HELP!!!

[cretahillsgal]

I was just given a big black male bunny yesterday and have NO CLUE what to do with him. The person who gave him to me told me what to feed him and such. But would love to learn more about caring for/keeping bunnies.

 

[Watcheye]

Is he neutered? Give him chew toys. Untreated wooden blocks and toilet paper rolls. Hay is important too. Do you have a safe area to take him out and let him hop around? They love to do that but obviously you have to be very careful about bunny proofing the area as well as dogs and cats ect... Sometimes blocking off the kitchen works well. My bunnies have litter boxes and we use a cat litter for them called Yesterdays News. Its not a clay. That stuff is not safe for them. Its recycled newspaper I think. Brushing them is important and I think giving them pineapple once a day for three days each month helps with hair balls (kind of like sand clear for horses). They can not cough up hair balls and it causes blockages. Just one piece. Mine dont eat it so Im going to have to syringe some pineapple juice to them I guess.

My friends bunny eats it though. Dont give too many treats. They are prone to diabetes.

some helpful sites

http://www.rabbitwise.org/behavior.html

http://language.rabbitspeak.com/

I know there is another really good one but darn it I cant remember what it is right now. =/

 

[cretahillsgal]

He is not neutered, should I have that done even though I have no female bunnies around? Will be more aggressive if I don't kind of like stallions tend to be more aggressive than geldings?

The lady who gave him to me told me to give him hay and bunny pellets. And that he likes little treats like toast pieces and cherrios.

Thanks for the links. I am headed to check them out now.

 

[Miniv]

If you don't plan on showing him or giving him to someone who will (such as a 4-H'er), I'd suggest gelding him. I know that our county fair does not accept fixed bunnies for show, unfortunately.

What kind of rabbit is he? My daughter just did her first 4-H year in both Rabbit and Poultry. She "leased" both from her aunt. This coming year she is showing her OWN rabbit!

 

[shorthorsesmt]

you will still want to fix him if you are just having him for a pet as he will mark territory even if you don't have a female rabbit. we trained ours to walk on a harness which was pretty fun .

 

[Kellie in OR]

I have a pair of rabbits. I got the first one at the feed store where he was abandon. I needed another pet like a hole in the head, but he was so sweet & tame I couldn't resist. It first he was about 75% litter box trained, but a couple months later he started marking corners, and then he even began nipping me. I had him neutered and he is now the sweetest thing and his litter box habits are nearly perfect. A few months later I adopted a girl rabbit to keep him company. I got really lucky that they were instant friends, and I got her from the dog pound and they'd had her spayed. While unaltered male rabbits tend to spray and get aggressive, females frequently get ovarian or uterine cancer.

Feed them similar to a horse. High fiber, low sugars. Lots of grass hay. I keep timothy, bent and orchard grass hay in front of them 24/7. It keeps their gut moving and wears their teeth. They nibble on hay the most while in their litter box, and if they have hay access from the litter box, they tend to have less accidents. Mine get salad twice per day that is usually a mix of spinach, baby greens, cilantro and italian parsley. Training treats are tiny bites of apple, carrot or banana. These are tiny bites for letting brush them, come when they are called, and letting me trim their nails. Too much of these sweet treats and they can get sick. I also feed a hay based pellet feed, but only a small amount, if fed free choice (or alfalfa based pellets) they tend to get too fat. Most supermarket rabbit pellets have artificial colors, sugar and/or added died fruit that is very fattening. Hay based Oxbow brand pellets are what my vet recommends. This is my vets site, there is a good section on rabbit care and diet.

http://www.creswellvet.com/

My bunnies are in the barn. They have a huge cage with a heating pad, sleeping box and litter box. They love snuggle fleece cat beds. During the day they live in the mini's stall since the he goes out with his friends and they have a loafing shed. At night the mini gets his stall and bunnies go to the cage. I don't have house bunnies because I have house cats that would kill them. But I think they have a pretty good life even though they are not in the house. I'm in my barn 4-5 times per day and last feeding at night I give the bun their salad and hold Mr Jigs. He loves to snuggle and is very relaxing and even therapeutic. I hope you rabbit brings you as much joy as mine have me. They are very social and funny animals with very distinctly different personalities.



http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/krahm558/pet%20pix/IMG_1642-1-1.jpg

 

[SilverDollar]

Excellent advice, Kellie in OR. Diet is very important and hay should be the main component. I have two house rabbits (no cats) and they are very sweet.

Avoid the Cheerios and toast. Keep pellets to a minimum; less than 1/4 cup per day between two feedings and only if really necessary. And definitely get him neutered. It will curb nipping and spraying.

A great site with lots of credible information and knowledgeable people is:

Bunspace

Good luck!

