who has rabbits?

[skybie]

hi everyone!
i'm thinking about adopting 2 bunnies from a local shelter, only problem is i've never had rabbits before!
is there anything i should know? whats your experience been like with them?
is there anything special i'll need? besides the obvious, a hutch!
the hutch im looking at has a wire bottom which is removable, which i'm thinking of keeping off full time, but do rabbits dig holes??
Any advice is very very welcome!
TIA

[Eenee]

hi Skybie

I have two rabbits, one is a white rex rabbit the other is a cream/brown/white netherland dewarf- so cute. Anyways I at first at them in this little cage and let them run around when I was there to watch them. however I have changed now! the cage was wooden with a little hutch and then wire outside bit- but a pain in the bum to clean!!! Rabbits poo alot!!! and eat just as much!! So I decided one day that i would just let them roam free in the back yard! yay I don't have to feed them because they get plenty of grass and I throw the vegie scraps every now and then. The back yard is a mind field of poo, and my rabbits are of the smaller variety! I have only had them escape once when they dug a hole into the neighbours backyard to play with their rabbit! I do have lots of gaps under the fences but my rabbits are pretty tame and they must like it where they are so they don't escape (apart from that once).

Every rabbit is different I find, and usually if they are kept in an open bottom cage they tend to dig more because they wanna get out. which I found out when I tried having an open bottom. now I let them run free 24hrs every now and then I find a hole in the back yard but my two are pretty good. If you have plants/ roses they will eat these to sticks I have found out! arrghh no garden now! And have fenced off the vegie garden...oops rambles on a bit there! sorry!

but in a cage you will need to feed them fresh grass as well as the rabbit food you get from either pet shop or supermarket. and make sure they have heaps of water. the drip water feeders are good. They hate the heat so make sure they are cool in summer. they like the hay bedding (but expensive at the pet shops- they also eat this) and can be messy.

I was told by alot of people that I couldn't keep two rabbits together cos they are notorious for fighting ( i have one male (desexed) and a female). Mine have never fought so I am lucky, just something to keep in mind.

also their nails do need clipping regularly which I just use human toe nail clippers- make sure you don't cut too close as they will soon let you know! and also have to keep an eye on the alignment of their teeth to make sure they are being ground down otherwise bunny gets overgrown teeth- i personally never had a prob with this.

Hope I have answered all your questions, feel free to ask any more.

[skybie]

wowsers thanks em! i've heard 2 together is fine so long as they're desexed, hence why i want to get them from a shelter!
the hutch is a double story i'm thinking of getting a play pen for them for during the day so they arent cooped up 24/7 i'd love love love to let them loose, but we have a dog, im not too sure how she's gonna react to having new friends :P also i have a herb garden at this house and can see that being quickly demolished!!
i've read 2 different veiws on what to feed them, some sites say dont feed them pellet style food and other sites say its fine so long as they have fresh hay and grass to chew on too. what did u feed yours?
also when they were caged did u have to give them anything to keep their teeth short?
and how do u keep them cool in summer, im thinking of moving the hutch into the garage in the hotter months or getting an indoor cage to keep them inside with the aircon on
the two im looking at are both dwarf lops, ones an otter and they other a sooty fawn. SOOO dang cute!

[Eenee]

when they were caged i fed them mixed pellets- they even had sultanas in it- they like them. but i also gave them carrots- helped with their teeth too I think. Pellets are ok as long as they get hay and fresh grass as well otherwise they can get constipated. never had problem with this. And always give them vegetable scraps- they love them! even pumpkin and sweetpotato. in summer they love to eat watermelon too. yes i spoil mine at times.

I didn't really give them anything to chew on other then edible things, just make sure you don't put any treated pine in with them- it kills them.

A tip for cleaning out the cage- first line the bottom with newspaper- makes it so much easier to clean. You will also need to hose it out atleast weekly. their urine stains the hutch too- vinegar is good to get this off and it's safe.

You may not have trouble with fighting, I think it's depends on the rabbit and whether they are used to other rabbits- and yes desexing helps.

to keep them cool in summer I just froze milk/juice containers and put that in the hutch they love to lie against them to keep them cool. Also i used to spray them with a light spray of water- they liked this also.

[~Jayne~]

Hey There,

I have a bunny stud. I breed Mini Lops.

Please don't feed your bunny LETTUCE! It can be fatal to them.

That's my one & only advice! LOL.

Love Jayne

[Peach*]

Hi Skybie,
Argh how damn cute are dwarf lops!!?? We lived in Melbourne last year and had a male rex(named Chino) and he was the raddest rabbit. We moved back to qld and had to give him to another loving home(not without me crying!)
We had him in a big hutch and DP went to a live stock shop and got a bale of hay for his bedding for about $12 which lasted about 6 months. We fed him mixed-grain rabbit food and then he got all our vegie and fruit scraps (minus things like lettus and citrus etc)
Handled regularly they are wonderful, handled not so regularly they are a bit skittish I believe but either way I love rabbits! Also we never got bitten by Chino unlike owning a cat
Em- The image I have in my head of your bunnie's running around in your back-yard is so cute!
Good on you for getting them from a shelter too.

[skybie]

hi ladies thought i'd give u an update on the rabbit situation.
Went to the shelter to have a look but all the rabbits were very very skittish and thats not what im after, so ive preordered a bunny from a local breeder, he's a blue fawn cashmere dwarf lop, completely adorable! he's been handled from birth and is totally friendly we pick him up in about 3 weeks.
bought a hutch for indoors and one for outside at night time and big run so he can have grass time, bought a bunch of toys and a cat tunnel because he loves to go crazy in them!
the lady we're buying from provides food so have bough a 5kg bag of the mix she feeds them and have bough a bale of hay for bedding and half a bale of lucerene hay for him to eat, pretty sure that should cover us for a while!
thanks for all your tips
xxx

[~Jayne~]

The cashmere sounds beautiful! I'm sure you're going to be very happy with him. He will require brushing until his baby coat has completely grown out - otherwise you will end up with furballs. The cashmere's are beautiful & it's great that people dont' keep them on wire anymore!