Lop to be rehomed (located in tri state area in PA)

[Julie_in_PA]

I have a gorgeous lop rabbit that is in desperate need of a wonderful new home.

Let me tell you "Patch's" story ...

There was a little girl who really wanted a bunny and saw Patch and simply fell in love ! Her parents brought Patch home and introduced Patch to the other farm animals and to her new hutch. The little girl played with Patch and loved Patch. Weeks went by and the little girl started new projects and focused on other hobbies. Eventually she forgot all about little Patch. Patch still was fed and given water on a regular basis, and when the hutch really needed cleaned, that was done as well. But Patch was lonely. No one to play with her, no one to come pet and talk to her. No attention at all. Patch was forgotten.

A while went by and Patch heard word of possibly leaving her home. It seemed a lady was interested in buying Patch's hutch. The lady didn't know however that Patch came with the hutch and that was the condition of the sale. Then the little girl's parents loaded the hutch with Patch in it onto their truck and drove to the lady's farm. The lady wasn't home, so they delivered the hutch and Patch there and made arrangements for payment later. The lady returned home and saw the hutch. Getting a closer look ... the lady noticed Patch. What a cute little bunny (thought the lady), but oh my ... what am I going to do with this bunny !? I have arrangements to bring home my little flemish giant bunny ! This is my only hutch, and I don't want to put my little bunny in with Patch for fear that Patch might hurt it ! What am I to do !? (thought the lady). By this time, after such a long time of being left alone, Patch wasn't tame like she used to be. She didn't know what being pet was all about anymore. The lady had a kindness in her heart towards animals, and she talked to Patch and would try gently petting her from time to time. But the lady still knew she couldn't keep Patch.

So now Patch sits in her hutch and the lady greets her on a daily basis ~ talking to her and trying to pet her. But Patch knows that the lady cannot keep her forever, so Patch waits and is still waiting for a wonderful home where someone will anticipate her arrival and will have room for her to live, and will give her lots of love and attention.

This is not the end of Patch's story ~ Patch is still looking for a forever home ! And she needs to be rehomed very quickly ... my flemish giant baby bunny will be comming home within a few days if I can rehome Patch. And I cannot bring the bunny home until I do rehome her, because I only have one hutch - the one Patch is in.

So if you're interested in giving Patch a WONDERFUL Forever Home .. please contact me @ [email protected] and/or via reply or pm to this post.

Meet Patch ~ I'm not SURE of the sex, but I THINK Patch is a female. Don't know age either. (sorry)

We're located in Somerset County PA. Near Johnstown PA, Greensburgh PA, Cumberland MD, Keyser Ridge WV, etc.

 

[Leaf]

She is very cute...

Hopefully she finds a responsible home, something she has obviously been lacking for a while now.

Honestly, my thought is... You have Patch and her hutch - room, time and patience - why not keep her and her hutch and then work on building a setup/hutch for your upcoming Flemish based on her hutch design? I have a feeling a hutch sized for a small breed will not be good for long with a flemish, and thats IF her hutch is decent in size at all, even for her breed.

Since she was dumped as she was - have you contacted her former owner at all about the situation, or have you made a dumped animal report with local authorities? There are laws against dumping animals. In my state it's a Class C Felony.


You may want to inquire about it before going to pay the people for the hutch so things can get sorted out for Patch as quickly and easily as possible.

 

[tonyshuman]

My idea is that if your flemmie is going to be a backyard hutch bunny, he might want a friend for company and warmth in the winter. Do you know the gender of the flemmie? Are you planning on fixing your rabbits? Obviously, rabbits are happier inside the house with people, but if they need to be outside, having a friend might make life better.

 

[Julie_in_PA]

Yes, it will be kept outside. My hutch is 3 1/2 feet long x 2 feet wide. It looks and seems quite large. The adult lop has LOTS of room inside it. I know flemish giants get larger though of course. My flemmish is just a baby though, and in spring I plan to have my hubby build me another BIGGER hutch with a play yard attached to it. So it'll have a big luxurious hutch with access to play in a fenced in "play yard" area where it will be on the ground and able to eat grass.

I know we can't build another hutch now, it will have to wait until spring. So I currently only have one hutch, and the lop "Patch" is in it. If I would know Patch would be ok with the flemish baby, I'd put them together, but being that it takes time to get them to bond, and I only have one hutch, I don't know howI could do that. It would be nice if it would work out ! But I just don't see how it would without a risk.

Patch is adorable ! And if I had a way to keep her AND the baby flemish I'm getting, I would. But I just don't know how I could do that without throwing them together in the same hutch, which obviously isn't logical. I want them both to be happy and healthy, I don't see how I have the possibility of providing them that with only one hutch.

I don't know the gender yet of the flemish, I can choose my baby when I go to pick it up. Here's a picture of the litter ...

