Rabbit Rescue Sanctuary: What is Rabbit Adoption?

Rabbit Rescue Sanctuary: What is Rabbit Adoption?

Rabbit Adoption Visitors Today

Visitors Today who either visited our blog or called us or came to the Rabbit Rescue Sanctuary to adopt rabbits...

Today we have had visitors looking for rabbits for adoption from:

* Lismore which is 2 hours away from us here in Rushforth via South Grafton

* Randwick NSW which is 13 hours away but remember we can use pet transport to deliver the rabbits you adopt.

* Preston in Victoria

* Hornsby in Sydney New South Wales  and we thank them for their interest in our work with bunnies

* Strathfield NSW who liked our information on Rabbit Adoption

* Sutherland who use the Sutherland vet for their rabbit's care

* Coffs Harbour NSW which is only 40 minutes away from the Rabbit Rescue Sanctuary and our Rabbit Adoption Centre!  

* Woy Woy who emailed us about a little bunny in a nursing home.

Thank you all for visiting or contacting us today.

Netherland Dwarf Rabbit "Marshmallow" who lives out her life at the Rabbit Sanctuary. She is 10 years old now and was a Queensland magician's rabbit.  The magician asked if she could surrender her and let her live out her life because in Queensland the magician can only own 2 rabbits and this little nethie was too old for the magic act.

Rabbits in Lismore 1924 news snippet of interest

Item from Lismore newspaper from 1924

"RABBITS AT LISMORE"

2 September 1924

(as shown in Trove 20 December 2012

LISMORE, Monday.

Workmen engaged in digging gravel at North Lismore inside the municipal boundary this afternoon captured three rabbits.  The discovery occasioned considerable surprise locally, as it had been thought that rabbits would not exist on the North Coast owing to the climate and the nature of the soil.

We just through we would share this snippet about rabbits from the past with you.

Visitors to the Rabbit Rescue Sanctuary Blog this morning

Thank you for visiting our Rabbit Rescue Sanctuary Blog today.

So far we have had visitors from many places in Australia including Brisbane QLD, Engadine, Sydney, NSW, Strathfield in Sydney, Melbourne VIC, Sydney, Young NSW, Balmoral, Point Piper, Double Bay, Como and Sutherland in Sydney. We have also had some local to us visitors from Maclean, Harwood, Grafton and Couttes Crossing.  Many thanks to you all for hopping in to read our Rabbit adoption information.

If you have a blog or website please add a link from yours to ours to help us get homes for rabbits.

If you have a Facebook page please add a link to us in your comments or status note today and make us a 'favourite' page.  It all helps rabbits to find loving homes.  We have many beautiful rabbits available for adoption.

If you would like to visit the Rabbit Sanctuary Adoption Centre to see the beautiful bunnies please time your visit for morning or afternoon during summer because in the hot part of the day the rabbits are resting in the shade of their "Rabbit Tree Houses" and so you don't really get to chat with them.

The very best time to visit is 5pm because the rabbits are out and about and it's 'Carrot Time'!

Please make a booking via our mobile phone: 0416 062 947 by voice or text message.  Thank you.

What is Rabbit Adoption?

Getting totally confused about the talk of "rabbits for sale" and "rabbits for adoption"?  "What is the difference between rabbits for sale and rabbits for adoption?" you might ask.  In this blog post we will try to explain.

Rabbits for Sale 

If you see a rabbits for sale sign or ad you can be fairly sure that the rabbit that is up for sale is one that was bred for the pet market as a product to sell to the public.  Sometimes a rabbit ends up being for sale when it fails to meet the rabbit breeder's criteria for showing or breeding purposes.  Some rabbit breeders breed for show and others breed purely to supply baby rabbits to the pet market.

Rabbits are for sale in many pet shops or from breeders that show as members of a rabbit club while some are sold by people who are known as 'backyard breeders'.  These are people who keep rabbits to breed baby bunnies to sell to the public or to pet shops.

Many cute baby rabbits are purchased from pet shops on impulse by the public.  Often these babies end up in the animal welfare system when they outgrow their baby cuteness.  Impulse rabbit buyers are often unaware of the needs and behaviours of a fully grown rabbit.   Often they begin to hate their rabbit when it becomes an adolescent full of hormones.  Often their rabbit begins to attack them and they don't know why so they surrender the rabbit to the RSPCA or a private animal shelter.  Unfortunately there are so many rabbits being surrendered to shelters that we get an imbalance in supply and demand and hundreds of beautiful pet rabbits are put to sleep (euthanised) across Australia on an ongoing basis as more are bred and sold than can be re-homed via the rabbit rescue systems currently in place.

By buying a baby rabbit from a breeder rather than adopting one you are missing out on quite a lot.  For example the baby rabbit will not be vaccinated or microchipped and will be quite costly.

