So you’re not gonna believe this one… My son’s birthday was this weekend and we booked a petting zoo to come to our house for the party. It was great, the kids loved it. But one of the rabbits… escaped. The farmer was completely unconcerned, and said he has lots, and you lose a rabbit occasionally. He mentioned that if we found it, it’s just the right age to eat it.
Yeah, nah.
So the next day me wife says we should go look for the rabbit. I know this is fruitless, since a fox or a hawk has almost certainly gotten the hapless domestic bunny by now. But we go looking and amazingly spot it a couple doors down between homes. We try to catch it, but it does not want to be caught, and it’s scared. It gets dark and we have to leave it out for another night. Good luck, bun.
The next morning, remarkably the rabbit is still there hopping about. Something has to be done now because I can’t just leave a stray domestic rabbit in my neighbor’s yard. So I go buy a humane trap and just twenty minutes later, victory.
However, this was the extent of my entire plan. Now I have no idea what to do with the rabbit. I do have a spare dog cage I guess, and … Wyze cams! And I have a back porch with laminate flooring. Okay, let’s improvise.
I’m relieved we got the bun before it became anything (or anyone’s,) meal - but my wife is THRILLED. She watches Rabbit Cam all day and sends me instructions on perceived rabbit needs while I work from home. Then she comes home with a couple hundred dollars of rabbit related supplies. My plan to re-home the rabbit has been completely thwarted. The lagomorph is now firmly settled on my porch, and I need a new v3 camera for the back yard, I guess.
Does anyone know anything about rabbits??
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Does anyone know anything about rabbits??
Taste like chicken— 
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Looks like you have a new Pet 
Thanks for the story.
SJ
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You better hope that one is not a female and had not been “friendly” with one of the farmer’s other daughters.
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I had a bunch growing up. There isn’t much to know. They basically dedicate nonstop, so my parents didn’t like us letting them roam around inside the house because there would little bunny pellets everywhere. One thing that worked pretty well was to put the cage out on our lawn, and the rabbit would eat the grass in that area, then we’d just move the cage around every so often and it helped keep the grass down a little bit while spreading a little fertilizer and getting fed a little (of course we also gave it other food, but it enjoyed eating a little grass anyway). This helped make sure there was less cleanup for us, it benefitted the yard, benefitted the bunny(ies), and the yard didn’t just die in one spot either. Then it was fun to let it out and roam around.
If you’re scared about it escaping again, you can buy little harnesses for them with a leash. My brother has one for his bunny and his kids love it.
Bunnies all have their own personalities. Some are gentle, especially if you consistently treat them kindly. Some will scratch or bite when you try to take them out of their cage. Some have food preferences. It’s hard to tell you what to do with your bunny.
Your wife might get tired of it after several months. Some of our bunnies we sold to pet stores for store credit (when they had babies) to buy different supplies with, some we gave away, some we released into the mountains or one escaped into a big hollow near my house, and it lived there fine for a long, long time, even through the winter, we’d see him sometimes, but he was fast and didn’t want to come home.
Anyway, no need for anyone to tell you how to care for your bunny, you’ll figure it out and it will be okay. You’re doing great.
That what I was going to say.
Give him /her a name, it’s yours now (forever )
Nice score for the rodent. I’ve seen apartments smaller than that cage.
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release it in the wild where it will make friends in a hurry
and live a long time with lots to eat
Should be neutered or spayed first. No sense adding more.
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We considered EXACTLY THAT. The Rabbit is going to the vet this week to have the sex determined (this is not trivial on rabbits, I have learned,) and to check for that exactly. She also apparently needs shots for rabbit hemorrhagic fever which is apparently a thing. I’m learning fast.
I’m pretty sure what would actually happen would involve either a hawk or a fox.
The rabbit you have is actually a descendant of the English Hares. It won’t breed with the American Cottontail. That said,
Your rabbit loves to dig. If you set up a cage or fence outside (covered of course) you’ll have the happiest rabbit.
Do a little research on pet rabbits so you know what to feed it. Lettuce will give them diarrhea - They love Kale. Feed it rabbit pellets which you can get at pet and feed stores for a balanced diet and long life.
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Oh wow, that surprises me. I mean even different breeds of dogs can breed together, and lions and tigers to some degree and many others that are fairly different from each other. After all that I am surprised 2 breeds of rabbits can’t mix. Very interesting.
They are actually two different species. European hares are completely different from the American Rabbit. Nature is weird!
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He said won’t, not can’t. They really just don’t find them very attractive.
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Check out the House Rabbit Society, www.rabbit.org. We’ve had pet rabbits for years; HRS is the best source of info. They make very good house pets. Ours have always had the run of the house, just litter boxes not cages, and have never been a problem – as long as all cords are kept where they can’t get at them!
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BUN UPDATE - with photos
The rabbit is officially staying as part of our household. S/he has a vet appointment this afternoon, and now has free run over our enclosed back porch. Of course the Wyze RabbitCam remains in place, and is serving us very well night and day. It’s a v3. Here are some adorable samples:
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Is h/she friendly? Can you pick up?
Cute bunny
S/he’s absolutely friendly. Likes pets, and ear rubs. You can absolutely pick her up. Not even fazed by a manic toddler who runs at her screaming. I guess that’s a former petting zoo bunny for you…
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