Who Says Rabbits Lack Personality and Spunk?

an interesting article you may like to read.

who says rabbits lack personality and spunk?

Clips from the article follow

One of the biggest general misconceptions about rabbits is that they just sit there in the cage gnawing on stuff — like great, big hamsters — and don’t do anything interesting all day.

 “Admittedly, I was one of those people who thought rabbits were bereft of personality,” says Shaun T. Gorman, an engineering consultant who’s been living with house rabbits for about seven years. “I figured that as animals of prey, their short life spans short-circuited any hereditary ‘personality’ traits and left them with a pretty basic eat-sleep-poop-survive life structure.” He continues, “Ahh, I know differently now — they are little people, with huge ears and lots of body hair.”
NOTE: I would NEVER characterize bunnies as being people..little or otherwise.  It diminishes what they are.  Rabbits are very individualistic and have their own way of looking at the world.  Calling them people removes what they in actuality are.   BUT the fact that they are quite different I thought was worth pointing out in this article.

  She notes that many people try to play with a rabbit too quickly after the animal arrives, which can often frighten a rabbit even more. “This is a prey species that takes a while to settle down and learn that you are not a predator,” she says. “The best way you can convince the animal that you are not a predator is to stop acting like one — you want to be laid-back and let your rabbit come to you.”
I have learned that with MOST rabbits, give them about three weeks to settle down and the bunny is yours.  BUT do play with your bunny.  Get it used to your scent, your mannerisms, and your household noises.   DO NOT just wait for the bunny as that's giving a lot of power to a bunny with a very small brain :)   but do take into account that calm, quiet people de-stress rabbits quicker than boisterous noisy ones.  :)

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Easter Bunnies to sell or not to sell

Should rabbit breeders sell bunnies at Easter? 

There are many ways to look at this issue and it is one that easily divides people. 

 To me selling bunnies at Easter is no different than sheep or goat people raising their animals to be sold for the Easter folks. Selling bunnies to me is no different at Easter than it is in January, or August or October. 

 People, wanting a pet, looking for a bunny. 

Are there people out there strictly making an impulse purchase looking to have a pet just for the holidays.. for sure.. but most of the time .. I find those folks go to the pet stores. They do. They certainly don't come to me willing to wait until I decide I'm going to go to the big city.     They want the bunny now. SO.. they go the pet store. 

Are there more people looking for bunnies at Easter?    Well of course there is. Tis the time of year when bunnies start coming out of the wood work. 

The sheer amount of people who I've had come to me over the years saying.. did you know how hard it is to find a bunny?!?!?! I've been looking all winter for one and NOW we can find them. We were starting to think we'd never find a good bunny. 

 It's just the way it is. Bunnies start really coming out for sale at the end of March/beginning of April. Are they timed for Easter? possibly. Could also just be the way it's worked out. People trying to breed rabbits, the rabbits saying NO, don't wanna.. until suddenly it's like.. oh, okay, you want me to make babies?!?!?!?! I can do THAT. :) Silly critters they are at times. 

So sell your bunnies...whether it be a Easter or on Valentines or in the middle of summer.  Enjoy them, move them out, and just be pleased that you are offering a needed service to folks looking to add the joy of a pet to their lives.

Is there risk involved with the care and sell of animals?  For sure.  but you know what .... Most folks will do right by their animals.

They will be housed, fed, and cleaned out.

Some may not be spoiled, some may end up over spoiled, most will end up being treated well.  They may end up moving from one home to another.    They may occasionally be handled in a way they don't appreciate, and if that happens they generally object.   They generally do NOT end up in abusive situations.   Is it possible that they might?  Yeah... but it's not the majority.  It really isn't.

Love your animals, care for your animals, assume that others will be responsible for what they want to be their own, and let the rest just be as it is.    Even selling a bunny to the best possible home that you can think of doesn't mean that bunny is guaranteed that forever bestest home.  Things happen and sometimes bunnies need to leave the perfect home for something other than what they had.  It is what it is.  ALL you can do as a breeder is your best.  :)

There are no guarantees in life beyond that all will die at some point.  All will at some point need to go before their maker.  Beyond that,  do the best that you can and let the rest just be.

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Spay/Neuter your rabbit?

There's some controversy in the rabbit world as to whether people should spay or neuter their rabbit.  and finding information is indeed a challenge.

If one chooses to believe the house rabbit society people, spay/neuter will

1. solve all behavioural problems with your rabbit
2. have your rabbit live a longer life
3. makes your rabbit healthier
4. means no contribution to pet over population
5. makes it easier to give them a companion
6. Removes all risk of ovarian and testicular cancer.

