Animal Posse Rabbit Care & Why Rescue Matters with BunnAgain - Animal Posse

Episode 16

Rabbit Care & Why Rescue Matters with BunnAgain

Published on: 16th May, 2025

Thinking about getting a rabbit? Stop right there! This week, we have Donna Rome from BunnAgain Rabbit Rescue and Education to tell you why adoption is the only way to go. We break down the realities of rabbit care – it's more than just carrots! – and Donna passionately explains the urgent need to adopt, not buy, to help the countless rabbits waiting for their forever homes. Learn about their specific needs, their amazing personalities, and how you can open your heart and home to a deserving bunny. It's time to hop to it and make a responsible choice!


#RabbitCare

#RabbitAdoption

#RescueRabbit

#AnimalRescue

#BunnyLove

Transcript
Dixie:

Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the

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people and rescues making a

difference in the lives of animals.

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Hi, Donna.

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How are you?

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Donna: I'm good.

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Dixie: tell me a little bit about yourself

and what is the name of your rescue?

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Donna: My name is Donna Rome.

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I have been a single mom for

a long time, but my kids are

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grown and out and I have been.

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helping bunnies for, oh gosh, about

almost 20 years, but it only became

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official in 2019 when I became Bunn

Again Rabbit Rescue and Education.

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That's a mouthful.

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I have people who help me do the online

stuff because I am not tech savvy.

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I am trying to round up some more fosters.

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We have about.

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18 rabbits at my home

inside, and it's quite a job.

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But there are just so

many rabbits in need.

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But I have had to slow down and.

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Stopped taking in rabbits because

I've been working with Jefferson,

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SPCA, I'm in touch with Lola and

Friends Rescue in Mississippi.

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We communicate with Magic Happens

Rabbit Rescue in Baton Rouge.

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We're all trying to do the same thing and

we're all in communication to see who can.

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If anyone can accommodate, the

newest rabbit or, anything like that.

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So we bounce ideas off of one another

and get advice from one another and

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and try to help one another, make

this job a little bit more bearable.

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Dixie: I think it's great that you

work with all these other groups too.

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'cause I've already had James on

the show with Lola and Friends.

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I've spoken with Hannah, with

the Jefferson SPCA and they have

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mentioned Bunn Again, both of them.

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And I think it's great that all of

the rabbit rescues work together.

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'cause it's all about just getting

them into homes and keeping 'em safe.

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Donna: And we're not

competing against one another.

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In fact, I welcome any and everyone to

open their own rabbit rescue because

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there will be plenty of dumped.

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Abandoned homeless rabbits

to last a lifetime.

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Unfortunately, it just

happens all the time.

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Even, yes, around Easter, after

Easter, but really year round because

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people do not educate themselves

or they do not want to be educated.

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Dixie: I'm hoping that you can

give us an education on it.

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First I'd like to start, if you could tell

me what is the difference between getting

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a bunny from a rescue versus a pet store?

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Donna: The pet stores usually get

tiny baby bunnies that have been

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taken from their mother too early.

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It suggested that.

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Recommended that a baby bunny

stay with its mother eight weeks.

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Usually they're four weeks to wean, but

they need to be with mom another four

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weeks for their gut flora to be mature.

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So they're taken away from mom, so

their gut is not mature and many times.

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The stress of being at a pet

store, they get coccidia.

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In fact, most bunnies from the pet store

who are under six months old or six

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weeks old actually have coccidia when

people buy them and they don't know it.

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And.

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Then if you don't take your new

little baby bunny to the vet right

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away, you could lose that baby bunny.

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And for us we are always getting

calls about pet store bunnies.

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Oh, my bunny died, or My bunny's sick, or.

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They told me I had two boys, but I have

a boy and a girl, and now we have babies.

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And 'cause little tiny rabbits

are really hard to sex.

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You cannot sex a two to

four week baby accurately.

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And that is a lot of the problem.

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But, mainly they're, they shouldn't

even be sold at stores because

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they're, they get sick, they get

injured, they're so stressed.

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And the pet stores don't

give any interviews.

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They don't ask any questions.

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Okay how are you planning to

take care of this little rabbit?

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They just say, oh, you got 40 bucks.

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Here's your rabbit.

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Oh, here's two of 'em.

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It's a boy, it's two boys.

