New rabbit owner

[QueenofHearts421]

Hi everyone
I am new to rabbits and we have been gifted with two 5 week Netherland dwarf rabbits who have been aptly named Alice and Lola

We live in Abridge and during this time
of isolation we are enjoying spending time with the rabbits- i have three kids aged 4,6,7 -

I wanted to introduce myself and hope to meet new friends and a support network to meet other rabbit owners

Hope everyone is keeping safe and well and enjoying their beautiful animals- for someone who has never had a pet (my parents were never pet lovers) this is a new experience and so far (one week) it has been wonderful

 

[Hermelin]

Welcome to the forum and congratulation for becoming a bunny parent.

I hope everything go well with your kits, in fact they shouldn’t be sold until they are 8 weeks old. But they seem to be okay. Be careful with the food you are giving them.

Myself also own a netherland dwarf bunny, they are my favorite breed. I’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old. Truly a great breed, I’ve had a few nethies before him

Also make sure they are of same sex, because when they hit 12 weeks they can mate. They breed like a rabbit ^^

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

Hello, welcome to the forum!

Rabbits should leave their mothers at 8 weeks. But because they are already with you, here is some info on their diet. Baby rabbits go through many changes and have different diets. 5 Week Old Bunny Diet?
https://www.raising-rabbits.com/raising-baby-rabbits.html
https://www.rabbitcaretips.com/how-...bunnies/#When_to_Feed_Baby_Rabbits_Solid_Food
Congrats on getting your first rabbits! I also owned a Netherland. And as Hermelin said, I’d double check on the sex. Wouldn’t want an accidental litter!

 

[Blue eyes]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[QueenofHearts421]

Thank you for the information.

My friend went on Pets4Homes and were given the rabbits at 2 weeks- she was told the 8 week mark only applies to dogs and cats. The rabbits had not been seen by a vet but the mother had been, but we had no documentation for this.

She was told all 4 were girls and we were gifted two....but i assume we don’t know for sure if they are infact girls, we haven’t been able to take them to the vet to get checked out and gender specified (seems our vets have closed to new clients amidst the Covid19 scare). We will need to wait until vet practices open before we can take them.

We are giving them pellets recommended for young rabbits (recommended by Pets at Home) and hay, they also have an hour of play in the garden

We also groom them in the morning cleaning their paws and bits...poor things have poo stuck on their fur which we remove.
I hope we are doing things right, we do look after them and give them lots of attention and care
I suppose as new pet owners it is a matter of learning as we go

Thanks for all your advice and support it is so lovely to meet fellow rabbit lovers and feel welcome during these troublesome times

 

[zuppa]

Thank you for the information.

My friend went on Pets4Homes and were given the rabbits at 2 weeks- she was told the 8 week mark only applies to dogs and cats. The rabbits had not been seen by a vet but the mother had been, but we had no documentation for this.

She was told all 4 were girls and we were gifted two....but i assume we don’t know for sure if they are infact girls, we haven’t been able to take them to the vet to get checked out and gender specified (seems our vets have closed to new clients amidst the Covid19 scare). We will need to wait until vet practices open before we can take them.

We are giving them pellets recommended for young rabbits (recommended by Pets at Home) and hay, they also have an hour of play in the garden

We also groom them in the morning cleaning their paws and bits...poor things have poo stuck on their fur which we remove.
I hope we are doing things right, we do look after them and give them lots of attention and care
I suppose as new pet owners it is a matter of learning as we go

Thanks for all your advice and support it is so lovely to meet fellow rabbit lovers and feel welcome during these troublesome times

Hi, I don't think it's quite possible that they were 2 week old as rabbits only open eyes at day 10 and start leaving their nest around 2 weeks but always coming back to it, they need to get mother's milk until they are 8 weeks, in emergency cases until 4 weeks but you need to feed them extra until at least 6 weeks if so. Also that would be illegal. Babies sold at 2 week would most likely die without proper care so can't be sold definitely, there was probably just misunderstanding, maybe they were not 2 week old but 2 months old?