(NB You might also like to read our article on "Why Desex My Rabbit?" which explains the benefits for the pet rabbit owner of desexing.)

Rabbits for Adoption

Rabbits are offered for adoption for various reasons.  As mentioned above, sometimes people buy a baby rabbit then tire of him or her or they find that their circumstances change and it becomes difficult or impossible to keep their pet rabbit.

Rabbits for adoption are ones that have either found their way into the RSPCA or a private animal or rabbit rescue shelters or are being privately offered for adoption by owners that feel they cannot keep them any longer.  For example this link leads to a private family trying to adopt baby bunnies that their rabbits gave birth to.

Rabbits in the animal welfare system are at high risk for a number of reasons, one being that due to the ongoing sale of rabbits in pet shops, sale by backyard breeders and the excess sold by registered rabbit club breeders their is a high chance that the rabbit will be put to sleep by lethal injection.  Please be aware that there are different rules at the various drop off points for abandoned rabbits.  All shelters have a limited capacity to take in and hold rabbits until they are found homes.  Often rabbits are abandoned or surrendered to veterinarians.  Some vets try to find the rabbits a home and even desex, vaccinate and microchip the rabbits before they go.  Sometimes the rabbits are put to sleep.

If you are thinking of surrendering your rabbit you should ask the vet or shelter what their policy is regarding whether they will put the rabbit to sleep or keep him or her until a home is found.  You should also consider getting some advice from the Rabbit Rescue Sanctuary about the options available to you.  There are many options and we can assist you if you email, text or call us on 0416 062 947.  See our contact page for more information.

 The Rabbit Sanctuary is a 'no-kill' shelter.  Rabbits that are surrendered are kept until they are adopted to good homes.  Some have been at the Rabbit Sanctuary for years because they have not been chosen by anyone to be their special pet.

If you have read this far you will be beginning to see that adopting a rabbit instead of buying one would help break the cycle.  If you choose to adopt a rabbit instead of buying one you will be saving a life because you make a space for another rabbit to be rescued and offered for adoption.

If you adopt a rabbit from the Rabbit Sanctuary you get lots of added value.  Here is what you get:
Your newly adopted rabbit will be:
Desexed
Vaccinated
Microchipped
Wormed
Mite Free
Vet checked for health
Vet checked for teeth
A Rabbit Care Booklet
A Rabbit House Name Tag by Pet Homes (You can click to get one free for your rabbit along with other free products to try!)
A discount voucher for a RabbitHouse by HoundHouse which we recommend as rabbits love them:)
A big glossy copy of The Pet Directory which contains care articles on rabbits and other pets

An angora and a lop rabbit for adoption

There are many rabbits available for adoption at the Rabbit Sanctuary in NSW

A mini lop available for adoption at the Rabbit Sanctuary.
Rabbits can be delivered to you by pet transport in NSW and VIC.  

Rabbits for Adoption - December 2012

At The Rabbit Sanctuary we have over 50 rabbits available for adoption to good homes.  A good home is one where the rabbit is included as part of the family not locked away in a tiny cage prison.  A good home is one that considers the new rabbit as a long term family member not just an object to be bought and discarded.  We don't have rabbits for sale.  We have rabbits for adoption.  All rabbits are desexed and vaccinated.  Adoption fees start from $25 to $150.  All rabbits are healthy and vet checked. Their toenails are trimmed and they have good teeth.  We do have disabled rabbits and some people like to adopt them to give them a loving family home too.  Read our article "What is rabbit adoption?"

Here are some rabbits available for adoption in December 2012:

Agatha

Misty is a very nice bunny. Would you like to adopt her?

Tabitha and Panda

Agatha

Rabbits Get New Rabbit Shelters

Here at The Rabbit Rescue Sanctuary we have been constructing new housing in the "Big Rabbit Run".  The new rabbit houses are like 'Tree Houses'.  They are made of logs and pallets with corrugated iron roofs and weather panels.

Here is a mini video of Big Bunny and little Marshmellow rabbits cautiously checking out the temporary wooden ramp leading up to the Rabbit Tree House.  This mini vid was taken during construction as we began the process of getting the rabbits used to their new shelters.

Rabbits checking out the new Rabbit Ramp up to the Rabbit Tree House

Rachel's cabinet: European rabbit

Rachel's cabinet: European rabbit to see Rachel's rabbit drawings.

Today we remember Jim Cooney - Co-Founder of The Rabbit Sanctuary

The Rabbit Rescue Sanctuary today remembers Jim Cooney who left us one year ago.

Jim along with his wife of 42 years, Kim, established the Sanctuary for rabbits in need of shelter.

