FAQs

Can I put a deposit on a rabbit?

We do not accept “deposits” per say, but do allow clients to pay in full to reserve a rabbit before meeting them. The payment is fully refundable if it does not work out for any reason.

Should I spay or neuter my rabbit?

As any surgery is risky, it makes this decision very personal to the family deciding this for their pet. There is no easy, one answer, that fits all situations. We do suggest spaying and neutering rabbits that will not be used in a breeding program, but understand that many rabbits living singly do not have any issues that would motivate this decision.

Here are some things to think about that may make your decision easier. Females tend to have very high rates of uterine cancer and can experience false pregnancies if not spayed so there are health reasons to choose to spay. There are not any known health issues that are more prevalent in intact males, but males can spray when not neutered. Not every male rabbit sprays, but if yours does, neutering will help.

If a rabbit is displaying aggression, but has enough enrichment and exercise time, and health issues have been ruled out, fixing them will drastically reduce this behavior.

If you are planning on homing multiple rabbits together, we would strongly encourage spays and neuters for all rabbits in the family. This prevents pregnancy and hormonal tiffs. It will also increase litter box skills for the whole group.

What paperwork comes with an adopted/purchased rabbit?

On the day you pick up your rabbit you will receive a form containing the description, date of birth, ear number, parentage, and amount paid. This will be sent directly to your email so it can saved and be referenced later.

If you would like to have the rabbit’s full pedigree we can work it up for you, going back four generations, for an extra charge of $35.

Why do you pick your rabbits up? I read online that they hate it.

This is a wonderful question! More people should be thinking deeply about these ideas. Breadbox’s founder, Robin, spent many years studying rabbits’ body language, social systems, and psychology. She is confident in the ability of humans and rabbits to work together and build bonds of trust around many activities that may not be innate to a rabbit. When raised in a gentle, caring, and confidence building environment, rabbits can learn to enjoy being handled regularly, sitting on your lap, traveling in a vehicle, being in crowds, interacting with children, cats and dogs, etc.

To properly care for a rabbit, there are times you will need to pick them up; to move them into another room, bring them to the vet, clip their nails, groom them. And who doesn’t want to be able to sit with their rabbit on their lap?

Working with each rabbit’s unique personality, we train the rabbits raised at Breadbox to trust being handled regularly. They are handled multiple times a day by many different ages of people. As they grow they are slowly introduced to new experiences around the farm, and then eventually begin to travel with us around 2 months old. This way, we are confident that we have raised a rabbit who will be open to building that bond of trust with you for your future life together.

Why are your rescue rabbits more expensive than rabbits at the shelter?

Most animal shelters are either government funded (so taxes are paying for their staff and services) or they are a non-profit, funded by donations, and answer to a board.

Breadbox is neither of these. We are a for-profit, working, micro-farm LLC. That means we get to take full responsibility for how we do business, what we offer to our clients, the quality of our products, and how we interact with you (hopefully with excellent customer service!) A board does not decide how we do business, but the team that is working here every day does.

It also means we pay full price at vet offices, pay our employees a living wage, prioritize the highest quality (very expensive) feed, grow organic greens and herbs for the rabbits, and provide consistently clean and safe living conditions for every animal in our care. That’s not cheap.

So we ask for donations to cover the approximate cost of each rabbit’s intake process, veterinary services, the time and attention of our staff, feed and hay, and the time we spend speaking to and meeting with potential adopters. The suggested donation amount that we ask for is not expected to bring any profit to Breadbox, it simply covers the services we provide.

We love being able to offer this as a service to our community, so we ask for what we need in order to keep it going. We do want animal companionship to be accessible to all, but caring for a pet comes with many costs and should never be entered into lightly.

Thank you so much for your consideration and all of the donations we have received over the years!

What should I expect when using driving transport?

Please read more about our preferred transporter and what to expect when transporting in this Rabbit Driving Transport article.