So let's talk about these points one by one

1. solve all behavioural issues with your rabbit

• says who?   What studies have been done?  is this merely anecdotal?  or just one person/group saying it and then it just gets passed around as fact?
• Spay/neuter can solve hormonally related issues IF done properly.
• I learned about a month or so ago that there are a couple ways to spay a rabbit.   The safe way, and the more technically risky way.   The safe way makes for an easier surgery for the rabbit but leaves some of the reproductive system intact.   The riskier way removes all the reproductive system but is a harder surgery for the surgeon as well as the patient.
• Some rabbit behaviour becomes very ingrained and can be difficult to eradicate.   Sometimes rabbits can be worked with and retrained to act in more appropriate ways, but sometimes those behaviours are such a part of a rabbit that trying to change them just isn't going to happen.
• So doing the simple spay/neuter isn't automatically going to fix your rabbit's behaviour.  It can help, but won't necessarily solve all the issues.

2. Have your rabbit live a longer life?

• I read this and think to myself... MOST pet rabbits I know of.. live at the most 7 years or so.   I've had one person come and tell me that they lost their beloved pet after 10 years, but most say anywhere from 2-7 years.  
• What does that say about Jack.  a harlequin rabbit, used as a breeder up until 4 months before his death at age almost 12?
• So then my query remains... how does a spay/neuter make an animal live longer?   It simply doesn't make any sense to me.

3. Makes your rabbit healthier?

• how does removing body parts make an animal healthier.
• I've learned that God has made bodies wonderfully intricate.  Hormones can balance each other out.  NOW.. can we live without certain hormones?  For we can(so can the rabbit).   and if hormones are causing an animal to act out in ways unbecoming and you nip it in the bud before it becomes a habit then I don't have an issue with folks spaying/neutering their animals.   but I do want to raise the awareness that sometimes if you mess with an animal.. sometimes it can backfire with other hormonal issues.
• But women who have a hysterectomy need to be careful to monitor their bone density and how their body is reacting to less estrogen in their systems.  So it makes me wonder if God put that into animals as well?
• could potentially remove the risk of ovarian cancer...hmm... tell that to the owner of a 2 year old spayed female rabbit who lost her companion animal to ... get this.. ovarian cancer.    And who goes around removing body parts because of a potential risk of cancer which has been proven to exist in all rabbits...the older they get, the higher the chances are of contracting it... kinda like with people eh?  the older you get, the more likely you are to get cancer...people don't generally remove body parts to prevent getting cancer....though some might but they are the exception not the rule.

4.means no contribution to over pet population

• VERY TRUE.  A properly spayed/neutered animal CANNOT have babies.
• Interesting how this past winter I ended a rabbit life (a very ill tempered brute who bit first and asked questions later) who had been neutered by a reputable vet...but this rabbit still had a testicle.  So mistakes in life happen.
• now linking this to over pet population?   WHAT RABBIT Over pet population?
• seriously.  There is no pet overpopulation.  Go to any shelter.  Count how many rabbits there are.  Count how many other small animals there are.   
• Non-kill shelters can generally always find homes for their clientele.   Pets are shipped from one area to another.   If there was an over pet population problem animals would be shipped from Germany to the USA, or from the USA to Canada, or anywhere.  There would simply be TOO many animals around to do that.
• there are so many cats/dogs/small animals available...but not enough for the homes wanting them.   So they are shifted from one locale to another.. makes you wonder how many of them are being counted twice?
• Go here to read more.   or even over here. 

5. Makes it easier to give them a companion.

• I can't argue with this one.   Because quite frankly it does make it easier to find them a companion.
• but it doesn't negate the fact that your rabbit is an individual and not all individuals will get along with everyone else.  They simply won't.
• a rabbit rescue friend of mine went through three bunnies trying to find a companion to her dominant SPAYED female rabbit.  Finally found one.  YEAH!   
• So it's something to keep in mind.

CONS to getting your rabbit neutered/Spayed. 

Folks don't like to talk about these but

1. it's not cheap.   Rabbits are considered exotics.   Exotic animal care costs more to vet.   It would be helpful if more vets offered spay/neuter days to rabbits.
2. it's best/safest done on younger animals (so between 4-12 months of age)
3. surgery is ALWAYS a risk.  Rabbits don't handle anesthetic well.  AND if it goes poorly you are still stuck with the bill
4. may not solve your particular behaviour issue.  So you need to understand what your rabbit is doing and WHY it is doing it.  
5. you are taking away an integral part of your rabbits anatomy.
6.  it is often used as a quick and easy solution to a problem which with creative thinking and doing things differently might not be required.

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