I need some help deciding what to do!

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Spring

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Well, I am just a little bit confused on what Ishould do. My cousin has two baby dutch's and offered me one as aChristmas Gift. At first I was a little iffy on what I should do. I sawthis little one and she is abeauty! I do infact want a friendfor Pepsi, my little Netherland but that thought never came across mymind until my cousin offered me the little dutch.

I have enoguh supplies, the cage is big enough, everything is great i'mjust not sure. The babies are cute, but I'm wondering if I should getan adult rather then a baby. Then I know it's personality as with thebaby I'm not for sure.

Pepper is not spayed but has never shown any agression EVER. She onlydoes love nips when my skin smells like soap. She loves to cuddle up toEVERYthing- towels, my arm, my face.. EVERYTHING. I'm not worried abouther, as she tends to run and hide if she's not sure, rather then getmad and fight back and she is very gentle. She is a little over a yearold (Her birthday was this past October).

What should I do? Should I accept the gift, or wait for an adult? Orshould I just leave her on her own? If you think I should, do you mindposting any links about bonding?

She has never shown any acts of agression or being territorial, I'mjust worried if the baby matures and become terrirotial. I'll feelawful if the baby hurts Pepsi. If the baby is raised with an adult frombeing young, is this a problem?

Sooo sorry for the long post, just REALLY not sure. And also, can youreply ASAP because i'll have to make my choice tomorrow :S. I reallyneed some input from the forum!
 
I would accept the baby on the condition thatyou can give it back if it doesn't work out. Your rabbit may not haveshown territorial issues because she hasn't had the change. Also, don'tput the new Dutch with another right away. They must stay seperated fora quarantine period as well as a getting-to-know-each-other period.

Here's a page on bonding.
http://www.mybunnies.com/bonding.htm
 
Are pepper and pepsi the same rabbit? kinda of confused me there....

Either way, from what I've read the best way to havesuccessful bonding is for atleast one or both rabbits to be spayed orneutered. Just because your rabbit hasn't been aggressive andterritorial with you doesn't mean she wouldn't with a new rabbitespecially if she isn't spayed. It's just like how dogs can be totallyloving to their owners and then get aggressive when they see anotherdog.

Also it's not really recommended to put them in the same cage at firstso do you have another cage for the new rabbit? Do you have new dishesand toys and everything for a new rabbit? Are you ready to deal withthe bonding process? I've read that careless bonding can lead to humanand rabbit injuries.

These are all things to think about...

Personally, to me it sounds like you might need to just wait a while and really make sure you're ready before jumping into it.

a link about bonding:

http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/rwf/articles/BondingRabbits.htm
 
Yup they are. Pepsi is just short for her name Pepper, it sounds more casual :D.

Yup I have everything extra. My cousin did say if it doesn't work out,she would be happy to take it back and find another home for her. I dohave another cage for her, and I have thought of this just to setllteher in to her new surroundings. Also, not to sound ignorant but I don'tsee with Pepsi how spaying her would help as she's never been hormonal,her personality I think wouldn't change if I got her spayed. With theother, I'm not sure but if I spay one I'll feel obligatedtospay Pepsi (never mind the fact about health factors).

Should I just try it and see how it goes? I mgith also lookinto the option of seeing if I can adopt a rabbit from a rescue orSPCA. Just I talked to one before and seemed a bit pushy into makingdecissions and wasn't that patient. That, for me isn't a bad thing itwas just one person in one rescue. If this doesn't work out, or I havea gut feeling I can look around for other rescues :).
 
I dont know Spring, but a Netherland Dwarf , and A Dutch may not besuch a good idea , both can be very territorialand snotty , Even though you say your Nethiisnt teritorial doesnt mean she will remain thatway with another rabbit introduced .

