mum and one and they stayed bonded, I ended up keeping them as a pair.

It would be good to make sure that any potential adopter is well versed in rabbit care, or is willing to learn all about it before they bring a rabbit home. They need to know about proper diet, housing, bunny proofing, health issues, etc. They need to understand that a rabbit can be a 10 year or more commitment. That rabbits can be costly and they need to have a rabbit savvy vet. If someone has never had rabbits before, they need to make sure that they aren’t allergic to them or to hay. That goes for all members of their family.

How young are these children? Will they understand that rabbits are delicate and must be handled very carefully? Do they know that rabbits don’t like to be held and can be injured easily or can scratch or bite if they are held? Will someone be able to provide the daily care needed?

It sounds like you are adopting the bunnies out together. I’m not sure how old they are. Have they been neutered? If not, any potential adopter needs to know that they can’t be kept together until they have been neutered (which is costly) and properly bonded.

So many people do not understand about a rabbit’s ways and their care, and they soon realize that they made a mistake and no longer want the rabbit. The sanctuary where I volunteer is inundated with calls and emails from people asking us to take rabbits that they no longer want. The other rescues that I know of are in the same situation. If only people would take the time to do their research and make sure that a rabbit is the right companion animal for them, there wouldn’t be so many poor rabbits being discarded. This subject is very close to my heart. I’m in charge of the email account for the sanctuary and I stay depressed after reading and answering one email after the other from people who no longer want their rabbits. Sorry to go off the subject of your original post.

Perhaps you could give out a care sheet with them, so that the adopters always have something to refer to. You could also tell them that they could always call you for advice

I think its important to emphasise how long bunnies can live, what a proper diet should be, hutch size, and illnesses that they’re prone to. Hopefully a responsible person will have researched that anyway, but it might help you to feel reassured.

I know I would find it very difficult to let anyone take my bunnies, but I think that would help.

A little tip from the other side – we originally got our buns “for our kids” but it’s 100% me doing all the work! I can understand your worry but if the parent was that excited about them, then maybe they will be the one putting the effort in to take care of them. If you discount the time that my 3 year old climbed inside the bun cage, then I’d say I’m doing a pretty good job of keeping them separate and teaching the kids to respect the rabbits.

That being said, I have to rehome one from our accidental litter and it’s really breaking my heart. I think a care sheet will help, as well as stressing the commitment that you’re taking on when having a rabbit. I’m tempted to ask for photos of our little one as she grows up too.