Bunny Rearing and the Single Girl
- September 29th, 2008
As you may have noticed I’ve been a bit quiet lately. Mostly I’ve been working to get caught up by October 1st, so I can start fresh with our new season without any lingering projects. Of course, that didn’t happen, but a girl can dream. I’m close, I say! Close! I’m working on getting Put Down the Donut™ back online, too, which is pretty exciting. If I write up a review for one more exercise DVD, I might just lose a pound or two… heh.
I’ve also been consumed with bunny-rearing. There have been many new developments since I last posted about Lulu. Firstly, she wasn’t 8 weeks old when I got her from the breeder. After having her 2 weeks, (so 10 weeks old by my count), I took her to the vet for a well-bunny check-up, to make sure she didn’t need any shots, confirm her age, weight and general health. I found out that she likes to ride in the car (the vibrations put her to sleep), she doesn’t like the sound of parrots (my vet is an avian and exotic animal vet) and she was still under a pound in weight (she was weighed in a tupperware container!).
The doctor checked her out and said she appeared to be healthy. I told him, somewhat ashamed, since I know how many rabbits need adopting out there, that I got Lulu from a breeder at the swap meet. (This is something I’m also kind of embarrassed about, since seriously… what kind of naive doofus gets their bunny from the swap meet, no questions asked? What, am I eleven-years-old?) Anyway, the nurse and the doctor exchanged looks and I felt extra silly. But that didn’t stop them from cooing over her cuteness. 
So I asked two questions: 1) what kind of rabbit is she? (The breeder told me a Netherland Dwarf, which only grow to 3 lbs or so.) and 2) how old is she really? (Because I just had this feeling about it…) Well, the vet openly laughed when I said the words “dwarf rabbit”. He apologized, but said that it’s a “thing” with this guy at the swap meet. I guess the breeder pulls the bunnies at 4-6 weeks (when 8 weeks is the minimum age to wean from a mama rabbit), then tells everyone they’re 8 week old dwarf bunnies because they’re so tiny. The vet said he thought based on the size and weight of her, that Lulu was only 6-7 weeks old (a little over 7-8 weeks, as I type this).
Apparently this breeder also has been known to sell bunnies with intestinal parasites and the vet told me that they’ve even lost a couple of this guy’s bunnies (lost as in dead, muerto, bunny heaven), which didn’t do much for my new bunny owner anxiety. So we ran some tests on her poop (which I delivered in a Ziploc bag… how glamorous! Where’s my Cosmo?) and she’s fortunately just fine. He also said it was unlikely she’s a Netherland Dwarf. There’s a chance she might be a dwarf mix of some kind, but he’s fairly certain she’s just a garden-variety bunny, of which there are many, many varieties. It won’t be until she’s older that we’ll be able to really tell. So there’s that.
To say I was angry about the breeder is an understatement. I was furious, not for me (though a 6- or 7-pound rabbit isn’t what I had in mind), but for Lulu. She should never have been taken from her mama rabbit so young. She didn’t have enough time to develop all the immunities she needs, which can be a cause of the parasites, the vet said. It made me sad for her. And I felt stupid and duped and naive and generally pissed off.
But, I love Lulu and I’m committed to her. I went to BunnyFest on Saturday and saw rabbits on leashes. Leashes! And they were loving the grass, hopping all around and investigating all the goings-on. I didn’t take Lulu, she’s still too young yet, but next year I may. (I know, I can’t believe these words are coming out of my mouth either.)
She has, however, almost outgrown her little bunny condo. It won’t be long now… one more growth spurt and that’ll be Craigslisted. I went out this weekend and got her a gate-like pet pen which will eventually become her new home. Watching her run around and sprint and do hoppity bunny dances made me so happy, which was the weirdest thing. I was just so happy I could give her what she needed. Watching her try to run around and play in that cage was killing me. She needed more space… and now she has it. I sacrificed my dining area, storing my World Market table and chairs under my bed and replacing it with a moderate eyesore, but she’s happy, so strangely, I am, too. It’s ain’t stylish, but it’s worth it.
And she hasn’t peed on my green bamboo mat from Thailand yet, so hey… there’s that, too. 
got one of your own? share it.
Ohhh poor bunny! Well if you hadn’t adopted her someone else would have. At least you care about her, alot of people dont care about their animals. So dont feel silly for getting her at a swap meet.