Have you given any thought towhich sex the new rabbit will be ? an Unspayed female and an unaltered buck willhave babies just about the timethe Dutch is 6 months old , they mature much fasterthan bigger breeds , Two unaltered Females canand will fight , as willtwo unaltered bucks , I thinkyou should think about spaying theone you have now before bringing anotherone into the picture . UNLESS you plan onthem never interacting , and have speratecages and play times . Read the threadsand then decide . BUT Ican guarentee in 6 months timeyou will be back on here needing information onwhat to do about babies .

BTW what happened with the Pet Store Rabbit you were Ranting about.
 
If an animal is sweet with you it still isabsolutely no indication that the animal will be sweet with anotheranimal. I have seen this repeatedly at the shelter. You should haveyour female rabbits spayed to prevent ovarian cancer and pregnancy. Thepercentage of unspayed females getting ovarian cancer issomething like 85%. If you take the other rabbit you will probably getattached to it. If you do decide to take it I would just plan that Iwould make arrangements to keep them separately and if ,in the futurethey work out together then you're lucky.
 
With the pet store bunny, she got sold.

I know you guys are just trying to get whats best for rabbits, and you all are rabbit crazy and I aprreciate the input.

I know and have read about lots of rabbits who have been in badsituations with other rabbits and have ended with disaster. My cousinhas 4 dutch rabbits and not one has ever been "snotty" or"territorial" (but they do have their bad days!lol)so I don't really believe that statement. Maybe you had ameet with this kind of rabbit, but I think it's wrong to say some arejsut because they are dutches or netherlands or anything. All rabbitsno matter what breed don't have ALL personality issues stamped to theirnames:?. Or do they and I've just made a fool of myself?

Sorry if I've offended someone or came off as arogant or sarcastic, I really don't mean to.

Thanks for the help, and I think I'm going to just leave the bonding until a better time.


 
Ok Sorry

"My cousin has 4 dutch rabbits and not one has ever been"snotty" or "territorial" (but they do have their bad days!lol)so I don't really believe that statement." Ihad no idea

I apologize for that. Sorry :embarrassed:
 
Spring , I know you didnt mean to come off snotty or anything else.

I have to inform youthough No Matter which breed of Rabbitis, I dont care how attentivenor how sweet , CAN and Will be Terrirorial . You havent been herelong enough to know of Lightning , who while on alitter was one of the most sweetest rabbits on the face ofthe earth , OFF a litter look out , shewas cage territorial , round penterritoral and hated the verysight of a pair of sneakers. She was a Dutch , then theresFunny Bunny aDutch Buck , sweetest thing on the face of theearth no problems at all untill you sticka cup in to feed him. then he turns into the Rabbitfrom hell .

Then there is Almy a French Lop , sweet as pie untill the door opens.

then there is Emily , a Netherland dwarf , snotty enoughto rip not one but 3 holes in the back ofmy hand being territorial .

And then there is a friends FLEMISH! who would litterally try and tear her cage apart to bite someone .

then there is a Palomino in my barn right now whothinks sheis pregnant and isnt who theminute you open her door is right there to relieveyou of what ever body part you dare stick in there.,

NO it isnt fair to judge one or any breedby one or 2 rabbits , but it is from myexperience running rescue before ever starting to breed ,that YES certain breeds of rabbits tend tobe more aggressive than others' , But heywho am I to try and argue withthose who know more than me .
 
I have to inform you though No Matterwhich breed of Rabbit is , I dont care how attentive nor how sweet ,CAN and Will be Terrirorial .
I totally agree gypsy. i totally believe that most rabbits,as sweet as they may be to their owners, can and will show aggression.

i wanted to share something about my rabbit, who is neither of thebreeds talked about here. he is unneutered (not for long) and rarelyshows aggression. he doesn't spray a lot and he can be so sweet andloving. but yesterday my boyfriend came over to pick me up and hereached down and opened Sasha's cage to pet him. Sasha's ears went backand he got into an attack stance and then he lunged at my boyfriend andbit his hand. I've NEVER seen him do that. (My bf screamed like a girltoo, LOL but his hand is okay) I've seen Sasha lunge before but thiswas a full blown attack. So I can only imagine what would have happenedif my boyfriend were an unneutered male rabbit. :shock:

You really never know how your rabbit is going to react to anotherbunny. But one thing you can be sure of is that fighting is a veryrealistic option.


