Hey :)

Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Love your rabbit
Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
JessMc

JessMc

Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2013
Messages
22
Reaction score
4
Location
Gatineau,QC
Hi! First of, I just want to say that my first language is french so my english might not be that good ;)
anyways, my name is Jessica, i'm 19 and I live in Quebec. I'm studying to be a physiotherapist and I spent the 3 last summer working in petshops!
I'm an animal lover, but since I live at my parents , I can't get everything I want. But I do currently have a lovely 6 years old shih tzu.
Lately I've been trying to convinced them for having one rabbit, and they finally said yes :laughsmiley:
I've been reading a lot about rabbits, but I still do have questions,and that's why I'm here.

first of, I've been thinking about getting a holland lop bunny. But I do not know if I should get a female or a male - considering I don't plan on neuter/spay the bunny i will get ; veterinarians in my area don't seem to be doing the procedure that often and I don't know if I can trust them. Its also a bit of a money problem; i'm a student and school is obviously really expensive. Don't worry though, that rabbit wont miss of ANYTHING (toys, space, quality food, etc.)

So back to the male or female question - it seems that the males tend to have a ''better'' personality than female, but i do worry about the spraying (my parents wouldnt take it so good) . I wouldn't mind a female though, some of my friends did have females and they seemed to have a great personality (I guess it depends on the rabbit) - but obviously, all that talking about cancer is scary. :/
What should I do?
 
Last edited:
So in my experience since I do have a majority of non fixed rabbits all rabbits vary in personality. If you want to truly know what a rabbit will act like I would suggest not getting a rabbit under 6mos of age. By 1-2 years (sometimes even 8mos or older) the rabbit has sexually and enotionally matured enough and you should be able to see the more affectionate side of them although at this age they could still have issues. I do tend to notice that my boys have a more affectionate side to them and I don't have to deal with lunging or cage aggression. I do have a few does who you have to be careful at how you approach them. My rabbits do get handled often but don't get the amount of playtime or free roam that a house bunny would get so this can be different.

One thing to let you know of is that intact rabbit urine has a considerable odor to it and it is very strong. I haven't had many rabbits that spray but I do have my Brit who when he was about 1 or 2 had a girl rabbit stay next to him and that caused him to spray I had never had a problem before but he definitely gets in the mood if he smells girls on your hands. If it will be the only rabbit you might not have to worry about it but there are even some males that will go after you to hump, circle, and honk (it can actually be quite annoying). I think the biggest problems with intact females is aggression but like I said not all are the same. I have one doe that will lay right next to me and flop out when she is petted. She also religiously comes to the door to get her pets.
 
Hi & :welcome1
I still consider myself a newbie bunny mom so most questions I will leave for the more experienced members here. But I did want to suggest considering adopting an older already spayed/neutered bunny. That way you will already get to know his/her "adult" temperament & you will have the benefit of not having to pay for the spay/neuter. I have two does and so far haven't had any problems with attitude. They are not super cuddly but one doesn't mind being petted most of the time. My other little girl is more skittish but she is my explorer. Turn your back on her for a second & she has already found trouble! lol I wish you the best in making a good bunny decision!
 
I have a male bunny who isn't neutered and he's the sweetest bunny you know. If you get in his pen he snuggles with you and gives you kisses. He is so sweet! He's about a year old now. Like Tauntz suggested it might be good to get n already spayed/neutered bunny from a shelter or rescue so you can save a bunnies life and not have to worry about the spay/neuter aspect. Oh and welcome! :)

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the info everyone! Its really helpful ; I've decided that i'm gonna get a male - I just called some vets that are located in my area and found one that seems to have enough knowledge , the cost is about 125$ + 15$ of medication wich is not that bad (but still, haha). I am still not sure if I will get him neutered, once I get him, i'll see how he acts and if I feel like he really needs it then, he'll have it done. :)

By the way, I've been thinking about getting a bunny in a shelter/rescue, and I will visit humane society of ottawa this weekend - from what i've seen on their website they don't seem to have any small sized rabbits right now, but i'll go and take a look :) If not, I might get him in a petshop even though its not the best thing to do.. I couldnt found a breeder of holland lops in ottawa/gatineau -_-
 
JessMc said:
By the way, I've been thinking about getting a bunny in a shelter/rescue, and I will visit humane society of ottawa this weekend - from what i've seen on their website they don't seem to have any small sized rabbits right now, but i'll go and take a look :)
Click to expand...

