Adopting 1 year old bunny?

[dwiley]

Hello everyone! I’m new here My husband and I have been thinking about adding a bunny to our family and I’ve been lurking around for a few weeks now doing research. We came across someone in our area who is rehoming their 1 year old female Mini Lop. She is adorable but I have a few questions – she is not spayed, would there be any behavioral or physical problems with a bunny this old that hasn’t been spayed yet? We would spay her of course. Also, we do have dogs and I’m wondering if perhaps a younger bunny would be less scared and easier to acclimate? They will of course be separated until they were all comfortable and safe and never left alone unsupervised. Any thoughts or advice for this newbie?

[jerseygirl]

Welcome : )

would there be any behavioral or physical problems with a bunny this old that hasn’t been spayed yet?

Are the owners forthcoming about their reason to rehome her? There may be some behavioral issues (mostly territorial toileting) but I believe most things can be managed. This can happen even with a desexed rabbit coming into a new environment. Usually, the territorial marking eases off. 

 Intact females may go through false pregnancies and be territorial about their habitat. But they also may be total love-bugs! It really depends on the rabbit and their history.

A spay at her age shouldn’t be an issue with a good rabbit vet. The older they are, the more fat there is around the uterus but an experienced vet should know their way around that.

Have you yet to meet this rabbit? Do you know if the current owners have dogs?

If she isn’t the right fit for you, try some rabbit rescues. Often the rabbits are already desexed and some living in foster care are already socialised with other pets. It would take away some of the worry for you.

[jerseygirl]

Oh another question! How are you and your husband with hay? Any allergies. With rabbits, you’ll have hay coming out of your ears… lol

[dwiley]

We are meeting her on Tuesday morning. The current owners do not have dogs, but they do have cat(s). And they said she has been around dogs before, but was nervous (she thumped her foot.) We would take it very, very slow. They are rehoming her because they are moving across the country for school and cannot take her. I asked if she had any behavioral issues and she didn’t say much except that she is destructive (aren’t all bunnies? I expect this) and she can jump really high. I asked about marking, etc and they said she is mostly potty trained.

We are also going to look at a rescue adoption event on Sunday and have found a breeder if all else falls through. We are big into animal rescue and would prefer to rescue if possible but because I want a smaller lop-eared, and it needs to do okay with our dogs, we are okay with buying if necessary. We are in no hurry though and will look until we find the perfect fit for our home!

Here are some photos of her! I know she’s not supposed to be on her back – I didn’t take this photo!

[jerseygirl]

Oh you must be in love already. How cute!

(The photos didn’t show so I’ve fixed that for you. When you’ve uploaded the image file as an attachment, you just need to click on the Insert Image icon to the right of the file name. )

[dwiley]

Thank you! Yes, I’m already in love which is NOT good haha. Also, about your hay question – I had allergy testing done last year and I’m allergic to a few trees and weeds, but no grass/hay thankfully! Hopefully it’s okay! If not, we already have HEPA filters in our home so that should help even if I’m allergic.

[Author]

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