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What Do I Need?

sunshine123

Young Bun
:wave: Hi Everyone,
Going to be adopting 2 bunnies soon and was wondering if you could help me with what I need to buy, a checklist sort of thing.
Hutch - was looking at the happyhutch hutch/run combo
Run - thinking of one of these play pen type things
Bottles - do I need 1 per bunny or do they share, do I need 1 in the hutch and another in the runs?
Bowls - again how many and what size, one for pellets another for veggies???
Toys/Tunnels - What toys are best? or just carboard boxes, etc
Litter Tray- Do they share this and do I also need for the run, what is Vetbed, do I need this?
Insurace - Just going to open a account and put money in each month to cover vets, etc.

What other things will I need other than food/hay, any help would be great.
 
Hello

I don't have two rabbits together so I couldn't advise you on some things. My bunny loves the cardboard tube tunnels and also willow sticks and balls. They will give your bunnies something to chew. You don't necessarily need vetbed if they are outside bunnies you might want to get them litter trained before you get any. It is fleece like bedding. Any toilet roll or kitchen roll holders stuffed with hay go down well.
 
If you have two rabbits, i would recommend either a big bowl, or two seperate bowls.
i would also say two litter boxes (i use plastic microwavable boxes!), like if you need the loo and someone else is on there! can you imagine? and defo one in hutch and one in the run
i have for toys, cat balls but she's not interested
2 cardboard boxes with holes in the sides
a cardboard tube which she can fit through (ex-poster thing i got free from a shop!)
food: get some hay. you always need to make sure they have fresh hay. and pellets, i have waggs optimum premium rabbit food

i use newspaper on the bottom of her house and a cardboard box for her bed. i've also put a pet cushion in there for her to sleep on

can't think what else
x
 
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:wave:
Hutch - was looking at the happyhutch hutch/run combo - whatever you get, make sure it's proper wood (shiplap?) as plywood is less than useless against the elements.
Run - thinking of one of these play pen type things

Bottles - do I need 1 per bunny or do they share, do I need 1 in the hutch and another in the runs? some buns prefer a bowl and some a bottle.. .whatever is the preference, they can share and only need the one (that is cleaned and refilled daily)

Bowls - again how many and what size, one for pellets another for veggies??? With both my pairs I have one bowl for the pellets (the 4" diameter common bowl), veggies get scattered to encourage foraging and specialist hay(OK expensive :oops: ) is put in a bird feeder then hung up so they can't pee on it :lol:Toys/Tunnels - What toys are best? or just carboard boxes, etc - varies according to buns.... test the water and see with them.
Litter Tray- Do they share this and do I also need for the run, what is Vetbed, do I need this?
They share and spend many a happy hour laying in it. Vetbed is the brand name for an absorbent pad. I use it for my arthritic bunny but I'm not 100% convinced that it's needed for normal buns and is a pain to clean... it looks comfy but I think my lot are equally at home on newspaper :roll:
Insurace - Just going to open a account and put money in each month to cover vets, etc. I'd recomend this (having spend £200 on non vaccination vet bills this week alone)

What other things will I need other than food/hay, any help would be great. :Will ponder on that and get back to you :wave:
 
Could get a playhouse and attach a run to it so they have got more room on bad days,you can pick them up for £50 normally.
 
What size are these bunnies?

Hutch - I have a happyhutch 6ft single. It's fab and many people on here recommend the hutch/run combo. Try to buy the biggest hutch you can afford.

Run - I think that the playpen type runs are not sutiable for outdoors. I have a 5ftx5ft run from Happyhutch. Expensive but so worth it.

http://www.happyhutch.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=202&categoryID=9

Bottles - My two bunnies share the same bottle, but they are sisters so are very closely bonded. Some rabbits would fight if the other one tried to drink from the same bottle at the same time. I have one bottle and one bowl, so they have a chioce.

Bowls - I have one food bowl for pellets and one water bowl. You can buy another bowl for veggies, but I just place the veggies on the floor.

Toys - Different rabbits like different toys. You have to sort of trial and error with toys. My girls like sticks and logs with food inside. Depends if your bunnies are food or chew obessed. :lol:

Litter trays - I used to use one in the hutch and two in the run, for each corner. Now, they use their bedroom so I don't use any litter trays, but it's best to try and litter tray them early on. I used to use paper, litter (straw based or wood based, also available is Carefresh and Megazorb) and straw on top. Some people use hay in litter trays because rabbits like to go toilet whilst they eat.

Insurance - I don't have insurance for the rabbits but it is recommend to have an account just for emergencies.

I use Science Selective pellets and I think they are great. Many people recommend them. Hay: I am going to buy Amercian Timothy from DustFreeHay.com. My girls love it.

Other things:

Vaccinations - Myxi vacc twice yearly, about £15/rabbit. VHD vacc once yearly, about £15-£20/rabbit.
 
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Well for my two soon to become three!