 

[slavetoabunny]

Julie_in_PA wrote:

My hutch is 3 1/2 feet long x 2 feet wide.

That really isn't that big. I keep a 2 pound Florida White in a pen that is 4 feet long by 2 feet wide and feel guilty for not giving her more room. The way Flemish grow, I doubt that hutch will last until Spring.

 

[Leaf]

Julie_in_PA wrote:

My hutch is 3 1/2 feet long x 2 feet wide. It looks and seems quite large.

Here's Aiden at 9.5 months old (when I got him) in a 36" long (3') dog crate:

He's bunched up a bit here:

This is just him and a litter box:

He's not quite standing tall in this pic, but a size comparison by a 30" X-Pen

I know you said you would be getting a Flemish or two - I guarantee it won't be enough space for two growing Flemish Giants. Your hutch measures half a foot longer than the dog crate I'm showing you, but keep in mind I ONLY had a litter box in that crate, no food or water setup for him when those pics were taken.

 

[Julie_in_PA]

Awww - cute pics !!!

And I did actually state in my post (but you may have missed it ) that I decided to just get one for now. I know I'll want atleast one more later, but for now I'm just getting one until I have more accomodations for another one, etc.

Plus I just talked to a lady today, and it sounds like I might be getting a PT job, so I might be able to get the materials to build a new hutch within the next month or two ! My husband will do the building/constructing for me, but since it's for MY animal stuff, I need to come up with the $$ for it myself. That's usually how it works around here. And I'm a stay at home mommy, so I don't always have $$ laying around. So any projects that I have in mind, I have to save $$ for. But now if I get this pt job, (which sounds very promising), I should be able to have the extra $$ soon enough to go ahead and do another hutch and play yard, etc.

I don't liked to see caged animals. So I try to make accomodations for all of my animals as large and fitting to their needs as possible. I like my animals to have plenty of room to eat, sleep, play, and just relax in the sun as well. All of my animals have luxurious pens, and none of them are lacking in space. My rabbit/s will be the same. That's a work in process. So the hutch will be temporary for the baby bunny, but really soon (even sooner now!) I will make a larger hutch with a play yard, etc. to accomodate it.

My plans are this :

I want to have 2 XL rabbit hutches in my yard within view of our living room window, and each XL hutch will have a ramp that goes down into it's own play yard. I'd like to make each hutch approx 4 x 3 or so, and the accessible play yard (fenced in) approx 6 x 4. Then I plan to keep the hutch I have now inside my barn for quaranteen, or for whatever else I might need it for as an extra hutch. When I do the fencing for the play yards, I am thinking of using the fencing from Tractor Supply that's sold specifically for rabbits, and make the fence approx 3 1/2 - 4 feet tall, then I want to either run a layer of fence across the ground as well so it cannot dig under the fence, OR I considered building a rock wall approx 1 or2 ft tall around the outside perimiter of the fence. Whatever works best I guess. I plan to have a nice gate built in the fence for easy access to the play yard, and then also I want easy access to the back side of the hutch so I can get in and out of the hutch when needed. Anyway, I'm not sure if I explained this very well, but this is what I plan for my rabbit/s.

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

Leaf wrote:

He's not quite standing tall in this pic, but a size comparison by a 30" X-Pen

I had to laugh at this pic, the rabbit is three times the size of the dog,lol!!!!

 

[JadeIcing]

Question is she just scared or scared and aggressive?

 

[Julie_in_PA]

Question is she just scared or scared and aggressive?

Scared. Just scared from not being fooled with in a long time.

Guess what, I think I'm getting attached :?I only had this hutch/rabbit for 5 days now, and I've been talking to her and petting her on a daily basis. I have been kinda afraid to try picking her up, for fear that she would scratch and bite me, and even worse - possibly escape my arms and get out of the barn and loose ... and then become lunch in the woods for the coyotes or something.

So anyway, I decided to go down to the barn and try picking her up. I put on a thick jacket/coat in case she'd scratch, and I put gloves on for fear of scratching and/or biting. I went down all dressed up and prepared for the worse ... and when I went to pick her up ... SHE WAS FINE !!! Not ONE time did she even TRY to scratch, bite or even escape me !! I gently picked her up with my hands supporting her whole body and brought her up against my body to hold her securely and gently. She just left me hold her there. I pet her and talked to her, and my daughter Jasmine (4 yrs old) pet her to. Then I put her back in the hutch. I was so suprised at her reaction that I removed my gloves and picked her up again without them and talked to her and pet her again. Then put her back in her hutch and gave her some lettuce.

While I had her in my arms, I tried to feel for "male parts" and didn't feel any, so I'm still under the impression "she's" a girl. While I was holding her I was looking at her and talking to her, and those big brown eyes struck a cupid arrow through my heart ! I don't know if I want to rehome her now !!

