I'm getting sick

[Shuu]

This post got a lot longer than I intended, but please persevere if you have a Flemish or experience with Flemmies. :run:


We'll I'm starting to get sick with Flemish Fever.

I've always been one to want odd pets that, when I tell people aboutthem, all they can do is blink at me and say "...You have what?"

The idea of having a giant bunny with such adorable personalities withall that extra body mass to love and coo over really appeals to me.

I've done my research, read through all the Flemish posts on the board.I've found a breeder in my area that breeds the colour I want (Fawn)but I don't want to contact them until I get the OK from my dad. Lastthing I want is to get my hopes up and have them dashed in theirinfancy.

I just have a few questions before I seriously pitch the idea to my dad.

I do currently have Loki and Tyr, my Lop mix and Dutch. As some of youhave probably read, they bonded beautifully. Having lived in the sameroom from the start really helped things. After they both were fixed Istarted them with a bonding regiment. Everything went great. No fights,no nipping, a tiny amount of dominant mounting on Tyr's part and theywere grooming each other within 20 minutes. After a week of sleepingaway the afternoons together and romping around in the evenings withouta hitch, I went ahead and built them their NIC cage. The building tooktwo days but I'm really happy with it. They've been together for a fewdays now and they're loving it. I spent the night near them the firstnight and there was no fighting at all. At this moment they're squishedup against the wall of the cage sleeping soundly.

The reason I mention all this is because I can't decide whether to geta buck or a doe. Tyr, my buck, is very laid back. He's never attackedme or Loki or anyone else for that matter. The first time he met one ofmy friends not long ago he stretched out while she was petting him.Just today Loki jumped on his head when he was sleeping and he didn'tbudge. He always gives in when she wants licks and he puts up with herantics.

Loki, my doe, on the other hand is a little more skittish. She stilltenses up when anyone other than myself walks by the cage. She's gottena lot better since the two of them moved in together but it's not 100%.

Having said all this I'm not sure which would have more troubleaccepting a new friend of their sex. I really can't see Tyr attacking,even another buck, but he's never had the chance to prove me right orwrong. Loki would probably be nervous at first but her, too, I can'tsee attacking. They both have accepting personalities.

I realize they're still pretty young (about 6-7 months) but I wouldn'tbe getting the Flemish till around Christmas anyways. That should putthem at almost a year old so they should be more calm by then. If allelse fails, I can easily keep them seperated, but I'd prefer to letthem hang out together. They would, though, be sleeping seperately.Loki and Tyr together and Flemmie by him/herself.

My second question isn't really a question so much as a request. My dadlikes the rabbits, though you'd never get him to admit it, but for himto accept a 17-20 lbs rabbit is going to be a challenge. I know if Igot one he'd fall in love, but it'll be hard to convince him.

We have plenty of space but it would take some rabbit-proofing. Ireally don't think it's the rabbit he doesn't want, but the mess hethinks he/she will bring with him/her. I think he's beginning to seepast the messiness a bit now that Loki and Tyr live down in thebasement with us (where all the computers and the big television is).They've been really good in not pooping all over their cage and they(as we all know) don't smell. Now that he sees they're clean it may nottake as much convincing.

Basically I'm asking for help convincing him of how wonderful a petthey are and how enriching their company is. It's going to take somedoing, but I really want him to know they're like a dog or cat with abunny personality and cleanliness.


In summary, from your experience, do bucks or does get along betterwith other buns? And any convincing arguments I could convey to my dad.Also, any websites you could refer me to I may have missed in myresearch.

Thanks for reading all this and for any responses. You're doing me a big favour.

 

[cirrustwi]

This is a tough one. I'm not sureabout a male or female. I have 2 female Flemish and 1male. The Delilah and Anissa live together and Sampson isalone. My hope is that they will live together when everyoneis spayed and neutered. It is said to be easier to bond 2spayed females then 2 neutered bucks, so I would probably go with afemale.

When I was debating what sex of Flemish to get with I got Sampson,Carolyn told me: if you want a baby, get a male, if you want agirlfriend, get a female. Sampson is a huge baby.He's a momma's boy and everyone knows it. Delilah is temperedexactly like Sampson. She seeks out attention and loves hermom. Anissa is more aloof. She doesn't seek outattention nearly as often as the others, but when she wants it, shewants it.

