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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A What breed do you suggest?

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    • Mindy
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        Hi!  I’m new to this forum.  I have an 11 month old female Holland Lop named Sophie.  I rescued her at 9 months old from a neglectful situation and she is sweet, but very timid.  I want to get her a bunny friend, but I can’t decide what breed.  I really want one that is sweet and friendly.  My two options are an 11 month old Mini Rex boy or a two month old Holland Lop boy.  I can’t decide which bunny to get, any suggestions?  Which breed has the better temperament?

        By the way, both will be spayed/neutered before they are introduced.

        Here’s a picture of my Sophie!

         


      • JK
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          Hi there – Welcome to this site!  It has a wealth of information and many great people here who can help.  I love the name Sophie! I also have a Holland Lop about 1-1-1/2 yrs old and he is the sweetest bunny on the planet. He doesn’t chew, dig or have any bad behaviors.  He’s quite mellow, affectionate & very friendly.  Not sure if this is the norm for Holland Lops or not. I think it is a myth that certain breeds are more desirable than others so my advice is to go by personality rather than a certain breed. Good luck!


        • Sarita
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            I would suggest that you contact a local rescue to see about finding someone to bond with her.

            I wouldn’t base anything on a breed. It’s best to base it on temperament and the rescues can help you with that.


          • JK
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              Oh, by the way, there is no picture of Sophie here!


            • Mindy
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                The forum wouldn’t let me post the picture because it was too large! I don’t have any rescues in my area, the closest rescue is 2 hours away and they will not adopt to anyone outside of their immediate area. So, I guess this brings up another question…Can you tell what a bunny’s temperament is at 2 months old?


              • Mindy
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                  Ok, I figured out how to put Sophie as my Avatar!


                • LittlePuffyTail
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                    Hi. I would take the advice given above and discuss your options with the shelter. Don’t base your decision on this, but in my experience Mini/Holland Lops tend to be more passive and quiet as opposed to Mini-Rex’s who (this is just in my experience) tend to be more hyper and a bit more aggressive.

                    Ps. Your Holland Lop is very sweet.


                  • Beka27
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                      it’s very difficult to tell temperament at such a young age before puberty hits.  that’s like trying to see what kind of adult a 2 year old child will be.  there’s quite a bit of growing left to do. 

                      i’m not sure if you know this, but there is no guarantee that two bunnies will bond, regardless of breed.  if your rabbit cannot be taken to meet with prospective bunnies, you’re taking a BIG chance that they will not get along once home.  this is not a problem necessarily, as long as you’re willing to make the commitment to keep them separately for the remainder of their lives if need be.


                    • Kokaneeandkahlua
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                        Oooh Sophie is cute! Welcome!


                      • Sarita
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                          Yes to what Beka said – very good advice.

                          I also can tell you it is hard to general temperament based on breed. I’ve know some Holland Lops who were mellow and some that were very high strung. Some Dutches mellow, some high strung, etc…

                          I used to think all rexes were easy going but I’ve found that is just not really the case.


                        • Gravehearted
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                            welcome to binky bunny!

                            I would also agree that it’s better to let Sophie pick her own friend. We can’t always guess who our bunny will like – it’s kinda like being set up on a blind date, right? I agree with Beka with babies it’s very difficult to know their personalities too.

                            have you looked on petfinder.com – you might discover some other bunnies needed rescue nearby. I’m surprised the rescue 2 hours away won’t let you adopt. you should call back and talk to them again, since if they realize you’re serious about giving a bunny a loving forever home they may well change their mind.


                          • Mindy
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                              Thank you all for the advice! I will just take Sophie with me to meet the boys and let her pick which one she likes, I just hope she picks one! I have looked on PetFinder, the closest shelter with buns is about an hour away and they only have girls, not to mention I wouldn’t be able to take Sophie with me because animal shelters carry too much disease and I wouldn’t want to risk Sophie getting sick. Ok, one last question and then I’ll stop. I am looking for a boy because everything I’ve read said you have a much better chance of bonding a boy and girl. Is this true? Anyone have two girls that bonded easily?


                            • Lisa_43
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                                Sorry I am one of the last to say welcome to Binky Bunny, it takes me a bit longer as I am fro Australia and while you are up I am sleeping.


                              • xnovalentine
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                                  I also have a Holland Lop about 1-1-1/2 yrs old and he is the sweetest bunny on the planet. He doesn’t chew, dig or have any bad behaviors.

                                  i hate you knowltons.

                                   

                                  And for our newcomer:  Welcome! And for you’re last question, some members of this site have females bonded. I’ve heard of it before, I think it may be a bit tougher, but it can be done!


                                • JK
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                                    Oh you just crack me up! Hey, what can I say, it’s true! How’s your "little darling" today?  Did she start a fire in the bedroom yet? xpen xpen xpen!!!!!!!!!


