Before collection
What Comes With Your Bunny
Exactly what goes home with a rabbit from here, what does not, and what you need to have ready before the day.
Every rabbit goes home eating well on its own, litter trained, vet-checked and with a written record of what it has had and what it eats. You also get a bag of its current food so you are not forced into a sudden diet change on day one.
What goes home with the rabbit
- A written care sheet covering feeding amounts, litter training and the signs that need a vet the same day.
- A bag of the food it is already eating. Enough to get you through the first days while you source the same brand, or to mix across if you are changing.
- A written record of its date of birth, breed, colour, sex and what it has been fed.
- A vet check. Every rabbit is looked over by a vet before it leaves.
- Direct contact with Arlen. Not a support address. The person who raised the rabbit answers the questions, and there is no time limit on that.
What does not come with it, and why
Being straight about this saves everyone a difficult conversation later.
- No pedigree papers. These are pet rabbits, not show stock. If you need a pedigreed rabbit for showing or breeding, a show breeder is the right place to buy and we will happily say so.
- No health screening certificates. Rabbits get a general vet check before they leave. That is not the same as formal screening, and we are not going to describe it as though it were.
- No cage, pen or accessories. Have the setup ready before collection rather than buying it after.
- Not neutered. Rabbits leave at around eight weeks, well before a neuter is appropriate. Plan for it at four to six months.
What you need ready before the day
- A pen sized for the breed. Mini Lop and French Lop in particular need more than people expect.
- Unlimited hay, and a litter tray big enough to sit in.
- A carrier for the journey, sized for the adult rabbit rather than the kit.
- The name and number of a vet who sees rabbits regularly. Find this before you need it, not during an emergency.
The first two weeks
Feed exactly what the rabbit arrived on. Do not change the food, however much better the new brand looks, until it has settled. A sudden diet change on top of the stress of moving is one of the most reliable ways to cause gut stasis.
Expect it to hide. A rabbit that has just moved house will sit still and watch for several days. Sit near the pen, put food down, leave it alone. It will come out when it decides to, and a rabbit that approaches you is worth far more than one you caught.
Paying and collecting
If a rabbit is listed and you want it, pay in full on collection and take it home the same day. There is no deposit on a same-day collection.
A deposit holds a rabbit for a later pickup date. It comes off the balance and it goes towards the price of your bunny, because a held rabbit is one nobody else can buy. Full terms are on the sales policy.
Collection in Bakersfield is free. Anywhere else, the rabbit goes by ground transport, driven the whole way in a climate controlled vehicle. We do not fly rabbits. The exact cost for your route is quoted before any money moves.
Litter training, started before you get them
Every bunny here starts litter training with us. Rabbits naturally pick one corner, so the tray goes where they have already chosen rather than where we would prefer, and hay goes in beside it because they eat and toilet at the same time.
Started is not the same as finished. A bunny arriving in a new house will have accidents for a week or two while it works out where the corner is now, and that is normal rather than a sign anything has gone wrong. Keep the tray in one place, clean it daily, and it settles quickly.
Nothing leaves here until it is eating and drinking well on its own and using its tray reliably with us. Ask Arlen if you want to know how a particular bunny is getting on.
Ask us anything
If anything here does not suit you, better to know now. Tell Arlen what you are looking for and you will get a straight answer.