As for your dad, I think I would have him read some of the flemishstories you find here. If it helps, and he's worried aboutthe mess: Sampson was completely litter trained when I got him at 8weeks. He does miss with the poops sometimes, but I don'tthink you can ever expect a bunny to be perfect with thepoops. Recently he's had a couple of peeing "accidents" butI'm pretty sure those are just to spite me because he's still not sureif he loves the girls or not. The girls have been great withtheir litter box too. We haven't had any peeing outside ofit, just the poops. I just figured out which corner theytended to use and everything's been great since then.

Jen

 

[Shuu]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I am looking forward to having a baby as opposed to a girlfriend, but Isuppose talking to the breeder about the personalities he's observed ofthe babies would be a good first step.

Letting my dad read the stories for himself is a good idea. I'll have to try to find them all.:shock:

 

[TinysMom]

I love Tiny and he is normally very patient withother rabbits. We had an incident today where he foughtanother rabbit but he had to have been provoked a LOT to fight - infact - I think it was getting bit at the base of the ear while beingmounted that finally provoked him to fight. I have seen hisbond-mate Ginger bite him four or five times lately...and he gets outof her way...(she's pregnant by another rabbit in myrabbitry). She chases him out of HIS den...and he's ok withit...

But I think the thing that amazes me the most is that he will sometimescome running out of our bedroom (his favorite place to be) with thislook on his face. He'll run through the living room and intothe rabbitry and jump into his litterbox. You can then seethe relief in his eyes when he realizes he MADE IT in time!

This isn't to say he doesn't have accidents....but I'd say 95% of thetime - he heads for the litter box - even if he is slow in recognizingthat he needs to use it.

Peg

 

[Carolyn]

Cirrustwi,

I forgot I said that about bucks and does. I should preface that andsay that that was my personal observations from talking to otherFlemish owners and getting to know Cali. Still rings to for me,although I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule.

* * * * *

Peg,

I'm going to bunnynap Tiny if those little rats don't leave him alone!:growl: You give my baby Boy a kiss for me. He sure hasn't had it easy.It's a good thing he's so mild-mannered, but if they're not careful, hecould turn if constantly challenged.

* * * * *

Shuu,

Would direct you to the bonding pages in the Cheat Sheet which can befound in the Top Picks post. If I recall, it's easiest to bond femaleto female rather than it is male to male, but check me on that. Ofcourse, that said, Stephanie followed the plan that the link in theCheat Sheet suggested and successfully bonded two males and one femaleof all different breeds.

Tucker is my Polish, Fauna is my Holland, and Cali is my Flemish.Tucker can't stand Cali. Don't know what his problem is, but if hecould get at her, he would. Cali wishes he'd like her, but she's givenup hope and just ignores him. Fauna just does her own thing completely,until she decides it's time for Tucker to bathe him and she'll run intohim to get his attention.

Honestly, Cali is easier to care for than I expected. Tucker can fitinto the tightest smallest places, while Cali can't. He's more laxabout using his litterbox, whereas Cali rarely has misses. (Fauna'sgood in that area as well.) True, Cali's poops are bigger, but bigdeal! Doesn't bother me. She needs a bigger cage, which takes up morespace, but other than that, it's all the same, just bigger stuff.

Cali thinks she's Tucker's size and always will. She love people andwill greet each person that comes to the door once they sit down.She'll then slither under their hand as they try to pet her and get soflat on the ground that it doesn't feel like you pet her. She's a goof.It's her game. She will literally flatten her back legs and pull herbody with just her front legs.
:foreheadsmack: I don't get it.

Cali loves to be rocked as you hold her like a baby. She'll sit in myarms as long as I'm willing to hold her. Can't say that's the case forall, but it is with her. She comes when she's called, she's Lazy as canbe, but she also really enjoy kicking her feet up and displaying herhappiness about Life.

She's easy to get in her cage, and she's incredibly sensitive to myemotions. It upsets her dearly when I yelled at her once as she wasgoing to chew on a plant. She jumped into my lap, put her head down andkissed my hands. It took me 10 minutes to convince her that it's okayand I still love her. When I was getting her used to what wasoff-limits in the place, I'd have to do it in a very soft, but firmvoice. She doesn't want to put me out, whereas Tucker could care less.I rarely, if ever, have to correct her anymore. Tucks is always tryingto pull something over on me behind my back, while Fauna just chillsout and watches the show.

All of this is just my personal experience with my Flemish, of course,but I find that many others that have or raise Flemish have similarstories.

