akane":i93e4hvn said:
Boredom. This forum is far to sloooow for me. Actually 5 forums is too slow for me. I also help some people out. One person had an accidental pregnancy and wanted to know how to care for the rabbit but all she got was spay and abort which she didn't want to do. I posted all the instructions for nestboxes and caring for various stage kits and got a pm thanking me. I also corrected someone who posted a link saying rabbits can't have grains and carbs because they cause diarrhea while the op was having a rabbit with soft stools while switching pellets. I told them the link was wrong and give oatmeal and grass hay then introduce pellets slowly. Stuff like that isn't known on the pet rabbit forums and do you have any idea how many "my rabbit gets soft stools when I feed any lettuce" posts there are to correct.
I hate the knee-jerk spay-and-abort reactions. For some people it isn't an option. Berating them and NOT providing info is useless and stupid, IMO...but that's what you get on a mostly pet-oriented forum.
I'm glad they had you to help them with information.
As someone who had issues feeding LOTS of leafy greens and veggies (as per the HRS instructions) I can attest, pet forums usually have NO concept of proper nutrition.
PSFAngoras":i93e4hvn said:
I'm only on this forum. I saw some other groups on ravelry, but they were too uppity for me, either strongly against meat rabbits or were anal about what colors must be bred to other colors to produce only perfect show colors.
I like rt because it is much more laid back as well as open to many ideas. Not to mention, it is very open to mistakes, and most of us are supportive and make suggestions how to avoid the situation again. I don't want to be made to feel like I'm an evil person if I make a simple accident like forgetting to give my angora hay one morning, and perhaps they get a hairball from it. Instead, if I were to post something like that here, it would be suggestions on how to deal with the hairball, not get attacked for forgetting the hay one morning.
My thinking is...I'm human. I make mistakes. Does it help when a mistake is made and someone berates me for it? Nope! So why do that to others??? We all make mistakes, ALL of us, to err is human right?
The only way we can learn, grow and help each other is to deal with what we have, not bemoan what should have been.
Until they develop time-travel, LOL.
Ha! and Ha! again. My experiences are written in detail elsewhere here on RT, but suffice it to say that, until now, all of my animals--cats and dogs--have been rescues, rehomes, or similar, but it looks like getting either an Angora or a Flemish Giant (my #1 and #2 breeds, respectively) will require a breeder. I've spoken directly to HRS people on the phone and told them that to say "A purchased bunny robs a rescue bunny of a home" is provably false, at least in my case. They at first say No! How can that be? And then, when I give them the specifics, they reluctantly agree with me: yes, those two breeds of rabbit are very seldom found in rescue.
The fallacy of "a bought pet steals a shelter pet's home" drives me up a wall. :evil: It has become a serious pet peeve of mine. I just joined a Dutch rabbit group on FB (I'm trying to "network" as I immerse into the breed, since my dad basically wants me to do everything, LOL) and someone had posted about how they don't like seeing rabbits for sale, because they
rescued all their rabbits. Bear in mind this is a FB group for PUREBRED DUTCH, not rescue rabbits, nor is it a breed-rescue. I posted that dedicated, ethical breeders are good for a breed. If the group bans me for that, so be it...because if they hate breeders of their chosen breed of rabbit, then that's not a group I want to be on anyways.
But my point is, I am getting into a breed for the purposes of showing and breeding. I highly doubt I'll get a batch of rescue Dutch that could fulfill my needs.
And since I'm not gonna go rescue a bunch of Dutch if I can't get the breeding stock I want, I'm not "stealing" a home from rescues by buying my foundation stock...since my home is not kept for rescues alone.
Plus if rescues REALLY want to keep people rescuing animals, maybe they should stop LYING to adopters.
I've been burned on so many rescues, I won't do it again...and I should be someone rescues LOVE, because I want SENIORS and health problems and/or special needs (differently-abled) pets aren't a deal-breaker for me. No, they'd rather LIE to me. Fine...my next cat will be bought. I've only EVER rescued cats before...and had I a trustworthy rescue, I'd do it again. But I don't...so I won't.
I feel badly for the senior kitty who is blind or deaf or arthritic who will miss out on my wonderful, loving care. But I won't enable liars any more.
re. the original topic of this thread: I started with RT when I began my in-depth search for a rabbit. I branched out just a couple of weeks ago, but have been repelled by blatant hypocrisy on the other forum I found. So I'll just be hanging out on this forum for rabbit-y stuff from now on.
I got lambasted on the pet forum I was originally on...I got a pair of meat-mutt rabbits (OH NOES, I BOUGHT THEM AND EVERYTHING!!!!) that were mottled black-and-orange. The breeder told me they were torts...they looked like my tort kitties...so when I posted pictures of my "new bunnies" and said they were torts, I was flamed right off the forum...they were HARLEQUINS not torts and by their logic I must be stupid for not knowing the difference. :roll:
And when I had a little doe get sick (new doe, came down with coccidiosis within 24 hours of getting home) they flamed me worse...no suggestions for what to do for her...just harsh criticism for buying a bunny. I actually found this forum while I was desperately trying to find help for that poor doe...and everyone was so helpful. She passed away anyways, but I did all I could for her; even my vet said there was nothing else to be done for her. After talking to people here, I feel much less helpless when dealing with issues...we're all here for each other, after all!
We do get plenty of "newbie" questions, but HT gets some that make you want to bang your head on the wall. They've been around a lot longer, but some of the questions there just make you wonder if anybody listens.
I looked at that forum. I don't remember if I made an account or not. Don't recall. Don't care either since I haven't been back since that first day. :roll:
Last Sunday my mother and I drove 4 hours to pick up our new additions - an English Angora and a Satin (they had come up 600 odd miles from the breeder to a show), my mother is quite shocked at how quiet they are compared to my 4 rescues... meaning you don't have to chase them around the crate to pick them up and they don't want to scratch the beejezzus out of you. It's amazing what handling and attention from the nesting box til they leave home makes.
My AR-oriented acquaintance (the crazy one) has a rescue bunny. And she is always dismayed at how my "unloved," cage-raised, wire-floor bunnies are a LOT more affectionate and calm than her bunny. Yeah, he's treated like a king, he has his own cat-tower (YES, HE HAS A CAT-TOWER) and eats craisins daily from her hands while she coos and pets him, and he gets boatloads of veggies each day...and my buns are nicer. :twisted: Good breeding, daily handling and consistently kind treatment makes for sweet-natured bunnies!
As to the original question...I am on a lot of FB groups because I can buy/sell much easier than here.
Plus there's a lot more regional "news" and stuff.
Info on local shows, rabbits posted for sale, people asking/offering transport to here and there...that, RT lacks.
But when it comes to straight-up INFO on care/husbandry, RT is the best. I've given up on the pet forums. They fail me hardcore.
Highlight of my contact with a pet-oriented group was when one person declared that because I breed rabbits, I AM THE NEW HITLER. :lol: How am I even supposed to take these people seriously?! I mean come
on!!!