Rabbits (Jersey Wooly)

[2BD4C10C]

I got this beautiful sweet girl a few weeks ago.

She was born 5/27/2017 and is the cuddliest little thing ever.

When I got her the lady who breeds them said she cannot have any thing other than rabbit pellets until she is 6 months old. Is this true?

Also the older she gets the greyer her fur turns.
Any resources out there for a new bunny owner? When I was a kid we raised meat rabbits but not pets.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Mine get hay, pellets and some picked grass and dandelion greens with an occasional piece of Apple or carrot, and willow branches.

Make all dietary additions or changes slowly to avoid digestive upsets. Poop pellets should remain firm. Hay should definitely be on the menu for a healthy gut.

She's adorable.

When I got mine in the spring I bought a few books and did some web searches on bunnies. They are pretty straightforward once you understand their dietary needs and what isn't good for them.

 

[Bunnylady]

Congrats on your fuzzball - she's adorable! (As a longtime Wooly fancier, I can call them that)

When I got her the lady who breeds them said she cannot have any thing other than rabbit pellets until she is 6 months old. Is this true?

I would definitely add some grass hay (something like Coastal or Timothy, not alfalfa) to her diet. Any rabbit can get wool block, but that is particularly a hazard for longhairs. The extra fiber in the hay keeps the digestive system moving along, and hopefully takes the hair that inevitably gets swallowed with it.

Also the older she gets the greyer her fur turns.

That's the wool. A good Jersey Wooly has a large percentage of guard hairs in its coat, giving it a more hair-like texture. The guard hairs help to shape the coat, and help to keep it from getting matted. I call a Wooly "the low-care Longhair;" hopefully your girl will get more guard hair showing up as her more mature coats grow in. Between about 8 and 12 weeks of age, they go through such an ugly, scraggly phase, you wonder why you wanted anything to do with them, but the good ones get over it. Some Woolies are cursed with soft, cottony coats, and for them, life is one long "bad hair" day.

 

[DutchBunny03]

She's so cute!
Greens shouldn't be fed in large quantities until at least 4 months old, but they can have greens as a little treat now. Oats or other concentrates help keep the coat healthy, and hay keeps the teeth from growing too long. You can give her unlimited amounts of grass hay.
Are you keeping your rabbit as a house rabbit? Rabbits for Dummies is a pretty good house rabbit book. Some of the info there is a bit shaky(such as housing requirements, rabbits do not really need as much space as the book says they do, and housing your rabbit outside will not kill it), but the information in feeding and handling is sound.
http://www.raising-rabbits.com/ is probably my favorite rabbit care website, but it deals more with livestock rabbits and showing. The pet information is good, though.
https://www.arba.net/ has more show rabbit information, but if you want to learn about the different breeds of rabbis, its really helpful.
Wishing you well with your bunny!!!

 

[2BD4C10C]

Yes she is a house bunny. She has a regular bunny age but when I get home from work I put her out into and caged area so she can run and jump and play.