My bun will be 4 years old in Jan... and really healthy. Just like learning about chickens, it takes some time to learn about rabbit needs and caretaking...... then it becomes 2nd nature. Not sure if you plan on having a 'house rabbit'.... maybe this will help if so. The cage is one we came up with using neat idea concept shelving: target has them... there are loads of ideas on how to build them depending on the space you have. we have wall space in a laundry room and it gives her exercise because she rips and runs up and down the levels. And we can tell her to 'climb up' and she'll go to the top level to enjoy some ear rubs and petting.
There are 'treat charts' you can find online and have things you should not feed them too. Our bun likes dried cranberries as treats... jsut a few as they will get bladder infections and runny poops if you feed them too many sweets or treats.
Primary feed we give is:
From
walmart I always get several bags of Kaytee brand timothy hay (Unlimited supply available.. I cut out the side of a waste basket which hold a bag at a time. It's permantly attached to her NIC cage. provides roughage and isn't too high in calcium... but young buns can have Alfalfa hay as well).
From feed store: 50 lb bag of Purina Rabbit Chow stored in a galvanized 'trash' can (in our shed outside). You feed based on the weight of your bun... I think young buns can have all they want I think.. (it's been awhile)... at 5lbs she gets only 1/2 cup at day.. using a 1/4 cup measuring scoop twice a day. I bought the really expensive brands before like Oxbow, but Purina is good and can be bought local in bulk. The stuff with all the colors is junk food.
Rabbits can easily be trained to use a litter box, but need special litter because if they eat 'cat litter' it will kill them. After we trained our bun, we cut and bent a peice of the green plasiticoted hardware cloth and she stands on it and the urine and droppings fall through and keeps paws CLEAN... very nice! (and no more need for the expensive rabbit litter! we just sprinkle some baking soda in the bottom to absorb urine smell... the droppings don't stink). Now you buy those lined litter boxes in the pet store but ours in home made like most of her stuff is. The blue thing in the corner is a rounded corner litter box (they like the corners to potty) and we cut a peice of landscape plastic edging and ziplocked it in place... they will move around their litter box and even knock it over if you don't... also we've gone through several heavy ceramic food bowls... she'd use her paw and knock them out the cage (they were heavy and she couldn't turn them over but when broken was dangerous) Pawing it around is how she lets us know when she is hungry. The small plastic cat bowl has been a huge success... she can't turn it over because of the tapered out edge and got it from the dollar store along with the converted white trash can that is now a hay feeder.
Here is a picture of her indoor bunny condo... we lined the nic cube levels with plastic sign board (bought from sign shop cheap but you can recycle it). It hangs on the wall.. and there is a pull out tray because even litter box trained buns like to claim their space and have droppings while eating hay, etc. She never usually does droppings on the top levels.
There are lots of good websites and way more than I could mention here... use key word "house rabbit" if you google it. Also look up "cecatrophes". Search youtube for 'clicker training' 'house rabbits'.
They are active in mornings and evenings.. perfect for an indoor pet for someone who works all day. We let her out in the mornings to run around in the laundry room and then feed her and she jumps back in to eat. Easy. At night we let her play in our main living area and just block off the hallway which leads to bedrooms. If she jumps on the sofa or chair... she responds to "down Fluffy, down!"... also 'climb up'...
'come'.... and others.... it's whatever you teach them through repetition. Can you tell we LOVE our house bunny? I know you'll enjoy yours! Hope this helps and have fun!
Oh.. protect your bun and your electric cords and remote buttons (they chew on them for some reason)..once you bunny proof your living area it LOOKS really nice too with the cords up off the floor... use cord keepers or even twist ties and raise them a foot off the floor and the bun won't bother them. LOTs of info , I know...