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And then in a couple of months they

get mature and you find out whether

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they're two boys or a boy and a girl.

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Or whatever, but in rescue we never

will adopt out a fertile rabbit.

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That is just a big no-no for us.

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The first thing we do is get the bunny vet

checked and spayed or neutered, depending

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on if they're old enough, because they

can have babies young as three months

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old, which is ridiculous, but it happens,

and we try to get the rabbits fixed

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as soon as we believe they are ready.

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And the vet can usually tell whether,

they're too young if they're female,

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but usually the males, as soon as

their little family jewels drop,

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then they are ready to be fixed.

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But the thing is, people don't realize.

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The little males can stay fertile

for up to five weeks after neuter.

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Dixie: Oh, wow.

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Donna: So if you have a yes, if you

have a boy and a girl, you better

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get that little girl fixed first.

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Dixie: Wow.

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Donna: Because that little boy is going.

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Yeah.

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That little boy is still gonna

have some live bullets and there

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is no guarantee that you have.

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solved your problem, and a

lot of people just don't know.

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I found out by accident years ago.

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Yeah.

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It's really amazing.

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They have earned their reputation.

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Absolutely.

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The girls, rabbits have

two uterus, so guess what?

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When they're mature.

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Mature and there's a boy around,

they'll ovulate and guess what?

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They're pregnant.

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And it could be from 28 to 30 days, but

a couple weeks before they give birth,

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it's possible to go ahead and have some

more eggs fertilized than the other

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uterus so they can overlap litters and

those poor breeder bunnies are just.

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Worn out because they don't get

a chance for their body to heal

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and rest, and it's just cruel.

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But it is ridiculous how quickly

things can get out of hand if you

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do not make sure that somebody

knowledgeable is checking to

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see, do you really have two boys?

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And if you don't take 'em to the vet.

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They need to be the vet can tell

you if you've got a boy or girl

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they know how to tell very early.

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And they can also do a fecal test to

check for parasites because if your

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little baby bunny has parasites, then.

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All the nutrition that they're taking

in can be taken away by the parasites,

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and then they get loose stools, they

get bloated belly, and they can really

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starve to death without, lacking any food.

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It's just a really sad situation.

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The possibilities are when you buy a

rabbit from a pet store, you just really

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don't know what you're getting literally.

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And with rescue, you are getting a bunny

that cannot have babies, whether it's a

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boy or a girl, and it's been fixed anyway,

you pretty much know the personality

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of the bunny because, we've had an

idea of how they act and what they do.

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And with rescue, we will be on

call basically to help answer

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questions and, for my rescue.

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I'm always willing to

be available by text.

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It's if is this plant safe for

the bunny and how do I do this?

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And oh, the nails, and there's a great

resource online called rabbit.org.

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It's the House Rabbit Society.

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And that's like a worldwide bunny

crazy people forum, which has a lot of

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articles and videos and just really basic

information, especially for new bunny

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owners because you can go and you can

find out what their body language means.

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You can find out.

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How is the best way to handle them?

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You can find out different

ways to clip their nails.

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You can find out, why does my bunny

seem angry and why does he attack me?

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A lot of rabbits are, they're in

a small little space and they take

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ownership of that little space.

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If you don't give them more

space they're gonna be bored,

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they're gonna be aggressive.

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If you can work with them and you

can help them to feel safe, to

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trust you and to be happy and.

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Do their cute little binky bounces up in

the air and just be really entertaining.

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You just gotta give them space.

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And so it's just so much of a better

idea to get a bunny from a rescue.

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But if people have already

gotten Easter bunnies.

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Usually as soon as they turn, maybe

four or five months old, their little

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bunny , isn't as sweet as it used to be.

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It's starting to mark things.

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It's starting to chew things.

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It's starting to really smell

musky, especially if it's a boy.

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And people just don't

even think of options.

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They say, I don't want this anymore.

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And it's just so sad because all you have

to do is get the bunny spa or neutered.

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And Jefferson Parish has a great program

called Fix a Rabbit, and it's a low

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price spay or neuter for the rabbit

for residents of Jefferson Parish.

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And even if they cannot

participate in the Fix a Rabbit

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program, you just call around.

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Rabbit.org

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has a list of bunny savvy

veterinarians because rabbits are

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really sensitive to anesthesia.

