Should I foster a rabbit

[gracebowen]

My friend found a bunny. He absolutely cannot keep her. He offered her to me.

I have enough pets. Should I go get her anyways so I can look for her rightful owner? How long should I look?

Neither of us have or can buy a proper cage.

 

[sonja]

Whether or not you foster, he should report finding her to area animal shelters. He can either surrender her to the shelter, or let them know you have her. That way if an owner does inquire, they know where she is. If you foster, also post her on lost and found sites and neighborhood lists. Maybe you could agree to foster until the shelter can round up an adopter of foster for her?

 

[SailBoat]

My friend found a bunny. He absolutely cannot keep her. He offered her to me.

I have enough pets. Should I go get her anyways so I can look for her rightful owner? How long should I look?

Neither of us have or can buy a proper cage.

So, I am guess that this is a 'white' bunny and not a natural colored bunny. If not white, it is more likely a 'wild' bunny that got separated from its mother. If its a wild bunny, your friend needs to place it back in the same general area and let its mother find it.

If its a white rabbit, you friend should take it to the nearest shelter and provide them the rabbit. Rabbits tend to turn fairly rapidly in the Spring, so it not like it will sit forever in the shelter.

If you choose to 'Foster' this rabbit, understand that you will likely end-up with an addition to your family. That would be a Rabbit cage, Rabbit pellets, etc, etc, etc.

So, the choice is yours, do you want to add another member or let your friend handle this as outlined above.

 

[Flboy]

Another idea, a petting zoo? You have a fair amount of tourist type places in your area. Many have a child / animal petting area! But as SailBoat said, if natural color, most likely wild! The little ones are very friendly, reason for such high mortality rate!

 

[SilverSage]

There are many colors of domestic bunnies including some the color of wild rabbits. Your local shelter is the best place for the bird most likely, or if you don't have one, a local pet store might be willing to foster. You should not foster if you cannot afford proper accommodations for the little guy. Also consider reaching out to any local pet pages, lost and found pages, community pages, rabbit clubs, pet stores, vet offices, etc. also post on Craigslist.


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[sonja]

As SilverSage said, domestic bunnies come in every color of the bunny rainbow, so don't assume he's wild if he's not white! A shelter can help you determine what you have and what to do with him.

 

[gracebowen]

I have the rabbit. It was obviously a pet but there are no lost ads in the neighborhood. I need to go put up a few found posters. They get their mail in boxes like apartments do.

I am going to spend at least 2 to 4 weeks looking for its home.

It is quite tame. We can all pick it up and pet it. We do have one problem though. I need to research managing hormones in pet rabbits.
Ill post a pic later.

 

[sonja]

You can spay and neuter rabbits! And they are much nicer pets afterwards - especially the males.

 

[SilverSage]

Yes spay and neuter makes a huge difference.


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[Dinosrawr]

You would be surprised at the amount of people who simply let pet rabbits outside when they're tired of caring for them. They have the same mentality as those who do the same to parrots - that they're "wild" and can survive on their own outside, when in fact pet rabbits would perish in as little as 36-48 hours if left outside without care. Hopefully you can find the family, but if not I'm sure there's someone who would love to have them. Rabbits are just the sweetest creatures ever. I love mine, he's a sassy little sweetheart!

 

[EllenD]

Rabbits do make great pets and can easily be litter box trained, but that goes much more smoothly if they are neutered/spayed.

What are you keeping the rabbit in? The reason I'm asking is that you said you couldn't afford to buy a proper cage for the rabbit, and apparently you're having some kind of "hormonal issues" with the rabbit? You need to explain what you mean by that because the only way I know of to control rabbit hormones is to get it neutered or spayed. That being said, my point is that if you can't buy it a proper cage that is large enough for it, and you are just planning on letting it run around your house, if it's a male adult rabbit and is not neutered, it will spray all over the place. Even if you give it a litter box it will spray.

My dad has a "house rabbit". It's a male and is now about 6 years old. My young stepbrother wanted a dog, my dad didn't, and the "house rabbit" was my father's bright idea. They got BunBun when he was a tiny bunny and my dad thought he would just use the litter box automatically...Nope! Even after they trained him, which went pretty well actually, he still sprayed all over everything. As soon as they got him neutered he used only the litter box, just like a cat, and he's actually a great little pet.

What are you feeding it? It needs rabbit food/pellets, alfalfa or Timothy hay, and lots of fresh veggies and fruits, all daily. Plus a water bottle constantly full of fresh, clean water at all times. If you need any help or have questions just ask, I've babysat BunBun for weeks at a time, so I've got rabbit experience.

Also, make sure to take photos and take them to all your local shelters, rescues, and veterinarians. If the rabbit is that tame then it likely is a lost pet and someone, probably a child, is missing it badly.

FYI, rabbits that are outside are very prone to getting fleas, ticks, and warbles, which are disgusting and can eventually kill the rabbit, so please comb him to check for fleas/flea dirt, and then feel all over him for ticks and warble holes, especially under it's chin, in the skin wrinkles all around it's neck, and in it's armpits and groin areas. Warbles holes look like a perfectly circular hole right through the skin, and the warble that's inside must be pulled out. Hopefully you won't have the problem but it is really very common in outside rabbits.

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[gracebowen]

We have had rabbits before so we fed him good. He came with a bag of rabbit food and we already had lots of bedding. Hay carrots lettuce and a bunch of other stuff. He kept humping our legs. We portioned off part if my sons room and cleaned it regularly. At first my sister begged ti keep it. Then she decided it was too much work.

The neighborhood had lots of found posters displayed. Nothing. The original finder decided to keep him because he was afraid he would be eaten. Hes going to build an outdoor hutch. He went home today.