What all do baby rabbits need

[cassie]

When you get your new bunny home, DO NOT GIVE IT ANY GREENS for several weeks at least. Fresh greens like lettuce can be fatal.

 

[balloonflower]

When you get your new bunny home, DO NOT GIVE IT ANY GREENS for several weeks at least. Fresh greens like lettuce can be fatal.

Especially if you get a baby rabbit, by which I mean from 8 weeks to 4months . They just need pellets until they're older and can digest fresh greens.

 

[junebuggena]

Especially if you get a baby rabbit, by which I mean from 8 weeks to 4months . They just need pellets until they're older and can digest fresh greens.

And hay. Hay is just as important as pellets.

 

[balloonflower]

And hay. Hay is just as important as pellets.

Yes! Thank you for clarification on that.

 

[Tale of Tails Rabbitry]

Coming in late, but I cannot get past the "rabbits are social" advice. They are quite social when they are young and cute, but when they are older hormones take over, they are not social. The truth is that some rabbits tolerate sharing living quarters better than others, but that does not mean they are social.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Well, yes, they'll fight if they aren't bonded. They need grooming and interaction with at least one other creature, though, more than a human generally has time to provide. Adults may fight at first when introduced, or when they hit puberty and haven't been spayed/neutered yet, but they'll calm down and be affectionate with each other once they bond.

Also, rabbits should be spayed or neutered. They're prone to reproductive cancers if they aren't fixed, and will be calmer without all the hormones.

 

[Tale of Tails Rabbitry]

Well, yes, they'll fight if they aren't bonded. They need grooming and interaction with at least one other creature, though, more than a human generally has time to provide.

Even siblings that have always been together since birth can turn on one another.

Adults may fight at first when introduced, or when they hit puberty and haven't been spayed/neutered yet, but they'll calm down and be affectionate with each other once they bond.

Possibly, I just really have not known anyone that has their rabbits fixed.

Also, rabbits should be spayed or neutered. They're prone to reproductive cancers if they aren't fixed, and will be calmer without all the hormones.

Whenever I have asked for the research proving this statement...no one seems to be able to find it. But it is like saying that any woman who keeps her breasts is more likely to get breast cancer....? It would be factual that a woman without breasts could not get breast cancer but breast removal does not PROVE that it reduces the likelihood of breast cancer.

 

[BantamLover21]

Well, yes, they'll fight if they aren't bonded. They need grooming and interaction with at least one other creature, though, more than a human generally has time to provide. Adults may fight at first when introduced, or when they hit puberty and haven't been spayed/neutered yet, but they'll calm down and be affectionate with each other once they bond.

Also, rabbits should be spayed or neutered. They're prone to reproductive cancers if they aren't fixed, and will be calmer without all the hormones.

I've never personally known anyone with bonded rabbits, though I know it is fairly common among pet owners. Well-bonded rabbits are nice, but I don't think it can be called natural or necessary. If something was natural, why would it be such a difficult and lengthy process? Rabbits in the wild don't have time to slowly get to know each other. When they come in contact, they are more likely to simply fight or breed, then go on with their independent lives.

In the past, I've kept same-sex pairs of siblings together for varying amounts of time. Generally, I separate each rabbit at no more than 12 weeks old. If I don't, I often live to regret it. They may start chewing on each other's ears, obsessively mounting, biting, chasing, and otherwise harassing each other dangerously. Their behavior can change rapidly. One day, when I fed a cage full of three young does (about 10 weeks old), they were calmly sitting around grooming each other and otherwise looking happy. Thirty minutes later, I went out and there were chunks of fur everywhere. Luckily, there was no permanent damage, but the three had clearly matured and decided not to get along any more.

I've never tried to introduce two older rabbits, but I imagine that would be even more risky than having two young ones grow up together. I have occasionally let two adult rabbits run around in an enclosed area for exercise. Most of the time, they ignore each other, but again, they can suddenly "snap." Bucks tend to hate other bucks, and does just seem to hate other rabbits in general. I've had bucks lunge at each other (or accidentally, me) when they're in close proximity. Similarly, once, when I was taking a buck out of a two-hole carrier, the doe in the compartment next to him sank her teeth into him as she saw him get lifted out in my hands. Some rabbits certainly seem nicer than others, but I would never try to bond rabbits, especially un-altered ones.

As for spaying and neutering, I can see some benefits of that for pet owners. Neutered bucks are less likely to spray, and spayed does obviously won't be able to get uterine cancer. Yet I would never say that spaying/neutering is a requirement for a happy, long-lived rabbit. No one I know, whether pet owner or long-time breeder, owns spayed or neutered rabbits. Neither do I. My rabbits are all friendly (for the most part), and I have yet to have one get cancer. Friends I know have had un-altered rabbits live 12-14 years. With the risks (and costs!) involved in spaying/neutering rabbits, I do not recommend it.

In my opinion, as long as you get a healthy rabbit, handle and spend time with it daily, keep an eye on its condition (both mentally and physically), and provide it with the basic necessities (quality feed, unlimited water, shelter, etc.), owning one rabbit will work out just fine. There is no "standard" of time to spend with your rabbit; it varies with your schedule and the individual animal. Some rabbits don't want attention, while others love it and need more of it to remain healthy and happy.

 

[mike1970]

is the feed store getting in a bunch of rabbits to sell or are you buying this privately

 

[mike1970]

my males are all neutered and much more relaxed around each other wouldn't say I would I trust them left alone