Finn and Lou

[Finn&Lou]

Hey everyone! 

I come to this forum quite often to read, but have yet to introduce myself and my rabbits. My name is Emily and I’m located in Edmonton, AB, Canada. I’m a student at the University here, majoring in Psychology. When I was about 17, I became obsessed with lop-eared rabbits. My mom would not let me get one no matter how much I begged. One day, my boyfriend and I went to the pet store and I couldn’t leave without getting Elliott. Suffice it to say, I knew nothing about rabbits, didn’t know they needed to be fixed, didn’t know what to feed them, nothing. She/he (I didn’t even know the sex) didn’t live for very long, I know now that the symptoms probably equated to GI Stasis or something similar. Anyway, I educated myself about rabbits and after that I got Toby. We became best friends fast; the first day I got him he would jump on my shoulder and kiss my cheek endlessly. Sadly, he died during his neuter surgery, as we lived in a small town and they weren’t very familiar with rabbits.

 

Now to my current rabbits. Once I got an apartment of my own, it was next my mission to try again with a rabbit. I got Finn from a local breeder (I know, I know…) and he’s been my best friend ever since. He’s a Holland Lop, and he’s now about 4 years old. He is clicker trained to know his name, to spin to get a treat, and to stand up on his hind legs for a treat. He constantly gives me kisses and always puts his head down for pets or will nudge me when he’s really desperate for love He gets along well with my two cats, but if they get too close he’ll chase them away. About a year ago I noticed that Finn was starting to get really violent with the rabbits, was getting grumpy, would constantly chew on the bars of his cage even if it was open for him to run free. I made the decision to get him a girlfriend, because he was seeming extremely lonely.

 

We got Lucy (Lou) when she was about 3 months from the same breeder as we got Finn from (again, I know people are negative about breeders but I trust her and she is very helpful for us with pellets, hay, and health advice). She is a chinchilla colored lion head. Now, the next part of my story may make a lot of you frown, but I trusted Finn and I generally knew what I was doing. For the first couple days they spent time together in neutral areas such as the bathtub or a big tupperware container. All Finn would do at first is hump and hump and hump, which I didn’t have much of a problem with as long as it wasn’t on her face and it wasn’t too aggressive. After he got that out of his system, he was absolutely in love. I have never seen him flop so comfortably or beg for kisses so much. After the humping subsided, I felt safe to leave them together, because he was just so in love. To this day, he’s never been aggressive with her and they’re still just best friends. He’s completely stopped harrassing the cats, chewing, and the other bad habits that came about.

Many people on this site really recommend against not introducing both rabbits until both are spayed/neutered. I really wanted to do this, but I honestly couldn’t bring myself to take her away from him. He got so sad after being separated from her for more than an hour that I really had a hard time with waiting. I made sure to get her spayed before I noticed some of the signs of maturation. She actually had her spay surgery on Monday. I had Finn go to the vet with her and he actually got a procedure done himself (molar trim), so they would come home together and wake up from anesthetic together. I had absolutely no issues with them after that. Some say that the adult will think the baby “smells different” or they will stop getting along after the spay, but I had no issues at all with that. They are AMAZING together, and he hasn’t left her side since the surgery. They are the best pair, I’ve been so blessed after having so many problems with rabbits. Next I will post some pictures, I hope you enjoy! I can’t wait to get to know all of you better.

 

This was one of the first days after bringing her home.

 

 

 

Wouldn’t leave her side after her surgery

 

[Dwarf Sparrow]

Your buns are gorgeous! They look so happy together <3
It’s always hard looking back at your first rabbits- I know it is for me, at least. I had had no idea how ignorant I was! At least my current bun is enjoying all the knowledge I’ve gained since.

[flemish giant]

They are sooo cute!

[t yang]

awww. i clicker trained milo to stand and paw at my knees for a treat. they are cute.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Big Welcome to you! I love seeing Canadian members here on BB!

I’m sorry to hear about your sad situations with your first bunnies. Your current buns are very precious.

[tanlover14]

OMG – they are absolutely adorable together!!

No one will judge you here for getting from a breeder. I acquired my first three rabbits from a breeder. The girl we bought our first three from was very informative and did in fact give me a lot of information since I was a first time bunny owner. She was very much willing to answer any questions I had, before and after the sale, and I believe she is someone who really does care about her rabbits. She lives on a farm and doesn’t raise them for pets typically (although she does have a few pet rabbits that live in her house – the rest live in a large barn with lots of room to run and are let out daily in runs outside). But she DOES care about them. I have since turned to rescuing and adopting BUT I would never decide differently than I did when I got my first three. They were a learning experience but they are very, very close to my heart. AND when I adopted my first rescue, the lady who owned the rescue asked where I got my other three and I (completely embarrassed) said a breeder. And she turned to me and said “You saved them too! Don’t feel bad, you did them a favor by getting them away from a life of breeding.” So whenever I feel bad/different about buying from a breeder I remember that. It’s because of my first rescue, Simba, that I truly have come to understand the importance of adopting. I cried the first three nights I had him because I couldn’t believe someone just dumped this wonderful ball of fur on the street with nothing and expected him to survive. It was the greatest feeling in the world to watch him binky around and give kisses the first few nights – like he knew he was in his forever home and would never have to worry about a thing again!

I have to laugh – we are like one and the same. We both bought from breeders AND I didn’t follow the bonding advice AT ALL with my first three. They all came from the same litter (the third came to us neutered) and I went against pretty much EVERY bonding rule in the book and just threw them together. All three were inseparable within a day. It does happen BUT as someone who has a bonded five-some now I can definitely tell you we BOTH got lucky with those bonds. Bonding in a fourth and fifth was quite a different experience. Haha!

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