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And if you don't get someone who's

familiar with rabbits, it's a high

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possibility that your a little bunny

is gonna have some serious difficulty

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and maybe even lose the bunny.

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But there are options.

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If you can't afford it, maybe

a rescue would work with you.

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Maybe a shelter would work with

you to be able to keep your bunny.

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And also they need to stay inside.

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A lot of people put their

rabbits outside and when I was

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a kid, I did the same thing.

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Being outside, you cannot

monitor the rabbit.

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You can't tell whether it's not

eating as much, whether it's litter.

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Habits have changed, things look

different, whether it's getting

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enough water whether it's overheating,

whether there are predators around

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rabbits can be scared to death.

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One of our adoptees there was a stray

dog in the yard and they had the

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bunnies out playing in their pen.

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And the dog did not even

come close to the enclosure.

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But one of their rabbits

just was so high strung.

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He just started thumping

and they went out.

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They shooed the dog away and they

picked up the rabbit and he, his

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heart was just beating a mile a

minute, and he never calmed down.

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And he died.

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He gave himself a heart attack.

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So those things, bunnies are way more

fragile than people give him credit for.

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And they need an exotic vet.

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And, there are things that can happen to

them that you might not think about, like.

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When they shed like

other animals, they can.

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Swallow too much hair.

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And unlike a cat, they can't cough it up.

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Rabbits cannot vomit.

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They can only swallow, and that's

another thing most people don't know.

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And that's why you never

fast a rabbit before surgery.

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Their gut has to keep going because

if their gut slows down, then

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there's a possibility that their

gut will stop working altogether.

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So rabbits have to always have food and if

you don't get a rabbit savvy vet then, you

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might get more trouble than you expect.

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But I'm just so concerned about people who

already have their rabbits that already

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have purchased an Easter Bunny, and I

just feel like grabbing them and saying,

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you must let me look at this rabbit.

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You must let me tell you

whether it's a boy or girl.

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You must let me help you keep

it in a safe environment.

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You must keep it inside.

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Please.

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Because there's predators,

there's parasites.

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There's poison plants, all the peas.

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And you don't know, sometimes your

bunny will get into something that

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they shouldn't, or you don't know.

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Like most of the bulb plants

are poisonous to rabbits.

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Some of the ones that have

the oh, like irises and stuff.

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What do you call the

roots of those things?

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Rhizomes.

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Sometimes plants with

rhizomes are not good.

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We had someone whose bunny, hopped into

the irises and he started nibbling on 'em

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and he had a seizure and they lost him.

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You really have to be familiar with a

lot of things if you're gonna try even

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just to let your bunny play outside.

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Because they are prey animals, their

nature is to hide, to be on the ground.

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And, they don't really feel safe unless

they know that they can get somewhere

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where they cannot be seen from above.

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And sometimes even, all sides.

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If you have a bunny in their space and

there's nowhere for that bunny to feel

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like they can have a quiet, dark space.

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They can often just be nervous

all the time, and that's a

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stress that can make them sick.

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There's just so many things that

can make a bunny ill and people just

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don't know enough to realize that.

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They really need to consider

their rabbit's needs and, be more

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accommodating if they want that little

guy to be their friend for years.

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Unfortunately people buy them and

kids 10 years old and don't think

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about when the kid's 20 years old.

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They just, oh my kid wants a bunny.

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Kids can't take care of bunnies.

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Some adults can't even

take care of bunnies.

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The best thing to do is.

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Educate yourself.

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And we have a program which not too many

people have taken advantage of, maybe

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just because they don't know about it.

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But we've got a program called

Learn Before You Leap, and it's.

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especially geared to people who don't

really understand what bunny life can be.

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So we try to give them an opportunity

to try out bunny life with, of

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course, with an application,

with, approval and all that stuff.

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We, I guess what you might

call, rent all the supplies to

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the family and with a bunny.

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Just stay in touch with them.

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Let them ask questions.

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Tell 'em what's the right thing.

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And and they try it out from

anywhere from two to six weeks.

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Usually two weeks is enough for a kid.

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To say, oh this thing actually has

to process food and at the end I'm

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the one who has to clean it up.

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Oh no.

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And they get tired of that real quick.

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Yeah.

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The bunny's cute, but that cute little

three week old bunny is gonna double

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its size in another two weeks and then

they're not cute anymore, or they're not.

