help picking a breed and age

[poiema]

my velveteen lop has gone back to her breeder to have some babies so i am possibly in the market for a new bunny. i am hoping for input and advice. here are the choices i have narrowed down to:

english lop
velveteen lop
satin angora
fuzzy lop

also, would you get an adult or a baby? all of my past rabbits have been adults and so i have never had a baby.

suggestions? advice? opinions?

 

[Hyatt101]

I would say a baby american fuzzy lop

 

[poiema]

why would you recommend that breed? i have to say, they are adorable!!!! and, they sound sweet and fun.

 

[Hyatt101]

Yes, I've heard they have good temperaments. And they're gorgeous!

 

[TinksMama]

I'd say a baby velveteen or English lop. Love their hugee ears and their temperaments too.

 

[woahlookitsme]

All of those breeds have great personalities! I would also go with a baby AFL they are cuuuute!

 

[ldoerr]

Something that you have to remember with the fuzzy breeds is that it takes a LOT to maintain their coats. I have a friend who breeds Fuzzy Lops, Nethies, Holand Lops, Jersey Woolies and maybe another breed or 2. (She has less than 20 cages for them all, and does it in her backyard in a busy neighborhood). Whenever I go over to her house and mess with the rabbits I find poopy but, matted fur, poo/fur strings that are over a foot long etc.... She can not maintain the 10-20 that she has at any 1 time. I actually got my Jersey Wooly from her and after 6 months of owning her I can still not get the coat under control. Those are some of the reasons why I advise AGAINST a long hair breed. Angoras are even more work. Personally I would not pick any of those breeds.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

English and Velveteen Lops would be less maintenance as far as the coat goes.

American Fuzzy Lops and Satin Angoras are higher maintenance. The Angora breeds take daily grooming because their wool is longer and softer than smaller wool breeds.

Small breeds, like the AFL, are bred to be low maintenance so they have more guard hairs. The quality of the coat depends on the line. Our AFL requires no grooming at all, even during molts. He has a fantastic coat and has never matted or had any problems. On the other hand, my Jersey Woolies are slightly higher maintenance. They still require very little grooming, but are more prone to minor tangles behind the ears, under their chin, or neat their tail when they're molting.

Honestly, the worst part of wool breed maintenance is not the rabbit, it's the cage. You'll definitely want to consider investing in a shop vac.

 

[whitelop]

Something that you have to remember with the fuzzy breeds is that it takes a LOT to maintain their coats. I have a friend who breeds Fuzzy Lops, Nethies, Holand Lops, Jersey Woolies and maybe another breed or 2. (She has less than 20 cages for them all, and does it in her backyard in a busy neighborhood). Whenever I go over to her house and mess with the rabbits I find poopy but, matted fur, poo/fur strings that are over a foot long etc.... She can not maintain the 10-20 that she has at any 1 time. I actually got my Jersey Wooly from her and after 6 months of owning her I can still not get the coat under control. Those are some of the reasons why I advise AGAINST a long hair breed. Angoras are even more work. Personally I would not pick any of those breeds.

I'm just going to say that EVERYTHING you just described is why SO MANY people have such a huge problem with breeders, because people like that give GOOD breeders a bad name. That whole thing made me cringe.

Sorry for the thread hijack!

 

[Imbrium]

if you go with an adult, you have the option to adopt a shelter bunny and avoid the cost of spaying/neutering later - you get to give an abandoned bunny a second chance at a good life and save as much as a couple hundred dollars in the process.

if you go with a baby, you have the option to go through a breeder and get exactly the breed you want... but you'll have to cough up for spaying/neutering later (which can get pretty pricey).

if you've never gotten a rabbit as a baby, it's really fun to watch them grow up for those first few months.

since it sounds like you want a specific breed, I'm inclined to suggest getting a baby through a reputable breeder as long as you can afford the extra cost of spaying/neutering once it hits maturity (not always necessary with a male unless they're spraying pee and driving you insane, but definitely necessary with females due to their high risk of cancers of the reproductive system if not spayed). if you'd like some sort of compromise between cost and getting exactly what you want, I'd recommend a male baby since neutering is often a good bit cheaper than a spay.

 

[Blue eyes]

I'm definitely partial to getting rescued rabbits. I like that they are already neutered/spayed and you can therefore see their true personality. It seems you really can't tell what you'll get with a baby since their hormones haven't kicked in. Those hormones can alter their personality so much.

Babies are surely cute, but aggressive hormones are not. I'd much rather skip that stage and get a bun that's already fixed. Rescues can still be under one year old, so it's not like you'll have to get an "old" rabbit.

Since mine have all been rescues, I don't concern myself with breed. I just find one with a personality I like. ( I do avoid the longer haired ones just for sake of ease of caring.)

Well, that's my 2 cents...:spintongue

 

[poiema]

well, i have had angoras before and so am completely used to the longer wool. no worries with that. i do love the long ears of the english lop and the sweet personalities of the velveteens. i have looked for a rescue as all my other animals are rescues and my husband and i are big advocates of rescue, but the local rescues haven't responded to my emails. :-( i am also okay with paying for the spay/neuter. my rabbit vet is very reasonably priced for those, thankfully!!