Korean Job Discussion Forums

[gajackson1]

Sooooo, Reedtea was in the subway the other day, and happened upon one of the halmonies selling bunnies. Knowing i like animals, and had a rabbit once before (that suffered a very traumatic end when a girlfriend carelessly steped off the bed), she decided that 'we' would get one.

Well, generally speaking, the smaller and cuter they are, the younger as well. She tried to take care picking one - checked it's eyes, nose, energy level, etc., and thought she picked a good one. Put the bunny into a little shopping bag, and brought it home.

At first, we kept it in the bathroom, but got it a proper rabbit cage, food, etc. with all the extras, 2 days later.

That was 5 days ago. I just got done burying said bunny.

The younger rabbits are, generally speaking, the higher/more likely the mortality rate. BABY RABBITS ARE EXTREMELY SENSITIVE/DELICATE CREATURES.

So, if you have just gotten one, or are contemplating such an act, PLEASE go here first:

http://www.mybunny.org/info/newborn.htm

read up, and consider if you have the time and means to commit to a house rabbit. You are looking at a 10 year committment, and some very shaky ground at first.

For us, it was probably a combination of not enough warmth for it, especially at night, and overfeeding/wrong foods.

Christina is heartbroken, as is our dog, who had just started to adopt it as her own.

I'm not preaching, or telling anyone not to do it (and please, no flames back - we adopted a dog and 2 birds here in Korea; all 3 are leaving with us when we move). Just wanted to pass along the warning & provide a link to help those out who decide to do it.

Regards,

G.

[kermo]

If they are wild Canadian bunnies, they should be able to survive without Mom if they're about the size of tennis balls. That's in the wild, though, which might be more ideally suited to baby-bunny-needs.

Generally, Korean farm bunnies (for meat/fur) grow to be bigger, so a tennis-ball-sized critter might be younger than its Canadian counterpart.

I adopted a baby bunny here, and it was a good short-term experience, but quite frustrating. As she grew, her teeth got sharper and she could destroy a pair of earphones or my internet connection in seconds. She chewed on my clothes, on insulated pipes, on blankets... anything and everything. She also developed a weird liquid-flinging kick-flip, which she would perform randomly, and peed on my bed whenever possible.

Some of this behaviour might have improved if I'd been able to get her "fixed" but it's not wise to bring your bunny to a vet who doesn't have specific rabbit experience. Koreans don't tend to fix bunnies, so it's almost impossible to get a suitable vet.

After six or seven months, she was about full grown. I left on vacation and stowed her on the farm where she was born. My friend's mother, who ran the farm, promised to get her a bunny boyfriend and not to sell her to be turned into mittens. Now I have grandbunnies galore.

Here's Ethel, looking a bit grumpy:

[Ryst Helmut]

G,

Sorry to hear about that.... Good on ya for posting the link, as I contemplated getting bunnies several times.

Third time a charm?

You two take care.

!shoosh,

Ryst

[animalbirdfish]

[periwinkle]

Yeah, Kermo- she's really cute!

I had friends who bought a baby chick from a halmoni seeling chicks near a subway stop around Easter time. Soon enough they had a crowing, smelly chicken which they kept in their kitchen. Not sure what they did with it....

[gajackson1]

Hey, Ryst ~

Been keeping up with your various escapades via your MSN logins. Otherwise, we are both doin fine.

Kermo - beautiful looking rabbit. Good on ya!

Color-dyed chicks ALWAYS die; the 'normal' onces can live, but would usually end up dying from a lack of heat and proper food. (In Korea, I would imagine ondol flooring would keep a chick warm enough, however).

Baby ducks are incredibly resilient - needy for attention, but resilient, and have generally good dispositions.

As for fixing a rabbit, I know 1 vet who can comfortably do it - from studying at the London School of Vet. med. - the name of the place is Snoopy pet center, in Sanbon (Gunpo City; on the blue line, near Geumjung Station), close to the e-Mart.

Thanks all. And yep, Bri - we will probably give it another, more informed/prepared go. Since I don't know pet rabbit export laws, we may wait til we leave Korea, however.

Regards,

Glen

[Boodleheimer]

they sell animals like that in china, too. i have a friend whose girlfriend had a weakness for bunnies. i think he had to bury 5 before they gave up on the street vendors.

he never would tell me the bunny burial ground.

[Captain Corea]

I'm still stuck on this part

[bluelake]

We had a few of them years ago. One of them went from a furball in the hand to robo-rabbit. It regularly made its way out of wire cages and anything else we put it in. In the end, my wife gave it to a rabbit farm--whether it was used for breeding or someone's lunch, I have no idea. I have pics of it somewhere, but I'm not sure at the moment.

[red dog]

All these bunny stories are very depressing ... but the above link was good, and here's another:

http://www.rabbit.org/