I have:
2 water bottles plus a bowl if its cold (with warm water in)
a snugglesafe (prob don't need this anymore but will do for next winter)
a big litter tray with a rim (going to get a deep under bed storage box for the 3)
one big bowl for veggies
one smaller bowl for pellets (might scatter these for three to stop Minstrel eating them all :roll:)
Hay rack (actually a under shelf basket thing from Ikea but much better than hay racks!)

Toys:
Cardboard
cardboard tubes
Willow balls (esp if put treats inside)
herbs
special hay

I would put Lino in your hutch to preserve it too :)

Helen x
 
Hutch the happy hutches are really good, i have the 6' one. although if you have room and cash a shed is good, it gives the buns more space for your money and is easier for you.

Run whatever you get make sure it has a roof and is secure if you plan to leave them in it unattended. the bigger the better. ;)

Bottles - they will share. I have one on my hutch and jsut take it off and put it on the run during the day, as my run isnt joined to my hutch.
Bowls whatever works for you, its not critical. I have about 4 cos there is always one in the wash and one that can't be found! make sure they are unchewable - ceramic ones are good.

Toys/Tunnels - there is no end to the toys you can buy/make for bunnies. I wont go through them all here cos it'll take forever but if you search through past threads you'll find some good ideas.
Litter Tray- they'll share it - make sure its nice and big. sometimes you neeed a few, the bunnies will decide where they want to "go". vetbed is like a fleecy blanket thing, mine werent fussed for it and just used to wee on it all the time and its difficult to wash.

Other things....It seems like every other week I am buying something for the rabbits but I can't think what it all is! You will find out what you need as you go along but you have got the essentials covered I think. :)
 
I've never had an animal that prefers a bottle over a bowl of water - although sadly it's not convenient for my mice/rats/chinchillas as they will just poop/pee in it/fill it with bedding during the day. However, the buns at worst tend to get a bit of hay in it so I use a big heavy ceramic dog bowl for them :) Much easier for them to have a quick drink :)

As for food bowls, I only have one ceramic bowl which is around 7inches across- they get pellets in the morning and veg in the evening, they both share out of it happily :)

I have three litter trays, two normal sized cat trays in the run section and one large ferplast rimmed tray in the hutch. I'm giong to replace the two normal trays with one of these soon, I only have two in the run at the moment as the buns seem to like having a poo/wee together and they can't both fit in one of the normal trays, whereas they can in the big one :lol:
 
^^ Thats a good point actually...at least one of my rabbits absolutely hates the bottle - he tries to drink out of it then loses his temper and starts battering it with his paws. :shock:

I give them the choice of bowl or bottle now cos the bowl gets full of hay after a bit.
 
Thanks everyone for your suggestions and ideas, I'll have to get shopping now.

Sorry, just one more question, if I was to get HH Hutch/Combo can you buy covers for them, or what does everyone use instead, thought of covering the top/roof of the run so the bunnies can have acess all day even in bad weather, but what do I use for the hutch for shade from the sun and also the rain/wind.

Thanks again
 
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For keeping out bad weather I have sheets of bubble wrap covered with waterproof canvas nailed to the top of the hutch and tied down at the sides.

in sunny weather i put the runs in some shade or hang a damp white sheet over them...basically anythign pale to reflect some heat away.
 
Thanks everyone for your suggestions and ideas, I'll have to get shopping now.

Sorry, just one more question, if I was to get HH Hutch/Combo can you buy covers for them, or what does everyone use instead, thought of covering the top/roof of the run so the bunnies can have acess all day even in bad weather, but what do I use for the hutch for shade from the sun and also the rain/wind.

Thanks again

:wave:

I have a happyhutch combo and I made a little roof thingy out of corrugated plastic :) I made four pannels and hinged them together so I had two, one covers the top and front of the run and the other covers the top and front of the hutch

DSC04363.jpg


It keeps the wind and rain out very well and I can see them through the plastic :lol: My hutch is in a fairly sheltered part of the garden though, and I do need help lifting them on and off when im cleaning the hutch so it probably wasnt the best thing we could have come up with :roll: Ive two brothers though so there is always someone here to help me :lol:

I think some people on here have had custom covers made from a guy on ebay which are supposed to be quite good :)

In the summer I have an old cotton sheet which damp with cold water and drape over half the runs, it gives a bit of shade and also keeps them cool :)

Another thing that was recommened to me last year from this forum was to get some clay pipes from a building site and when its very hot stand them in a bucket of cold water overnight and put them in the runs during the day, mine spent so much time hanging out in theirs last summer :) You can see one of mine in this pic

DSC03516.jpg


I just went into a pub and asked a builder and he brought me some round at the weekend for free :lol:

Mine love anything to play with :lol: The best toy is probably a cardboard box filled with hay :) I also have a large deep litter tray which I fill with ground for them to dig in. You can make loads of toys at home, Buu has been playing with the same phone book for about 4 months now :lol:

I have a water bottle attached to the hutch and a bowl in the run, so they can pick :) Mine all seem to prefer their bowls but they just get knocked over in the hutches :roll: :lol:

I dont use food bowls, when I feed their pellets I scatter them in their hay so they have to look for it :) It keeps them occupied for a little while :lol:
 
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