how much and when please help

[dolphinshelcat]

hi all

i would like some help here we got our bunny on Saturday hes a dwarf lop and 5 weeks old, how much do i feed him? when would be the best time to feed him? should he have left his mother this early?:? how much handling is good and how much is too much?:? when should he go out side? he cant stay inside as we are renting house and land lord will not approve:?i think thats enouph for now thanks all for your help i will get a pic up of tiny as soon as i figure out how to do that

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Moved this per my discression, and pm'd the member. Hopefully she posts soon. A little young to be away from mom, so, I thought it best that you rabbitry peeps respond.

 

[BlueGiants]

Hmmm.... 5 weeks is a bit young to be away from momma. Did the breeder give you food (pellets that he's been on) for the baby? Did you have to change his food? (Switch him over to a different feed?)

I would mix rolled oats (Regular Quaker Cooking Oatmeal-UNCOOKED!) with his pellets for 2 weeks. The oats are easy on his stomach and digestion. Then I'd gradually reduce the amount of oats (over a 2 week period) until he's on pellets. Give him all the hay he will eat. Make sure he has plenty of clean water. I'm not one to start fresh vege's and fruit until they are 16 weeks (4 months) old. And then introduce them in small amounts, one at a time, until you are sure they don't upset his digestion. As he matures, you will see how he handles his greens and if you do feed greens you can reduce his pellets.

I'd try to keep him in the house for the next 2 weeks if you can. He's really young and small to be outside alone. Handling is OK in small increments. 10-15 minutes at a time and then back to his cage for a "potty break" and rest. If he's going to live outside, I'd try to keep him close to the house where he will be sheltered and protected.

 

[dolphinshelcat]

hi Thanks for the good advice, no i didnt get any food with him, i have bort both chaff and pallets, he really eating the chaff and i have already given him some green only a could of pieces of cabbage (that he really liked (veg was in the cage with him when i got him) so will limit what he gets to a sml bit aday,(didnt know not to but since he is eating it i dont fell right not giving it to him), i have given him a half a dosent pallets that he hasnt touched yet so will try the oats trick, hes mainly eating the chaff i got, he would eat about a bowl full during the day, and he has hay on the bottem of his cage that he eats (is the bottem of the cage to be fuly covers in it??) i have also got him a hay wheel (not that he showed it any attention yet), i have notice that he hasen't drunk for the bottle i bort is this normal for his age he seems to proffer the little bowl i put in on noticing that he wasnt going near the bottle, so is the bowl or bottle better for him??



my husband is away for at least the next two weeks, and i have just had a rent insection so they wont be back for about 2 months so him being inside for that lenght of time wont be a problem, the cage wire is welding wire and he put his head throw the wire the other day so he cant reall go outside till he cant get out of it ether,the wire is about an inch diamiter any ides on how old he will like be before he cant get his head throw?? these are probubly sound like dumb things to ask but im very new to rabbits and hes so small i dont want to hert him in any way, i am reading everything i can find on them too, but so far nothing to answer my spasific questions and with no one here to talk things over with im probubly going to be driving everyone crazy on here for a while sorry

helen

 

[BlueGiants]

He may not know how to drink from a bottle as yet. If he's drinking from a bowl, leave him with the bowl.

Make sure you offer him a fresh handful of hay every day. The stuff on the bottom is OK, but he may pick through it, eat what he wants and refuse the rest. (Or it could get dirty from him peeing or pooping on it.) So the fresh hay gives him a choice.

Keep the cabbage to tiny pieces. I think it can be a little gassy on a baby's digestion.

If he is so small that his head fits through the wire, he definitely needs to stay inside until he gets bigger. (If he can get his head through, the rest will fit through too!)

You can try crushing up the pellets a little bit. Put them in a small plastic bag and roll over them with a rolling pin. Mix that with the chaff and some oats. See how he does with that.

Are you sure he's 5 weeks old? Do you know how much he weighs?

