If you know anyone planning to get their child live rabbits for Easter, please talk them out of it. Tell them to get a stuffed toy and sponsor a rescue bunny instead! 🐇 https://www.merrymacfarmsanctuary.org/meet-the-bunnies
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Rabbits are so much freaking work. My cousin is an experienced bun keeper and the stories do not exactly make the prospect appealing. One word: stasis 😬
This can’t be shared enough. I was so pissed when I walked into my son’s house a couple of years ago, and there was a rabbit. Mind you he had three daughters under the age of 5! My DIL-“well my cousin got one for her kids” Needless to say the rabbit went bye-bye after two months
Chickens too. People get all excited about a cute yellow chick and forget it's going to grow up to be a chicken which are not always the best pets. Don't bring home a chick because it's "cute" and "Easter!"
My daughter had rabbits for 4H, so my neighbor thought it would be cute to get his daughter a rabbit for Christmas. 3 months and 2 tubes of Neosporin later, he asked for help getting rid of it. Ended up in a good home, but not everyone is cut out to care for these beautiful, delicate creatures.
Yea frankly and if ur thinking of owning a rabbit, go visit someone who has them and just be around them for a while. Rabbit-sitting cured me of ever wanting a rabbit of my own.
Or volunteer at a shelter. That’s what I did before I got my Bambina, learned what was involved in caring for them. She is a wonderful companion but they are a big commitment and not for everyone.
Absolutely!
My first rabbit was a dwarf bunny that was dumped where I worked.
He would have been killed if I had not seen him and picked him up.
He was very aggressive at first.
I got him in November.
We figure he was a easter pet that was overhandled by young children.
we rescued a large white rabbit from a nearby grade school.
the rabbit was used in science class to study something
probably cruelty
rabbit had clearly outgrown his cage,learned to be a biter bc kids poking & prodding him through the cage
his care /feeding was helterskelter
got him care & re-homed
We can sure try! We are limited working on more one on one sponsorship. It is a goal! We have most of our bunnies on our website. Still a few to add..... we need a million more hours in the day.....
Ya gotta be properly schooled for owning rabbits 🐇 get a stuffed bunny 🐰 so there will less poor sick and slowly dying rabbits being returned to the pet store
When i was a kid, we ended up getting a bunny that my friend's mom had bought as an Easter surprise. Turns out her husband was allergic. Not a great spur-of-the-moment decision.
They are lagomorphs, not rodents, and related to pikas. But yes, they do chew and that, I think, is the biggest drawback. You have to rabbit proof the house.
I've known 2 people who had rabbits as pets. In both cases, the people had a variety of strong emotions about them. Not that I ever had a desire to get one but their attitude's about them would have been more than enough for me to never consider it.
Amen on stuffed bunny, never ever again. You also never get bitten by a stuffed bunny down to the bone, nor back foot thumped in the nose when they get all grown up, hitting hard enough to break things on the human side, requiring surgery and a transfusion.
Unfortunately, yes. Broke my nose in 2 places, and his claw tore open a vein. You may have seen how profusely noses bleed under any impact. And yes, when he was about 3 months old, he bit my finger to the bone. I love bunnies, from a distance only now.
My daughter was given a baby rabbit in high school by her chemistry teacher. Ours was the only one to survive because i took it to the vet and got guidance, puppy milk and a bottle. Ladybug lived for 10 years in our kitchen. a rabbit is a long term commitment, people don’t realize that.
All pet bunnies do that. Even the terrorizing the dog part. We were worried when my sister got a bunny that our dog would kill it. Nope. The rabbit ruled the pet hierarchy. Iron paw inside that soft fluffy fur! 🤭
Reminds me of a school project. Visiting people & saw a chick on the dryer with no food or water. Started to give it some when the mom stopped me. It was better the chick died so her girl would learn. Learn what? How to be callus toward defenseless animals.
The same goes for little yellow chicks. These grow up to be roosters usually if you get them from a pet store. Unless you buy hen chicks specifically from a farm store. Like bunnies, cute when they’re little but their poop sprays everywhere! Pew!
Thing is? They have to be maintained.,You can’t just throw out some seed and leave it at that. Neighbors have 6 chickens and are very attentive to them. I live in a city (Syracuse) and didn’t even know you could have chickens in the city
Many farm/ pet supply stores sell baby chicks every year. A store called Wilco goes all out with all manner of chickens for sale to anyone who wants them.
First buns we ever had. Brother and sister bonded pair. Sometimes you have to get two. They changed our lives. Sass queen loves waking me up when I'm sleeping. I think she's checking if I'm dead.
And remind them, when the stuffed rabbit gets old, it becomes real. But it takes a while. It's a thing that happens when a child loves you for a very long time (to paraphrase a very good book).
Out of curiousity, why? I had a bunny when I was a kid, and we had it for almost 10 years. He was a fantastic pet, and I learned a ton about proper care for rabbits (which made me very popular in school).
While I don't encourage holiday pets, a bunny isn't a bad pet!
