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Bunny Buying Tips

Looking to Buy a Bunny?
As of August 2021, we are no longer breeding Holland lop bunnies. 
But here are our bunny-buying tips after 10 years of raising pet Holland lop bunnies.
  • Animal Shelters & Rabbit Rescues:  You might be surprised to see pet rabbits available from your local shelters.  They're often already spayed or neutered, which is a huge time and cost savings!  Sometimes, bonded bunny pairs are also available.  Check out the Columbus House Rabbit Society for starters.   
  • Hot Cross Buns Holland Lops:  Located near Oberlin, OH, this is my top Holland lop bunny breeder recommendation in northern Ohio!
  • Hoobly:  Hoobly classifieds lists hundreds of available pet bunnies throughout the United States.  It's a bit cumbersome to navigate, but you can filter by animal/breed/state/city. 
Are you REALLY ready for a pet bunny?  Watch our "Should I Get a Bunny?" video below BEFORE adopting a rabbit to see if a bunny is the right pet for you!

Bunny Costs

How much does it cost to buy a bunny?
  • My honest recommended starting budget for a pet bunny, supplies, and spaying/neutering is around $500-1,200.  Let's see what this includes:
  • The cost of a baby bunny can range from under $100 to $300+ depending on your location and quality of care provided to the babies.  
  • Adopting from a rabbit rescue or animal shelter usually is quite inexpensive, especially if the bunny is already spayed or neutered (which is a $200-400 savings long-term!).
  • Spaying and neutering generally runs upwards of $400 with the office visits, surgery, and pain medication.  Make sure you use a rabbit-savvy veterinarian who regularly performs these procedures.  
  • Aside from initial purchase price, you'll also need an enclosure such as an exercise pen, which can range from $50-$200 on average, as well as a litter box/litter ($60), food and dishes ($50), and hay (30).    
  • Realistically, you'll also want to buy comfort items such as bunny beds and hideouts as well as have an emergency fund of several hundred dollars for an urgent vet visit.  And these are just start-up costs! 
If you are currently unable to afford around $1,000 for your bunny, supplies, spaying/neutering, and emergency care, I would highly advise waiting until your finances are more plentiful or searching for a more affordable pet (fish or hamster perhaps?).  
​I share this information not to scare or upset anyone looking to buy a bunny but to provide realistic cost estimates to help you and your family plan your pet purchase.  Bunnies are not cheap or easy pets!  

Bunny Checklist

You've carefully researched and determined you and your family are ready to commit to caring for a bunny for upwards of 6-10 years. 
Do you have everything that you need for your new bunny? 
Click to view our detailed bunny checklist with helpful links, or scan the summarized version below. 
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View our Bunny Checklist Page
  • Spacious Enclosure:  An exercise pen (or several pens hooked together) lined with foam or rubber mats, vinyl, or washable rugs is a versatile, roomy, and economical rabbit habitat.  Our bunny care page has more information, and watch our Rabbit Room Tour videos for real life enclosure examples.  Dog kennels with or without exercise pens attached are also inexpensive and provide adequate space for your bunny.  Wire floor cages are not recommended.  If you choose a cage, try a solid-floor enclosure such as KW Cages Bunny Villas (what we use). 
  • Litter Boxes: The bigger your bunny's enclosure and habitat, the more litter boxes you'll need.  The cheapest option is a cat style high-walled box with absorbent litter topped with hay (bunnies eat and poop at the same time).  Our favorite is the Amakunft litter box with plastic grate that keeps bunny off of his/her poop and urine, and the Ware Jumbo Scatterless litter box with wire grate comes in second.  *ONLY put litter in your bunny's litter box.  Scattering it around the habitat floor will only confuse your bunny on where to go to the bathroom.  Litter suggestions: Yesterday's News shredded recycled paper, Carefresh Naturals shredded cardboard, compressed pine pellets from Tractor Supply or Rural King, newspaper, or handmade fleece litter pan liners.  
  • Food & Water Dishes:  Since bunnies tend to stay more hydrated with water bowls than bottles, this is what we use and recommend.  Depending on your bunny's habitat, you may choose heavy crock style dishes or bowls that attach to the wire enclosure side.  See our Amazon store and Bunny Care Guide for ideas. 
  • Pellets & Hay: As prey animals (and ones who cannot vomit), rabbits have delicate, sensitive digestive systems.  Therefore, we highly recommend feeding a small amount of a high quality pellet like Sherwood brand.  We feed the free-choice (not measured) adult timothy/alfalfa Sherwood pellets and the baby Sherwood to our baby bunnies through about 12 weeks.   Sherwood's product offering can be a bit confusing as they currently have both free choice and measured (highly concentrated) formulas.  See our Feeding your Bunny page for clarification.  Sherwood pellets contain NO grain, NO soy, and NO sweeteners that can potentially cause gastrointestinal issues such as GI Stasis.  Your bunny also needs plenty of hay available at all times!  Timothy hay, orchard grass, oat hay, and combinations of these and even bits of clover are fine.  First or second cutting provides the most fiber and balanced nutrients compared to softer, richer third cutting hay.  A bit of alfalfa is fine, especially for baby bunnies, but it's too rich for adult rabbits.  Never switch your bunny's pellets "cold turkey."  Always transition (unless switching to Sherwood from an unhealthy pellet) and consult your veterinarian first!   
  • Care Items: These include a pet carrier for vet trips or taking your bunny in and out of an outside exercise enclosure if you choose.  We like the hard plastic top-loading carriers.  You'll also want nail trimmers, a nice grooming tool such as the Hairbuster comb (see our Amazon store), some safe chewable bunny toys (untreated wood, willow, and cardboard are favorites), washable blankets or mats as comfort items, and a bunny first-aid kit.   Suggested emergency aid items include Sherwood's Appetite Restore and a syringe for hydrating a bunny that stops eating/drinking, Sherwood's Recovery Food (powdered food that you mix with water and syringe feed), infant gas drops for relieving gas pain, and consider asking your vet for a prescription of Metacam as a pain reliever if your bunny stops eating and until you can bring your bunny to the vet. 
  • Rabbit-Savvy Veterinarian! PLEASE find an exotic veterinarian for your bunny BEFORE it's an emergency.  You'll likely want to get your rabbit spayed/neutered anyhow (this helps with litter training and hormonal behaviors), and you can formulate a plan with your vet for if/when your bunny develops symptoms of GI stasis or illness. 
  • Patience: Remember, rabbits are prey animals and are easily frightened by noises, sounds, and smells.  Other pets in the home (especially dogs), noisy children, and large spaces can highly stress your new bunny.  Keep your bunny in a small, safe, relatively quiet area at first and provide plenty of hiding places.  Continue to feed your bunny the same food/hay he/she for at least the first few days and slowly encourage your bunny to explore outside his/her enclosure.  Some bunnies immediately begin eating/drinking well and are eager to explore while others may take weeks to adapt.  Take the cues from your bunny!  Sit on the floor in  your bunny's are and let your bunny come to you.  It will happen, eventually!  Reward this positive behavior with head rubs or a small fingertip sized leafy green (lettuce, kale, parsley, cilantro, dandelion) and remember that bunnies under 6 months should be fed few veggies and no fruits.  Rabbits prefer to interact on their own level and at their discretion.  It is quite rare to have a "lap bunny" as you expect from cats or dogs. 

