A few questions as to Bunny Care?

[MCatCar]

Hello!



I do not yet have a bunny rabbit, and am currently convincing my parents, and saving up the money! But, I have taken a few weeks off from my research, and now have a few questions.





1.Please make a list of everything I will need, and more specific things about it, and how much it was(US Dollars, but I can convert from pounds if needed), ohand this is just anestimate.



2. What is your rabbits diet? How much veggies/pellets/etc do you feed daily?

3. How long do you let your rabbit out of the cage daily?

4. How long did it take you to litter train?

5. Anything else you would like to share?

 

[kirbyultra]

Hi there. Glad you are considering a bunny for a pet! There's lots of info in the Lagomorph library in the forum where you can browse lots of topics for bunny care. Bunny 101:
MCatCar wrote: [/b]

1.Please make a list of everything I will need, and more specific things about it, and how much it was(US Dollars, but I can convert from pounds if needed), ohand this is just anestimate.

Sort of depends! You can find very economical ways to take care of a bunny, but I easily spent over a thousand USD on my first bunny in the first year of having him. This included cost of buying his cage, veggies, rabbit pellets, hay, some toys and more importantly, his unexpected trips to the vet! It is a lot of money -- trips to a good vet who specializes in rabbits can cost a lot. A cat & dog vet will not know what to do with specific rabbit illnesses and can do more harm than good if they give the wrong medication! Vet cost library thread: http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=15015&forum_id=17

2. What is your rabbits diet? How much veggies/pellets/etc do you feed daily?

People have their own opinions of how to feed their bunnies and what to feed, how often. I go with this: a medium size bunny weighing 5 lbs gets about 1/4 cup of timothy hay-based rabbit pellets, 2 cups of fresh leafy green vegetables twice a day, and unlimited grass hay for bunny to graze on all day long. Of all of those things, the most important is to have grass hay (timothy hay or orchard grass for example) available to the rabbit at all times. Hay should make up at least 80% of their diet to keep their digestive systems healthy, and keep their teeth worn down to a healthy length. Here is the library thread on what to feed: [url]http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12046&forum_id=17[/url]

3. How long do you let your rabbit out of the cage daily?

I'd say at a minimum 30 minutes a day, 2 hours would be good. Some people bunny proof their whole house/apartment and let bunny run around the place full time. Rabbits need to exercise their legs! Here's info on bunny proofing so you can safely let your bunny out: [url]http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12079&forum_id=17[/url]

4. How long did it take you to litter train?

Depends on your rabbit. Spaying or neutering your rabbit will greatly help their litter habits. If you adopt a bunny from a shelter, you can save loads on the spay/neuter surgery because the shelter typically has done this for you already! Keep in mind that spay/neuter surgeries can cost several HUNDRED dollars (US) so it is a significant chunk of cash. My baby rabbit took 7 days to get 100% litter trained; my other rabbit I adopted from a shelter took no time at all, it came naturally to him. Some people take weeks to get their bunny to litter train. Litter training: [url]http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12213&forum_id=17[/url]

5. Anything else you would like to share?

There is loads to know about rabbits!! We could go on forever possibly The library is a great place to start. The nutrition and behavior forum here always raises good topics. Rabbits got the reputation that they're low maintenance pets but it's not quite true. Sure you don't need to walk them like dogs but they do require a lot of attention and care. I believe rabbits in UK require some vaccination as well due to diseases prone to rabbits that are not in existent in the US.
Rabbits are very social animals and they are very different from dogs or cats. They are prey animals and they don't usually like to be "cuddled" or picked up off the ground contrary to popular concept of the snuggly bunny.
With good care, your pet rabbit could live 10 years They are a long term commitment and you will have many wonderful years together

 

[elrohwen]

Those are a lot of questions! Hopefully I can cover everything, but you can always find out more info in our library: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_forum.php?id=17

1. Things you'll need:
Cage or pen - anywhere from $50-$100 I think
Bowls for food and water (or a water bottle) - maybe $5-10
Litter box - $3 (make sure to get a good sized rectangular or square box, not a corner box)
Toys - you can get a lot of stuff for free (like cardboard) but plan to spend at least $10 on other toys
Food - this varies, but generally it's about $12 for a 5lb bag; hay can be $5 a full bale or $5 a small bag, so it really depends where you get it; veggies you'll need to buy at the grocery store
Brush - maybe $5
There are a lot more things you can buy, but those are probably the basics.