 

[QueenofHearts421]

Please see attached
We were told last week that the rabbits were born 4th March 2020- as new pet owners we assumed this is what 4 week rabbits would look like

 

[QueenofHearts421]

I hope you are right and they are older- would hate for them to be taken away from their mother so young

 

[zuppa]

It is hard to tell their age from this photo but here's a short video with 2 week old rabbits that's how they look at 2 weeks. I believe there was just misunderstanding with their date of birth.

Also 2 week old rabbits can't even eat solid food, they are still on mother's milk

 

[zuppa]

Here's another 2 mins video babies from day one to day 35 just to give you an idea how they are changing during their first month

 

[Hermelin]

It’s better letting a bunny drink from a bowl, they can get more water in their system and it’s more naturall for them. Many pet shops don’t know anything good about bunnies and will give wrong information. This is not for all pet shops but most.

I would seperate them until you know their sex for sure. So you don’t end up with an accident litter.

They don’t look like netherland dwarf bunnies. This is how my bunny looked like at 8 weeks.

 

[QueenofHearts421]

Please see rabbits taken this week

We were told they were 4 week Netherland Dwarf rabbits, both female

It’s funny as my sister in law has Netherland Dwarfs and hers are 8 weeks and look similar to ours, so she also disputed whether they are 4 weeks

We were told by the pet shop that the water bottle will suffice and the bunnies seem to be drinking from it with ease but will switch to bowl

thank everyone for your advice and guidance - please confirm if these rabbits are as given to us, so i can dispute this with the owner from Pets4Homes

 

[QueenofHearts421]

please see more photos attached- hopefully u would be able to gage size and shape of the bunnies

 

[Hermelin]

Please see rabbits taken this week

We were told they were 4 week Netherland Dwarf rabbits, both female

It’s funny as my sister in law has Netherland Dwarfs and hers are 8 weeks and look similar to ours, so she also disputed whether they are 4 weeks

We were told by the pet shop that the water bottle will suffice and the bunnies seem to be drinking from it with ease but will switch to bowl

thank everyone for your advice and guidance - please confirm if these rabbits are as given to us, so i can dispute this with the owner from Pets4Homes

They look like mixed breeds and might have lop in them.

They also have too big ears for a netherland dwarf. But they seemed to be really young when being sold. I should have a picture on a mixed netherland dwarf and holland lop. But he looked like a netherland dwarf but had longer ears. So that bunny got most of the netherland dwarf character.

A pure bred netherland dwarf should have 5 cm ears but they can be up to 7 cm but they wouldn’t score good if they are 7 cm long in shows.

This is how my bunny looked like at 4 weeks. He was bottle fed until 7,5 weeks. As you can see the ears they are really short and the head it’s quite round and big. Even netherland dwarf without the dwarf gen will still look like a normal netherland dwarf but will be larger.



My bunny brother, he didn’t get the dwarf gen but how he looked like at 4 weeks:


As you can see the ears they aren’t that long. But my bunny’s brother have a bit too long ears later. He still look like a netherland dawf even though he didn’t get the dwarf gene.

These pictures are from the breeder (sevikens_kaniner). If you want to see more netherland dwarf bunnies as kits.

 

[QueenofHearts421]

awww the bunny is so adorable looks like a small mouse - yes my rabbits ears are longer and i am pretty upset as i was told they were Netherland dwarf rabbits

It’s quite unsettling to know how to care for a rabbit when you don’t know the breed, age or gender

I am quite upset with the breeder who may have falsely advertised

 

[Hermelin]

awww the bunny is so adorable looks like a small mouse - yes my rabbits ears are longer and i am pretty upset as i was told they were Netherland dwarf rabbits

It’s quite unsettling to know how to care for a rabbit when you don’t know the breed, age or gender

I am quite upset with the breeder who may have falsely advertised

I’ve seen many people saying they are selling netherland dwarf when in fact it’s just a mixed breed. It’s something that happens because many know that netherland dwarf will stay small and looks like a kit.

