Buying rabbits: everything important at a glance

Rabbits are small animals, the keeping of which requires a high degree of responsibility and knowledge. Therefore, before you buy a rabbit, you should familiarize yourself with the most important facts about keeping, feeding and rabbit health, as well as the equipment you need for the rodent.

What you should consider when you want to buy a rabbit, we explain in this article. Among other things, we will go into where you can buy a rabbit and what are the basic rules of rabbit keeping.

Where to buy the rabbit

If you are looking for a rodent and would like to offer it a new home, the first thing you should know is the places where rabbits are offered. We would like to describe the most important aspects in this regard below.
Buying rabbits in a pet store

The first address to buy a rabbit is for most small animal lovers the pet shop. Among other things, dwarf rabbits are offered there. In addition, you can also get a rabbit in some hardware stores.

However, you should think twice before buying a rabbit in such a store, because in most cases you have to trust that the animals are healthy and lively. Often they come from factory farming and it may even be that they were taken away from the mother much too early. This contributes to the animals becoming susceptible to disease, as they have not received enough defense substances through their mother’s milk.

Rarely will you know where the rabbits you get at the pet store or hardware store came from. So you know absolutely nothing about the circumstances in which the rabbits were bred.
Attention
Another problem can arise from a lack of advice, because many dealers know too little about rabbits than you can inform them in detail. This in turn leads inexperienced rabbit owners to feed the animals incorrectly, which further increases the risk of disease, which is already given by a usually weak immune system.

Buying rabbits from a breeder

Another way to buy a rabbit is directly from the breeder. But even this does not run without exception without danger to the animals. The most important thing, therefore, is to find a breeder for whom the health of the rabbits is paramount.

It is not uncommon for breeders to rely on “mass production” in far too cramped cages and feed the animals exclusively with pellets. Also here it can happen that the animals are taken away from the mother too early. Through all this, the risk of disease can also increase.
Therefore, pay attention to the following facts to find a breeder who really means well with the little fur noses:

• The breeder grants access to the kennel.
• You have the opportunity to inspect the dam and siblings to make sure they are all healthy and happy.
• The babies are kept in small groups
• The rabbits live in large enclosures, where they have enough space and run at all times
• The rabbits have already been vaccinated and – in the best case – examined by a veterinarian
• The males have been castrated to prevent uncontrolled breeding and possibly inbreeding.
• The breeder pays attention to a healthy nutrition of the animals
• The rabbits are at least 12 weeks old at the time of delivery.
• The breeder informs you extensively about the breeding procedure and advises you also about the following keeping and nutrition as well as about the socialization of the animals.
• The breeder will ask you how you will keep the rabbit in the future and may want to have a look at the enclosure.

Buying rabbits from a private breeding

There are also many private individuals who have animals to give away, sometimes even for free. As tempting as the offer may sound, make sure you get an animal that is healthy and lively.

Unless the seller makes you clearly aware that the rabbit is not healthy and tells them any medical conditions. Then you can decide for yourself whether you still want to take in the rabbit.
Also when buying from private applies:
Make sure that the rabbit owner shows interest in his animals and that he tells you about them, for example. Does he question how and where you want to keep the rabbit? Does he give you important tips on husbandry and feeding? All of these are good indicators that this is a rabbit lover who is doing everything he can to ensure that his animals, raised with love, get a new, beautiful home.

Of course, even sick rabbits undoubtedly deserve a chance. However, you should always be informed about the state of health, because a pre-existing rabbit will possibly cause high follow-up costs due to visits to the doctor. Moreover, serious illnesses can cause considerable stress to the animal itself, so that sometimes it would even be better to put an end to the suffering.

So you see how important it is to pay attention to the welfare of the animal in the first place, even in private sales, even if the animal is offered very cheap or even free.
Buy rabbits in the animal shelter

Likewise, you can get rabbits at animal shelters or other protective organizations. Unfortunately, many prospective rabbit owners still approach buying rabbits from shelters with prejudice, thinking that the animals are prejudiced. However, any shelter rabbit will be happy to find a new home and will be on its best behavior if you treat it with love.

The advantage of buying a rabbit in the shelter is also that it is already vaccinated and examined by a veterinarian. The males are also castrated and diseases are certainly not concealed from you here.

The employees in the animal shelter will convince themselves of the future keeping conditions and will also look whether the desired rabbit fits at all to you or your other animals. In addition, you will receive valuable tips on keeping and feeding.

The rabbits from the shelter are usually given away for a small protection fee to prevent the animals from falling into the wrong hands.

Before you buy the animal from a shelter, you should still make sure that everything is in good order here as well. If you have the feeling that there is chaos, the employees do not know anything about rabbits or you generally think that something might be wrong, it is better to leave it alone.

How much do rabbits cost?

The cost factor depends largely on where you buy the rabbit and whether it is a medically examined as well as neutered animal. You should expect costs between 20 and 50 dollars.

As mentioned, you get the rabbits from private also sometimes free of charge. But then you should really make sure that the animal is doing well. In addition, you should have it medically examined and possibly castrated.
These basic rules for keeping rabbits you should follow

Rabbits are very popular as pets because they are so nice and small. However, keep in mind that they are animals and not toys.
The following basic rules apply when dealing with rabbits:

Educate yourself thoroughly about rabbits, how to keep them, how to feed them, and how to keep them healthy even before you buy them.
Always keep at least two rabbits, because rabbits are social animals that do not like to live alone.

Our tip
If you keep several rabbits, you should neuter them to prevent them from reproducing uncontrollably.

First, create the enclosure and all the equipment and prepare everything for the arrival of the rabbit.
Choosing the right breed of rabbit

Choosing the right breed of rabbit depends mainly on the purpose for which you keep them. For example, dwarf rabbits such as Lionheads or Rams are recommended for indoor housing, while large breeds such as German Giants or Red New Zealanders can live in an outdoor enclosure.

Keep in mind that all rabbit breeds also have different characteristics and characters. Especially if you want to keep different breeds together, this plays an important role, because the tempers should necessarily match, so that the animals live particularly well together.