 
It bothers me when people offer animals as"gifts." I can understand the concept, as I once got a puppyas a gift when I was a kid. But I think it's important forthe person giving the gift to ask permission, to plan, and to bewilling to have their gift denied. Then, when you think aboutit, it reallyisn't a gift at all.

I'm not trying to be judgmental here, just pointing out that living,breathing things are not toys, and giving them as gifts connotates justthat.
 
Eeek thanks guys. A real eye opener :shock:!

I took Pepsi last night to see what might happen to her in unfamiliarterritory. We tried the female dutch I was looking at and we put themin her bathroom. I was very nervous about it but when we putboth rabbits down the little one hopped the other way and Pepper justsat there staring at her. After about five minutes the little one cameup and sniffed Pepsi. Pepsi sniffed the little one andsniffed her belly (I was about to grab Pepsi because I thought she wasabout to bite her), but she just sniffed under the little ones belly.The little dutch then started to chase Pepsi around. It was so funnythem sliding around on the floor. Is this good or bad actions? Ithoguht of them as good, but I'm not sure. I put the baby on my lap tosee what Pepsi would do if she saw me petting another bunny (to see ifshe would be jelous) but she just stood up with her paws on my lapsniffing the little dutch.

I don't know how she'd react with the dutch at home that's why I saidI'd think about it and get back to her in a few days. The dutch is 2and a half months old. She was interacted with since she was two daysold and is sosweet (but as you say, she may not be asfriendly with other rabbits)

Is this behavior good?




 
I took Pepsi last night to see what might happen to her in unfamiliar territory.*********

key words here .
 
When you bring the baby home Pepper will mostlikely be aggressive because the baby is in her territory. Idon't think this is a good idea... 2 unaltered rabbits....1 baby... 1adult bleh.
 
gypsy wrote:
then there is a Palomino in my barn right now whothinks sheis pregnant and isnt who theminute you open her door is right there to relieveyou of what ever body part you dare stick in there.,


Is it...is it...is it...darling Tankhead????

Cackle cackle cackle:brat:

Rose
 
Hi Spring, just saw this thread...

I've had my bunny Cookie for over a year now - he's an adult (about 2-3yrs old), he's had the run of most of the main floor of my home for hisentire time here. He's un-neutered, but is the sweetestlittle boy on the face of the earth. Loves petting and peopleetc.

Two weeks ago I brought another bun into the house (a female,spayed). They aren'ttogether - she's on anotherfloor of the house, but as soon as she came into the house and Cookiesmelled her, all hell broke lose.He's been markingeverywhere, spraying and using his scent glands. It's notpleasant AT ALL.

You never ever know what the reaction of your bunny is going to be whenanother bun is brought into 'their' territory. I've witnessedthis first hand. Especially a bunny that is not spayed andwill still (by the laws of nature and instinct) be territorial.

Good luck.

_____________
Nadia
Cookie
& Misty
 
Yup I've decidednot to (oh boy thewill power lol!) I've been trying to decide and look at my options, andmaybe see if any shelter rabbits are available. It's cheaper thengetting a rabbit, then paying the $150 for the operation. I phoned arabbit rescue (this was in the summer) about an hour away and they hada few rabbits ready to go for homes but advised beforegetting another rabbit to get her spayed and wait a few weeks untilintroducing another rabbit so that she can calm down and have all herscars healed and everything. They reccomend the vet that they used, butI never phoned to get the pricing. The adoption fee is $50 so I'm stillwondering about it:?

I might call again soon I just need to make up my mind. I thnik I'mgoing to leave her alone, then maybe get a bonded pair in the future.She seems happy on her own, so why fix something when it's not broke :)
 

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