Got our first bunny today! **pics**

[NewChcikenmommy!]

We've adopted a full blooded Mini Holland Lop. She is FREAKING cute!
She is 4wks and we can only assume mama was ready to wean them as she is eating well on her own, drinking and everything really well.

I would like to keep her on an organic food as she grows older as the rest of our house is organic. She is on a juvenile pellet food as well as carrots & alfalfa hay. is there like a food guide somewhere that will let me know when it is ok to introduce new foods? I don't want to make her sick in any way.
Thank you!

Here she is, meet Jessie (my son is in love with toy story and affectionately called her Jessie

)


Here is my son with his favorite new baby girl!

super cuteness!

 

[bossynbella]

First of all she is adorable! However she is either a Mini lop or a Holland lop as there is no such thing as a Mini holland lop. At her age it hard to tell but from her ear length I am thinking Mini as Hollands usually have shorter wider ears. Whichever she is, she will make a great pet for you and your son! Make sure to watch her toenails as she gets older as they can accidently scratch easily with those big back legs, and the scratches can be deep and hurt A LOT! I have a couple scars on my arms from rabbit scratches as a kid.

As far as food goes I would find whatever organic feed you want to use and slowly introduce her to it, ie start with it as only 10% of her food intake, slowly over a couple weeks increase it until she is only eating that. She really doesn't need a juvinile feed. Our babies eat the same feed as our adults from the time they start eating on. Also be careful on the carrots, they really don't need vegetables very often. There is a lot of sugar in carrots as well. As far as fruits and veggies go ours get a slice of an apple (1/8th of an apple) or a baby carrot etc once a week. They need grass/timothy hay as well. Hay is a very important part of a rabbits diet. If possible just buy a small bale from a local farmer you can usually get one for $5 or less depending on your area, and one bale should last you for a month or longer.

This is a good article about rabbit diets.
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=56821&forum_id=48

Good luck,
Melissa

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

Looks like a big dose of double cuteness to me!
Congratulations, I hope your little boy enjoys his bunny for many years. Bunnies are great pets.

 

[Bunnylady]

4 weeks is awfully young for rehoming, but what is done is done. If she is eating well, it sounds like she is adjusting - but 8 weeks is the usual recommendation. At her age, all she should be getting is grass ( like timothy or bermuda, not alfalfa) hay, pellets and water. I might add a little bit of raw, rolled oats, but that's just me. You can introduce the goodies later, but right now, it is too easy to create digestive problems. Rabbits, like a lot of animals, are really good at masking illness until they are in serious trouble, at which time it may be too late. I'm not trying to be hard on you, I'm not trying to scare you, I just want you aware so you can keep your eyes open. Wishing you the best - cute bun, cute kiddo!

 

[m.kitchengirl]

You're getting great advice.
I just adopted a Holland Lop bunny & she is wonderful. She is very playful, and has brought us hours of amusement in just under 2 weeks.
I love her coloring. My little lady was pretty pudgy from months of being confined in a cage (in a garage

) but she had trimmed down quite a bit now that she gets tons of out-of-cage time. She is litter trained & a fabulous house bunny. Good luck with your little lady.

 

[chinbunny2]

Be very careful when using the advice under that link that was provided. Those people feed house rabbits, a diet that can often be very dangerous for a rabbit. Its not thoroughly researched, nor balanced, and can cause your bunny to have some gastrointestinal issues.

Yep shes pretty young. Just keep an eye on her in case there are problems. buy your next rabbit from a reputable breeder who does not wean early like that. Most breeders wean and start selling the babies between six and eight weeks of age.

All she needs is a good quality pellet that is high in fiber(about 20%0) and low in protein(around 16%), and grass hay, and plenty of water.

 

[bossynbella]

That is not the link I ment to post. I know I have recently been reading one that was great, that isn't it! I thought I had bookmarked the one and then I couldn't find it so I was looking around with it and found that I thought it was the same one, Shame on me for not reading through it before I linked to it. I apoligize and I will pull that link. Chinbunny is absolutly right, The things you bunny need is grass or timothy hay, a pelleted feed and fresh water. We free fed our rabbits until about 3 months then begin to limit them and they always have free choice hay available, we try to give every rabbit enough hay so that the next day there is just a bit left. Some of them eat a TON of it, and others just nibble here and there, but it is (in my opinion) a very important part of their daily diet. We limit the pellets, and in the summer limit them more and include lots of fresh grass and dandilions and other rabbit safe plants. The link I thought I posted had that list of rabbit safe plants. We avoid feeding fruits and veggies most of the time. Our adults get a slice of apple once a week. We try to provide treats and such in small quantities and one of the funnest things to watch is a rabbit with a kong toy (like for the dogs) we will put a couple slices of a carrot or celery or apple in it as well as some hay and let them have at it. They have a blast knocking it around and trying to get those peices of fruit or veggies.

Four weeks is very young to be away from mom and siblings. But it can be okay. We have had to wean at 4 weeks before, but have always kept the babies together till eight weeks. Usually they stay with mom till 8 weeks.