Help wiht bunnies

[LittleBunBun]

Hello my name is Aly and I'm new here.

Last night my mom and I found 2 bunnies in a box in a trash canat a local gas station. We have had rabbits in the past butis has been about 7 years andwe want to make sure we doeverything right. They are a bit timid (which I can understand) esp.the smaller one. They have really long claws etc. What can we do tocalm them and make them more playful and trusting? We are going to keepthem and we want there new home to bea good and happy one.What would the best housing for them be? They will be kept in the house(we get too many foxes in this area) (pictures of housings would bereally helpful too). Wherecanwe findgoodhousings etc.? What's the best food to feed them and howmuch? What kind of treats and toys? Any and all information would bevery greatly appreciated. Also they both seem to befullygrown and are boys. Thank youso very very much everyone.

~Aly

 

[mambo101]

Read the post Cheat Sheet for Rabbit Care.

 

[Dwarf_Angel04]

LittleBunBun wrote:

Hello my name is Aly and I'm new here.

Last night my mom and I found 2 bunnies in a box in a trash canat a local gas station. We have had rabbits in the past butis has been about 7 years andwe want to make sure we doeverything right. They are a bit timid (which I can understand) esp.the smaller one. They have really long claws etc. What can we do tocalm them and make them more playful and trusting? We are going to keepthem and we want there new home to bea good and happy one.What would the best housing for them be? They will be kept in the house(we get too many foxes in this area) (pictures of housings would bereally helpful too). Wherecanwe findgoodhousings etc.? What's the best food to feed them and howmuch? What kind of treats and toys? Any and all information would bevery greatly appreciated. Also they both seem to befullygrown and are boys. Thank youso very very much everyone.

~Aly

Since you don't know much about the rabbits past, I would house themeach in their own cage. A rule of thumb for pellets is one once perpound of rabbit. Ex 2 pound rabbit gets 2 onces of feed (1/4 cup)
As suggested before, check out "Cheat Sheet for Rabbit Care"
If you have any particular questions after reading the care sheet,please don't hesitate to post a question. We are here to help.

Good Luck on the new rabbits! They sure are getting a second chance at life due to your perfect timing.

~*~Amanda~*~

 

[u8myhouse]

Hi and welcome,

To help them become more trusting the best thing to do is to spend timewith them.If they aren't comfortable with being to touched,don't try to force them. And you may want tocuttheir nails if you can. If not they'll need to bebrought to the vet. I'd still advice taking them to get checked outanyway because of how you found them.


For houseing there are many options.I use a NIC cage.

(I only have them on the top floor right now since the bottom isn't quite finished... The opening has been barred up)

But most rabbit cages should work, just make sure they have enough room to move around and strech out.

Umm... For toys that you can give them right away, I'd use paper towel rolls, (The cardboard part in the middle)

Everything else looks like it's been answered.

~Christine~

 

[ttrkyra]

I've got mine (smaller breed) in an 18x24 cagewith a pan. I got it at my local feed store. She also gets to runaround my room when I'm here to watch her. Since they're both bucks, itwould probably be best to get them each their own cage (If they seem toget along, you can put the cages next to each other, but I would*NEVER* trust two bucks unsupervised).The type of cagedoesn't matter that much. If you go to a pet store, rather than a feedstore, you'll probably have a couple more options as far as style andcolor. As for food, most of the plain pellet brands are fine. but theones that look all colorful and have seeds and what not in it, aren'tusually that good for them, and I've found when I've tried to give thatto my rabbits, they pick around the treats and just eat the pellets. Gofigure... How much to feed them varies by the size of the rabbit but Ithink it's something like 1/4 for rabbits 5 pounds or less.. and about1/2 cup for 5-8 and pretty much as much as they want for the biggerbreeds. I got some bird toys for my rabbit, but just a plain old toiletpaper tube will be just fine!

 

[Carolyn]

Welcome aboard Aly,

Your mom's an angel for picking up those rabbits and allowing you to keep them.

As stated, go through the "Cheat Sheet for Rabbit care" post. Be sureto flip through the websites and check out the suggested literature.