The bunny I had when I was in middle school was a Netherland Lop? She was about 7-8lbs and had big droppy ears, she was a great bunny! We let her out in our backyard and she would run around all day, dig tunels and just have a blast.
They are so much fun, enjoy your Lulu
I mentioned to my friend, who runs the Bunny Museum, that you recently got that little puff ball, and she was sad to learn that you had it in a cage. She lets hers roam free. Mind you, I couldn’t do that (Surprise! TURDS!) but that’s what she advocates. They have theirs using litter boxes. Just passing the info along. I think it’s great that you have a cute little bunny.
Oh… it’s really nice you have a little bunny.
@Atomic Bombshell: Well, you can tell your Bunny Museum friend to turn that frown upside down.
Lulu’s only 8 weeks old so she doesn’t need much space. She can fit in my hand. And it’s not like it’s a tiny hamster cage, it’s a 4-level condo! She’s still got that (she likes to lie on the shelves) AND she’s got a 4×6 play area, so trust me… she’s living the high life. She can come and go as she pleases from her cage to romp in her pen. But I’m not letting her just roam my house… no way, that’s not for me. Too many dangers. But I *have* litter box-trained her. heh! 
@ducati fairings: wow, spam comes in many forms… *sigh*
@Riika: Aw, lop ears! Normally her ears stick straight up, but Lulu grabs her ears and pulls them down to clean them and it’s the cutest thing.
You’re such a good mom to Lulu!
It seems like everyone is getting a bunny these days.
I completely understand your feelings about the situation with the breeder, it really is an awful but unfortunately reoccuring situation. However, I think Lulu is so lucky that you’ve adopted her! If you hadn’t purchased her, who knows if anybody else would have, and she could have ended up having to stay with the breeder…who knows what she might have suffered with him!? I also wanted to say that I totally *get* that happy feeling you have watching your bunny play all bunnily-happily. I get the same feeling when I watch my 9 year old 120 pound black lab mix hop around like he’s a puppy when he’s excited! It’s a great feeling and it will happen again and again during your years with Lulu. I’m happy for you!
PS – yay for Put Down the Donut!
I’m sorry that you feel duped because of that misleading breeder! I can relate – we had something similar happen with the dog we recently adopted, where we were misled and then found out we didn’t adopt what we thought we were adopting. It didn’t end so well for our dog, but I’m glad you’ll still be able to give Lulu a good home.
@geeky : thanks.
I read about Asia, I’m sorry, hon. xoxoxo Next time!
@Racheal: Yay! I’m excited to bring the Donut back… and you have a black laaaab! I love labs; they’re such good dogs.
@Teena: get a bunny! hehe! PEER PRESSURE!
I’m glad that everything has turned out OK with Lulu, especially given the circumstances. At least your vet said Lulu was a “garden variety” rabbit and not a Flemish Giant!
<3 the little rabbit enclosure! I need to get one of those setups for my Puff (she’s a netherland/californian mix) so that she can roam “free” more often. I love the hoppity dance as well. It’s particularly funny when she’s chasing the dog (a baseni-chihuahua mix) around the room.
Hooray for bunnies! They’re awesome housepets.
Make sure you get her spayed as soon as your vet says it’s safe. Bunny puberty can a) be really trying for the bunny parent, b) change your bunny’s personality for the worse, and c) be bad for the long-term health of the rabbit. Spayed bunnies are usually happier and live longer. No desire to breed and annoyance that they can’t.
@Gasoline Hobo: (nice name, btw. lol!) Oh yes, I fully intend to spay as soon as I can. She’s allegedly around 8 weeks right now, so I’ve got my eye on the calendar. I’ve been told 6 months by lots of sources, but I’ve also read people who have done it at 5 months. I’ll be calling in a couple months. They didn’t tell me what signs to look for that it’s time to get it done.
I hear you about the swap meet bunnies. I bought one a few years ago at the Santee Swap meet and ended up having to put him down (I went to the same vet, Mission Valley, right? He’s great. Came highly recommended) because he had BOTH the possible evilest bunny diseases. I have only just gotten a new rabbit. I still miss Jack. Eventually I will post pictures of Oliver and you can come see, but until then, I am here thanks to my Derby Wife who says we might be long lost twins or something. It might be because I rhyme a lot, have a bunny and am originally from San Diego, but I haven’t read far enough to know if that’s the only reason.
Congratulations on your bunny addition.