Rescued baby bunny from outside (lion head)

[JBun]

Babies sleep a bunch, so it's pretty normal. They'll have their bursts of zipping around, then out like a light for a while. I think they have to rest up for all the growing they do.

If he's eating hay, that's probably fine for the critical care. Did you start him on alfalfa pellets yet? A little bit of soft poop might be expected with his new diet. If it gets worse or is still going on after a week, you may need to cut back some on the critical care and see if you can get him eating more hay.

Yep, they grow really fast until about 12 weeks, then it slows down a bit.

 

[Chrisdoc]

They do sleep an awful lot when they are very young, I remember my three and they used to love sleeping on me. I was at the new pet store yesterday and the had loads of bunnies, very small bunnies which remind me that I must not go there again

 

[Chrisdoc]

By the way, there was a little one who reminded me of yours, now I have to go back to check that little bun is ok lol

Here's the cutie

 

[madisonl702]

Well, I had a bunny for two days until he died. We later found out he had the sniffles
He was the best bun ever, dwarf Dutch

 

[Mariah]

Jbun, check your PM again :happybunny:

I have started offering him the alfalfa pellets, but he will not touch them- silly bunny!

Im glad to hear babies sleep a lot. I was worrying that something was wrong, cause he was sleeping so much. He does have "baby" bursts of energy, and then hes asleep on lap:innocent

Chrisdoc:

OMG! That bunny looks identical to mine! Adorable! Maybe they are cousins from overseas? :bunnyhug: Did you go back to see him today?

 

[JBun]

Baby wouldn't eat pellets either, when I first got her. She was 4 weeks old and underweight and a little boney. She was only 4 oz. I suspected she wasn't weaned properly. After about the first week she would start to nibble on the little pellet crumbs I had broken up for her and left around her cage. Then at about 5 1/2 weeks old she started to eat a few pellets and gradually ate more each day. It was a pain, and a lot of work getting her eating like a normal bun. A ton of stress too, but after a few weeks she was eating normal bunny food.

I had a thought that might work to get him transitioned onto pellets. You could try mixing in a few broken up pellet pieces with the critical care mush. If he eats them, just gradually start mixing in a few more each feeding, while you decrease the critical care amount by the same portion. if he doesn't eat them, you could try soaking them first, then mixing them in with the CC, then as you are adding in more mushed pellets and less CC, you could start adding in small pieces of the dry pellets. I know a few other tricks too, if this doesn't work. Though I don't know why it wouldn't.

I'm glad he's eating the timothy hay now. If he doesn't like the other grass hay, that's fine, as long as he's getting one type of grass hay(timothy).

 

[Mariah]

Baby wouldn't eat pellets either, when I first got her. She was 4 weeks old and underweight and a little boney. She was only 4 oz. I suspected she wasn't weaned properly. After about the first week she would start to nibble on the little pellet crumbs I had broken up for her and left around her cage. Then at about 5 1/2 weeks old she started to eat a few pellets and gradually ate more each day. It was a pain, and a lot of work getting her eating like a normal bun. A ton of stress too, but after a few weeks she was eating normal bunny food.

I had a thought that might work to get him transitioned onto pellets. You could try mixing in a few broken up pellet pieces with the critical care mush. If he eats them, just gradually start mixing in a few more each feeding, while you decrease the critical care amount by the same portion. if he doesn't eat them, you could try soaking them first, then mixing them in with the CC, then as you are adding in more mushed pellets and less CC, you could start adding in small pieces of the dry pellets. I know a few other tricks too, if this doesn't work. Though I don't know why it wouldn't.

I'm glad he's eating the timothy hay now. If he doesn't like the other grass hay, that's fine, as long as he's getting one type of grass hay(timothy).

That is fantastic idea Jenny! Crumbling up the pellets & placing them in his cage, & mixing it in with the critical care. I will try that tomorrow. I just put him to bed.

How did you acquire Baby? Was she a rescue too?

It is so stressful with babies, especially since I don't know his full history etc. I worry all the time, and I hate leaving him to go to work. It's especially hard right now because of the "polar vortex" were having here up in Canada. Today was -31, & I work outside with the horses in the morning... It's a lot more work, so it takes me twice as long to do my job, which means I'm away from bunny even longer.

 

[GK44]

I've read through this whole post and Cloud is such a cutie! You are wonderful with him. So has your SO given you the okay to keep him?

 

[Chrisdoc]

Didn't have time today but will pop in tomorrow. I just love that cute face...well, I loved all those cutie faces. I have to resist lol.

 

[Mariah]

I've read through this whole post and Cloud is such a cutie! You are wonderful with him. So has your SO given you the okay to keep him?

