New Rabbit Owner

[cjc1301]

If she is a year old or older it would be best to switch totally to timothy. Rabbits are able to transition to hay much easier than pellets. So you do not have to mix. Make sure the pellets do not have any fillers like nuts, or little treats in the pellet mix. I usually give my rabbits 1/4th cup of pellets and a few oats.

Okay, well she's 8 weeks old and currently have her eating alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets, I have been told to possibly change her hay because she shouldn't eat both alfalfa hay and pellets.

And I just some orchard hay instead and was wondering how I could help ease the transition or should I not bother at all?

 

[zuppa]

You can feed her her pelles as she was fed before and just orchard or any other grass hay (not alfalfa). You're right that she is already getting alfalfa from pellets so no need in that.
If she is shy as you say you can cover her cage (top and back and one or both sides, leaving only front open, or partly front as well) with a blanket so she will feel safer then. Don't give her too much attention, be there if you want but just do something you can sit or lay on the floor next to her and read or take a nap or play with your phone, listen to music (what's your fav band btw?) and ignore her, she will see you are not dangerous

 

[Crystl.marshl]

Okay, well she's 8 weeks old and currently has her eating alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets, I have been told to possibly change her hay because she shouldn't eat both alfalfa hay and pellets.

And I just some orchard hay instead and was wondering how I could help ease the transition or should I not bother at all?

I was wrong about the alfalfa hay you only feed them alfalfa hay up to 6 months and pellets up to 4 months. I would transition them from both the hay and pellets. The pellets should slowly transition with a little of their old and new pellets. I would feed them the hay until you run out and then get timothy or orchard hay. But with the pellets, I would get the timothy pellets and give them a little of the new and old. Oxbow is a great brand of pellets.

 

[Crystl.marshl]

Okay, well she's 8 weeks old and currently have her eating alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets, I have been told to possibly change her hay because she shouldn't eat both alfalfa hay and pellets.

And I just some orchard hay instead and was wondering how I could help ease the transition or should I not bother at all?

The transition with hay is an easy one. You can just change their hay. The pellets are a little more tricky. You need to give them the old pellets with a little of the new and every day continue to increase the new pellets and lesson the old pellets. They should only have 1/4th cup of pellets a day.

 

[cjc1301]

You can feed her her pelles as she was fed before and just orchard or any other grass hay (not alfalfa). You're right that she is already getting alfalfa from pellets so no need in that.
If she is shy as you say you can cover her cage (top and back and one or both sides, leaving only front open, or partly front as well) with a blanket so she will feel safer then. Don't give her too much attention, be there if you want but just do something you can sit or lay on the floor next to her and read or take a nap or play with your phone, listen to music (what's your fav band btw?) and ignore her, she will see you are not dangerous

I've constantly been sitting on the floor since she got here actually haha, and the good thing is she's actually been pretty curious enough to come out of her cage.

So much so that she's kinda been zooming back and forth between her cage and part of my room that I sectioned off.

But sometimes she gets into trouble and I have to help her get out of it and then she freaks out all over again and stays in her cage for a while after. She hasn't been brave enough to come near me though.

She loves sleeping in her litter box while keeping an eye on me at the same time haha. I have been playing easy listening music for her for when I go out for a bit but she's also used to music I have been playing before which is mainly pop.

She's also used to me watching movies on my laptop and all the noises my family and dogs make lol.

 

[cjc1301]

The transition with hay is an easy one. You can just change their hay. The pellets are a little more tricky. You need to give them the old pellets with a little of the new and every day continue to increase the new pellets and lesson the old pellets. They should only have 1/4th cup of pellets a day.

So I have been feeding her probably a little more than a 1/4 cup but I will definitely be doing that from now on.

But the main plan for right now is to feed her the pellets she's been eating since she was born until six months and then I change her pellet food. And once I run out of alfalfa hay I can then feed her the orchard hay I just bought is that right?

 

[Blue eyes]

The transition with hay is an easy one. You can just change their hay. The pellets are a little more tricky. You need to give them the old pellets with a little of the new and every day continue to increase the new pellets and lesson the old pellets. They should only have 1/4th cup of pellets a day.