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Special anymore.

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And that's another reason

people don't keep them.

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They see some of our miniature bunnies

and they say, gosh, that's a big rabbit.

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And it's so sad because then you know

that they've never seen anything but

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prematurely sold pet store bunnies.

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So man, it's just a big problem.

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It's a big problem.

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Especially in Jefferson Parish, there's

so many places that people just, they

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get tired of their rabbit or they

don't want the responsibility and

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they just, oh, let 'em run around in

the yard and oops, they got out and

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then they don't go looking for them.

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And, poor little guys get injured or,

malnutrition or pick up a parasite from

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any animal that tinkles in the grass

and it could die a slow, painful death.

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And I just wish that people who do

get rabbits and then regret it, not to

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let them free, but to contact someone.

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Keep the rabbit temporarily until

someone, one of the rescue people, one

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of the shelter people can line up some

appointments, line up a foster, but

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don't make us go out in a park and chase

a poor little scared to death rabbit,

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could take us days, weeks to catch 'em.

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And by then, their problems are worse.

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But it's just something

that continues to be done.

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And I don't know if it's because

people just don't see rabbits as

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companion animals or if they're just.

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Selfish or if they think that

rabbits are wild animals and

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they can live like cottontails

or swamp rabbits, but they can't.

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So I don't know.

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I'm just really disappointed in

the human race a lot of times.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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I think it's a lot of times too, like the

stores will market them as starter pets.

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And no pets are a

starter pet for, one thing

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Donna: maybe a pet rock.

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Yeah.

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But that's about it.

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Dixie: A pet rock.

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I can agree with that.

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But if a child wants an animal,

I think the parents need to be

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educated on that as well, not

just getting a pet for the child.

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It's fine to have a pet for a child

if you understand the responsibilities

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that are involved in it,

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Donna: right?

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If you are going to care for the

pet, if you're gonna be the main

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caretaker and show the child what

it means to sacrifice for another

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life, help the child understand that.

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It's something that's living and

breathing and needs love, and needs

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care, and needs the doctor sometimes.

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And, sometimes just like kids,

it's afraid of loud noises.

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It's afraid of dogs, it's afraid.

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Like they have to understand that it is a

living feeling, being that it's not a toy.

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And but the way they're marketed,

it's this little impulse buy.

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Look how cute.

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Look how cute this little thing is.

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Oh, this is so fluffy.

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You just need to have this.

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Oh, this one has floppy ears.

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It looks like a baby.

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It looks like a stuffed animal.

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Get this one because it,

it's just so cute and fluffy.

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Cute and fluffy has to be groomed.

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Cute and fluffy.

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Has to be, you have to make sure

that little bunny is trimmed, that

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it doesn't swallow too much fur

that it has the right nutrition.

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It's not a toy.

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And parents need to be more responsible

about their decisions because it's

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their decision and it's their animal.

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It's their responsibility,

and they need to know that.

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They need to accept that from the moment.

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They make that decision because

if they're gonna go to the store

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and just pick up something because

it's cute and not even think about

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what happens when it gets sick?

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What happens if we have to go on vacation?

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What happens if we have a baby?

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What happens if we move?

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What happens?

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You have to think of all the things that

you would think about for a dog or a cat.

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Even another family member, it's not

just a quick fix to, to make your

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kid happy, because the kid, when the

bunny reaches maturity is probably

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gonna bite or scratch that kid.

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Dixie: And then you were saying too,

like they'll get 'em and then they don't

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think of all those things, but they

do that for puppies and kitties too,

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Donna: absolutely.

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Dixie: Unfortunately, that is part of the

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problem is for some reason, animals

are looked at as being disposable.

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There are people like us who will

do anything for our animals, but

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then you see people, that are

like, oh, my kid wants a pet.

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Let's go out and get a puppy, a

kitten, a bunny, or whatever, and a

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few weeks later they don't want 'em.

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I know somebody that

actually got two bunnies.

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And, the sex of the bunnies

was wrong, so yeah, those two

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bunnies turned into six bunnies.

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And luckily I believe a rescue stepped

in before it got outta control.

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Donna: That was

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lucky.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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But , a rescue shouldn't even

have to for that, you have to

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have a little bit of common sense.

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If you're getting two bunnies, make sure

that you're getting two females, if you

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are not sure, then don't get two, get one.

