Crunch time…

[Sadie]

You guys have been so nice to me over the last few days. I’ve learned a lot, more than I did in the weeks of research that I did before bringing our babies home…

Here’s the deal. I researched extensively about caring for rabbits, although you all understand that research is nothing compared to practical experience. We were planning on getting one bunny, but fell in love with two when we went to get our baby, so we brought them both home. I thought it was best for the rabbit to be with one of thier own kind. We love them and take care of them well and will be able to continue to do so, although it has been more work than I expected. Now, to be clear, I am a mother (3 kids) and an experienced pet owner so I am not shy of a little work.

My husband was at work and asking an experienced rabbit owner for her advice and she said she would take one of the bunnies off our hands. She doesn’t have a rabbit now, hers recently died after living a long, happy life. I am sure that she has the means and the capability to take care of this baby, perhaps better than I could.

We have a full house, both with humans (3 kids, us and my mother in law so 3 adults) and animals (two dogs, one cat, sugar gliders, fish, birds and various other little things that never leave their aquarium/terrarium homes.) and someone is always home, so I don’t think the bunny will feel lonely, and I think I will be better able to take care of the one rabbit, not to mention be able to provide vet. care and other expensive things better for the one rabbit at a time.

You guys don’t know me from anybody, so I feel like I will get honest opinions here. I want whats best for the rabbits involved and whats best for my household/personal sanity. I’m still thinking I’d like to ultimately have two rabbits, but maybe we’ll stick with one now and then get another one later on when this one is established, litter trained and a little older.

What do you, the bunny experts and rabbit lovers, think?

 

[Beka27]

I would consider giving one of the babies to this other person. It’s true that we don’t know you “from anybody”, but within the correspondence we’ve had, it indicates to me that you really, really love animals and you want what’s best for them. There is nothing wrong with saying, “Two baby buns are too much work for me right now.” You didn’t know going into it. The majority of us did not know initially what rabbit “ownership” was going to entail. We love it now, we excel in it, but we’ve all had those “Stupid rabbit!” moments too.

And baby bunnies ARE hard. And messy, and hormonal, and EXPENSIVE (spay/neuter is NECESSARY… and NOT CHEAP!)

If this woman really wants one of the babies, and she’ll provide a suitable, indoor, spay/neutered life for one of them, I would do it. I might request an occasional photo update, at least at first… but it sounds like she cares.

Rabbits are very sociable creatures, and while there is nothing quite like watching a pair snuggle happily, they can get their companionship from their people and from other furry animals in the house. These babies are so young right now, that they really won’t even miss each other, especially in a few months when hormones get out of whack. You would never want to separate a truly bonded pair, but baby bunnies don’t really count as “bonded”.

[TARM]

I disagree. I think if you give up one of the babies you will regret it. I got my bunny boys when they were 5 weeks old and yes, they were messy but the messy phase didn’t last long. I got them neutered as soon as their testicles dropped so they didn’t make it to the hormonal phase.

I am a single mother of two and I also have a house full of animals. I think your original gut instinct was right and that at the moment you’re a little overwhelmed…but this phase will pass faster than you think. And remember, it’s OK if their cage isn’t spotless all the time. Don’t kill yourself trying to keep up with poop, that’s a losing battle. I survived by shop vaccing mine in the morning and again at night. It will get to be routine and 10 minutes total of shop vaccing a day will seem like a minor inconvenience until they are litter trained.

[Sarita]

Ultimately you need to do what is best for you and your family.

Your bunny will be fine on her own if you give the other bunny to your husband’s co-worker and you know she would be going to a good home.

And as Beka stated, they snuggle now, but once puberty reaches, watch out and right now, they truly aren’t bonded, they are just siblings.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

I agree with TARM, you should keep both, and if you give one up now you will probably regret it later. It will get a lot easier after they mature and are bonded so you would just have to get over a hard patch.

[Deleted User]

I don’t know what ages your children are Sadie but if there is a doubt in your heart as to whether you want the two rabbits, give one up now while she is a baby and a good home has offered to take her. I am saying this because there is a chance that you may have to go through bonding procedures with them which would require you to have the space, time and nerves for that. If you are struggling to keep up with them now, consider that this is nothing compared to bonding struggles. As TARM mentions you can have two buns neutered and bonded in a jiffy but I say not always.
Why did the co-worker offer to “take one off your hands”, were you saying that you are in over your head?