Most bunnies in pet shops in my country it’s always mixed bunnies. Nearly none are pure bred bunnies. They don’t have that much knowledge about bunnies.

Even breeders that have own many bunnies can miss judge a bunnies sex sometimes. So I’m not counting on a pet shop to do the correct sexing on small kits.

But your bunnies are still cute.

 

[JBun]

They do look to be between 4-6weeks old. I wouldn'tseparate them yet. They are going to be less stressed and happier having each other. And you really don't want to be putting additional stress on a baby rabbit in a new home especially ones so young, as this can lead to serious digestive illness developing.

By 10 weeks old you need to either be certain they are both female or separate them. If 2 males you definitely need to separate. As they get older and get hormonal, you may need to separate them until you can get them both spayed, if they show any signs of aggression or irritability with each other, then properly bond them.

You mentioned they are getting poop stuck on the bum. Normally rabbits should have a clean bum. If poop is getting stuck it's going to likely be because they are in a new place and babies, so they get distracted from eating their cecotropes like they normally should and then it gets stuck in the fur. So it should clear up as the bunnies get settled in.

If it doesn't or the cecals are coming out pasty and getting stuck right at the anal opening or there is a large amount getting stuck in the fur, then this is more likely going to be caused by dietary issues. Stress can also play into this if they seem stressed at all.

If a dietary cause then you may need to make some alterations to their diet. Also, with bringing them outside, I would suggest trying to make sure they aren't eating more than just a tiny bit of the grass. Reason is that their digestive system isn't used to fresh food and this can result in the poopy butt issues you are seeing, or even more serious digestive upset.

Rabbits need to be gradually introduced to each new food over a few weeks so their gut can develop the needed microflora to properly digest the new food. The exception to this rule is grass hay. But with your babies being so young, I would hold off on veg and forage until 10-12 weeks old, to give their digestive system time to more fully mature.

 

[zuppa]

awww the bunny is so adorable looks like a small mouse - yes my rabbits ears are longer and i am pretty upset as i was told they were Netherland dwarf rabbits

It’s quite unsettling to know how to care for a rabbit when you don’t know the breed, age or gender

I am quite upset with the breeder who may have falsely advertised

They possibly are Netherland dwarf mix, they could be 8-12 week old from your photo so maybe you just missed it maybe they said that they were 8 weeks on 4th March, because I don't believe that a reputable website based in the UK would be selling 4 week rabbits, 8 weeks is standard age when rabbits can be advertised. Pets4home have good reviews why would they try selling underaged rabbits they would be reported straight away.

When you buy a rabbit under 3-4 months of age there's always possibility that they are not sexed properly, it's not because sellers are dishonest it's because it's not always easy to sex such a small rabbit, especially when they are fluffy and small breed. Even when you have experience some boys have a very clear donut and there are some boys with split penis or some other different shapes and mistakes are always possible. You are 100% sure when their testicles fully dropped around 3-4 months, some even later.

I would suggest just contact seller and ask if you understood correctly their date of birth I am pretty sure there was just mistake, as for their breed I don't know how much you paid I think that purebred rabbits could be quite expensive, most of rabbit sold at popular prices are mixes, you will see how much Netherlands they have in them when they are 6 months old.

If they are happy and healthy they eat well and their poos are good shape, that's most important, your rabbits are very cute, the black one has some Vienna gene as well, they are both very cute

 

[zuppa]

As JBun said their bums should be clean as rabbits clean themselves really well. What food are they getting now, maybe they had some new foods like greens or vegs or treats that were new to them so their stomach can get upset, that is important to feed them their usual food at least a week or two and then if you want to change it do it gradually, also with greens you generally introduce them to them very carefully, one type at a time and small amount, and from about 4 month, unless your breeder told what greens they are maybe already getting with their mother, those would be safe to feed in very limited quantities

 

[Mariam+Theo]

Welcome to the forum! Such cute rabbits!