New rabbit owner

[Diane R]

Hi Eve, congrats! As others have said, it is not true that baby bunnies are easier to train, quite the opposite. It is also impossible to know what their personalities will be like when they are that young. Do not introduce a 4th bunny, that could upset the existing bond. Never go to breeders for advice. What they said about pregnancy is pure nonsense. And please don't breed. There are so many thousands of bunnies in rescue centres looking for a good home... Best to get the female spayed at 16 weeks before she gets hormonal as that could result in fights. And yes, it is possible the ears will still drop, they are still very young.

 

[Eve84]

Hi,
I would have another question, will they still grow with being 15/16 weeks old or will they stay as big as now forever?

Thanks
Eve

 

[Hermelin]

Hi,
I would have another question, will they still grow with being 15/16 weeks old or will they stay as big as now forever?

Thanks
Eve

They will grow until they turn 1 year old, so they will grow for a time ^^

 

[Blue eyes]

They switch to an adult diet at 6 months of age. That usually means cutting out any alfalfa-based pellets or alfalfa hay and switching to grass-based pellets/hay. If they aren't already getting timothy hay (or other grass hay), that can be started already. By 6 months, pellets get reduced too to a measured amount based on their weight.

They are already old enough to be slowly introduced to greens as well.

 

[Eve84]

Hi [emoji112]
Thanks for the information! I started already to feed them salads (also Ruccola) and carrots with the green on top and dried herbs [emoji263] is that ok?

You read different things online, some say main food should be hay and water and others say main food should be greens and fresh food.... what do they always mean with greens ? Salad and grass etc? How many carrots a day etc?

The only thing I realised is the more fresh stuff I give them the less water they drink which I think is good isn’t it?

What about when you cut your grass in the summer can u just give them the cut grass too?
I also have a herb garden, can I give them Rosmarin? I read oregano is good for them also sage.
Thanks again
Eve
Ps. The sister of my mother in law lives in America

 

[Hollandblaze03]

If you have been feeding them greens for a while then it should be fine. Watch for squishy of liquid poop and feed a lot of hay. Another good food option is owlets. If you can get some healthy rabbit pellets that would be another good option.As for the breeding, it can be dangerous and the breeder will still have to keep your female for a month or two after the babies are born. I would say that it’s probably not worth the risk. The best way to fix any behavioral problems would be to get her fixed.

 

[MakoCheese]

Hello,
I’m a new owner of three rabbits and I could do with some advice :0).

I have three kids who are helping me with looking after them too.

I read loads of rabbits already, we bought a hutch for them, which is made by a joiner, it’s winter safe and wind safe due to Plexiglass.

We are about to build a walk in enclosure with the size in meters: 1.60m X 4.00m which they will be able to use 24h a day, 4 seasons long.

Sadly they told me that the rabbits are only 9 weeks old. But having checked their vaccination card on the arrival at home I found out they are born already in October last year, so already 15 weeks old.

I had wanted to have baby’s to be able to tame them from the start and also to see once a little baby bunny to be able to raise it from the early start, so I’m a bit disappointed and was still wondering to go for a fourth rabbit and have one baby, but I’m scared it will be too many rabbits in terms of a more regular dirty hutch etc. Also they have their hutch now since 5 days and I think it will cause trouble to put another one in after the other ones got used to their new home.

Anyway one question I have is:
Will I still have a chance of the brown rabbit of its ears dropping? They told me as it is only 9 weeks old (which is not the case sadly) that his ears will still drop/ hang

Sorry it’s not my first language :-/

Thank you
Eve View attachment 45049View attachment 45050View attachment 45051View attachment 45052

The hutch size is fine. The ears on the chocolate one WILL drop. It’s only 9 weeks old. Some of mine took a year to drop.

 

[Donna Standar]

Hi [emoji112]
Thanks for the information! I started already to feed them salads (also Ruccola) and carrots with the green on top and dried herbs [emoji263] is that ok?

You read different things online, some say main food should be hay and water and others say main food should be greens and fresh food.... what do they always mean with greens ? Salad and grass etc? How many carrots a day etc?

The only thing I realised is the more fresh stuff I give them the less water they drink which I think is good isn’t it?