                                  • xnovalentine
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                                      the little spawn of satan….sorry, angel, has been alright today– she found she can now jump from the floor to the top of the desk so I now have to rearrange the room … again. she also finally chewed a whole through the baby gate…haha she’s an endless amount of fun. i spent most of the night last night trying to move the desk that weights a million pounds so i could unplug a cord that she nearly chewed in half. i bet the only reason why she didint chew all the way through it was because she probably got a shock out of it. she managed to pull the duct tape off the back of the desk where i taped the cords so she couldnt reach them. oops not high enough. its so crazy, they were totally hidden, its like she has a magnetic sense to cords. im suprised she hasnt started a fire/killed herself yet.


                                    • Sarita
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                                        Well, if you get a xpen for her you might want to put a sheet over it and secure it with clothes pens – that sometimes deters the jumpers from jumping since there is a sheet over the x-pen.


                                      • xnovalentine
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                                          thanks sarita, i never thought of doing that! i am going to get her an xpen tomorrow, i just kept her in her cage today while i was at work, now i’m just listening for crashing noises!


                                        • JK
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                                            Satan’s child is something else!  She must LOVE it when you go to work!  What a riot. Maybe she needs a bunny friend, of course with your luck it would be double trouble!


                                          • xnovalentine
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                                              thats what i am thinking. i was planning on adopting one this month, but i’ve decided to wait for her calm down. im afraid i’ll get one and she’ll rub off on him and then i might never be able to leave.


                                            • JK
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                                                Yeah you’ll have to start your own business at HOME.


                                              • charlie82
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                                                  Posted By xnovalentine on 01/18/2008 4:54 PM
                                                  thanks sarita, i never thought of doing that! i am going to get her an xpen tomorrow, i just kept her in her cage today while i was at work, now i’m just listening for crashing noises!

                                                   

                                                  You think she is bad?? When I had my rabbit Milly in the house she practically demolished it..chewed/dug up carpets, ripped the wallpaper off, chewed the bottom of my curtains and one day even manged to lift the carpet right up and back, found a wire coming out of the floorboards linked to my gas meter and chewed her way through that…

                                                  I had to call the gas board out which wasn’t fun and cost a fortune. Luckily the wire although connected to the gas mains didn’t serve a purpose.

                                                  I decided it just wasn’t safe to keep her in the house since she was so intent of damaging everything and if I kept her in a cage she would flip out. She moved out to the summerhouse which I carpeted (it is already heated, electricity installed and properly insulated) she then ripped up all of that carpet which I have since replaced with linoleum…..and she has worked her way on that too 🙂

                                                   

                                                  Good job I love her 🙂


                                                • xnovalentine
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                                                    i feel your pain charlie, but i do think your bun beats lullabelle in trouble making! haha i wish i had a summerhouse to stick her in! actually, i’d probably feel bad leaving her in there and move out there with her. thats basically what i’ve done in her room. LOL


                                                  • charlie82
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                                                      Ha ha Milly is a minx! Just how I like her. She’s in the summerhouse with two of the boys and she is whole lot happier in there. She is so skittish that I found her being in the house was too stressful for her. She didn’t seem to ever get used to hearing things like the hoover, dog barking etc and I had her indoors for four months. I’ve got house rabbits too of course, and I actually spend quite a lot of time in the summerhouse as it’s kind of like a haven…my own private space and only I ever go in there! I have a big workroom in the house. My houserabbits had their own room but it was smaller so I made that into my bedroom and moved the bunnies into the big room. They still roam around but they have a huge room all to themselves when i’m not around and on a night. I have my drawing desk in there too by the window which overlooks the garden and summerhouse…. so I get the best of both worlds, work in there and spend time with the house bunnies and keep an eye on those in the summerhouse and garden 🙂


                                                    • Deleted User
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                                                        I have a question on breed…I rescued a bun 6 weeks ago from a bad situation..I was told he is a 1 1/2 yr old neutered Satin..he weighs about 2-3 pds…he is just a love and joy..he has come a long way..but anyway…he is use to another bun..even thought the ohter bun fought with him becouse it was territorial…and he had a dog freind he use to sleep with..If I should get him another bun…do I look for a bun that is small like him…all the buns I see on this sight all so BIG…compared to him…or should I let my little guy do the picking…this is my first bun so I am learning as I go..Thanks in advance


                                                      • Scarlet_Rose
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                                                          Hi janymae  It really is best to let your special little fella to pick out his princess himself.  Not only do rabbits have their own personalities, if you bring just anybunny home with you they may not get along and will need to be housed seprately.  Do you live close to any bunny rescues or shelters that will let you bunny date? I have to say he is a mighty cute bachelor!


                                                        • BinkyBunny
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                                                            I also agree it is best to let your bunny pick his/her mate. It is much harder, sooo much harder, when bunnies do not get along. You have to deal with separate pens, separate outings, poop wars and other such joys.

                                                            mindyvt13 — I’m not sure of the statistics of disease in animal shelters, but most of the time an animal is not put out in the general area for adoption unless a vet has deemed him/her healthy.  And I know that during my volunteer time at an "animal shelter",  the visitation rooms were sanitized between animal visits.   You may want to check with your local animal shelter to see what their procedures are for sanitizing. 

                                                             

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                                                        Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A What breed do you suggest?