 

[Katiean]

I have raised and shown rabbits since about 1902. OK maybe not that long abo but it has been a really, really LOOOOONG time. Rabbits should be fed "Rabbit Pellets". Not the kind with all the pretty colored "Junk" in them from the pet store but the NORMAL ones from the feed store. That is like feeding a kid candy and fast food every day. Some feed stores will also sell the rabbit pellets by the pound from split bags so you do not have to buy 50lbs. What size is your rabbit? Something the size of a dwarf (2-3lbs) should get about 1/4-1/3 cup of pellets a day. Something the size of a mini rex (3-5lbs) should get about 1/2 cup of pellets a day. Something the size of a newzealand (7-12lbs) should get close to if not a cup of pellets a day and if your rabbit is the size of a french lop to the size of a Flemish Giant (14-20lbs) should get 1 1/2-2 cups of pellets a day. I used to toss them hay cubes to toss around and chew on. Apple slices and carrots (I used the baby carrots) are good for a treat. You can also at times add into the pellets a few pieces of calf manna. this really puts a shine on their coats. Also, as far as neutering your bunny. If he displays no aggression, I would not neuter him. Rabbits and surgeries of any kind don't really work out well. Also, in my experience vets are not well versed in rabbit medical care. I sold a $200 CH Flemish Giant to a 4H kid and about 6 months later she took the rabbit to the vet. He said she coliced and did surgery. The rabbit died. I have NEVER in my billions of years of raising, selling for meat, and showing had one case of colic. Be careful who you take advice from. The house rabbit society is very good at rabbit proofing your house. They are also good t training for tricks or house breaking your rabbit. But, past that.......

 

[cretahillsgal]

You have all given me some really good info and advise. I am not sure what breed of rabbit this one is. She told me but I don't remember. He probably weighs 5-7 pounds. She did tell me that he has 2 legs of his Championship, whatever that means. But because his testicles did not develop right, she will not use him for breeding and so was giving him away.

Here are 2 pics of Onyx.

 

[REO]

He's a cutie! I've always liked bunnies!

Marcy and the gang won't let me have one LOL!

I bet the kids LOVE him!!

 

[disneyhorse]

Awww cutie!

I've never had a rabbit, but lots of my friends have 'em and some have house rabbits.

As far as I know, they shouldn't really have "rabbit pellets" unless they are grass-hay based. Most "rabbit pellets" are alfalfa based which I've heard isn't great for them (although the bunnies love it!)

Timothy hay or orchard hay is best for them. Avoid fresh fruits and lettuces as it can give them diarrhea. Also, they are very sensitive to heat and cold extremes so be sure they are somewhere climate controlled if possible. I remember one hot summer, putting in frozen water bottles with them to lay against, as they cannot sweat.

I'm sure if you google rabbit care, you will get lots of informative sites. Or, a trip to the good-old library.

Andrea

 

[Katiean]

He looks like a poor holland lop or a mini lop. He seems a bit ruff over the back and hips. He also has sun fade of his black color. I would use the 1/2 cup measure of rabbit pellets ONCE a day. The only time we ever give free feed is a doe with a litter or feeding out fryer (meat) rabbits. Just like our little horses, if you give them too much they get fat which is not good for them.

Disneyhorse, saying that a rabbit should not have rabbit pellets is like saying "Don't feed ANY type of horse feed to miniature horses. Miniature horses should have ONLY hand picked food". Rabbit pellets are a breed specific feed. Just like a goat should have goat food and a pig should have pig food. There is a ton of money put into developing these feeds for rabbits. There is a mini rex Nam Pacie (sp?) that got to the ripe old age of I belive 12 still producing CH offspring until he died. He was fed ONLY rabbit pellets.

Ok I am not going to respond again because I could argue this until the cows come home. But please, ask a show breeder and not the house rabbit socity. Go to the ARBA web site. They can help you. ARBA is like our AMHA or AMHR.

 

[Bunnylady]

You know how they say, "ask 4 horsepeople, you'll get 5 opinions?" This seems true of rabbit people, too!

There seem to be at least two factions, those who believe a rabbit should eat rabbit pellets, and those who are dead set against it! I have raised rabbits for more than 20 years (hence my screen name). I have always used an alfalfa-based pellet, and have had rabbits that lived to be 10 or even 12 years old. I don't know what it is about alfalfa that is supposed to be so bad, my rabbits seem fine to me!

I say, read what you can, learn what you can, and do what seems to make the most sense to you. After all, it's your rabbit and your life - nobody gets a pet to drive themselves nuts, right?

Your guy looks like a Mini Lop, 5 - 7 lbs is the right size for that breed. If he has two Legs, that means that he has twice won in a class of at least 5 rabbits, owned by at least 3 people. A rabbit that is registered and has 3 such wins is eligible for a grand championship. One of the wins has to be as an adult; perhaps he got his two wins as a junior, but didn't finish up well.

Pineapple and Papaya contain enzymes that help to break up furballs. You can buy the fruits dried but they should be fed in very limited amounts because they also contain a lot of sugar. You can also get the enzymes themselves in pill form at a lot of natural foods stores, some rabbits love 'em!