hurting rabbit

[sheridan]

I am quite upset!! I posted on another forumbecause I didnt want to bother you about everything as I know you wouldget bored!!.

I asked about preparing a hutch and I got a horrible reply about tryingto hurt the rabbits and that I should give them up. Now Im worriedincase I am hurting them.

I put woodshavings down as the base of my hutch. The pet store told meto do this. I try and clean the hutch with vinegar trying to littertrain them. I got told both these will hurt the rabbits and cause a lotof damage!!

I dont know what to do as they do seem to be getting worse in their behaviour in general!!


Am I just doing things wrong?

 

[peapoo_bunny]

what kind of woodshavings is it? some kinds canbe harmful...i thinkit might bepine..ormaybe cedar..i cant remember:dunno:..hopefully someone else can tellyou..





the vinegar is ok to use..i use it to clean peapoo and peteys stuff allthe time and theyre fine... i usually mix it with water so it doesntsmell so strong

 

[BunnyLover]

Its the cedar shavings that are bad. Some peopledon't like using shavings at all. Rabbits have very sensitiverespiratory systems and some people believe the shaving dust can botherthem. As for the vinegar I would definitely add some water to it so itcuts down on the strong smell. Most people use the vinegarinplaces around the housewhen their rabbit goes outside thelitter box. Some rabbits won't use litter boxes in their cage some willit all depends on the age and the stage they are going through. As faras I can tell you aren't doing anything wrong you are just concernedfor your bunnies. Don't worry, you'll never stop having questions, butyou will begin to feel a little more confident with your bunny handlingskills.

Lissa

 

[maherwoman]

I think it's cedar...but like peapoo said (well,peapoo's human, anyway...lol) others might have more specificinformation.

As far as the vinegar, according to another post here, it's completelyfine! Don't worry...some people are rude andinsensitive. Here's the link to the thread:http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=13473&forum_id=1

Don't worry...some people are so mean, and so quick to say mean things.

Yes, I've heard that wood chips aren't the best idea, if they'recedar...but there are other options out there. There's CareFresh, something called Woody Pet, something called Yesterdays News,etc. I'm sure you'll get more replies that are morebrand-specific, but I thought I would at least give you thatencouragement.

 

[maherwoman]

Oh, P.S. don't ever worry about boring anyonehere with your questions...we LOVE to help! Iknow that I'm not the only one that checks the site more than once ortwice a day to see if there's anything new. So Iknow I'm not the only one that likes new posts! Postaway!!! :bunnydance:

 

[peapoo_bunny]

maherwoman wrote:

Oh, P.S. don't ever worry about boring anyone here with yourquestions...we LOVE to help! I know that I'm notthe only one that checks the site more than once or twice a day to seeif there's anything new. So I know I'm not theonly one that likes new posts! Post away!!!:bunnydance:

yeah, same here..dont worry about boring us or posting tomuch...we love to help..i dont know if i would post on that other forumanymore:?..i checkthis forumeveryday:rollseyes:...fun getting on here talking to everyone:wink:

 

[maherwoman]

I wish I knew what forum that was so I could be someone on your side about it...

 

[peapoo_bunny]

i just hope its not one of the other forums im on:?

 

[maherwoman]

that's what I was thinking, Peapoo...wanna PM mea key word I can search under, Sheridan, so I can try to come to youraid?

 

[peapoo_bunny]

i want to to...if that makes since..lol

 

[maherwoman]

Oh, totally...poor thing has to have SOMEONE onher (or him? never quite caught your gender, Sheridan) side!! I would love to be there for ya! It's not right for people to treat you like crap like that.It's just not right...

 

[flemishr2cool]

some people are very very bad at educating petowners, instead of educating the accuse and point fingers and blame andlay guilt. Which only drives the confused and hurt pet owner away,doesn't solve any problems, and doesn't help bunny. A good example isright here. I'm terribly sorry you had to deal with these"trolls" You obviously want totake proper care ofyour bunsand your only doing the best with what yourresources have given you. As far as cleaning, any cleaner can be usedas long as the cage is properly rinsed out. Vinegar is awesome forbreaking up those calcium deposits left by urine. You just need torinse it off and let it air dry. I used to use bleach and then left itout in the sun to dry, nowI have a disinfectant that killsthe HIV virus and pasturella, some kind that vet clinics use, I justrinse it off and no one gets hurt except bacteria! As far as bedding,cedar and other "scented" woods can cause respiratory problems. So youwant plain shaved wood, you will want to clean it off often because itabsorbs the urine and can urine stain your rabbits, which over timeenough urine sitting on the rabbit can cause urine burns.

 

[m.e.]

Pine shavings are as bad as cedar.

You'll want to get shavings (like Aspenshavings) that have no scented oils, or phenols.

And vinegar is perfectly safe to use around rabbits.

 

[sheridan]

Thanks for all your support!! I think I will stick to this forum in the future.

The forum is http://www.practical-pet-care.com/rabbit_forum.php.

I hope I am allowed to put this up. The person who replied doesnt seem to have had many postings.