Jim spent hour each day caring for them.  When the work was done you would so often see him with a bunny in his arms, his face nestled into its fur. Jim loved the rabbits and cared for them with a passion.  If anyone else volunteered to lend a hand Jim would go right around the lot and check every dish to make sure they had fresh food and water.

It has been hard for his family and friends to lose such a wonderful person.  Kim and their son Adam have established a memorial garden on the property for Jim.  There is a little bunny sitting in it right now which is as it should be.  Can you see her in the photo below?

The photo shows the bird bath fountain and Jim's adopted dog Rommy who guards the rabbits. Rommie loves to sit in the memorial garden. It's like he knows.  In the background of the photo you can see a little bit of the Big Rabbit Run. It shows the new "Long House" recently made for rabbit enjoyment and shelter in the Top Rabbit Run and one of the little Rabbit Houses.  On the left you can see "Rabbit Mountain" that is a huge pile of sandy rocky soil that is so hard the rabbits have to work hard to dig tunnels in it and they love to sit on top.

We ask that today people will send their enquiries for surrenders and adoption via email as the family gather to remember Jim with a walk in the memorial garden and a day dedicated to him.  Family members will bring a plant and memento to place in the memorial garden for Jim.

The email is rabbitrescuesanctuary@gmail.com We will respond to enquiries on Sunday.  Thank you.

Jim's Memorial Garden at The Rabbit Sanctuary

Email Enquiries Only Today

Memorial Day for Co-Founder Jim Cooney.  Please make your rabbit rescue, rabbit surrender, and rabbit adoption enquiries via email today (Saturday 24 November) and we will respond on Sunday. Thank you.

Local enquiry for rabbits for sale in the Clarence Valley is picking up. Most of our rabbits go to wonderful homes in Sydney and Melbourne however recently we have rehomed rabbits locally to people in Grafton NSW, South Grafton, Lismore, Ballina, Iluka, Yamba, Maclean and Coutts Crossing areas.

1/11/12 Phone not working. Use our email instead please. see www.rabbitsanctuary.com.au or post on our blog.

Buy a baby rabbit?

Would you like to buy a baby rabbit? How about adopting a baby bunny?

Rescued baby rabbit for adoption

Tiny rescued baby rabbit available for adoption to good home. 

$25 which includes: vet voucher, care booklet. 

Wormed and mite free. Friendly. Will be a very small rabbit as adult.

Wow! Lots more friends on Blogger!

We are excited because we are gaining friends on Blogger!  Have a look at them on right menu.  Thanks everyone for joining us.

We love rabbits!

Postie bunny found tonight

Postie and Stamp were dumped in the
Rabbit Rescue Sanctuary roadside mailbox.
The both found wonderful homes.

We had a very upset owner ring today asking for advice as "Postie" their adopted pet rabbit from the Rabbit Rescue Sanctuary had gone missing.  Noone knew how or where Postie got out but was nowhere to be seen.

The good news is that Postie turned up in a cupboard in the house where he had somehow managed to lodge and couldn't get out.  The owners heard him scratching and found him to their great delight.  He would be one over-cuddled bunny tonight for sure!!!

Postie was one of two bunnies dumped in our roadside mailbox in a birdcage that had been scrunched up to fit into it.

New home for Talia bunny

Latest report is little Talia is settling in well and venturing into the lounge room to see Andrew and Kelly. We knew they were just the ever so right family for this sweet bunny.

Rabbit Communication | Rabbit Behaviour | Rabbit Talk (Snatter)

Rabbit Behaviour 

How rabbits communicate...

Rabbits can talk! Well, they talk in their own way, not how we humans talk!  Humans can however learn rabbit talk!

Rabbits talk mainly by 'signalling'.  Signalling involves body movement mainly however rabbits do make noises mainly when they are in pain. 

Some rabbit talk via signalling which we will refer to as 'snatter' (rabbit 'chatter')

* Running up to you = looking for favourite food (reward them with a healthy titbit)

* Running up and down a cage = wanting food or water or just plain wanting out of the cage

* Sitting up on haunches with alert look = feeling some danger in the air 

* Sitting up on haunches cleaning face = very contented and happy

* Head down facing another rabbit = being submissive 

* Jumping and twisting in air called a 'Binky' = energetic and happy

* Rolling and laying on side = relaxed and contented with no fear

* Sitting with feet under body and underneath something = hiding in a tunnel underground 

* Lunging at your hand = territorial behaviour often caused by being locked up in a cage

There are many more ways that rabbits 'snatter' and we advise you to observe and note down all the ways your rabbit tries to communicate with you.

Rabbit exercise

It sure is cruel to lock a pet rabbit in a cage or hutch. Pet rabbits need the same exercise in their life as a wild rabbit would get.