Questions For My Rabbits’ Foster Family?

[Deleted User]

I’ve never adopted an animal from a shelter before (most of mine came to me instead of heading down roads that may well have ended in shelters), and my only other rabbit was given to me by someone I knew and who had had him for a year or so. She wasn’t as well informed as I believed at the time, but she was only a phone call away so asking questions about his behaviour wasn’t a problem. I’ll be collecting my new rabits’ next week. They’ve been living with a foster family thanks to the SPCA. (And just horrible how they got there, thankfully they are safe now!) Anyway, I know the SPCA and the lovely lady I’ve been dealing with has been and will give me the basics; but are there specific details I ought to ask the family about Now while I have the chance? They arrived in the shelter on December second 2012 so while I don’t know how long they’ve been with the family it must have been a few months, long enough for them to get to know them pretty well. Any advice would be appreciated!

[Sarita]

That’s great you can speak with the foster family!

I would ask:

1. What their current diet is – what kind of veggies they like if they feed them veggies;
2. What kind of treats they like;
3. Their personalities – are they shy, are they outgoing.

Probably once you start the conversation with them you will have more questions based on their answers.

[Deleted User]

Thank You Sarita!!!

I’m not positive I’ll be able to meet them in person yet, but the lady I’m dealing with has promised to pass along my questions, so I want to make it as detailed a list as possible in case they aren’t there when I am. And of course , I had several floating around in my head all last week while I waited to have things confirmed; and I haven’t been able to think of one since I did get the comfirmation. This is a great beginning, there are some I hadn’t thought of at all (especially re treats and veggies), and hopefully my mind will begin working again with this stimulation.

[jerseygirl]

Hopefully the foster family will voluntarily give lots of handover information.

A simple thing; whether they are accustomed to drinking out of a bowl or a sipper bottle?

What type of litter material they are using? Keeping it the same initially could help the rabbits keep good habits when transitioning into a new home. You can always change these things later.

Also, any specific handling techniques that worked well? Though rabbits don’t like to be handled, there are those times it can’t be avoided. One of my rabbits former owners gave me a tip for him and its been very useful for me.

[Deleted User]

Thank You Jersey Girl, … can’t say I’d have thought of any of those, and it would help to know all that, a lot!

I hadn’t thought about this before, I gave my last rabbit a bowl to drink out of, mainly because I found the watter didn’t always come out of the bottles properly (maybe something to do with cage design?), and he never thought twice about it. If they are used to the bottle anything special I should do to introduce them to a bowl? (I feel much more comfortable with one, easier to monitor consumption and be sure they are drinking.)

Going to go add three new questions to my list!

[jerseygirl]

I’m the same. I much prefer the water bowls. I think you could easily switch them to using one just by offering it.

The reverse (switching a bowl drinker over to a sipper bottle) is what would probably be less successful.

[Deleted User]

That’s a relief,, … Thanks! I’d be nervous using a bottle, but don’t want to add any more stress to a difficult situation for them. I’ll check but really hope they like their bowl!

[Deleted User]

I would ask if the buns have any personal effects that may come with them. For instance, when I got Ian he had a little chewed up blanket that was his. Having something familiar that is their’s really helps but a bun at ease.

[LBJ10]

Heh, both of mine refuse to drink from a bowl. I know, they are weird. Wooly also insists that it is the ball type bottle, he never could figure out the one with the stick inside the spout.

I agree with all of the above suggested questions. You want to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible. So if you can replicate what they were doing (initially) then that is good.

If your bunny has any fun little quirks it might be interesting to see what they have to say about them. Then again, it might be more fun to discover them for yourself.

[Deleted User]

Thank you Skipper’s Mama, I never would have thought of asking for something but its an excellent idea, particularly since I do want to find out if they can live with fabric. (My last one ate fabric so he couldn’t have any. It bothered (and still bothers) me a lot, but figured him not attempting to digest fabric scraps was the bigger issue. Hoping I can spoil these a bit more.)

LBJ10 thank you for the support, it helps to feel I’m going about trying to smooth things out the right way.

No idea what happened to these little ones before but they were dumped in a cardboard box in a school yard in December. December in Montreal Canada is a Very Cold month, think its pretty amazing that they made it. I’m glad they’ve been being fostered, but they’ve already had to go through a lot of change, I want to make this as easy for them as possible. I’d imagine each time they are moved it must cause a lot of fear.

[BinkyBunny]

They will be lucky to have a forever home with you. You are obviously conscientious and thinking ahead to help make their transition smooth.
Congratulations to you…and them!!

[Deleted User]

Thank You BB, I am and will do my best for my new furry babies. In spite of loving my last little one so very much I made mistakes with him, still hurts me, I want to do better this time. I am so glad for your forum, and the HRS site, they will never know about you but they and I owe so many people so much!

Once they are settled I’ll get some pictures of them, and tell you their names. I haven’t decided on their names yet, want to see them and be with them first. I only know they aren’t keeping the ones they have now.

I’m counting the days ’til next Friday evening.

[BinkyBunny]

I am sure many members, including myself, have made mistakes. Sometimes we don’t know what we know until we know it. Not as if it is intentional. We are all here to help each other out. Looking forward to hearing about your bunnies next weekend!

[Deleted User]

Thank you BB, that is very kind of you! It is extremely comforting to have found you all!

I’ve gotten a few answers back to my questions and so far its all good. I’m impatiently counting the days (I’ll start on the hours in a couple more days)until Friday evening! I’ll be thrilled to share as soon as I can!

[Author]

Messages