Best of luck!

-Carolyn

 

[irishmist]

JEEPERS SHUU

You frickin scared me.... when I saw that you were getting sick... I thought you meant you were getting really sick!

Not to worry... I won't get mad I'll just get even!!!! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

 

[dajeti2]

Flemish really are different. Apollo isso in tune to me, we share a bond that is so special. When I lostMisty, I lost my mind for a bit. I was so lost in my grief. At onepoint I went outside to have a cry. As I shut the door I heard a thump.I couldn't figure out what it was...Apollo was going to follow meoutside. I took a bath later that night and he barged into the bathroomchecking on me.

I was terribly ill last November. I was literally bedridden.Apollo broke his cage door, ran through the house-mind you he had onlyever been in the kitchen and living room-jumped on the bed and woke meup. He stayed with me for hours until Dale came home and rushed me tothe hospital. Apollo kept nudging me to wake up.

When Jeremy broke his thumb last year, Apollo laid in his lapthat evening as Jeremy cried into him. Apollo followed Jeremy upstairsto bed and laid in front of his door all night.

Flemish are incredibly sensitive. If I raise my voice in theslightest in correcting Apollo he runs and mopes like his world isending. He then runs over to me within 5 minutes and I have to reassurehim it's ok Momma will always love him.

For Apollo and most Flemish, there are no strangers, justfriends they haven't met yet. They are very outgoing and friendly.Apollo loves to lay with me for cuddles. I have pet him until my armhurt and he'd still be nudging me for more. He gives kisses freely.

He loves to make me laugh. He'll grab a piece of paper and justspin in tight circles with it until I laugh. The harder I laugh thefaster he'll spin. He is incredible with other animals and children.He's never had a problem with any of the rabbits that now call theAcres home. He doesn't have a mean bone in his body.

At a show last year, there was a Mini Rex in the cage behindApollo's that was small enough to fit halfway into Apollo's cage. Thisrabbit terrorized my baby for 5 days. He would steal Apollo's food andanything else we gave Wollo. This rabbit bit my baby boy on the lip. Itwas a nasty cut. Apollo never bit, he nipped the Mini Rex on the butt,that was it. He could have seriously injured or killed this rabbit butdidn't.

Normally I wouldn't do this but I think sometimes pictures say it better.

Tina

 

[Shuu]

irishmist wrote:

JEEPERS SHUU

You frickin scared me.... when I saw that you were getting sick... I thought you meant you were getting really sick!

Not to worry... I won't get mad I'll just get even!!!! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Haha, sorry about that. I realized how bad it looked after I posted it, but it was too late to change it.


TinysMom: I know how Tiny feels! What a relief when you finally get seated on the can.
It's true, I would be more worried about Tyr causing trouble than Iwould the Flemish, but he's just a little softie and I've neverwitnessed any agression from him. Worst he'll do is a grunt and a thump.


Carolyn: I guess mostly personality is based on handling at a young ageand the like. I've read a lot of adorable stories about Cali - shesounds like a great girl. I did have my sights set on a male as theyare cheaper to neuter and I would love a little baby.
As I said, space isn't really an issue, it's mostly convincing my dad why we need another pet.


Tina: I really appreciate the pictures. Having such loving ones alltogether is really convincing. The stories are also very touching. I'lllet my dad read them soon. It may take some doing, but with a help fromeveryone I may be the next Flemsih owner on the board.

 

[bunsforlife]

Carolyn told me... as well as BlueGiants thebreeder of our adorable Flemmy... that Boys are more lovie dovie, girlsare like girlfriends.

Anubis is such a joy, I cant imagine not having Mr. Personalitynow. When I have a really bad day I climb in his crate and hesnuggles, snuffles and kisses me. Guinevere always kisses me,but Anubis usually waits until I really need it. He is avocal boy, and he is still a baby so he has some goof ups and somemoments (at least the nipping is decreasing!)

I can tell you all this now... As long as I have a rabbit... there will be at least one Flemmy in the house ::grins::

 

[TinysMom]

I will add that Tiny is not like some of theother Flemish on this board. He has never been as loving asthey have been - he doesn't like to cuddle - he doesn't necessairilylike to play with me although he loves to play and have me watch himplay.

HOWEVER, Tiny wasn't socialized AT ALL when we got him at the age of 12weeks (or 14 weeks - I don't remember for sure). He quiveredwhen we touched him and I don't think he'd been handled other than toget food or be moved from one cage to another.

