Needing some reasurances that I am not a terrible person!

[bossynbella]

I love that set up. I agree there are all kinds of inbetween options. The one thing that was informative they say any two rabbits can be bonded to live together, they had this whole process they used. Males could even live together if no females where within smelling distance, and they had groups with neutered males and intact females and spayed females, biggest one I read about was 5 rabbits though. Also said you needed more does then bucks even though the bucks are neutered.

I would love to try a colony of some type but all mine want to kill each other. Except for the opposite sex of course!

 

[Iowa Roo Mom]

Ok, I am NOT a rabbit expert, in fact the only thing I know about rabbits is how to hunt 'em, skin 'em, and cook 'em, but I have to say that yours are beautiful, and as far as letting the kits out in the grass, aren't wild buns out in the grass at that age or before?

Just a thought...

They are very pretty, though, I must admit. I wouldn't let 'em get to ya, they look fine to me

 

[NellaBean]

I think my does would all try to kill each other too. Especially the few I want to "retire" together.

The two I have together now are a neutered male (1.5 years old) and an intact female (6 months old). They are just in love with each other. He was neutered when I added her, and she was only 3-4 months old, so they bonded before she got all hormonal

 

[hennyannie]

When people get all up in the air about a set up like yours they are wasting time they could use to educate people who really need it. Like a person (using the term lightly) that I know who doesn't seem to think the dog needs water everyday and food is optionally. Everything we saw in those photos look good and healthy, so carry on raising beautiful bunnies and don't let'em get ya down.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Wait. WHAT??? Good grief some people are just plain butt stupid.

 

[dainerra]

oh, about the grass! I forgot to post this last night. There is an element of truth to it.

It is like horses that are stalled all winter (or most of the time) suddenly turned out onto grass. They can overeat on it and cause some problems. Bunnies are the same. BUT if the bunnies have access to grass/greens as well as their hay and pellets, especially from the time they are babies, then yes they will be fine.

 

[peacedove]

You are definitely not a terrible person. You would not care about your bunnies so much if you were. When you have the time and money you will improve their space. Until then know that you are a conscientious owner who, while not breeding for conformation, you are breeding for nice pet bunnies and looks like you are succeeding.

 

[KDailey]

I had this same thing happen to me on a dog forum. It was actually a forum about a dog game for computers but they had a section for showing off your real dogs.

I got a new chihuahua puppy from a lady that came up to my work. She breeds them and brought a couple to show us. I fell in love with the long haired male and bought it. At the time I didn't know the difference in AKC, CKC (continental), etc and she said they were CKC registerable. I paid $300 for him. I absolutely love the little guy.

Well I made the mistake of putting up pictures of him and that he was CKC registerable and that I got him from a lady that came up to my work. They jumped ALL OVER ME. They pretty much made me out to be Satan and that I was horrible for supporting a puppy mill (which the lady is very well known in our town about her dogs and she's not a puppy mill. They may not be show dog quality but they are very well taken care of and make good pets) and that it would be better to have not paid for him (therefore not supporting her "bad habit") and let him go to a shelter when no one buys him and let him suffer through all that and then get him from the shelter.

If she was a puppy mill I would have reported her, not bought a puppy. It was insane how they treated me. And this is a forum that has a lot of younger kids on it. For all they knew I was a 12 year old girl who didn't know any better, excited about my new puppy and they just completely bashed me. It was rediculous.

This is why I like BYC so much. You don't see anyone bashing anyone else for buying mutt chickens or hatchery chicks, etc. Everybody has the attitude of "to each their own" and I love it.

 

[welsummerchicks]

I don't see why get upset. You know your rabbits are ok, so no reason to get upset by what they say.

If they were getting sick a lot, footsore, not eating well, dirty, then that would be different - but the British way of keeping buns still might not be appropriate over here.

However, it really IS a good opportunity to learn how they keep rabbits over there and why - exactly what their reasons are.

What could be different? Well, I think for one thing, the wire products over there might be really bad on their rabbit's feet. So it might be a much less viable option over there. There could be a lot of things like that.

I also know the climate is really different there. There is an awful lot of damp rainy weather there, and usually without the hotter and colder extremes we have. So they may have to keep their rabbits under a very different system. I would imagine mold and fuguses are a lot more of a problem over there than in Nevada. Parasites too. I think there are actually quite a large number of parasites that can damage baby bunnies in the British Isles. They have diseases of cattle there too - parasitic diseases, that I don't think are a major factor anywhere else (is one louping ill?)

And things that don't even come into play in Brittain would be crucial in Nevada - heat stress, for example, they have many more 90 degree and plus days in Nevada. I didn't pick Nevada for any particular reason other than it's very different climate there than in Britain, and to say that what works in Britain might not address a lot of the USA unique problems.

THAT - and grazing their bunny babies might be an awfully lot different proposition there than it is here. So they may have to not put any babies on grass. I know the grass pastures are totally different for horses there, so the lawns may be very different too.

I think the best thing to do is to thank them very warmly for all their help, and store it away as useful information, but maybe just not applying to your situation right now.

Don't tell that that, though! Just be grateful and say they've given SO MUCH helpful information! THAAAAANKS!

It's interesting, though, trying to figure out why people do things differently. Tradition? Habit? A difference in environment? In the animals? I know when I was in Belgium folks there told me their baby bunnies can't be grazed - I can't remember why - but they were these gigantic rabbits, and I think their care differs from other rabbit types. I think that the problem was the parasites they could pick up and concerns about a low natural resistance in that breed at certain ages.

It could be something as simple as Brits saying 'bunny' and meaning 'newborn' and going off without you two even realizing you aren't talking about the same age bunny at all.

OR....they could have simply assumed you were in Britain....

Even in the same area, I can see one neighbor that keeps their horses very, very differently from the folks next door. So some of it is going to be the traditions that person has learned, and their goals, and what things most worry them. Differences in keeping animals can have a lot of different reasons behind them....and tradition, what you're used to - that can be a big big part of it. Or just experience - a friend of mine doesn't even allow people in her barn with cigarettes in their POCKETS - and she is always screaming frantically at the help to cobweb around conduits and electrical outlets - her horse died in a fire....