Where to shop for bunny supplies?

Though local pet stores can certainly have some staple bunny supplies such as litter, toys, and dishes, I wouldn't recommend purchasing their hay or food unless you can verify the ingredients and freshness.  Pet stores also often cater to the old stereotype of rabbits being kept in tiny wire cages.  For these reasons, I have created a curated collection of my favorite bunny products, most found on Amazon or other online shops:
  • Bunny Care Page: Some of my favorite bunny products are listed here as well as detailed suggestions and examples within the various bunny supply categories.
  • Hook's Hollands Amazon Store:  Shop 8 different collections of the best supplies for bunnies! 
  • The Lop Shop: My handmade fleece snuggle mats and bunny bed pillows are featured in my Lop Shop.  Supplies are very limited (I sew everything myself) and new items are posted for sale throughout the week. 
  • Little Beast Treats: Bunny-safe chew toys and treats for rabbits! 
  • Hook's Hollands Merch Shop:  Bunny-themed gifts for people!  I've created fun bunny designs that are available on t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, posters, etc.  Spreadshop handles the printing, shipping, and customer service, but all designs are crafted by me! 

Bringing your New Pet Bunny Home!

  • A small pet carrier is best for transporting your bunny to your home.  Keep it handy for vet trips or traveling with your bunny!
  • As prey animals, bunnies are very nervous when moving to new environments.  Minimize distractions, noises, smells, and especially other "predator" pets such as dogs and cats. 
  • Provide your bunny with a small, quiet area in your home.  Bunnies will usually adapt to noises, larger spaces, and even pets EVENTUALLY, but keep things small and quiet at first.
  • Allow your bunny to explore his/her new enclosure.  Provide fresh water (bowl is best), hay, and whatever pellet brand your bunny is used to.  
  • If changing to a new brand of food such as Sherwood, wait for a couple days before transitioning.  You want your bunny eating and drinking well (and pooping well) before adding new stress.  
  • Sit on the floor in your bunny's area and allow your bunny to investigate you.  Don't force lap snuggles with your bunny.  Bunnies are prey animals who prefer interacting on the floor and on their terms.  
  • Reading a book or watching a movie in your bunny's area is a great way to help him/her learn you are not a threat.  Some bunnies are very skittish and can take weeks to let their guard down.  
  • The biggest concern is making your bunny feel safe and ensuring they are eating/drinking/peeing/pooping.  Hiding places are great ways to help a nervous bunny calm down.  
  • Slowly allow your bunny to explore a larger environment as the days/weeks go by.  Always supervise introductions to small children and other pets.  
  • See our Bunny Care Guide for more rabbit care information.  
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Offer a safe, cozy space to let your new bunny quietly adapt to his/her new environment.
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Looking for Rabbit Resources? Check out our Bunny Hub (and bookmark it)!
Looking for Holland Lop bunnies for sale in Ohio?
Hook's Hollands no longer breeds Holland lop rabbits.  If you're seeking to buy a bunny, I highly recommend checking for bunnies to adopt from local animal shelters and rabbit rescues.  In the Columbus, Ohio area, take a look at the Columbus House Rabbit Society.  You can often find bonded bunny pairs who are already spayed or neutered, which is a huge cost savings!  
Other potential resources for buying a bunny are to seek a local breeder on Hoobly classifieds, Facebook rabbit groups for your state, or checking with local veterinarians who might know of available rabbits.
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