Getting a new rabbit. Need advise.

[Auggie+Snowball+Belle]

Hey everyone, so I’m getting a new rabbit in a week. He’s a holland lop and is going to be 8 weeks old when we get him. I’ve never had a bunny this young so I have a few questions about what to feed him and care for him

Should I give him alfalfa hay or Timothy hay? If alfalfa hay, until what age? What about pellets, alfalfa or timothy (we’ll transition him from his old food first if/when we need to). We have two female rabbits, one spayed, the other isn’t due to health reasons, downstairs. Should we keep him upstairs until he’s fixed? Also there’s limited space down there (once he’s introduced to my other bun, they’ll stay in the same space) and I’m sure neither bun would like their amount of space reduced. Should we introduce vegetables yet and if not, when? When should we get him neutered, I heard 4 months, is that right? Any other things I have to do differently for a younger rabbit? Thanks!

 

[Sam_]

at 8 weeks feed him unlimited alfalfa hay and timothy/alfalfa pellets. at 3 months old you can give him some greens to see what he likes and doesn't like. only introduce 1 new food at a time and see if he has any bad reactions like diarrhea, tummy aches, gas, etc. you should feed him 1/2 cup of greens a day. until he is 7 months old, he should eat alfalfa, after that you should slowly introduce timothy hay, 1/4 cup timothy pellets, and at least 1 (compacted) cup of fresh greens

someone correct me if I'm wrong

 

[Nuage]

@Sam_ I agree, but you should start to wean them from alfalfa at 6 months. @Snowball+Belle you should get him neutered at six months. I d keep him upstairs until he is being bonded to them.

 

[Auggie+Snowball+Belle]

So basically I should give him alfalfa hay for 4 months (he’ll be 2 months) and then start to wean him off of it? How do I do that, just slowly introduce timothy hay by mixing a little in with his alfalfa hay and slowly increasing the amount of Timothy hay until it’s all timothy hay, kind of like changing pellets? If it can be either pellets, I’m just going to give him the pellets the breeders give him and if they’re alfalfa, start giving him adult timothy pellets at around 7 months. Thanks for your help!

 

[Sam_]

So basically I should give him alfalfa hay for 4 months (he’ll be 2 months) and then start to wean him off of it? How do I do that, just slowly introduce timothy hay by mixing a little in with his alfalfa hay and slowly increasing the amount of Timothy hay until it’s all timothy hay, kind of like changing pellets?

correct

 

[JBun]

I've found it's better to not give alfalfa hay at all. They should already be getting an alfalfa based pellet, and adding alfalfa hay onto that can often lead to problems like excess cecals from too much protein in the diet, or a very picky bun that doesn't want to be switched off alfalfa and onto timothy hay when they become an adult(apparently alfalfa is yummy to buns). Feeding alfalfa hay in addition to alfalfa based pellets is just not necessary.