This isn't exactly true... not for an 8 week old rabbit.
@cjc1301 , normally baby rabbits like yours can have unlimited pellets while they are growing, BUT because yours hasn't been eating enough hay, it is ok to cut back somewhat on the pellets to encourage more hay eating. You don't want to limit her pellets to too few (1/4 cup) while she's still growing.

Nor do you want to be switching her pellet brand yet either. As said earlier, give her a few weeks continuing what pellets she is used to. You can transition later. (That gives you more time to do some research on which pellet brand to choose.)

In figuring out just how much to reduce the pellets, I'd suggest following Jenny's suggestion earlier:
" What I did with my baby rabbits was feed enough pellets to last 9 hours, then have a pile of hay(enough to last til the next feeding) for them to eat until the next feeding time. I fed every 12 hours. This provided the pellets that a baby bun needs for growth, but then the small break from pellets made it so they didn't just fill up on pellets but had to eat the hay that provided the extra fiber that they need. Have the hay there and when your bun runs out of pellets, see if she starts eating her hay during that 3 hour period. "

 

[cjc1301]

This isn't exactly true... not for an 8 week old rabbit.
@cjc1301 , normally baby rabbits like yours can have unlimited pellets while they are growing, BUT because yours hasn't been eating enough hay, it is ok to cut back somewhat on the pellets to encourage more hay eating. You don't want to limit her pellets to too few (1/4 cup) while she's still growing.

Nor do you want to be switching her pellet brand yet either. As said earlier, give her a few weeks continuing what pellets she is used to. You can transition later. (That gives you more time to do some research on which pellet brand to choose.)

In figuring out just how much to reduce the pellets, I'd suggest following Jenny's suggestion earlier:
" What I did with my baby rabbits was feed enough pellets to last 9 hours, then have a pile of hay(enough to last til the next feeding) for them to eat until the next feeding time. I fed every 12 hours. This provided the pellets that a baby bun needs for growth, but then the small break from pellets made it so they didn't just fill up on pellets but had to eat the hay that provided the extra fiber that they need. Have the hay there and when your bun runs out of pellets, see if she starts eating her hay during that 3 hour period. "

That's actually what I have done this morning and was planning on doing for a while as well, I just wasn't 100% sure.

So feed her the same pellets for six months or so and feed her the alfalfa hay until I have none left which then I can transition her into orchard hay instead?

 

[Blue eyes]

Not quite. After a few weeks, I'd switch her to a more appropriate juvenile pellet feed (with a lower, 16% protein). You can begin this transition in 2-3 weeks. The following link explains how to transition safely:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/pellet-food.html
I would immediately add in the orchard hay. The sooner the better. She doesn't need any alfalfa hay if she has other hay. But if you want to "make use" of the alfalfa hay you have, mix it with the grass (orchard) hay. Any grass hay will do -- orchard, timothy, bermuda, brome, etc.

 

[cjc1301]

Not quite. After a few weeks, I'd switch her to a more appropriate juvenile pellet feed (with a lower, 16% protein). You can begin this transition in 2-3 weeks. The following link explains how to transition safely:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/pellet-food.html
I would immediately add in the orchard hay. The sooner the better. She doesn't need any alfalfa hay if she has other hay. But if you want to "make use" of the alfalfa hay you have, mix it with the grass (orchard) hay. Any grass hay will do -- orchard, timothy, bermuda, brome, etc.

Amazing, this has really helped thank you!!

 

[Crystl.marshl]

I've constantly been sitting on the floor since she got here actually haha, and the good thing is she's actually been pretty curious enough to come out of her cage.

So much so that she's kinda been zooming back and forth between her cage and part of my room that I sectioned off.

But sometimes she gets into trouble and I have to help her get out of it and then she freaks out all over again and stays in her cage for a while after. She hasn't been brave enough to come near me though.

She loves sleeping in her litter box while keeping an eye on me at the same time haha. I have been playing easy listening music for her for when I go out for a bit but she's also used to music I have been playing before which is mainly pop.

