How about a cuddly baby rabbit? People often ask, “Should I adopt a baby rabbit or an adult rabbit”? Well, the answer is that there is little difference but these are points to consider:
A baby rabbit will only remain tame and friendly if handled gently on a very regular basis. Many people are scared to pick up a rabbit because when they try, the rabbit jumps out of their grasp and runs away. This often means that they just pat the rabbit, which is fine, but the problem there is that the baby bunny is never groomed, checked or has his or her nails clipped. This creates a health problem for the bunny as they do need daily checking and grooming with regular nail trims.
Selecting an adult rabbit that is people friendly (having been gently and well handled as a baby) can easily be groomed and handled using the correct methods of picking up the rabbit and handling on the grooming table.
For the house proud, a baby rabbit may still be learning to use the litter tray while an adult rabbit will already be accustomed to going straight to the tray which means a cleaner rabbit playpen and less tidying up each day.
Some think that adopting a baby rabbit will mean a stronger bond between rabbit and bunny parent. Depending on how the baby is handled this may be true but an adult rescue rabbit will quickly grow to love his or her new owners if they are kind and interact often and well with the bunny.
The Rabbit Sanctuary has both adult and baby rescue rabbits in care. Adoptable rabbits are listed on our site and our rabbit Foster Carers also add photos and information about the bunnies in their care to our Facebook group Adopt a Rabbit which you might like to visit and join.