I was going to recommend this...not only would you be helping a bunny in need, but there wouldn't be any spaying/neutering costs (assuming your shelter fixes bunnies before adopting them out).

Good luck with your bun!
 
I'd recommend getting one already neutered from a shelter. Less expense and it gives a bunny a forever home and will open a space if another needs a rescue. Neutering is good as they will avoid hormone and territory issues and the cancer rate for unspayed females is extremely high and it makes males much better companions. We wish you luck. BTW, personality is an individual thing, not a male versus female.
 
Nancy McClelland said:
I'd recommend getting one already neutered from a shelter. Less expense and it gives a bunny a forever home and will open a space if another needs a rescue. Neutering is good as they will avoid hormone and territory issues and the cancer rate for unspayed females is extremely high and it makes males much better companions. We wish you luck. BTW, personality is an individual thing, not a male versus female.
Click to expand...

I've just contacted the shelters around and they don't have many bunnies, none of them are small sized :/ so I don't know about that.
I've found a good breeder though, and the babies will be ready to go in 2 weeks, if I get one of them, that breeder will probably expect me to neuter the bunny wich is something I now feel I really must consider.
Holland lops seem to be very hard to find in my area, I don't really want one from a pet shop but I did look them up just in case- most of them tell me they have holland lops but then they tell me that the size of an adult holland lop is over 8 pound (wich is not correct, as far as I know)

I'm waiting for an email from the breeder, hopefully, i'll get to visit them this weekend. :)
 
Welcome to the forum!

8 pounds? That could be a French lop, or maybe a mini lop, but a Holland lop the same size as my New Zealand rabbit? Yikes... XD The standard for Holland lops is about 4 pounds.
 
My flemish buck was unneutered for 8 months of his life. He didn't spray and was well behaved. Sure he honked and circled but no humping (though I'm told he was still young so it could have still happened) and we were going to keep him intact until we got another rabbit. So you can choose not to fix but how they behave is entirely up to their personalities. I doubt Conan would have sprayed, but Ive heard others who have. Also you said you have a dog, and well that could effect behavior as well. Good luck with your search and when you do get a bun post some pics.
 
Thanks again for all the information guys :) Actually, I talked to the breeder and she'll come over to my place with the one rabbit they have left - he's been hand reared (is that the correct term? god I hate being french :p ) so he's used to be in contact with humans. He's been vermifuge and treated against coccidiosis for prevention - he was born on may 1 :)
I can't wait to meet the little guy!
Also; the parents are tiny - the dad is 3.03 and the mom is 2.8 pounds!
222a79_429379c478791fc71f4e0f7079e7455c.jpg_srz_265_205_75_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpg_srz


222a79_429379c478791fc71f4e0f7079e7455c.jpg_srz_265_205_75_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpg_srz.jpg
 
Last edited:
He's adorable! Hand-reared is the correct term, though I don't think vermifuge is :p I think perhaps the word you are looking for is mite treated?

I hope he settles in well when you get him :)
 
ladysown said:
how far from ottawa are you willing to travel. there's an HL breeder in Kingston. :)
Click to expand...

I'm not that far from ottawa, but I travel in bus or with my father, and he sadly would not want to go so far away :p
I'm really happy with the bunny i've found though :D


And Azeran, ''vermifuge'' is usually for intestinal worms/parasites!

Thank you so much everyone, I will take MANY pics :) He really is adorable :)
 
:inlove:Thanks :) I'm SO excited to get him!! He'll be at my place in 6 days ; I went to buy his cage , food, toys, litter , etc. today :) the only thing I need to get is an xpen (i'll connect it to the cage so that he has enough space when i'm at work/school)
I've decided that my bunny will be neutered no matter what, he'll be 2 months old on the first of july so i'll have time to get enough money till he's old enough to get the surgery done (and still have more than enough for my last year of college!) :yes:

I'm just sort of anxious about getting him neuter because its not something common in my area, I've found 1 clinic that specialized in small animals so i'll probably go there...but I still don't know if they do it often. I go to another clinic for my dog, and they've been neutering/spaying rabbits for only 5 years, not really on regular basis.. so yea, it wont get done there for sure!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top