Two Rescue Buns!

[Alice&Hazel]

I rescued two adorable young buns from a place where they were kept in a small cage all the time, outside only, with no additional protection other than a one wooden wall and roof hutch even during storms and raining. They were only pulled out of the cage against their will and never able to have their own freedom.

 

I have them currently in the same cage (looking for another, also looking for a vet to get them both spayed) in my half above ground basement. I’ve been having open cage time with them for the last 3 days and today they finally hopped out to explore! I’ve put down a rug and have a few toys and a wooden pet box hut thingy and they seem to like it.They hop around and have done that cute twist thing in the air that bunnies do when they are happy But they don’t want anything to do with me.

 

How long do you think it will take before they trust me? Will I ever be able to reach into their cage and have them nudge my hand instead of run?

 

Also, both of them have been sneezing more than a dozen times a day. They don’t have any nose or eye discharge though. Is there anyone in Springfield MO who can recommend a good bunny vet?

 

The “owner” (who was getting out of rabbit breeding) says they are cross between New Zealand and Californian rabbits… but I don’t know how accurate that is. Their colors are chin and sable. They also told me that they should be anywhere from 12-15 lbs, but they weren’t sure. Also they had no idea how old they were, only that they were both girls and were born sometime in the last 4 months.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

They say dogs have masters, cats have staff; rabbits have slaves-I love the saying and I think it adequately describes them; Dogs love almost anyone, cats have some adoration. Rabbits take a long time to trust and warm up-but when they do it’s very gratifying. I’d say you may have friends in a few days to a few weeks. But they will take time.

How did you rescue them btw?

Congrats on your new additions

Here is a vet list that will hopefully help you find one http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

[Vienna Blue in France]

Congratulations on your additions !!
All I can say is paaaaaaatience…. yes it will happen, but in time.
If you think it will take a few days, and it doesn’t you will only get disheartened, so think it will be 1 step forward 2 back for a while and you’ll be on the right track.

Clicker training (or a consistant positive association word) and tiny fave treats could be a good one for this. Click when you approach and if they don’t panic (like if you’re 2 steps away), click and turn away, then they get the idea that GOOD things happen after “click” (ex big bad monster – you – has gone away!). Goodie !!

Then do it bit by bit, sloooowly – little and often and you will soon be able to approach their cage without panic taking over! When you can get close enough you can throw in gently a raisin or treat…. and then you’ll get your hand in… eventually.
If it happens faster than that then GREAT ! But keep a calm head when things don’t go quite as you like. My trust was lost and haven’t been able to pick up my bun since a ‘situation’ but bit by bit I’ve got her trust back – I’ll never be able to pick up for a cuddle again, but on her terms floor cuddles are absolutely fine !!

With support from the BB family – you’ll get there ! Keep us updated please :o))

[tobyluv]

Thank you for rescuing these bunnies. Are you absolutely sure that they are both female? If these rabbits are around 4 months old, they are coming into sexual maturity and will be able to reproduce soon. It’s happened many times that someone had an “oops” litter when rabbits were incorrectly sexed. It would be good if you could try to examine them yourself, maybe with someone helping you. At 4 months of age, you will probably see a male’s testicles. They look like pink kidney beans. If you don’t feel confident looking at them yourself, you can take them to a vet to be sexed. I checked a couple of state by state vet lists, and there aren’t any rabbit savvy vets listed for Springfield, MO. There are listings for 2 other MO cities, Kansas City and St. Louis, if those aren’t too far away. http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/ That doesn’t mean that there aren’t any for Springfield though. Maybe someone here will respond to your thread and know of a good vet in your area. Otherwise, you can start calling any vets that are in your area and find out how well versed they are in rabbit care. Here is an article that advises how to find a good rabbit vet:
http://rabbit.org/faq-how-to-find-a-good-rabbit-vet/.

Even if the rabbits are both female, when they reach sexual maturity, they can fight if they aren’t spayed, so it would be a good idea to have a second cage if you need it.

It can take a while for rabbits to trust people when they haven’t been treated right in the past, or have been left alone and don’t really know how to interact with humans. Keep sitting with them, either when they are in the cage or out exploring. Speak softly, try not to make any sudden moves toward them, and let them know that you aren’t a threat. Have some greens or a small piece of fruit to give them (if they are used to food like that) to offer them as you sit near them.

Since you aren’t seeing any nasal or eye discharge, the sneezing could be due to some allergy or something in their environment that is bothering them, but it would still be a good idea for a vet to check them out.

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