I think rabbits are great pets but most folks don’t know what they are getting into. When that cute baby bunny hits adolescence and hormones kick in, they can be difficult until they are spayed/neutered. Kids lose interest. They don’t feed them or socialize them properly. They get abandoned.
That's fair. I was in a very pet-oriented family, so I always hope the buns are getting the same treatment mine got. :(
Thank you for taking care of the ones that don't get the love they deserve.
As a previous owner of rabbits I think this is a great idea. Rabbits are really boring compared to a dog or cat. The stuffed rabbit will hold their interest just as long and doesn’t need to be cleaned out daily. Don’t forget it’ll be you doing the hard graft not your child.
Thank you for posting this , people always buy and then novelty is over and they get rid of the bunnies by just letting them go. Thank you again for bringing this to peoples attention, God bless, your wings are waiting for you in Heaven.
Totally agree, rabbits are complex animals who love company. Plus they take a hell of a lot to care for, as do all pets. I do hope that pet shops are not allowed to sell them anymore.
Thank you! I found a throwaway Easter bunny hipping around town. He was a little sickly but became a dear friend. He died way too early, though. Ever since, I’ve been asking people not to get kids bunnies or chicks for Easter.
I advise anyone to get their kid a rabbit if they love little turd pellets everywhere, chewed up cables and furniture, and having to care for and feed it when the kids get bored - not to mention the inevitable meltdown when the poor thing dies from neglect.
I came here to mention the chewed cables. You have to rabbit proof your house. I adored my big fluffy white New Zealander, Ahab, but I won’t get another rabbit. I’m much better at being a crazy cat lady.
Surprised they forgot to mention they chew everything up! Wires, wood moulding, legs of chairs, cords, fabric.... Happy bunnies get to free range a little bit, but that comes with a bit of chomping
Have you seen the adds for robot baby rabbits? Seem like a perfect substitute, since you can't neglect or mistreat a robot (as far as we know - at least - at the moment.)
I recall a workmate getting his daughter a rabbit for Easter but had it in a Styrofoam box. It ate some of the Styrofoam, so when he opened the surprise...it had passed away. Always better to get a plushie.
I love bunnies, we had them as kids but they are a lot of wk so don't take that on lightly. Luckily we were a good home, my mom instilled in us great respect & honor for other living beings. They are companions & the opportunity for a friendship is wonderful if you have the time to devote to it.
there are stupid people in every country that get a pet "for their kid to play with" and either don't take care of the said pet at all, or, like many of my grandmother's friends, feed them whatever they find while not even giving a single fuck about whether it's good or not.
Yes!! I help take care of three rabbits at the farm, and they are sweet but WORK. And sometimes they fight which could be distressing for a small child. A stuffy is so much better as a gift!!! 🐇🐇🐇
I've had bunnies all of my life, and love them dearly. They're great, but they deserve better. A bunny is not a throw-away-pet (no animal is). Don't adopt a bunny because it is Easter. Adopt a bunny if and only if you're prepared for the commitement.
Perhaps a good way to convince those people is to tell them that the toy rabbit lasts much longer than an animal. Plus they don’t have to deal with the whole Pershing talk.
My friend does small animal rescues, and has had a foster rabbit for over 2 years now. Can’t even give it away with all the equipment for free. They are a lot of work, and most are not fond of being played with. It bites. Go to the petting zoo instead, and leave them a nice donation.
Years ago we rescued a Easter gift rabbit that was rejected by the person it was bought for and then neglected by the person who bought it / we named him Peter and he had a good home and good long life with us - not all bunnies are that lucky - or kittens and puppies- all animals are a commitment
I don’t know but I volunteered at a real rabbit shelter. We usually had about 150 rabbits looking for homes. We took in 350 - 400/year and adopted out about the same number.
I have three pet rabbits that I have rescued over the years. They are very cute, very soft, and great pets. They are also rude and obstinate. Some of the most stubborn animals I have ever met. If you don't have tons of time and patience you should not get a bunny as a pet
I also believe you 1/2
My bunny was dumped, was a solo bunny, probably 2 years old. I thought she might want a companion but she attacked them. She is friendly to humans but competitive with other rabbits. I’m home all day, she is free range, she spends a lot of time with me. I think I am her bondmate.
That's good. It can work. They can be hard to socialize after being alone too long. It's good she has you. I started with two and then adopted Neville because he was alone. We had to introduce him slowly and under supervision but eventually they became friends.
I raised Angora rabbits for many years, for their fiber and to sell a few carefully bred babies. The condition was to return it ANY time the new owner couldn’t keep it. I did get a few I took back gladly!
Back in the 90s, My mom bought my brother a real rabbit when we were kids and it was violent and made the whole house smell like rabbit piss after one day of cleaning its cage. Which was stronger smelling than cat piss.
She took it back to the mall pet store within a couple weeks. Haha
On top of the fact that it’s a living thing with need, rodents specifically need something to chew on to file down their incisors or they’ll grow too long to even eat.
