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I saw the cutest mini Dutch bunnies at a pet store yesterday. They were so tame. You could put your hand in the cage pet them and no panic in them at all. They had some roomates. Baby guina pigs. They all got along great. The store had some very sweet lopeared bunnies too. I see how you bunniy people get so attatched to yours they are priceless.
The problem with pet stores is that, first of all, those babies are removed much too soon from their mothers, usually at 3wks of age because that's when they are cute and adorable and they literally sell themselves.
Second of all, the pet stores price them inexpensively enough so that they are usually an impulse purchase with the buyer having no idea how to care for them and the pet store not bothering to give out care information.
Third of all, the bunnies that don't get sold are returned to the breeder and the usual practice is that they are destroyed. Usually the reason why those bunnies are in the pet store in the first place is that the breeder is going for a "look"...they want the perfect color, the perfect body and head shape..and the pet stores usually get the ones that the breeders decide aren't suitable for their "purposes".
Fourth, there is a WEALTH of misinformation out there on how to care for rabbits. I've read some absolutely horrible books written by a so called "experts" (they are among the worst offenders) and the information on diet alone is horrible, let alone their advice on the proper way to pick up and handle a rabbit (one actually said it was ok to pick them up by their ears!!!!!!!).
Then there are the breeders themselves. For show rabbits they want a shiny coat, which means they are going to give (and recommend to people who buy their bunnies) their bunnies alfalfa pellets. For rabbits under one year of age alfalfa pellets are fine but once the rabbit gets to be one yr old they no longer need the extra calcium in the alfalfa. That extra calcium goes in to the bladder where much of it is excreted, but what isn't excreted forms in to crystals and eventually in to bladder stones. Some rabbits are more suspectible to stones than others. Bladder stones are of course incredibly painful, and rabbits, as a prey animal, do not show signs of illness until they are very sick indeed. If you want your bunny to have a short life, or a shorter life than most normal rabbits these days, feed them the alfalfa.
Rabbits with a good genetic background, properly cared for and given a diet of fresh dark green veggies, no pellets and unlimited amounts of timmy hay are living 7-11 years.
I could go on and on about pet stores and breeders but won't bore you anymore. If you want a rabbit your best bet is to
1. read up on them by going to the House Rabbit Society website at www.rabbit.org Any question you can possibly think of is answered there, then
2. go to an animal shelter, rabbit sanctuary or human society and
Give A Bunny A Second Chance.
You are probably right about most pet stores but this one takes bunnies, kitties and puppies from families who have found themselves in trouble. Meaning more furry babies than they need. Very rarely do they have anything full blooded or papered. Most animals they get are one step from the humane society. I was there when someone called and she had to tell them they had all the drop offs they could handle at the moment. Too bad for the furry friends. They take those pets that normally would be abandoned or worse. I guess folks get pets and find out that they are a lot of work and bow out. Now the pet shops in the mall only have the fancy pets and most of them come from pro breeders with almost no thought for the animals. I say most because when I was a kid we had a Schnouser and we were unable to sell all of her puppies in the very small town where we lived. (3500 people) So we were forced to put 2 in a pet store. Fortunately they were adopted before my mom even left. They both got very good homes:)
That's a nice story about your puppies and I'm glad they were successfully adopted. You must remember however that cats and dogs are much easier and are much more accepted as pets than rabbits are, even though rabbits are now the 3rd most popular house pet. They are still considered by most people to be an unusual pet and are definitely considered by veterarinans to be an exotic animal because of the difficulty of their medical care.
Selling rabbits in pet stores with no instructions does a disservice to the rabbits, who without proper care instructions can become aggressive when not neutered, need a special diet other than rabbit pellets, and the cages the pet stores sell for them are much too small, even the largest and most expensive ones.
Also selling rabbits in pet stores encourages the breeders to keep on recklessly breeding their rabbits to get that "perfect" look and encourages the pet stores to make easy money off of them. I think it's criminal and irresponsible behavior by people purported to care for animals.
Those dogs were very special to my parents. When the female had a tough puppy delivery one time my dad took her straight to the vet and had her spade. He said having those puppies almost killed her and he didn't want to put her through such an ordeal ever again. They had papers for both a male and a female but it was never their intention to be puppy breeders. My family didn't have the temperment for it. She had three litters the whole time we had her. Two were successful and the third well I just told you. The first two she had 4 or five puppies and we named them all. We adopted them out to mostly other family members and family friends. The names even stuck. the last ones she had came early. I was like a senior in high school. I hand fed them all but mom said there little lungs weren't developed enough. I buried them one by one in the back yard. It was so sad. That's the time my dad had her fixed. They had those dogs for 16 years. When they went it was hard for my dad. They died during the winter and my dad had to have them frozen until he could bury them in the spring. These days he and my mom share custody of another Schnouzer with my moms sister. When my uncle was terminally ill he wanted one. We all think it was really for my aunt for after he past. Well his name is Rupert. That's where my folks got him from. They put out a all call to all of the family around the US to find one for adoptin. Well they drove all the way to Rupert ID From SD to get this puppy for my uncle. He is the sweetest dog. He and my aunt have Sunday breakfast with my parents and he gets his pancake. He also stayed with them later when my aunt herself battled cancer. When she had to stay in the hospital or was to weak to take him for his spin around the block. He always got kibbles and bits at my parents. He had some low output food at his place. Mom tried to keep him on that but when he goes there he expects kibble and a pancake. Since my uncle passed and my Aunt was ill Mom and dad were there to help . To make things even better my moms brother moved in with my aunt to be there at night. Well Rupert absolutly loves him. Just the mention of his name puts the dog into a whirl of excitment. Well that's my families puppy story hope you like it. Oh one more thing because my aunt has so many visitors to her house the dog will pretty much let anyone come on in. Some watch dog huh.
Dutchies are lovely bunnies.