I dont know exactly what woodshavigs they arae. I got them from petsathome but will check.

I just want to make sure the bunnies are getting the best possiblecare. I think it would be very very sad if they are not happy.

PS. i'm a she. hehehe

 

[JimD]

m.e. wrote:

Pine shavings are as bad as cedar.

You'll want to get shavings (like Aspenshavings) that have no scented oils, or phenols.

And vinegar is perfectly safe to use around rabbits.

Ditto!!

I went and read the reply to your post on the other forum. My advicewould be to stick around here, they don't sound to friendly.

Kiln dried Aspen Shavings are okay to use as bedding and litter. Thereare a lot of other products that are safe for the buns, too. The strawyou have put down is fine for bedding as well.

What kind of litter do you use? Paper pellets (i.e.YesterdaysNews)and wood pellets (i.e. Pine Fresh, Woody Pet) arepopular products. Do not use clay kitty litter.

Put the timothy hay in a rack over the litter pan and it may prompt thebuns to eat & poop at the same time (something buns are verygood at). This might lead them to be litter trained.

Vinegar is perectly safe. I use a 50/50 mixture of water and whitevinegar for general cleaning....straight-up for heavy duty stuff. Theodor will disapate in short time. I would refrain from sprinkling itaround the hutch as it may be confusing them. They may not like thesmell....mine don't & I've been nipped for having my handssmell like it. Remove the buns from the hutch when cleaning.

How many buns do you have and how old are they?

Is the hutch indoors or outdoors?

~Jim

 

[BunnyLover]

I read the response that you got. Some peoplecan just be mean. I have no idea where they heard that vinegar isn'tsafe to use around rabbits.

You should definitely check what type of shavings they are. Justbecause there is a rabbit on the bag doesn't mean it is safe to usearound rabbits. Yeah I don't get that one either. If you still have thebag the kind they areshould be written right on it.

I think that I read somewhere that your rabbits are under 4 months. IfI'm right, you need to be patient with them. The younger the rabbit isthe harder it can be to train them. When they are a little older itwill be way easier. But don't give up! They'll get it sooner or later.

Lissa

 

[JimD]

BunnyLover wrote:

I think that I read somewhere that your rabbits are under 4months. If I'm right, you need to be patient with them. The younger therabbit is the harder it can be to train them. When they are a littleolder it will be way easier. But don't give up! They'll get it sooneror later.

Lissa

If they are around 4 months you'll certainly need to be patient, as Lissa says.

Neutering/spaying can also affect some bunnies attitude toward littertraining. At that age, our Benji preferred to sleep in his litter panand poop/pee every where else. Then he went through his period ofspraying everything in sight. Once we had him spayed his litter habitimprove drastically.

We have 8 bunnies and managed to litter train all of them. It was easier with some than others, though.

~Jim

 

[rabbitgirl]

Here's a thought thatmightworkwith males about that age: when they are going to pee,they lift their tails and squat......so as soon ashedoesthat, grab him and stick him in the box. It took my Bubabout five times of that until he finally peed in the box, and I willnever forget the look on his face when he finally understood what todo. The only pee "accident" he had after that was when he got mad at meand deliberately went and peed in a corner. I did all that on afenced-in, plastic area in the dining room so I could keep an eye onhim and clean up easily.

Bub's case is a bit different because he wasn't allowed inside after hebegan spraying a few months later, which means that he now doesn't usea litter box at all (mesh bottom cage). So his litter training was atemporary thing--for you, if yours are going to get altered, thesehabits will hopefully be permanent. Bub isbreeding stock andwill remain intact, so his spraying is something that can't be curbed(just tolerated! grrr).

Oh, and poop will continue to be scattered all over at this age. A.)they have little or no control at 13 wks., plus they just don'tcare!and B) they are marking territory. Males love to dothat!!:XDisgusting little things, I say.13 wks.on up is a very interesting age.....

Good luck!

Rose

 

[sheridan]

I tried to see what type of woodshavings it is.It only says soft timber. It doesnt say what exactly it is. I will callthem tomorrow to find out. They do tend to pee in particular cornersbut then randomly aswell, but I know I am just beingimpatient.

The friendly one( still havent decided on names) has started sniffingyou and then trying to nip. He has also tried to mount the other one.So I think they will be neutered soon. but I am trying to hold offuntil they are older. I am using woodlitter but have now switched tocarefresh to see if that is better.

The hutch is meant to be for outside but I keep them inside as we havea lot of big foxes in our garden. They are both 13 weeks old. I amtrying to give them as much exercise as possible at the moment but Iknow it is not enough. they get about 30mins to 1 hr out of the hutch.the hutch is a large one, about 4ft by 4ft by 2 fot.

I am building a little area on the porch where they can run aboutoutside without being scared of other animals and stuff and they canget more exercise!!!

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Welcome and congratulations on your new bunnies!

Do you know the sex of both rabbits? They are breeding age and you could get an unplanned litter.

Even if you think they are both the same sex, I would separate them until they are sexed by a vet.

Lots of folks here, breeders included, have mis-sexed rabbits. It's really hard to be certain.

Best of luck to you!