She's also used to me watching movies on my laptop and all the noises my family and dogs make lol.

She will get used to you. Rabbits are social animals and like to be around others, whether it's another rabbit or a human.

 

[cjc1301]

She will get used to you. Rabbits are social animals and like to be around others, whether it's another rabbit or a human.

Right, I know she will to me it's just kinda sad to think she has to be so alert and petrified of me. Though, when I clean her cage and litter box she comes up to my hand and just sniffs me out to see what I'm doing haha.

But other than that she either runs away from me or stays in her cage, I've been keeping my distance and being patient.

I'm just glad she's comfortable enough to either lie down (in her litter box lol) and do her zoomies in and out of cage while I'm sitting on the floor.

But thank you I know it's going to take some time!

 

[Anna R.]

A good way to get a rabbit to trust you is to lay on the floor face down and let your rabbit explore you. Don't try to pet her, just talk to her in a soothing voice if you want to. But, just let her smell you all over. She might even jump on your back and sniff around. Just let her get used to you with no pressure. Rabbits are naturally curious, so let her take you in at her own speed. Remember that they are animals of prey so it takes them a while. After time she will realize you are not a threat and that you are feeding her and she will love you.
I found the laying on the floor thing the best thing to get a rabbit to trust you.

if you are going to pet her, always bring your hand in from the side so she can see it. Rabbits can't see directly in front of them, so coming in from above or the front scares them. Always bring your hand in where they can see it coming.

 

[cjc1301]

A good way to get a rabbit to trust you is to lay on the floor face down and let your rabbit explore you. Don't try to pet her, just talk to her in a soothing voice if you want to. But, just let her smell you all over. She might even jump on your back and sniff around. Just let her get used to you with no pressure. Rabbits are naturally curious, so let her take you in at her own speed. Remember that they are animals of prey so it takes them a while. After time she will realize you are not a threat and that you are feeding her and she will love you.
I found the laying on the floor thing the best thing to get a rabbit to trust you.

if you are going to pet her, always bring your hand in from the side so she can see it. Rabbits can't see directly in front of them, so coming in from above or the front scares them. Always bring your hand in where they can see it coming.

I've actually been doing that and other things as well, I believe she actually feels comfortable around me now because just this morning I was cleaning out her cage and she let me pat her on the head for a second and then bounced away. And when I was done cleaning her cage I stayed right by the open door and she poked her head out and allowed me to be like 2 inches from her. (As seen in the photo below)

I think we've gotten a lot closer in the past couple of days and I think she likes me, but I'm not 100% sure yet haha.

 

[Anna R.]

What a little cutie... You'll get there. My two year old girl wouldn't let me near her the first year. Now she comes running to me when I go in her room and she can't get enough pets. Just be patient. She will warm up to you. They are so adorable and so fun to watch. So silly!!

 

[cjc1301]

What a little cutie... You'll get there. My two year old girl wouldn't let me near her the first year. Now she comes running to me when I go in her room and she can't get enough pets. Just be patient. She will warm up to you. They are so adorable and so fun to watch. So silly!!

Yes they definitely are!

 

[cjc1301]

Update 2!: I decided to try and hold her today since I have left her to come out and explore on her own for the past week. And to my surprise she actually didn't protest as much as I thought she would!

After holding her for a couple of minutes, she proceeded to explore my room a little (made her enclosed space a lot bigger) and then she came over and crawled over me!

In the end I believe we are getting a LOT closer

 

[cjc1301]

Also, if you guys want, you can follow her on Instagram x__hazel__o

 

[Anna R.]

Yippee!!! Good for you!! That is great to hear. Sounds like the start of a bunnyful friendship.

 

[john.thorpe1952]

Well done.I find that most rabbits respond best to being held with the head towards your body and your arm and hand around their body and rump.Gently scoop up and hold closely and firmly so they don't feel as if they may fall,talking to them softly.Trying to pick them up with the head away from you encourages the flight response and panict least in my own experience.Keep up the good work and take it slowly and gradually.