[MirBear]

i really dont know what to suggest, i had to seperate my bunny from her sister when we bought her… but thats because at that time we didnt have the space, and then later i got another and once i get them fixed they will be bonded…
i say just do what you feel is right for them. you can always get another bunny later if you want but once you get attached its hard to make the decision to re-home it.

and with you being a mother and all im sure your quite in tune with your “gut instinct” it should help you decide

[kralspace]

If you decide you want another bunny later on, you get to experience bunny dating!

[Beka27]

Posted By MirBear on 03/17/2010 01:24 PM

you can always get another bunny later if you want but once you get attached its hard to make the decision to re-home it.

 

 

In my opinion, this is the key.  There are few topics that we really don’t collectively agree on, but this seems to be one… LOL!

You can always adopt another rabbit someday down the line when you are more experienced and mentally, financially, and physically able to do it.  A part of me thinks of this as not being too much different than having an accidental litter and rehoming some of the babies.  There’s no law stating that in that situation, you have to keep every single bunny.  You took them in, assumed the responsibility, you owe them the best possible life.  Whether or not it’s with you, you seem to have their best interest’s in mind.   

It’s absolutely your decision.  I think they would both have a wonderful life with you, but I am not going to hold it against you if you decide one is enough for you (and your family!) right now.  If you had decided they were too much work and just dumped one off at a shelter, then I would be a bit peeved… but you are in contact with an experienced person to take the baby into her home.

[MirBear]

i agree. at least she would go to someone who 1) you know personally (ish) 2) she’s not in a shelter. and 3) you can always have her back if the other lady decides she can no longer keep her

[RabbitPam]

I think it’s perfectly fine to have only one of the bunnies now. It’s before you are bonded yourself with them, they may not be as comfortable with the dogs and cats as you would like, and you have a very full house. Loneliness is not an issue in your set up. And the bunny might be very content in the company of everyone else. while you have an experienced bunny owner who lost a beloved pet and would want to take one of them in, I think you would be helping the bunny and the person.

To put a different spin on it, if you get overwhelmed, even with one bunny but it’s too much with everyone else in your home, the single bunny owner might take the second baby and bond them at her house. But either way, they won’t automatically bond as teens despite being sisters. Assuming your bunny is fine and you want a friend down the road, she has a chance at love with a neutered little guy from a shelter.

[Sadie]

OK – thanks guys. You’ve been very helpful. I think that I am going to wait to do a little bunny interview with this lady tomorrow. If everything is up to my standards, she can have little Celery (she can change her name too, I guess ) If not, then I guess we were meant to have two. I would rather move into a bigger house than give our little baby to a shelter, or give the rabbit my room and I’d sleep in my car. I don’t think it will come to that.

I’ll keep you posted…

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I agree-totally up to you

And as a first rabbit-I think one is better. You don’t have to bond, and two spay/neuter surgeries-and a LOT of people find out their two boys or two girls are in fact one of each when babies appear which is bad. And I think you’ll bond better to the bunny if there is just one Even if someone isn’t always home-they are most active in the evening and that works for working people too. Ultimately up to you-but yeah I think one is better

[Elrohwen]

I’m going to go with Beka’s advice on this one.

Knowing how female buns are, they are likely to reach an age where their hormones go crazy and they fight. You’ll have to separate them, pay for spaying for both, then re-bond, which can be very tough (bonding is toughest in female-female pairs as it is). For that reason alone, if you have any doubts about your ability to pay for both neuters or to have the time and patience to re-bond them, I would let one of them go. I don’t know how much spays cost near you, but they are about $400 near me – I certainly wouldn’t be interested in spaying two sisters at the same time! And I don’t have any kids or other pets like you do 😛

In a year or two, when you have one well-adjusted spayed bunny, you might want to look into getting a companion, but at least then it will be your decision on your timeline.

I think an already bonded pair can be a good choice for a first time bun owner, but an unfixed baby pair is just going to be a lot of stress down the road. One is much easier to get your start with. Especially since this woman sounds like a great fit. I certainly wouldn’t recommend you give one up to a shelter (which you obviously wouldn’t do anyway) but this might be one of those situations where everything really is for the best.

Good luck with your decision!

[jerseygirl]

Having been a member of these forums for a while now, I think I can say had you come to these forums prior to getting a rabbit and asked if better to get 1 baby or 2, most would recommend just 1. Then if you wanted a second rabbit, to adopt one once your own was fixed and grown some.