 

[dolphinshelcat]

no idea what he weights but was born on the 16th july my parents have a jack russel pup born a week later and that weights more then tiny dose if you take away tiny's fluff hes about the same size.

 

[BlueGiants]

Awwww... he really is very young. Make sure he stays warm and give him time to grow up.Could youtake a photo of him and post it so we can see him?

 

[dolphinshelcat]

ok here goese again got photos under other headings but i need the practice lol

he is in a fruit box if that give u an idea of how big he is the water container in the corner is one of the tops to my sons baby bottle (advent), the box was his home for 2 days while waitng for his cage to get here

 

[BlueGiants]

He is very cute and very small. (And very pretty!) As long as he is eating and drinking, pooping and peeing, he's doing fine. Just like a baby, keep his diet simple for now. And give him lots of love!

 

[dolphinshelcat]

yer he seems to be doing that not a lot of number 2s at moment but i think as he settles in will be better, ive been reading and they say to wait for them to come to us, will he do that or should i just pick him up out of his cage?? he is very skitish at moment since going in his cage yesterday morning, could cage be to big for him?? or he just like being in there after having the box for 2 days (he was out and about from the box a couple of times aday

 

[BlueGiants]

You can pick him up and handle him. Just be very gentle and low key. He'll get used to it as he grows up. I'd keep his handling time down to 5-10 minutes. Then put him back in his cage. He's just a baby and has a short attention span.

 

[dolphinshelcat]

thanks for the info, help makes me feel better having an idea of what ive gotten my self into, so ive trades one baby for another lol ok my son is 2 and loves tiny already alltho tiny mite be in for a name change he keeps calling him little bit, (everything is a little bit more with him lol),

 

[gentle giants]

If you wouldn't mind, could I see a picture of your cage? If the wire is large enough for him to get his head through, it may not be safe to use for outside. If he can reach out, then predators can reach in. Animals like foxes and raccoons (do you have raccoons there?) can reach in and do him serious damage. Can you talk to your landlord and try to get permission to keep him inside? I believe in Australia, your bunny will also have to have vaccinations against Myxomatosis, especially if it is outside. Here is a link in our library telling about Myxi: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=25867&forum_id=10

 

[dolphinshelcat]

hi here goes

its not fully set up yet, im going going to build him a wood place to hide and maybe put in a shelf for him if i can work out how, hes only been in the cage for two days now so he still has his carbord box that will come out in the next couple of days

but we dont have raccoons here have possims in some areas but nor here, as for foxes yes there are here in aussie but i havent seen any here, the only thing we have seen here is hawks after my mothers bird thats on the other side of town about 10km away, the extra in the cage is my 2 yr old putting in soem hay,

yes the mixamintosis is probubly a good idea before he goes outside

 

[BlueGiants]

Wow! That's a really lovely cage, with lots of space for him. I've never seen a cage with such large spaces between the wire. But it'll work better as he matures.

If he is going to go outside in that cage (it looks sturdy!), I'd put it on legs or raise it up a bit off the ground. Safer for him.

 

[dolphinshelcat]

hi

yer its very sturdy thats what i wanted, it was build years ago as a cage to keep dogs on the back of a ute, its even had some wild pigs in it, lol, not knowing how dog was going to handle have tiny around and the way my two year old likes to climb anythng and everything i didnt want it to collaps if he did climb it and squwash tiny, i picked it up at a garage sale wouldnt have got tiny if we hadnt, only problem is that he doesnt have a run with it but i will fix that in time, he wont really need one till he grows anyway

dog finally spoted tiny yesterday, he just stood there steering at the cage, not a good sign, however he didnt charge it so that was good,dogs gettign up set couse he not alowed in side as much as he was, and hes now worked out the reason why. lol must be a slow dog

helen

 

[BlueGiants]

Probably better not to let the dog near the bunny for now. Pretty stressful for such a tiny lil guy to be faced with any kind of dog. (And stress does miserable things to a bunny!)

I'm glad to hear he's doing good! Pet him and handle him every day for short periods. He's going to be a handsome boy when he grows up!