2. The library has fantastic articles on feeding. I personally feed each of my rabbits 1/4c oxbow timothy pellets per day. They also get about 3 cups of veggies per bun and unlimited hay. They are 4.5lbs and 5.5lbs, so pretty medium sized buns.

3. Each bun gets out for at least 5 hours per day, but when they're bonded they will be able to share the time. But once I'm working again, it'll be cut to about 4hrs total (so I need to get them bonded before then!) I think 3hrs per day is a good minimum.

4. One bun I got as a baby and he litter trained immediately. I just put a litter box in and he knew what to do. Most bunnies do. My second bun was already litter trained and she marked our house a few times the first few days, but now she's good with her box. A spayed or neutered bun will generally be much easier to train and some unfixed buns will never use their box perfectly.

5. Bunnies make great pets, but they do live a long time, so make sure you're prepaired to care for your bun. Will you be going off to college in a few years? Are you parents willing to take on the responsibility? Also, I've seen many young members with buns whose parents do not support the bun's need for space and vet care - make sure your parents are totally onboard since they will likely be paying for any vet emergencies.

Also, I would really recommend getting a bun from a shelter. They'll spay and neuter already, which will save you a ton of money and stress. Spay and neuter is not optional for pets, and can cost as much as $450, so getting one already fixed is amazing. And you'll be rescuing a bun in need.

 

[Milly_Molly2]

1.Please make a list of everything I will need, and more specific things about it, and how much it was(US Dollars, but I can convert from pounds if needed), ohand this is just anestimate.

I will have to do this in pounds, sorry. and for a pair of small-medium sized rabbits

Hutch (6ft x 2ft x 2ft) = £115

Run (5ft x 5ft) = £100

Run cover = £75

Litter (I use Megazorb) = £7 per bag which lasts me around 2-3 weeks

Hay = £3 per bale from my friend's farm which lasts about 4-6 weeks

Bowl = £2

Water bottle = £2

Food (I use Science Selective) = £6 per bag which lasts around 2-3 weeks

Neutering for females = £80 each

It does depend on what you buy, if you buy hay online or from pet stores, it will be more expensive for a smaller amount (i saw a slice of hay once for £6 :shock:, there are 10 slices in 1 bale of hay and that costs me only £3 :shock, and depending on the food you buy, depends on price and also the same with litter.



2. What is your rabbits diet? How much veggies/pellets/etc do you feed daily?

I feed 10g of Science Selective pellets twice daily for my two rabbits to share. They are bedded on hay so get hay 24/7, and they get half a bowl of grass a day (which will be max of 2 full bowls of grass a day in the height of summer).

3. How long do you let your rabbit out of the cage daily?

My rabbits get put into their run for up to 12 hours a day in the summer months, but in the winter, it can be around 6 hours (depends on daylight). If you plan to have yours indoors (mine are outdoor rabbits), then as much time as you can give to let them out. The best thing to do is bunny proof the room and protect all the wire with wire protectors and let them free range in the room 24/7.

4. How long did it take you to litter train?

Mine are nearly three years and they still aren't litter trained. Mine just never got it, so I have to pick out all the poos out of their hay every day, so cleaning out takes longer, but thankfully they only wee in the corners so I know where to find the wee and can clean it up.

5. Anything else you would like to share?

Rabbits are hard work and can take a lot of your time, your money and can stress you out with their health problems. Rabbits are prone to many health problems, sometimes depending on their breed (healthier breeds tend to be dutches and crosses rather than pedigree breeds).