• If you have bought, sold or gained information from our Classifieds, please donate to Rabbit Talk and give back.

    You can become a Supporting Member or just click here to donate.

ISO A House Bunny

Rabbit Talk  Forum

Help Support Rabbit Talk Forum:

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

Sagebrush

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 13, 2014
Messages
1,411
Reaction score
4
Location
Stonyford, California
Hello all. Well I am back to searching for a house bunny. So far I have not found what I am looking for from those that do breed rabbits here. For example I am wanting a rabbit that has been handles since close to birth, wont freak out if my dog comes to say hello, and who would allow me to actually trim their nails without it being a huge and stressful operation. What I am finding here is seldom handled rabbits that are far to aggressive to be handled. Anyone who is near the Reno, Nevada area please let me know.
 
What you need, is a velveteen lop ;) English lops are another good choice for temper, but a little harder to keep indoors due to their larger size.
I'm sure you will find the perfect bunny. Hopefully not just a handled one, but also one from a calm line. :)
 
I would love a velveteen lop!!! To bad I can't seem to find any around here. Of course I did fall in love with Mucky's kits when I last saw them. ;) ;)
 
Sagebrush....
I ended up creating a house bunny....
He was a 3 year old pedigreed booted red NZ.... bought him to improve my meat herd...
Used him a time or two... focus shifted to Magpie Harlequin...

He lived for a year on the bottom cage.
My dog would come in an help supervise with chores.
She is very well trained, but loved to rub her head all over "Dave" the rabbit...
Sometimes she would fit her head and shoulders in to try and climb in with him...
(she's a 65lb shepherd mix)
He gained some weight (ok a lot) and couldn't be used as a breeder any longer...
A friend was looking for a house bunny... he quickly adjusted to a litter box.... now has a mastive puppy friend... and has his own bedroom to play in ....

Sometimes, finding a good house rabbit.......... is just luck.
 
If you don't find one by WCC I might have a Himalayan buck for sale, super active, friendly and chill with dogs (he lived indoors and we train service dogs), just didn't mature into a good show rabbit. I'm going to try to sell him in april, but if he doesn't sell, he might be coming with me to WCC
 
Ohh, I've heard great things about Himis and temperament!!

Sarnia makes for a good point too. Many mature bucks make excellent pets. I just sold a pretty lilac magpie harlequin buck who was always pushing into our hands trying to get head scratches.
 
SarniaTricia, thank you. Those are some valid points. Unfortunately the people that are breeders here, (unless the rabbits are for show and they want large amounts for them) they just don't handle them very much and they become aggressive. I want a calmer rabbit.

SableSteel, I will defiantly keep him in mind if I don't find another bun by then. I do look forward to meeting you at WCC! Heck, even if I do find a bun before then I will still be going.

Zass, I have been considering adult rabbits as well. Just because you know what type of temperament you are getting when you see the rabbit.
 
Hello all. Well I am back to searching for a house bunny. So far I have not found what I am looking for from those that do breed rabbits here. For example I am wanting a rabbit that has been handles since close to birth, wont freak out if my dog comes to say hello, and who would allow me to actually trim their nails without it being a huge and stressful operation. What I am finding here is seldom handled rabbits that are far to aggressive to be handled. Anyone who is near the Reno, Nevada area please let me know.
You need a mini plush lop. They are like dogs. I think there are breeders near you. Or, get one from happily ever after Rabbitry and they can ship him
 
In the herd here, it's mostly been the bucks who have been the in-your-face friendly bunnies. The buns here get handled almost literally from the moment they're born, because of the coat maintenance they will need as adults. But they're not a good pet because they're angoras. Although perhaps a pet Swiffer may be handy to have in the house except you'd then have to clean the rabbit instead of the floors. Another bunny breeder here in town handles hers from birth since they're bred to be pet bunnies. She's got the Netherland Dwarfs and Holland Lops although she only has one or two females of each breed so she has time to hold all the babies. But, we're in Hawaii, shipping to the mainland would be absurdly expensive when you've got options already over there.

You can train a bunny to quite some extent. It's best to get one with a fairly calm temperament to begin with and then bribe them into good behavior but if all you can find is a skittery bunny, start from there. When they learn that if they go near you a tasty leaf or some other bribe will appear pretty soon they will be around you all the time.

As for nail trimming, we put the bunny on the grooming table (a bit of carpet on a table will make any table into a grooming table), then lift the chest while scooping under the tail end. Kinda tuck them into the crook of your arm. They'll be upside down and wiggling, wait a few seconds until they quit wiggling and then trim toenails. Turn rightside up and administer ear rubs and a ti leaf. It's not gonna be their favorite activity, but they will get to tolerate it fairly well.

But, we've been breeding for temperament for generations so maybe our experience is all skewed.
 
Just a quick add to what hotzcatz said about nail trimming - when you get the rabbit into your arm you do a quick, gentle flip so it's on it's back the way you'd hold a human baby. Dip it so the head is lower than the body and the rabbit will immediately become very quiet and docile, letting you clip nails easily. This works even on the most aggressive rabbits.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top