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Donna: Oh, it's just educate.

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There's pictures of how

to correctly sex a rabbit.

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There's there's just so much information

available, basically almost, I.

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Almost having just Google is

enough but there's a lot of wrong

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information on Google, so that's why

I specifically recommended rabbit.org,

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because there are random pet sites that

do not have accurate or full information.

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And you really need to look for that

pet specific group because especially

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exotic pets because only the people

who've had them know what their

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common issues are or what comes up.

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In their care.

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And you know what can happen

when they reach a certain age?

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And speaking of certain age, the female

rabbits, if you get one that's older,

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say somebody got one and they don't

want anymore, so they give it to you.

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Okay, fine.

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So you've got this 2-year-old

female rabbit that they let her

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have a litter at least once and.

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When females are over two years old they

have a higher risk of reproductive cancer.

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But if they've ever had a litter,

then that possibility shoots up.

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And , you have to get your females

spayed, even if you don't have a boy.

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'cause people tell me, oh, why

should I get my bunny fixed?

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Isn't no, I don't have boy rabbits.

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No, it's because your female

can get uterine cancer.

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We've rescued some that already had

uterine cancer or mammary gland cancer.

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And thank God with the spay,

they were able to remove the

377

:

cancer and the cases that we had.

378

:

But you can't take that kind of risk.

379

:

If you love that pet.

380

:

You want that pet to be happy and healthy.

381

:

You need to consider always to spay a

neuter because females can go into a false

382

:

pregnancy and that stresses them out.

383

:

Just like a woman with PMS, you

don't wanna a grumpy bunny who's

384

:

all just feeling and all mixed

up and she's pulling out her fur

385

:

it's a stressful situation for her.

386

:

And if you get her fixed,

she won't go through that.

387

:

She won't be making a nest because

she feels like she's having babies

388

:

or her hormones are going crazy.

389

:

Hormones can make them aggressive

and it can actually affect

390

:

other critters in the house.

391

:

Anytime I rescue a bunny that's

not fixed yet my other rabbits

392

:

start tussling with each other.

393

:

It's just those hormones.

394

:

They can smell 'em, it affects them.

395

:

Even males.

396

:

Oh my gosh.

397

:

Males, they can have such

a stinky musky, oh gosh.

398

:

It just smells up the whole

house and they'll go, I don't

399

:

wanna bring my bunny inside.

400

:

That's 'cause you didn't neuter him.

401

:

If you neutered him, then that smell

would not overtake your entire house.

402

:

He wouldn't wanna spray all your

furniture . He wouldn't wanna chase

403

:

you or hump your leg or whatever.

404

:

There's just so much to be

said for spay and neuter.

405

:

It just.

406

:

It's near miraculous that, you

get a whole new money almost

407

:

they automatically just about

automatically litter train themselves.

408

:

They can use litter boxes and

people say you just use cat litter.

409

:

No.

410

:

Rabbits have to have paper-based

litter or kiln dried wood like.

411

:

Sometimes they have the

little pine pellets.

412

:

A lot of people use the horse

stall pellets from tractor supply

413

:

me because we have so many, I

use newspaper and shredded paper.

414

:

But no, you can't do the clay litters.

415

:

You can't do the untreated pine.

416

:

You can't do especially cedar if they

are inhaling cedar oil, they can.

417

:

Have liver problems.

418

:

There's just so much of what we thought

we knew years ago was totally wrong

419

:

and totally harmful to our rabbits.

420

:

There's things on the market that have

a picture of a rabbit on it, but you're

421

:

not supposed to give that to a rabbit.

422

:

They're not.

423

:

Equipped to process that kind of

protein or that kind of sugar.

424

:

You can't even depend on the pet store

industry to give you accurate information.

425

:

You have to go and find it yourself and,

there's a lot of good resources out there,

426

:

but you have to want to know about it.

427

:

Dixie: Now, what about fleas on bunnies

428

:

? Donna: Fleas, they do like rabbits.

429

:

They mostly like the light

colored rabbits for some reason

430

:

they're attracted to light.

431

:

But a free meal is a free meal and

they'll go after the dark ones too.

432

:

They can pick up fleas from outside.

433

:

They can pick up fleas from, from inside,

they can, fleas can hit you right on

434

:

your socks and boom, you've got fleas.