Growing up my sister had a rabbit that would rather starve than chew hard food, so she'd cook his pellets for him so he'd eat and then every few months he'd need to get his teeth trimmed
Rabbits are lagomorphs, not rodents, are related to pikas. And yes, they do need to be constantly chewing to grind down their teeth. That is their biggest drawback, they want to chew on everything, so you have to bunny proof the place.
One of our rabbits has dental issues and it costs £250 every three months to keep her comfortable, and thanks to the group their entire room will need to be recarpeted before we leave! Bunnies are great but VERY high commitment!
Maybe a try out taking care of a neighbors pet while they’re on vacation? I chicken-sit my neighbor’s for a week and sporadically if they take the family for a long weekend. ( eggs for the job). I have taken care of sheep, chickens, fish, small pets. Especially do a cage clean out with your kids.
I volunteered at a wildlife place that also took in domestic rabbits. We got flooded with rabbits every year a couple months after Easter. My first two rabbits were adopted from this. They were both males and had been spraying, covered in each other's urine. People think they're toys.
There’s a pair of domestic rabbits that someone has dumped on our farm. Too afraid to let us approach. Not sure where they spend their nights. Tempted to trap them but the local animal shelters won’t take them.
That is unfortunate. They don’t usually last long in the wild. They get killed by dogs, get sick, injured, parasites. And if it is an unneutered male and female they will start cranking out baby bunnies.
Agreed. When you have been planning on getting a pet already, it's cool to do so for the holidays, but not as an "oh that's a cool gift, let's find a puppy mill that has 'stock'"
I volunteered at a rabbit shelter. We routinely had @150 rabbits looking for homes. About six months after Easter we get an uptick in surrenders or rescues that were dumped. My own sweet Bambina was dumped. Lots of them die young because they aren’t fed properly. It is really sad.
My parents bought me a pet shop rabbit for Easter one year. They later realized it was probably too young to be sold. I think it lasted just a few months. 😢
Pet shops often don’t tell folks how to feed them properly. A domestic rabbit, if spayed or neutered, lives an average of 10 years, but so often when people get them from pet stores they die within 6 months.
The bunnies in the photo are our residents Herbie and Wendell. They were given to a child for Easter last year and later abandoned in a state of extreme nutritional and medical neglect in the family home when they moved.
I rescued a dumped bunny, on his last paws, in the middle of the Florida summer heat. He was severely malnourished and dehydrated. My late, beautiful tuxedo cat Sam and he bonded and became BFFs. They are both gone now, but my heart is full from having them in my life.
After a lot of expensive vet care (including emergency surgery), nutritional support, and gentle socialization they are happy and healthy now, but stories like theirs are all too common. Rabbits are complex living creatures - not toys for children!
Thank you for this! I worry that people might not know just how much care these bunnies need. My rabbit is a tyrant and is nothing like what people would expect a cute floof to be. I love her but I think most would consider her a challenging housemate.
They really are little shits 🤣🤣. I had them as a kid, but also had pet goats, a Banty roster I incubated (only survivor), guinea hens, and a pony. I now have 3 dogs & 5 cats. We were poor but abandoned animals always found their way to us (me) & shaped my way of thinking that pets are forever.
We've got two cuddly bunnies that love sitting with us. But that takes a lot of patience and carefulness. Rabbits are not toys, they deserve our care for as long as they live. Fully agree with your post.
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🐇🐇
When I win the lottery, I’m gonna empty them out. Adopt don’t shop.
Brilliant
Sponsoring a neuter is good too
My first rabbit was a dwarf bunny that was dumped where I worked.
He would have been killed if I had not seen him and picked him up.
He was very aggressive at first.
I got him in November.
We figure he was a easter pet that was overhandled by young children.
the rabbit was used in science class to study something
probably cruelty
rabbit had clearly outgrown his cage,learned to be a biter bc kids poking & prodding him through the cage
his care /feeding was helterskelter
got him care & re-homed
That last one may have just been the bunny I owned
❤️ Keith
medicine day.
My rabbits are 8 years old and thankfully healthy. I'm grateful they are long lived.
While I don't encourage holiday pets, a bunny isn't a bad pet!
Thank you for taking care of the ones that don't get the love they deserve.
Or you can join me with #dailyplushie
there are stupid people in every country that get a pet "for their kid to play with" and either don't take care of the said pet at all, or, like many of my grandmother's friends, feed them whatever they find while not even giving a single fuck about whether it's good or not.
It's a commitment for the parents no matter what.
You can't have your bunny in the dorms.
I also believe you 1/2
But honestly... Thats longer than most kids will be interested in a rabbit.
Only buy a kid a live rabbit if they're old enough to care for it and you both know how as well as have the space to give one a suitable home.
Otherwise do the toy.
She took it back to the mall pet store within a couple weeks. Haha
It was a cute and fluffy impulse purchase because my little brother was just diagnosed with cancer.
Bad time to bring in a commitment like that.
No pet is.
Ever.