Remember when I wrote the blog post about Sydney and Braden's new bunnies and said they were the bunnies that started it all? Well, as expected, the kids (Ava especially) went on and on about wanting to get bunnies. I think I'm partially to blame too because I didn't say no--and actually kind of thought it would be fun. I did a little research on rabbits as pets, looked for ideas for hutches, and looked on Craigslist for bunnies. The kids asked and asked for a couple weeks, never getting a firm yes or no until recently. Dave finally said "I don't really care if we get bunnies." That certainly wasn't a reaction that screamed excitement on Dave's part, but it made for some excited kids! We told the kids that it wasn't going to happen right away--we had to do some research, make a cage, and find the right bunnies. That weekend, Dave got up early to check out some yard sales in our area to try to find a cabinet or some kind that he could convert into a bunny hutch. He found one that would work, and got started on making new doors for it, coving the floor, and painting it nicely. Here it is...
Now that the hutch was done, it was time to start reaching out to some bunny breeders. In my research, I found that the Holland Lop kept coming up as one of the best breeds of rabbit for a pet and for kids. It's supposed to be the smallest of the lop eared breeds, and is sturdy enough and friendly enough to be a good kid's pet. We were originally thinking we'd get 2 bunnies, and I reached out to a woman that had some 12 week old Holland Lops available. She was very thorough in her communication with me, sending very detailed emails about what to expect (she tried to discourage me from the beginning in getting 2) and we set up a time we could come meet them.
When we arrived at her house, Dave and I had the same immediate thought--these bunnies are much bigger than we expected. They were in an exercise pen in her front room, so we sat there with them for over an hour learning about bunny care and getting to know these two brothers, who the kids had already named Dutch and Leo. We just observed them at first, and then she tried to pick them up and have them sit in the kids' laps. The bunnies wanted NOTHING to do with being held. This should have been a warning sign to us right there! What we did realize rather quickly was that there was NO way we were getting two. When we broke this news to the kids, there was tears. They thought they were getting two, and no amount of explanation would help them understand. We finally had to just say "you can get one bunny or zero bunnies, which do you choose?" The bunny lady agreed that we were better off getting just one. Bunnies don't necessarily need "a friend" and can get aggressive towards each other as they get older. That's all we need--fighting rabbits. One was clearly going to be enough work for all of us--especially after all of the instructions we were getting! We finally got the kids to settle down a little bit and accept that they were only getting one. The bunny lady gave us some food to get us started and booklet of information on vets, poop, feeding, and more. She also said she'd take him back if things don't work out. She's not a breeder to make money selling bunnies, but breeds rabbits for competitions. Who knew that even existed?! She was selling these two because they weren't "show quality" but after spending a little more time with the one we ended up getting, she thought he actually might be showable. At least we know we have a place to take him if it doesn't work out...that's not very optimistic of me, is it??
The kids were very excited to walk out the door with their new pet, Leo. There was some debate on the way home as to what name they'd pick. Ava's was going to be Leo, and Tyler's was going to be Dutch. They threw around some other options on the way home, but Tyler gave in and said he was ok with the name Leo. I think it was a good choice! We stopped at Petsmart to spend a little more money on toys and an exercise pen (who knew such a small animal would need SO MUCH SPACE?!) and then headed home.
The verdict? He's cute as hell, but doesn't like us very much. He has "thumped" at us a few times, which is something they do when they feel threatened, and hasn't let us pick him up. He freaks out when you try to pick him up. For now, we're just hanging out in the exercise pen with him so he can get used to us being around. He lets us pet him plenty, but the minute you act like you're going to pick him up, he takes off. The bunny lady said this is totally expected, and that he'll take some time to get used to his new surroundings. Let's hope it happens quick--this is a lot of space, money, time, and work for a pet that we can't even hold. I'm already asking myself "what the hell were we thinking?" One thing is for sure though, I'm very glad we only got one! The kids are having fun for now, but we'll see how long that lasts....stay tuned!
One good thing is that rabbits can be litter box trained. They're not perfect, but we've been told that we can expect them to get it right about 80% of the time. The poops are not a big deal, but it would be nice if he could figure out where to pee. We'll see how that goes....
He's getting more comfortable every day!
Welcome to the family, Leo. I hope you start to like us more.....you are cute though, and oh, SO soft!