435

:

But there are over the counter remedies

that you can get to eliminate the fleas.

436

:

The I always tell people you

can get the advantage with a G,

437

:

but never advantage with an x.

438

:

I always tell them G means go.

439

:

X means skull and crossbones.

440

:

Advantix will kill your

rabbit Advantage is ok.

441

:

You can get the cat dose and there are

charts online tell you how much per

442

:

pound of rabbit that you have to put on.

443

:

You just put it on topically and but

for us we feel like a better product

444

:

is the prescription revolution.

445

:

Now revolution has made another formula,

but it's the original revolution formula.

446

:

It's just selemectin.

447

:

But the revolution for

cats, it got too expensive.

448

:

And now finally there is

a generic called revolt.

449

:

But if it is selemectin,

then that is what?

450

:

We use because not only does it kill

fleas, but if there are any kind of mites

451

:

or ear mites because a lot of time we've

gotten, we've rescued rabbits that, oh,

452

:

poor babies, they had crust in their ears.

453

:

They lost hair because these little

bunny lice or just eating them

454

:

all alive, but the revolution.

455

:

Or the revolt will take care of

the mites and the fleas, just the

456

:

advantage, it will only control the

fleas, but the environment needs to

457

:

be treated, needs to be vacuumed.

458

:

We just use diatomaceous earth,

which is basically crushed coral

459

:

and it's food grade, so it's

just like this gray dust that.

460

:

The pieces are so tiny that they

cut into the exoskeleton of the

461

:

bugs and they end up drying them up.

462

:

It's not an instant kill,

but it does take care of 'em.

463

:

Dixie: I've heard other people mention

that before, but I have no experience

464

:

with how you would actually use it.

465

:

Donna: Diatomaceous earth

is like a very fine powder.

466

:

So you can either put it

in a powder container.

467

:

They actually, at the garden

stores, they actually sell like this

468

:

little accordion, plastic pump that

it's just got a straw at the end.

469

:

And when you squeeze it, it

poofs, the powder into the air.

470

:

Only thing is with the bunnies, you just

have to be careful not to apply it close

471

:

to their face because they can inhale it.

472

:

But it is safe if they

accidentally eat it.

473

:

If it gets on their skin, it's fine.

474

:

It just might dry their skin a little bit.

475

:

But the the environment, you could

sprinkle some in their litter.

476

:

I have a contraption that you wind

it up like a, oh, gosh, I'm not even

477

:

sure what how to describe it, but

it's almost like a powder machine gun.

478

:

You load up the.

479

:

Canister.

480

:

And then when you turn the wheel, it

just pushes the powder out of the nozzle

481

:

and you can do a big area that way.

482

:

And then people used that to spray their

trees, especially the citrus trees.

483

:

I think my papa used to do

that with the, with his trees.

484

:

He had one of those look, it

almost looked more like a bike

485

:

pump that he would just pump the.

486

:

The powder all over the branches.

487

:

But but yeah that's how you apply it.

488

:

You can put it in a salt

shaker it's so fine.

489

:

It can clump up if you don't

have the big enough holes.

490

:

So you gotta maybe have a little air

behind it to to make it spread out.

491

:

But if you get there are some farm

stores that will sell a small bag for

492

:

a lot of money, but I'll usually go

to an agriculture store and get a big

493

:

old bag, and that's only like maybe

25 bucks, maybe not even that much,

494

:

and you get 40 pounds of that stuff.

495

:

It could last forever.

496

:

And, I'll share, so yeah, there, there

are some things you can do to control

497

:

the fleas to keep them out of your carpet

or your your house or your Bunny's area.

498

:

And you just have to know what's

safe and, just keep an eye out.

499

:

If you regularly handle your rabbit

and pet them, you can tell whether

500

:

there's gonna be fleas or not.

501

:

You don't have to treat a bunny

every month if they had fleas one

502

:

time, unless you're seeing fleas.

503

:

Like I said, it's usually.

504

:

Mostly the light colored ones

that the fleas like to jump on.

505

:

But we've had some, especially the

long-haired bunnies that the fleas like

506

:

to get under the mats in their fur.

507

:

So that's another reason you

really need to be diligent about

508

:

if you get a fluffy, cute bunny,

you better be good with a comb.

509

:

You better, learn how

to trim 'em correctly.