Well, I haven't brought up the subject yet... I'm letting him warm up to cloud, & see how freaking adorable he is. Yesterday, I caught my SO bending down to pet him... I'm letting cloud do all the work lol I think my SO actually likes him because cloud is not like my other two. Kiwi & papaya run away from him. They only love me haha

Cloud is doing well today. Just got home & he pretty much ate all the hay I left out for him! I was pleasantly surprised!

Chrisdoc, you will have to keep us posted if you cave & get another bun!

 

[GK44]

That's a great start, Cloud letting your SO pet him! Sounds like Cloud is working his magic

 

[Mariah]

That's a great start, Cloud letting your SO pet him! Sounds like Cloud is working his magic

I hope so! inkelepht:

 

[Mariah]

Ok so, Ive started calling him Apricot. It just seems more fitting, then Cloud. It fits in better with my other two- Kiwi Lemon & Papaya lol

Apricot is eating his alfalfa pellets now! This is a new development. Ive ben putting them in his cage overnight, & this morning, they were gone! I was like, oh, maybe they are hidden somewhere. So I cleaned his cage before work, & put more in there. I turned my back for a second, & they were gone again! So yay! I didnt even have to start mushing them up in the critical care. Hes also eating his hay (alfalfa & timothy) very well. Hes very picky though, just like Kiwi & Papaya. The batch of timothy hay that I have right now, Kiwi & Papaya arent that fond of. Guess what? Neither is he! Hes following in his big sister & big brothers footsteps... haha

Since hes eating the alfalfa pellets now, would it be a safe time to only do three critical care feedings a day instead of four? Im not giving him unlimited pellets. I dont want to upset his tiny little belly.

 

[JBun]

Yay!!! Progress

You're probably fine to reduce to 3 CC feedings if he seems to be eating enough pellets now to replace it. Then as you are gradually increasing the pellet amount, gradually decrease the CC.

I don't like feeding unlimited pellets to babies either. I had a few that it would cause poopy bum problems with, so I did limited pellets. I did feed them more than they would get as adults though. What I did was feed twice a day, and enough pellets to last most of the day, but limited so they would run out of pellets about 3 hours before the next feeding. This ensured they also ate plenty of hay. That's just what worked well for my bunnies.

 

[Mariah]

Yay!!! Progress

You're probably fine to reduce to 3 CC feedings if he seems to be eating enough pellets now to replace it. Then as you are gradually increasing the pellet amount, gradually decrease the CC.

I don't like feeding unlimited pellets to babies either. I had a few that it would cause poopy bum problems with, so I did limited pellets. I did feed them more than they would get as adults though. What I did was feed twice a day, and enough pellets to last most of the day, but limited so they would run out of pellets about 3 hours before the next feeding. This ensured they also ate plenty of hay. That's just what worked well for my bunnies.

Today I will start the three CC feedings then :dancingorig: Apricot is going to be quite disappointed though. He absolutely loves the CC, & does a little bunny dance when he hears me getting it ready. All pellets were gone again this morning. so I think hes ready for more pellets.

Im so nervous about feeding him pellets, just because of all the issues Ive had with Kiwi & pellets. Ill slowly increase the amount of pellets and see what happens.

Apricot is a lucky little bunny. If he wasent found when he was, he wouldn't have made it. The temperatures here in Canada have been absolutely horrible. I dont remember the last time we had weather this bad. Its been -20 & below for over a week. I haven't even been riding my horses, that's how cold its been.

 

[Mariah]

Is this normal? Apricot is sleeping like a cat, with his eyes covered up??? I'm trying not to panic, cause its super cute... But... ???

 

[JBun]

Haha, so cute! I used to have a baby that slept on its back with its feet sticking straight up in the air. They're just silly sometimes. He looks very content

Just remember, not all rabbits are so sensitive to pellets. Keep an eye on his poop, which I'm sure you already do. If you see mushy or smaller than usual poop, you'll need to make some adjustmments. Otherwise he should be fine.

I love his name

That's so cold! Hopefully it warms up for you soon.

 

[Watermelons]

if his poops are fine and hes eating hay and pellets. There's no need to feed critical care at all.

 

[Mariah]

Ok good to know that's normal. Ive just never seen any of my bunnies sleep like that, & so soundly before. I guess hes happy in his new PERMANENT home! Yes, hes staying :jumpforjoy: The SO keeps petting him, & asking where his toys are. Poor Apricot only has one right now, which he dosent know what to do with quite yet. Hes the one who added the "Salad" part on the end of his name. Haha

And regarding the CC, Im going to wean him off it slowly, just so its not a shock to his tiny system. I dont see it hurting him. His poos are fine so far. And of course Im monitoring his poos very carefully.

We just got about 10cm of snow today... I dont think the cold is going away anytime soon... Ugh

 

[JBun]

Wooooohooooo!!!!!

It's just so impossible to resist these cute fluffy babies, isn't it? I'm glad your SO found it just as irresistible

So, have Kiwi and Papaya caught a whiff of him yet? What do they think about all this