What about when you cut your grass in the summer can u just give them the cut grass too?
I also have a herb garden, can I give them Rosmarin? I read oregano is good for them also sage.
Thanks again
Eve
Ps. The sister of my mother in law lives in America

Never give them grass that the lawnmower has cut, I read that the emissions from the mower can contaminate it. Just cut it with scissors first what you need before the mower cuts it.
Also carrots are not good daily. Tops are good though. Apparently they should have carrots very sparingly. Twice a month for my buns, and just a small amount.
A few pellets a day is good, along with fresh veggies but 80 percent of their diet should be hay. I also give them a small piece of Apple for a treat a few times a week. (Tablespoon amt) mine love banana but I find if too much is given, makes their poop a bit soft.
Good luck with your buns!

 

[Blue eyes]

Hi [emoji112]
Thanks for the information! I started already to feed them salads (also Ruccola) and carrots with the green on top and dried herbs [emoji263] is that ok?

Ps. The sister of my mother in law lives in America

Small world!

There are definitely certain greens that are better tolerated than others. Certain things have too much sugar (carrots - the root) or too much calcium or oxolates (mustard green or parsley) to feed daily but can be fed on occasion.

Some rabbits will not tolerate certain greens too. This is why it is recommended to offer just one type at a time when starting out. If you feed some fresh spinach, for example, and bunny starts to have mushy poos, then you know to stop feeding that. But if you fed him spinach, kale and parsley all at one time, then you won't know which one caused the issue.

So as you introduce new things, keep it to one type at a time. You can add a variety once you know what your bunny tolerates.

Feel free to check out the following page of my website. It reviews how to introduce greens and also has a couple lists of greens -- one list of greens safe for daily use and another list for occasional. I'll apologize in advance about the format. It shows well on a computer or laptop. Unfortunately, the host site does not do a good job of converting to a mobile version. I don't like how it moves things around for mobile viewing. Anyway, here it is:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/greens--veggies.html

Btw, the green tops of carrots are great for rabbits. The carrot root is best viewed more as a treat. Carrots or fruit are higher in sugar. It is recommended to wait on treats until bunny is used to a variety of greens as part of his daily diet. After that, he can have 1-2 tbsp of fruit per day. (sorry that's not metric) So if he gets a slice of apple one day, he doesn't get any banana or carrot that day.

You'll get to know your bunny's tolerances as he gets older. Some rabbits will have tummy issues if given that one slice of apple. Others seem to be able to tolerate much more. So the general recommendation is 1-2 tbsp.

I've had a rabbit that could eat all kinds of junk (years ago, before I knew better) and be just fine. My current rabbit will start having issues if I give him more than a few craisins. Just depends on the rabbit.

 

[Eve84]

Hi,
Thanks [emoji120] did not have a look at your link yet. But does that mean I can feed them unlimited: salads and spinach and grass once they got used to it?

As I said I was really disappointed to receive 15 week old rabbits and not 9 week old ones.

I don’t really trust the breeder anymore. And as I read along about health and care for rabbits yesterday I found out to my surprise that he maybe was wrong again....

So I have chosen my rabbits on a Sunday and wanted to collect them next day on the Monday but could not collect them as the boys got neutered that day and was told I could pick them up the following day (Tuesday).

Which means the got neutered with 14/15/16 weeks apart from the girl. Isn’t that too late for an early castration? Meaning I would have needed to keep them separate for at least six weeks?
The breeder said where there is nothing to cut we can’t cut something. But I read for a early castration the bowls are still inside meaning it’s going to be a bigger operation and they need a few days to recover, which also doesn’t fit to the point that I collected them a day later and he didn’t have any fur shaved off underneath his belly etc.

Hmm... still need to learn a lot about rabbits.

Thanks again
Eve

 

[Donna Standar]

Hi,
Thanks [emoji120] did not have a look at your link yet. But does that mean I can feed them unlimited: salads and spinach and grass once they got used to it?

As I said I was really disappointed to receive 15 week old rabbits and not 9 week old ones.

I don’t really trust the breeder anymore. And as I read along about health and care for rabbits yesterday I found out to my surprise that he maybe was wrong again....