510

:

And that's another thing you can.

511

:

Look up online, you know how

to safely trim your rabbit.

512

:

You got to do their nails because they

can get arthritis in their little toes

513

:

if their nails grow so long that their

toes are crooked when they're walking.

514

:

Just maintenance.

515

:

Just learn what their

day-to-day needs are.

516

:

And once you know what your bunny is like

as far as what their normal is, what their

517

:

normal appetite is, what their normal

water intake, what their normal activity,

518

:

what their normal poops look it's easy

to tell when something's not right.

519

:

If you have kept your eye on that bunny

and know them well enough to know when

520

:

they're not acting themselves and.

521

:

Bunnies will hide their illnesses.

522

:

They will hide their pain, they will hide

all their symptoms because being prey

523

:

animals, they don't wanna stand out like

a sore thumb with a target on their head.

524

:

They're gonna hide the things

that are bothering them.

525

:

So you are responsible to know

to look, to, to spend time to,

526

:

watch over your bunny, to check.

527

:

And see, how much they're eating and if

their litter habits are consistent and if

528

:

what's in the litter box is consistent.

529

:

'cause they can have different shaped

stools that mean certain things.

530

:

And if you catch it early,

you can avoid the vet.

531

:

But, it's really important that

they see a vet at least once a year.

532

:

But if they stop eating, if their appetite

goes down, that's something you really

533

:

have to be on alert for because that

could be GI stasis and it can happen

534

:

if they're stressed, it can happen.

535

:

If there's maybe construction

going on, it can happen If.

536

:

There's a new kid in the house.

537

:

It can happen if you move their enclosure

to another room, they can stress out

538

:

easily and they can lose their appetite.

539

:

And if they lose their appetite and

they don't have food going through their

540

:

system, it can slow down and it can stop.

541

:

They'll go in shock.

542

:

All their organs will shut down

and you're gonna lose your bunny.

543

:

So as soon as you notice that appetite is.

544

:

Not what it needs to be.

545

:

You need to get ready to syringe,

feed that bunny and call your vet.

546

:

If they need to have something

in their system 24 7.

547

:

That's why they recommend that you

leave hay in their space all the time.

548

:

They need Timothy hay.

549

:

The older ones need Timothy

Hay and the youngest.

550

:

The babies need alfalfa because

it's got protein and calcium, but

551

:

don't give the older bunnies alfalfa

because it can make bladder stones.

552

:

So yes, even rabbits can get bladder

stones and there's just a lot to know.

553

:

I'm still learning.

554

:

I've been at this a long time, but I am

still learning, I'm still finding out

555

:

things that are happening to other rabbits

and going on within other rescues that.

556

:

Oh my gosh, I didn't

even think about that.

557

:

Or I didn't know that.

558

:

Or, oh man, I need to, be

more diligent about this.

559

:

Or it's they're fascinating little

critters and it's such an honor

560

:

to be trusted by one of them.

561

:

I just wish people, more people

knew what joy they can bring to

562

:

your household if you just take a

little time and educate yourself.

563

:

Dixie: Absolutely.

564

:

Donna: That's my story

and I'm sticking to it.

565

:

Dixie: Yeah and definitely it's important

that you always think about the animal

566

:

first and for any pet you have, if you

think, or if you suspect there's something

567

:

that's out of the ordinary to the point

where you're questioning yourself, then

568

:

you just need to go take 'em to the

vet and just go get 'em checked out

569

:

for your peace of mind at least too.

570

:

Donna: Absolutely.

571

:

An exotic vet.

572

:

It's gonna cost a little more than

a dog or cat vet, but would you

573

:

rather have caught something before

it was too late or just saved a

574

:

few bucks and lost your friend?

575

:

You have to think about it that way.

576

:

So mean, but you won't know.

577

:

You won't know if there's

anything wrong if you are not.

578

:

Spending time, if you're not handling

the bunny, sometimes you'll find a lump.

579

:

Sometimes you'll find a little sore or

just small things that can become great

580

:

big things if you don't know about it.

581

:

It's just like your child.

582

:

If you're gonna have this kid in

your house and what you're never

583

:

going to, pet their hair and never

gonna, give them a bath and see if

584

:

they have a bruise or, it's important.

585

:

All that stuff is important.

586

:

Animals are family and if that's

not what they're gonna be.