Also, I know of these forums that many of us advocate not rehoming and try help people find a way they can keep their pet.

In your situation, my own personal view is that as these rabbits are very young, and you have an experienced person willing to take one, that this is a good opportunity. Young rabbits get separated once weaned. Separating them after they’ve grown and bonded would be not ideal.
My other thoughts are: you don’t know their actual sex yet do you? Either way, if they are opposite sex, you will be looking at caging them separately until they can be fixed. Same sex, it’s very likely (not always) they’d have to be separated due to aggression once puberty arrived.

Secondly, I’m a little concerned over their age – though you report they are coping well which is a relief! I’m just thinking if you do choose to rehome one of the babies, perhaps wait until 8 weeks of age when they would normally have been weaned from the mother and separated from siblings. I really don’t know if this truly makes a difference now as they were weaned early. Just thought it might lessen any stress they might experience.

[Beka27]

I sort of had that same thought about waiting til 8 weeks, Jersey. I also don’t know if it will make a difference. But I’m thinking that having *someone* familiar for a little bit longer might be a good idea. But then you’re running the risk of becoming attached…

Are one of the babies much smaller? I don’t suppose you’ve been able to get them to a vet for a fecal test or anything? I would also be concerned about rehoming a rabbit that may have some kind of health issue. If this woman is responsible and experienced, I hope she would know that she’d need a vet check soon.

[Sadie]

Well, we just got back from the new bunny-ladies house, without Celery. She is going to be very happy there, the environment is perfect. She has a roomy cage and several puppy pens ready to put up in other places in the house when she’s ready. Her cage is in the kitchen for now, and the family (two moms and a 9 year old boy plus a small dog) are excited to have her.

I guess waiting until they were 8 weeks old would have been good, but I had a hard enough time letting her go now after only being here for a few days, I don’t think I would have gone through with it 2 weeks from now. I also kinda wanted to do it quick, for the rabbits sake and for my kid’s sake. I didn’t want to let the rabbit settle in too much and then uproot her again. (I would never break up a pair either)

So, we’re a one-bun home for now. poor little Gazpacho, she’s a one of a kind now. I think we’ll all be OK.

[Sarita]

It sounds like Celery is in a good home. You made the right decision for your family and Gazpacho will have plenty of company and companionship with you and your family.

Are they going to continue calling her Celery – that’s such a fun name. I like Gazpacho for a name too, very unique.

[Sadie]

I’m not sure what her new name will be – the lady who works with my husband thought it was cute, but I think they’re going to let their little boy name her. Maybe Celery will stick, I was promised updates so I guess I’ll know in a little while.

[Elrohwen]

I’m glad your little bun found a good home! I hope you’re able to get updates on her as she grows up

[Beka27]

Hugs! It’s hard, isn’t it? But you made a good decision for everyone involved. And this way Gazpacho will get all your lovins and you’ll be able to focus on bonding with her one on one.

Vibes for Celery and her new family!

[RabbitPam]

Sort of a Pull the band aide off in one quick pull – decision. It sounds like a great home for Celery. And if you like that name better than Gazpacho, it’s not too late to swap the name of the one you are keeping. (I happen to LOVE Celery as a name. Just so cute!)

[Sadie]

Well, Gazpacho seems to fit better than Celery. And, I may be imagining it, but I think she’s getting used to her name. I have to post better pics, she kinda looks like Gazpacho, to me anyway… it’s hard to explain.

Thanks for all the well-wishes everyone!

[RabbitPam]

oops. I thought Gazpacho was a boy. *blushes* Please excuse my references to “him” in your other posts tonight.

I can’t remember what Gazpacho looks like. I thought it was a cold Italian soup!

[wiseleyd]

 Delicious Spanish soup. It contains tons of bunny safe veggies, (except garlic and onions), and is a wonderful name. It is spanish and tasty!

[Sadie]

I know, it’s a little masculine. I told my husband, who was bothered by it originally , that we could call her “Gazpacha” but Gazpacho seems to fit so far.

 

[Monkeybun]

Well, can’t be worse than naming a bunny Monkey or Moose hehe

[ScooterandAnnette]

Bailey was named after Bailey’s Irish Cream, because he’s kind of that colour.
– Annette

[MirBear]

hey my bunnies follow the chocolate bar route, hershey, kisses, twix,
and hershey was tic tac… for a week

[Author]

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