So I have chosen my rabbits on a Sunday and wanted to collect them next day on the Monday but could not collect them as the boys got neutered that day and was told I could pick them up the following day (Tuesday).

Which means the got neutered with 14/15/16 weeks apart from the girl. Isn’t that too late for an early castration? Meaning I would have needed to keep them separate for at least six weeks?
The breeder said where there is nothing to cut we can’t cut something. But I read for a early castration the bowls are still inside meaning it’s going to be a bigger operation and they need a few days to recover, which also doesn’t fit to the point that I collected them a day later and he didn’t have any fur shaved off underneath his belly etc.

Hmm... still need to learn a lot about rabbits.

Thanks again
Eve

Ive been told they can't be neutered or spayed before 6 months of age...is your vet an exotic vet? Specialized in rabbits? Why would a vet do more to a bunny than what's needed?? Doesn't sound right to me

 

[Eve84]

Ive been told they can't be neutered or spayed before 6 months of age...is your vet an exotic vet? Specialized in rabbits? Why would a vet do more to a bunny than what's needed?? Doesn't sound right to me

Normal vets can neuter them from 8 weeks onwards. Six months would be way too late!

 

[Donna Standar]

Normal vets can neuter them from 8 weeks onwards. Six months would be way too late!

My baby bun is 11 weeks old, and they can't even tell the *** yet, so I've been told to wait a minimum of 20 weeks.
A regular vet fixed my boy (it's dad) but he was two years old.

 

[Donna Standar]

My baby bun is 11 weeks old, and they can't even tell the *** yet, so I've been told to wait a minimum of 20 weeks.
A regular vet fixed my boy (it's dad) but he was two years old.

What I was surprised about, is the bunny bowels you stated...???

 

[Eve84]

What I was surprised about, is the bunny bowels you stated...???

Uppsss sorry [emoji52] how embarrassing [emoji85][emoji85][emoji85] I meant the testicle. It’s not my first language so I sometimes get words wrong like in this case

 

[Eve84]

Hi,
From what I read but like I said I’m new to rabbits so the experience is missing, is that you can *** them with 5 weeks onwards but latest 8- 12 weeks.

That you can neuter/ castrate them early with earliest 8 weeks but only until 12 weeks, it has the benefit that the hormones haven’t developed yet, so it’s stays kinda a kid forever and also as the hormones haven’t developed yet you don’t have to separate him from the females.

The “normal” castration you can do from 13 weeks onwards and the benefit from this surgery is that the testicles are already developed so you basically just have to cut them rather than cut open the belly as the testicle would be in there until about 12 weeks.
But minus point is, that the hormones have already developed and you have to separate him at least 6 weeks from any females as he can impregnate them.

And the breeder did not mention something to me, more the opposite I have to have them together for bonding. And I’m wondering if he can make this early castration with my rabbits when they were already 15 weeks old [emoji848][emoji848][emoji848]

Thanks again and sorry for my English [emoji53]
Eve

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

Around here vets will neuter boys as soon as the testicles descend. With females, it depends on the vet when they will do it. Usually, as early as 4 months to 6 months.

 

[Eve84]

Around here vets will neuter boys as soon as the testicles descend. With females, it depends on the vet when they will do it. Usually, as early as 4 months to 6 months.

But will you have to keep the males away from the females for six weeks afterwards or is it as early that the hormones haven’t developed yet?
Thanks
Eve

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

You have to keep males away from females for 6-8 weeks because they can still get her pregnant. The hormones have to do when you are bonding to a spayed female. If the female is spayed you can start bonding as soon as the hormones die down. With females, they can't get pregnant after a spay but it is recommended to wait 4 weeks before bonding to let them heal and that's about when the hormones will be gone.

 

[Donna Standar]

You have to keep males away from females for 6-8 weeks because they can still get her pregnant. The hormones have to do when you are bonding to a spayed female. If the female is spayed you can start bonding as soon as the hormones die down. With females, they can't get pregnant after a spay but it is recommended to wait 4 weeks before bonding to let them heal and that's about when the hormones will be gone.

How can a female still get pregnant after a spay? They do a total hysterectomy . I don't think that's possible...lol