587

:

Then get a stuffed animal,

go visit somebody with a pet.

588

:

It's not that hard.

589

:

If you can't commit, but you love

animals, hey, be a foster, right?

590

:

We give you everything you need

and all you gotta do is love them.

591

:

And yeah, it's a little sacrifice of

time, you don't have to pay for the vet.

592

:

You don't have to.

593

:

Go get the cage and all

that and the litter box.

594

:

If you're close enough to where

I can meet you, I'll bring you

595

:

shredded paper for the litter.

596

:

I'll bring you hay and pellets

if you know that's what you need.

597

:

And then, whenever you need to go

on your summer vacation, hey, let

598

:

us know a couple weeks in advance

so we can come and get the baby.

599

:

Find somebody else.

600

:

But during that time, at least the

bunny has been paid attention to

601

:

it's been seen by people who maybe

normally wouldn't see being here at

602

:

the rescue and the people who took

care of it have learned, if that's

603

:

something that they want in the future.

604

:

It seems to be a win-win for everybody,

people need to take advantage.

605

:

We need some fosters.

606

:

So help.

607

:

Dixie: Can I ask where you've

learned all this information?

608

:

Donna: Oh my goodness.

609

:

Years years of talking to other people.

610

:

Years of experience, years of

having vet surprises sharing

611

:

information with other rabbit groups.

612

:

Reading going online and going to the

reputable sites and finding out, and,

613

:

a lot of times the rabbit groups will.

614

:

Post something about the latest

illness and, it's from everywhere.

615

:

I absorb it from a lot of

different resources and you

616

:

can't always trust one resource.

617

:

You have to get, you have to

get a well-rounded resource.

618

:

pool to, to know to be able

to trust the information.

619

:

And like I said, from experience I know

a lot of this stuff from experience, but,

620

:

some of it was someone else's experience

or mistakes that I learned from.

621

:

And, we've made a lot of mistakes.

622

:

Like I said, the, especially the

bunny being fertile after neuter.

623

:

Yeah.

624

:

We've made some mistakes

and we still make mistakes.

625

:

Sometimes we miss things . We don't

know the whole story about, and we

626

:

don't know the whole story about

a lot of these rabbits we rescue.

627

:

So sometimes they have things that we

had no idea and, come up with it later on

628

:

after they've been adopted and we just,

there was no way we could know that.

629

:

But it's all a continuous learning curve.

630

:

Just by observing and being aware

and paying attention and being

631

:

passionate about it, it's I care.

632

:

So I wanna know where my mistakes are.

633

:

I wanna know what is a

better way to do something.

634

:

I wanna know how to keep my bunnies happy.

635

:

And healthy of course.

636

:

But there's just a lot of

information that can be had if

637

:

you take a little time and look.

638

:

Dixie: I'm lucky that you were

able to come on and share all

639

:

this information with me today.

640

:

I really enjoyed listening to you.

641

:

Before we end this, is there

anything else you would like to add?

642

:

Donna: Oh my goodness.

643

:

Volunteer, donate adopt Foster,

everybody can do something.

644

:

It's just so important.

645

:

There's so many animals out there.

646

:

Educate yourself, educate others,

and just be compassionate.

647

:

Dixie: Definitely.

648

:

Thank you so much.

649

:

I really enjoyed speaking with you.

650

:

Donna: Alright thank you for letting

me explode your brain with information.

651

:

Dixie: I'd love to have you

back on in the future too.

652

:

Donna: Awesome.

653

:

All right, I hope somebody gleams

something from this conversation.

654

:

Dixie: I think they will.

655

:

It was very informative.

656

:

Donna: Nice.

657

:

All right, thank you so much for the

opportunity and keep loving them critters.

658

:

Dixie: All right.

659

:

And that's all the time we

have for today's episode.

660

:

If you are in animal rescue, or if

you know someone that has a story that

661

:

should be told, please contact us.

662

:

We would love to have

you or them on the show

663

:

. Thanks for listening, and please

join us next week as we continue to

664

:

explore the world of animal rescue.

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About the Podcast

Animal Posse
A look inside the world of animal rescue
Dive deep into the world of animal rescue with heartwarming stories, expert interviews, and behind-the-scenes insights. From heartwarming adoptions to daring rescues, we'll explore the incredible bond between humans and animals.
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