:inlove:What do I do !!?? I still want my flemish giant ... I've been waiting and wanting and anticipating for months now for it, and now I already have arrangments to pick it up and everything ... so I AM getting my flemish. So now I'm trying to figure out if there is a way I can keep both of them. I do have a HUGE dog crate (largest they make) that I bought for my english mastiffs if I ever needed. It's HUGE ! I was thinking that perhaps I could use that somehow. I could maybe figure out a sturdy way to get it up off the ground so it would be on legs just like a regular rabbit hutch. Any ideas ? Maybe I can sweet talk my hubby into building my other hutch NOW, but that would take alot of sweet talk ... so I want to come up with another idea as a backup plan as well. So how about the dog crate ? Think it would work ok ?? I do actually have a rabbit CAGE, but I really don't want to confine either of the rabbits to that - it's not very large. The dog crate would be the best thing I can think of that I have.

 

[TinysMom]

I had a flemish male that was bonded to a female lionhead - actually - more than one - he frequently had a harem.

What if you were to choose a flemish male and try to bond him with her?

Here is my Tiny with one of his loveys...

Ok - so I had to post two pics...

The first picture is of his final spouse (he passed away this Feb) and the second picture is of his first love..

The key thing is - you'd need to save enough money to get your boy neutered (or your girl neutered - preferably both neutered) so there would be no surprise pregnancy.

It is something to consider..

 

[Julie_in_PA]

I coud try. But I will need to keep them seperate until I know they're bonded ... right ? I mean, it takes time with supervision (like play dates) to get them to bond with each other doesn't it ? So I would still have to use the dog crate, or something else to keep one of them in while the other one is in the hutch - until I can trust them together. Right ?

 

[JadeIcing]

Yup. Than their are instant bonds. An there are aggressive rabbits who come around after a bond.

Read about my flemish here.

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=19961&forum_id=1&page=1

 

[Julie_in_PA]

Ok, well how would I KNOW right away if they'll be ok or not ? I would be devastated to think they're instantly bonded, and go to check in the next day and see the baby flemish dead. And they're not in my house, they'd be inside my barn, so I wouldn't have constant view of them - so I wouldn't know if they would fight unless they'd do it while I'm there in the barn.

The people who had Patch told me that they had another rabbit in with her at one time, I don't know how long they were together but they said it was a little while, and then one day they went out to feed and the other rabbit was dead. They didn't know why or what happened to it. So I don't know if they fought and she killed it, or if it died of an illness, or what.

 

[swanlake]

circling, grunting, lunging at each other are all signs to seperate them.

if they like each other, they will at first ignore one another, then they may present themselves for grooming (ie lower their head so the other can lick them) or they might snuggle.

fred and shadow i barely bonded. he actually jumped in her cage one night. there was a little bit of fighting then BAM. now they are super close.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

I bonded my two together over a period of about 1-2 weeks. Mind you, that was 1/2 hour bunny dates, about every 2-3 days. If I had done it day after day, success would have probably been met in first 3-4 days.

This process will take up some of your time. I wouldn't buy into the likelihood that they will instantly bond: that, from my readings, is not overly likely. I don't feel that you should have instant confidence after just one meeting; better to be cautious and see how it plays out over a few days.

I would promote you to bring a blanket into a common space in your home that can be closed off. To me, attempting a bond in an area without definite limits (like the barn) would be a lot more challenging to catch upset buns.

Bonding should never be attempted near one rabbit's home territory. For you, that means no interaction anywhere near Patch's hutch; she will defend against all newcomers (no matter how tiny). I built two temporary NIC pens and housed my target rabbits beside eachother, so that the territory was shared: neither bun had prior ownership.

Try following some of the advice on the bonding threads listed in behaviour and nutrition forum to improve your odds of success

Best of Luck to you; I hope it works out for Patch and the wee one

 

[Pipp]

Poor Patches, on top of being neglected, she lost her mate.

And no, she wouldn't have had anything to do with the death, I'm sure. They were most likely not paying close enough attention to any number of health issues and s/he died from that.

You're keeping them in the barn? Is it very secure? If it is, I'd suggest building a bigger cage/pen from NIC panels, they're quite inexpensive. The most important thing is having multi-levels, they don't get as much exercise with one or two hops across a small cage as they do jumping to another level. It also allows two bunnies to stay out of each other's way, very important in the bonding process. You can incorporate the hutch and dog crate into the design.

Here are a few threads with pics:

Cages Only
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=1931&forum_id=1

PHOTO PHILE: NIC Cages Only
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=15348&forum_id=1

I think it's pretty clear you don't know the joys of house rabbits. The more one-on-one time your spend with a rabbit, the friendlier the rabbit will be. Thus housebunnies, if they have been treated the way they like (ie: not picked up or grabbed), they can be like little puppy dogs, jumping on your lap, licking your face, etc.