Don't know what type of climate you're in, but I strongly also suggestreading at least the first pages of "Cooling a rabbit in theSummertime" and "Warming a rabbit in the Wintertime". You really needto be sure that they conditions that they're in protect them ofweather, and if they're inside, you want to be sure that you don't puttheir cage in a place that would have drafts, direct sunlight, etc.

-Carolyn

 

[LittleBunBun]

Thank you so much everyone .

 

[Carolyn]

Two things, cleanliness is something a rabbit must have, Aly. It's alsovery important that they remain dry, so don't allow them to sit insoiled litter.

I'm sure you'll appreciate the Cheat Sheet. Let me know if anything's confusing.

Keep us posted on your little ones.

What are their names?

-Carolyn

 

[LittleBunBun]

Thank you everyone all the info. has reallyreally helped esp. the Cheat Sheet . So far we have notpicked out any names for them I will let everyone know whenwedo. We are going to call our vet tomorrow and get an appt. to get themchecked out and make sure they are healthy and also talk toher about clipping there nails.

Christine- I LOVE your rabbit's home all I can say is WOW!!!

Thanks again I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[LittleBunBun]

I have another question....Is there a way to findout how old they might be should my vet be able to tell :?? Also shouldshe be able to tell me what kinds they are? I know my vet raisesrabbits so hopfully she can tell me but I don't know :?:?:?.

 

[Stephanie]

Can you post any pictures for us?

I have to say I am so happy that you and your mom found these rabbits and are taking them in.

Make sure that they get plenty of Timothy hay too. As far as gettingthem more comfortable with you, try treats, such as raisins or apples,although not too many of those. Rabbits have a major sweet tooth, butyou don'twant them to get chunkabun on you.

 

[LittleBunBun]

Thank you everyone my husband and I are on our wayout togetTimothy hay, cages, treats, more food, water bottles, toysetc. The bunnies will be living with my Husband and I he is so excitedhe hadbunnies growing up so he couldn't be happier. Thank somuch everyone.

Stephanie- Yes I am so happy and thankful that my mom and I were at theright place at the right time and we're able to save these little guys. I just HATE animal abuse some people make me SICK.:X:X:X:X:X

I will try to get some pictures up soon my digital camera isn't workingso I took some with a regular camera I'll try to get them developed andposted in the next few days.

 

[*nepo*]

Welcome to theforum

 

[dr_peter_kraz]

welcome aly

Wow good job they odiously need someone thats going to lovethem. I say the cheat sheet is great that Carolyn put up, andI feed Faye (my rabbit) 2onces of pellets, 3baby carrots, 4 sticks ofcilantro, broccoli, and romaine lettuce. and Also I thinkindoors is the only way to go. Faye lives under my bed andalso has a cage, just bunny proof for wires and what not( because to abun wires look like vines, uuummm). I'll send you somepictures

peter

Here is faye under the bed

 

[dr_peter_kraz]

heres Fayes cage in my room

 

[dr_peter_kraz]

heres Fayes toys

 

[dr_peter_kraz]

Other then that just keep asking questions nomatter how silly you may think they are, someone will have the answeryour looking for.

 

[Carolyn]

Peter,

Take a good close up picture of Faye, please. I have to see that face up-close and personal.

* * * * *

Welcome to the forum, Aly's Mom :dude:

Have you ever heard of Woody Pet? Ohhhhhh, Boy!! I'll bring up a post by JimD referring to WoodyPet, be sure to read it.

As to telling how old the rabbits are, that's a bit harder to do.Sometimes a vet may be able to tell by their teeth, or at the leasthave a guess at it. Their coats seem to get a bit dimmer and their hairdoes show signs of gray with some rabbits.
In the Cheat Sheet post, be sure to check out website by our own,Pamnock, entitled "The Tooth about Lagomorphs". Also, there are somesites about geriatric rabbits, they identify signs of their aging andhow to care for them. (Thanks to m.e. for those sites!)

Definitely look at the one about clipping their nails. Buck Jones givesa beautiful description on how he has mastered it through the years.

-Carolyn

 

[bluebird]

Welcome,those bunnies are very lucky you came along.Your vet raises rabbits thats great.bluebird