Because of this - it has taken me a lot of time and patience to workwith him. He will not let us pick him up and he will nip andfight if he can. I can't hold him at all - but I can sitbeside him and pet him for hours on end. He will come up tome and nudge me and nuzzle me to let me know he wants pets andattention - and if I start to eat a banana and don't offer him some -he'll come up and pull on my skirt or pants to get myattention.

So...compared to where he was - he has become VERY loving. Heloves to be around me and usually hangs out with me or where he can seeme - unless he goes to his "den" in the closet to snooze or unlessthere are rabbits out that he wants to play with.

Peg

 

[cirrustwi]

I haven't really had the girls long enough tohave any great, they are so wonderful stories. Although, lastweek when I was nursing Abby through stasis, Delilah kept breaking outof her cage and getting on the bed to sit with Abby. She justsat there next to her, perfectly happy.

I have 2 Sampson stories that I love. When he was justlittle, he was making a big racket early in the morning.Shawn and I were trying to sleep, but I finally gave in and let him outof the cage. He happily hopped around the room and then hesuddenly tried to get on the bed. He didn't completely makeit, but kind of hit Shawn's head and fell off. Shawn got upand put him on the bed. Sampson then proceeded to sit andgroom me and then went to Shawn and began grooming him. Itwould have been fine, but he started pulling the hair right out ofShawn's head. LMBO

The other happened when I took Sampson to visit my friend for theweekend. The first night, he slept in the guest room with mein his travel cage, but it was really hot in there. I movedhim downstairs the next day and decided he would sleep better downthere in the AC. That night, I was awakened to something onthe bed...it was Sampson! I had no idea how he'd gotten outof the cage, so I took him back down and went back to bed. Iwas starting to drift off again when I heard a thumping back up thestairs. The next thing I knew Sampson was back in the bedwith me. He spent the rest of the night sleeping right nextto me. He's such a momma's boy!

Jen

 

[Shuu]

It's great to hear that Tiny has come such along way, but if I do get one I'll make sure he/she's handled properlyby the breeder.

So far it's not looking good. I just had a chat with my dad but he doesn't "want three rabbits. Two is more than enough."

It's really unsure for me whether or not I'll be able to convince him.

 

[TinysMom]

Shuu wrote:

It'sgreat to hear that Tiny has come such a long way, but if I do get oneI'll make sure he/she's handled properly by the breeder.

Yes - that is a major major thing. Take your time to pet therabbit and see if it will allow you to pet it and hold it.

I was just dying for a flemish so badly - I took the only one they had (I'd driven about 150 miles to get him).

Peg

 

[Nicky Snow]

Shuu, i'm sooooo jealous!

Keep working on your dad. my dad is like that although i don't livewith my parents. My dad says he's more a dog/cat person, but when hecomes over to my apartment, he goes straight to the cages to say helloto the buns.

ever since seeing pics of Cali and Apollo, i would luv a big bun, but igot my hands full with Rue and Kweli. on top of that i don't reallyhave the space.

maybe you could sucker your pops into "visiting" the breeder, i'm surehe'd change his mind when he sees all the beautiful bunnies.

Well i'm crossing my fingers for you, and your future flemmie. then i can live vicariously through you!

Nicole

 

[Shuu]

That's not a bad idea, Nicole. The only problemis the person who breeds the fawns is a couple hours away and my dadwouldn't go for that just to see a rabbit. I could arrange for ameeting with the Toronto breeder, just to see them. Depending on how itall works out I may not be able to get the fawn and I'll get a white(second choice) at the Toronto breeder. I'll send him/her an e-mailasking information. Thanks for the advice!

 

[naturestee]

You could always keep an eye out for flemish inshelters. Granted, they are rare and most rabbits that theylabel as flemish are anything but. But then you can give himthe whole "saving a life" speach. It might work if he keepsrefusing to let you get one from the breeder.

 

[Shuu]

Good news!

I talked to my dad again this morning and he said "Well, we'll talkwith your mother when she gets back." (She's currently in Halifax andcomes back Saturday night.) In my dad's language this means, if my momsays yes, it's a yes! I see an outline of a very large bunny on thehorizon.

 

[dajeti2]

Oh I hope you can get one. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Tina

 

[Nicky Snow]

Me too!

Nicole

 

[Shuu]

Thank you both very much. I should know by Sunday. I'll update then.