Need help with Rabbit basics please.

[igorsMistress]

Ok, bunny will be here later today. Just one, a female. I have no idea if she's spayed or not, nor do I know anything about how she was kept before. She didn't get along with the bun my son already has so I'm taking her. Very excited!

I have a rabbit hutch that I was brooding chicks in and summer is coming so she's an indoor bunny for now.

The hutch has a pull out drawer that's lined with plastic. Does anyone normally line this with something like newspaper? What about urine odor buildup in the plastic?

Anyway, here's our new girl and her future temporary hutch (pardon the mess. I'm cleaning now).

 

[Skye'sDucks]

Aww, she's adorable! My rabbits were kept indoors for a while when we first got them, and we had a different cage setup but we used pine pellets for their litter. Their pee will smell and get bad every few days, and I would say shavings or pellets would work best to help mask the smell, but if only newspaper fits I'd say at least put that or something down to help soak it up. Our litter boxes were plastic and the pee would still soak thru the pellets and stained the plastic, but I don't seem to recall it ever making the plastic stink.

Maybe someone else can better answer your question, but I hope I helped!

 

[igorsMistress]

Aww, she's adorable! My rabbits were kept indoors for a while when we first got them, and we had a different cage setup but we used pine pellets for their litter. Their pee will smell and get bad every few days, and I would say shavings or pellets would work best to help mask the smell, but if only newspaper fits I'd say at least put that or something down to help soak it up. Our litter boxes were plastic and the pee would still soak thru the pellets and stained the plastic, but I don't seem to recall it ever making the plastic stink.

Maybe someone else can better answer your question, but I hope I helped!

Very much, and thank you! I'm going to try box training and think I'll get some pine pellets at TSC. I have a portable dog pen that I'd like to put the hutch in so she has more space and don't want her peeing on the floor.

 

[igorsMistress]

We've had the bunny for about 6 weeks and I've learned a lot about rabbits. From nutrition to sexing to bonding and exercise.

It turns out Hop Tart is a boy, so I named him Walter. Last time I weighed him he was about 5 lbs which surprised me. He has a 4X8X4 pen inside. The room he's in can get warm in summer but he loves the cool tile and there's a fan blowing cooler air into the room. He's currently molting, I had no idea they do that. He rearranges things frequently.

As for potty training, I filled a kitty litter box with a little bit of dirty litter and some fresh hay and he has used it ever since.

 

[DogAndCat36]

Oh! A bunny! Congrats! For advice I would recommended to never give the bunny salt licks and to give him a bit more carpet to prevent splayed legs. For best advice you can watch a YouTube channel called LenonTheBunny she is very warm and kind and is also really informative. Also if possible and in your personal option, you can raise the bunny inside for more comfort. So far as I can see you have the bunny not for breeding and you rescued it. For that, a big, big, big, BIG, hug.

 

[igorsMistress]

Oh! A bunny! Congrats! For advice I would recommended to never give the bunny salt licks and to give him a bit more carpet to prevent splayed legs. For best advice you can watch a YouTube channel called LenonTheBunny she is very warm and kind and is also really informative. Also if possible and in your personal option, you can raise the bunny inside for more comfort. So far as I can see you have the bunny not for breeding and you rescued it. For that, a big, big, big, BIG, hug.

Thanks for the tips!

I am still looking for the right thing as far as carpet goes in his pen. I need something thicker than I have and it's hot here right now. He loves to lay on the cool tile in the afternoon and gets to go out to the carpeted living room for play time.

 

[DogAndCat36]

Thanks for the tips!

I am still looking for the right thing as far as carpet goes in his pen. I need something thicker than I have and it's hot here right now. He loves to lay on the cool tile in the afternoon and gets to go out to the carpeted living room for play time.

 

[EverythingDucks]

Oh! A bunny! Congrats! For advice I would recommended to never give the bunny salt licks and to give him a bit more carpet to prevent splayed legs. For best advice you can watch a YouTube channel called LenonTheBunny she is very warm and kind and is also really informative. Also if possible and in your personal option, you can raise the bunny inside for more comfort. So far as I can see you have the bunny not for breeding and you rescued it. For that, a big, big, big, BIG, hug.

I was about to recommend her! I really support free-roaming indoors

 

[MistyandLuna]

Hi all. I'm seriously considering adding a couple rabbits to my arrangement here. Not for food, for poop. I have a space to put them and know about housing, feeding etc.

I was wondering if any of you that keep them ever let them out of their run to cruise the yard for a while? Also, I don't want babies so they'll be spayed/neutered. Can I keep a male and female, or would it be better to have the same sex? I'd like to keep them together in a coop that I can easily convert to a safe place for them. It's 36 square feet of gound space and we can add a ramp and additional levels.

Thanks so much for your help!

Hello!! I have very many years of experience with rabbits. Yes! You can let your bunnies out to run the yard but it’s best to have them supervised, unless they’re in a run. Make sure there is no fertilizer when you let them run either. I honestly recommend looking at the House Rabbit Society. If rabbits end up getting sick, the sad thing is they will sometimes need the vet and it can be a costly bill. One time we had a miniature lip rabbit, and she had cataracts and we had to put drops in her eye every day to keep the pressure down. Before that though, she got glaucoma and one had to be removed, and the vet bill was $400. Yes actually keeping male and female together who are both neutered and spayed is usually better than female and female or male and male. And if you are going to be having wire for them, please add blanket or a stone they can get their feet off of because if their hind legs are putting that much pressure on wire, eventually it could lead to sore hocks. I’ve always loved rabbits! They are amazing animals and so loving.

 

[igorsMistress]

Hello!! I have very many years of experience with rabbits. Yes! You can let your bunnies out to run the yard but it’s best to have them supervised, unless they’re in a run. Make sure there is no fertilizer when you let them run either. I honestly recommend looking at the House Rabbit Society. If rabbits end up getting sick, the sad thing is they will sometimes need the vet and it can be a costly bill. One time we had a miniature lip rabbit, and she had cataracts and we had to put drops in her eye every day to keep the pressure down. Before that though, she got glaucoma and one had to be removed, and the vet bill was $400. Yes actually keeping male and female together who are both neutered and spayed is usually better than female and female or male and male. And if you are going to be having wire for them, please add blanket or a stone they can get their feet off of because if their hind legs are putting that much pressure on wire, eventually it could lead to sore hocks. I’ve always loved rabbits! They are amazing animals and so loving.

Wow, thank you very much! You obviously love your animals.

Walt isn't on wire, he's in a pen in the house. He has part tile right now because it's hot and he likes to lay on it because it's cool. The other half is carpeted though.

He's being neutered tomorrow and then we can look around for a friend after he heals.