Rabbits

[Raccoon lady]

I have been thinking about getting rabbits and any advice would be appreciated! Also if you have any bunny stories I would love to hear them☺

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Meat rabbits or as pets?? Also for showing? Breeding?

 

[Raccoon lady]

Meat rabbits or as pets?? Also for showing? Breeding?

As pets and for breeding

 

[BabyGotQuack]

I recently got 2 rabbits and was looking for info as well. I got lots of good info you can check out on my thread, link below

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bunny-basics.1512591/

 

[Raccoon lady]

I recently got 2 rabbits and was looking for info as well. I got lots of good info you can check out on my thread, link below

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bunny-basics.1512591/

Thanks!

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

As pets and for breeding

If you want cute and loving bunnies for breeding, I would suggest Holland Lops or Mini Lops. Both adorable and have lopped ears. I would definitely get pedigreed rabbits, it will be expensive, but they will pay themselves back in their first litter. They are so easy and cheap to feed if you are buying food in bulk (a square bale instead of small Timothy hay bag).

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

If you want cute and loving bunnies for breeding, I would suggest Holland Lops or Mini Lops. Both adorable and have lopped ears. I would definitely get pedigreed rabbits, it will be expensive, but they will pay themselves back in their first litter. They are so easy and cheap to feed if you are buying food in bulk (a square bale instead of small Timothy hay bag).

Mini Lops and Holland Lops, especially Hollands, are very popular so they won't be hard to find nor hard to sell.

 

[Raccoon lady]

Mini Lops and Holland Lops, especially Hollands, are very popular so they won't be hard to find nor hard to sell.

I was thinking about Holland lops. There's a lot around here

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

I was thinking about Holland lops. There's a lot around here

And driving far for good breeding stock isn't unheard of... You can tie in a new rabbit on a vacation or something, then you can get champion bloodlines in your rabbitry.

 

[Weeg]

What a fun idea! I have a ton of info.

you'll need a large enclosure, not those tiny tight cages that pet stores supply. You'll want to get a large dog X-pen, those give enough space for a rabbit, but if your up for it, free ranging in the house is another great option. Rabbits are litter trainable, so as long as the house is bunny proofed, you should be just fine letting them roam. Unless you have other pets such as cats or dogs. My cats don't mind her too much, rabbits are very territorial, so once she gets to know her new space, she will probably hold her own up against a cat. Dogs on the other hand, it depends. My Labs like her, though she is afraid of them. They leave her alone for the most part.

To setup her new area, since wether or not you decide to free range her, you will need to dedicate her space to an X-pen or room so she can get used to potty training, and her new space. Get her a large cat litter box, the bigger the better. I use a cheep 6$ low sided plastic bin I got at Winco. As long as its very large, and the sides aren't to large, any rectangular bin will work. You can use a covered litter box too, and that will also double as a hiddey house. To setup the litter box, you'll want to fill it with a thin layer (you don't need much litter) of pine pellets, or paper litter are most common. You don't want to use kitty litter since it contains clay, which is toxic if ingested. I use a 40/60 mix of paper litter and pine pellets. Paper on top just for a bit of cushion. You'll then put the hay directly in one side of her litter box. If your rabbit tends to only poop on the side without hay (Aspen does not, she moves it all around the box) then you only have to put litter on that side. Rabbits will mostly poop where they eat hay, so having the hay in the litter box without a hay bag is your best bet.

To potty train her, place all poops outside the box inside her litter box, and wipe up and deodorize the area where she peed. It could take from a few days, to a few weeks to litter train her. As long as your consistent, it should go just fine.

With that in mind, you'll need a hidey house. I don't suggest getting a fabric one until she's potty trained, since cleaning those are a pain. You can get seagrass ones on Amazon, but for potty training I like the large Oxbow woven houses since they don't have a bottom. Then they can't pee or poop in the house, and get it dirty. I used a seagrass house before Aspen was potty trained, and they're impossible to clean. Just found this wooden one without a bottom, and it looks good too! Rabbits like to have two exits in their houses, so keep that in mind when looking. The Oxbow one doesn't have that. You can use a cardboard box as well for short term. Just make sure that it doesn't have any tape or color on it that she might invest. She will eat/chew it up, so any boxes with dye should be avoided.

For feeding and water, a cat water and food dish with a stand is good. It keeps them from spilling it which is a plus. You can also get large cat bowls at Ross Dress for Less, and they have orem fabric hidey houses as well for once she's potty trained.
Don't use a water bottle though, since it can be hard for rabbits to get enough water from those. A large cat water bowl is usually suitable. I use a cat food/water dish in a stand, it holds about 1/2-3/4c of water, and I have to refill it daily.
You'll also need some kind of mat or blanket to cover the floor if its slippery. Rubber mats (Ross Dress for Less) without a lip may be more suitable until she's potty trained. They're easy to clean, and rabbits may decide they like peeing on soft things, so putting blankets down may encourage her not to use the litter box. At least it did for Aspen.
When you choose a rubber mat, keep in mind that if your rabbit is an aggressive chewer, she will destroy any mat or blanket with fibers or weaves she can pull out. Depending on your rabbit, you will probably want blankets or rugs in her area with very tight weaves, and nothing made of seagrass.

Rubber mats that are flush with the floor are probably a good choice. I used a mat with a lip, and it was destroyed by the next day. Something like this would probably be suitable.
Once your bun is potty trained, then reusable puppy pads work great! Thats what I use for Aspens area.

For diet, you'll want to give her high quality rabbit pellets, I use Small Pet Select, at about 1/4c per 4lbs of body weight. You can give her this daily. Along with that, a large handful of organic lettuce mix, spring mix works great, or other greens with each meal. I use carrot tops, radish tops, and then get organic spring mix for the rest of the time. Rabbits can eat most all lettuces other than Iceberg. No cabbage, or spinach either. She will also need unlimited Timothy, Orchard Grass, or other hay other than Alfalfa at all times. Rabbits can go into GI stasis quite easily, and keeping hay available at all time is vital to their health. They will eat a lot of hay, so you may have to replenish it daily.

Toys are also very important. Cardboard cat scratchers make great toys, but you can also get hay twists, wood toys, and other toys at pet stores. You can make your own toys with pinecones, tiny branches tied in a bundle with food grade twine. You can also use small pieces of fire wood soaked in fruit juices as toys. I soaked some plain wood chews from my feed store in mango juice, Aspen loves them!
As for other supplies, you'll also need kitten/cat nail clippers, a rabbit comb, the hair buster comb is great, though its very pricey. Having a basic first aid kit is also important.
Lennon the Bunny does have some good Youtube videos, though I've also heard its not the best source. I love RabbitsOnline for my rabbit questions, they have a great forum with helpful members.
Trying to think of other things I need to include, bunny proofing maybe, but you don't have to worry about that quite yet. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! Sorry for the novel btw.