We are now just going in with open minds and waiting to see who picks us. We are not interested in a very small bunny though, we have an autistic son (17) who though he is very good with animals would probably feel more comfortable playing with a larger bun, I also want our slug of a Golden Retriever (who wouldn't harm a flea and gets along great with my African Grey) to not feel a bunny is a squeaky toy. I'm actually even open to a bonded pair if they happen to pick us...the husband may even be okay with that, he loved my other buns when they were not peeing on the carpet (I had no idea they could be litter box trained when we had them years ago) I think one would be the best for starters though. My other question, I was thinking of getting a sheet of linolium to put under the cage/pen to catch any mistakes would this be good? It would go a few inches beyond the reach of the cage/pen so bun could not chew it.
Interestingly, it's the smaller bunnies who seem to pack the most attitude per pound, lol. I would bet on Norm and/or Nala getting right up in a Golden Retriever's face and laying down the law if they got the chance; Gaz probably would too after a little time to work up the confidence
. They're all in the 3.75-5.5 lb range. Another member's bunny, Shya, is a mere 3 lbs and positively fearless - she bosses around all the cats and dogs in her home!
Our kitten snuck past me into the area where we were keeping Normie before we had gotten around to doing a supervised introduction between them; I decided to see what happened before intervening. It had been all of 24h since I brought him home and a couple hours since I moved him from a small pen to the hallway/bathroom area (in other words, he wouldn't have established it as his territory yet). She cautiously approached him, curious about the new guy, and he got RIGHT in that face! She backed away from him as fast as she could; he pursued with his airplane ears pointed forward towards her (like he always does when very curious), then charged her. She freaked out, backed into a corner, freaked out again, lept over him and then took off over the baby gate to get away. I couldn't stop laughing!!
If you're pretty open to the options but definitely want a larger bunny, you shouldn't have much trouble finding one that's a good fit. Sadly, many people are so set on the idea of wanting a cute "little" bunny that if they ignorantly select a larger breed baby rabbit, they'll dump it at a shelter after discovering how big it gets
. The HSPCA doesn't have many rabbits, but the ones it has are almost all medium sized or larger; if I remember correctly, none of the ones there on my last visit were true dwarves.
Heck, Normie's paperwork on the backside of his cubby (ie the volunteer/employee area side) indicated that he had a weight of 7.18 lbs
(though I weighed him in closer to 5.5 lbs and the vet I took him to did as well, not sure if it was an issue with the shelter's scale or if he lost a lot of weight during the week he was there between getting neutered and having to get used to different food... I'm definitely keeping a close eye on him to make sure he stays at a healthy weight for his frame. Kinda sad he's not 7+ lbs as I liked the idea of a bigger bunny to go with my dwarves, but I love him just the same) and that he was surrendered four days before Christmas "because he got too big". Jerks. I'd love to see the looks on their faces if they met a Flemish Giant! Their loss, though - he's an amazing and very loving rabbit; can't get enough cuddling and loves to lick.
As for one bunny vs two, I started with a F/F pair (not technically bonded, but they were babies and babies get along with anyone before their hormones kick in, so it was pretty much the same as having a bonded pair; I had to repair their bond when they had a fight shortly after their spays, but they're still bonded as adults). I really don't think it's any more challenging to start with two than one *if* they're already bonded (make sure to ask questions to verify that the shelter has truly bonded them and hasn't just stuck them together and claimed they're bonded because they didn't fight right off the bat). At the same time, there's nothing wrong with getting a solo bunny if you prefer.
I think meeting bunns and letting one (or a pair) pick you is a wonderful plan - I've gotten most of my pets by letting them pick me. I'm sure your family will find a bunn or two that stand out as "belonging" with you!