A barn bunny with a lot of one-on-one time will be good, but will probably still need a barn friend.

Patches sounds like a very lonely little bunny -- it really is critical for rabbits to bond. Not just with other rabbits, they can bond with humans and other species. But they have a natural social instinct for family/warren situations. They need friendship. Give her a chance -- sit on the floor and interact with her for long periods. Let her explore. (She will come back to you). You'll both be blessed!

And with a big enough space -- lots of room, lots of levels, hidey boxes (with two exits) and other like things -- bonding should be fairly simple, but you have to determine the sexes for sure and spay/neuter one or both of the bunnies. The girl should be introduced to the boy on the boy's turf, not the girl's. And really make sure you don't have two intact males. That's big trouble. :shock:

sas

 

[Julie_in_PA]

Poor Patches, on top of being neglected, she lost her mate.

And no, she wouldn't have had anything to do with the death, I'm sure. They were most likely not paying close enough attention to any number of health issues and s/he died from that.

Yeah, I thought the same thing. I would think the people would realize if the rabbits were fighting, and surely there would be some type of blood or markingswhen they found the dead rabbit - if it was killed by Patch. So I'm assuming it died from something else ... ?

You're keeping them in the barn? Is it very secure? If it is, I'd suggest building a bigger cage/pen from NIC panels, they're quite inexpensive. The most important thing is having multi-levels, they don't get as much exercise with one or two hops across a small cage as they do jumping to another level. It also allows two bunnies to stay out of each other's way, very important in the bonding process. You can incorporate the hutch and dog crate into the design.

Yes, I have my hutch inside the barn. I would like to be able to let the bunnies run around in the barn itself - without having to be in the hutch, BUT there would be escape areas that would need closed in before that could ever happen. I never thought about incorporating the hutch and the dog crate together ... that's a neat idea ! I'll have to see if we can get that to work ! Then if I need to seperate them, I can simply detach the crate from the hutch. That would be neat ! Atleast for now - until I have my XL hutch's and play pens built.


Thanks for the links ! I'm checking them out now !

I think it's pretty clear you don't know the joys of house rabbits. The more one-on-one time your spend with a rabbit, the friendlier the rabbit will be. Thus housebunnies, if they have been treated the way they like (ie: not picked up or grabbed), they can be like little puppy dogs, jumping on your lap, licking your face, etc.

A barn bunny with a lot of one-on-one time will be good, but will probably still need a barn friend.

Well, here's the thing ... my husband is not an animal lover like myself. He enjoys them from time to time, but he doesn't deal with them much. I do all the feeding, watering, and all the care they need. I "push buttons" just by getting him to build me new pens/etc. So I try to stay within my boundaries to keep him happy, but he still gets frustrated with my animal stuff from time to time .... God love him ... hahaha ! But he is usually pretty understanding and patient with me. But bringing animals into the house .... I highly doubt that would work. He probably wouldn't be to happy about that. So ~ the animals stay outside, and I try to make them happy with nice accomodations, and lots of TLC, even though they gotta stay outside/in the barn.

Patches sounds like a very lonely little bunny -- it really is critical for rabbits to bond. Not just with other rabbits, they can bond with humans and other species. But they have a natural social instinct for family/warren situations. They need friendship. Give her a chance -- sit on the floor and interact with her for long periods. Let her explore. (She will come back to you). You'll both be blessed!

Well hopefully things are looking up for her future then

And with a big enough space -- lots of room, lots of levels, hidey boxes (with two exits) and other like things -- bonding should be fairly simple, but you have to determine the sexes for sure and spay/neuter one or both of the bunnies. The girl should be introduced to the boy on the boy's turf, not the girl's. And really make sure you don't have two intact males. That's big trouble. :shock:

Hope you're right - that the bonding is simple

Ok so, what about two intact females ? I mean, if Patch IS a girl .... and I get a female flemish baby, how would they be ?

 

[RexyRex]

I don't think that 2 intact girls would be good for the long run. It may be okay while your Flemmie is small, but once her hormones hit (and it will come OUT OF THE BLUE), the fur could start flying! Any way that you could take Patch to the vet do get her/him sexed properly? Then maybe you could take Patch with you when you pick out your new bun to see which babies she gets along with? Either way, definately have them both fixed when you can. It's much healthier in the long run

Bonding can be tricky. I adopted Gixxer from the shelter without taking Alaska and I got LUCKY. They fell in love at first sight, she didn't even care that he was in her space, she was just so happy that there was another rabbit in the house. Kind of makes me think she had a bond partner sometime in her life before finding her way to me. Trying to introduce Max into the mix has not gone so well. After some bloodshed I've decided to take a break and try again in a couple of months. Good luck with whatever you decide! Oh, and stay on the forum, I'd love to hear about how things turn out!

 

[TinysMom]

Two girls can be done - but the easiest bonding is boy/girl....