Oh dear, I got a rabbit, now what? (pics)

[Pokster]

I buy my guys bails of Timothy hay from the farm down the road 2.50 a bail. I plant a garden every year and in it plenty of herbs for the bunnies they love them and there good for them. dark lettuce. parsley,endive, escarole, dill, basil, mint, cilantro, culantro, spinach, tomatoes, carrots with tops. A very good high quality pellet. Lots of fresh water, Timothy hay and fresh herbs and veges should be the bunnies main diet. Just mho

 

[Dutchgirl]

1) As a bunny, greens should be limited, even grass. Less than a leaf of lettuce per day can be given. The main diet for our rabbit is rabbit pellets along with limitless grass, but she is an adult and thus can eat all she wants. Buy pellets such as Purina Rabbit Chow. You should get a rodent water bottle at the store. The water bottle should be filled every other day if not every day, depending on how big it is.

2) S/he'll need a board in his/her cage. Wire is not good for a rabbit's feet, b/c they have no pads like dogs and cats do. They just need a small board to go in the middle -- it also doubles as a chewing block. Make sure it is not treated wood or anything bad for a rabbit to eat.

3) If you'd like to keep the rabbit inside, litter training is a good idea. I personally do not know how to do that... Beyond this: place a box in whatever corner the rabbit has chosen as a toilet. Eventually the rabbit will learn to do its business in the box??

 

[homesteadmomma]

So can this little bunny get by with no hay for a few days? We have lots of untreated wood around here, are some types better than others, specifically, oak, poplar, cherry, or walnut? I would rather not drive an hour for a dollar rabbit wood block. I'm sure google can answer that one, but I do need to know what type of time this bunny can go without hay. Also, we have let our side yard grow up this year and the grass is very tall. Could I just cut some and let it dry out to feed him, such as how you dry flowers, hanging upside down? Or can he eat fresh grass, we have a lot of it around. Geesh, who knew this little bunny could be so needy LOL. He absolutely loves my daughters, and they absolutely adore him. They made their bed by his cage last night to sleep, and are sleeping there again tonight. He slept on the cage closest to them. I will get him something cut to rest on tomorrow. He spent most of the day wandering around the living room and being held. I love this fuzzy little thing! He does bare a striking resemblance to the Jersey Woolies, so until someone tells me otherwise, that's what I will tell myself he is. Is he something that can be shown in 4-H? My daughter will be in mini-4h next year. Thanks so much for all of your help!

 

[Matthew3590]

Is it true that solid white and red eyes in rabbits are inbred?

 

[debilorrah]

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No, not at all. There are ruby eyed whites and blue eyed whites and they are a seperate category at shows. Not inbred, different "color".

 

[debilorrah]

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Pine. NO CEDAR!!!!

 

[dewey]

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Most all rabbits, mixed or pedigree, have a history of inbreeding.

 

[dewey]

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They are adorable and capture your heart quickly!

 

[homesteadmomma]

OK, so little Heart or Hart, depending what sex it is, has a nice little wooden rest area, with some pine blocks and apple wood (it had a few new leaves, but they were devoured instantly. I read that apple was okay for them to chew/eat, on a website, and we have one in the yard that doesn't get treated with anything. He also has a baby key toy that I read was an acceptable play thing. I will run somewhere this evening to find the little hay cubes and hopefully that will last a while until I can find someone that doesn't sell alfalfa hay. Does anyone have any other good play things for suggestion. I read that toilet paper rolls and shredded paper are fine, but to watch how much they eat. What about a piece of berber carpet? I'm not sure what all this little thing needs and I have no clue how old it is, that might be a better thing to know...

 

[dainerra]

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_forum.php?id=17

lots of good "bunny 101" information. also, rabbits re-eat their poop pellets (like guinea pigs do)

Some bunnies have to have pellets limited. We lost our Hunny to kidney disease caused by the pellets. Our other bunnies get daily greens - grass, fruit, veggies, etc and actually don't eat a lot of pellets.
Bunnies can also be subject to kidney stones, again the first step is to limit access to pellets. My vet recommends about 1 - 1 1/2 ozs per day. The rest of the diet is timothy hay, grass and veggies