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Need general care advice - am totally new to rabbits/

Cornishlass

Mama Doe
Hi there. I love this forum and I only joined today. :lol: I bought a rabbit 1 week ago and I think he is a mini Rex. He is Harlequin in colouring, and sooo cute. BUT My husband is allergic to the hay/straw and so the rabbit has to stay in his hutch in the shed. I don't like keeping him in there all day but at the moment he seems happy. I work all day and see to him before work and after work. I am trying while hubby is at work to bring him indoors for a cuddle and run around but the petshop where I got him said if I give him too much room to run in he will not be so friendly. Is this true? I thought the bigger the better!
 
No thats a load of rubbish. rabbits need space and should be givne lots of room to run around.

Have you considered only giving a small amount of dust-extrated hay (e.g excel) for your rabbit to eat? If you keep him indoors then he really doesnt need bedding (you can line the huitch with newspaper or paper based cat litter).

I would suggest rescuing a rabbit from a local animal shelter so that your bunny can have a friend (neuter him first).
 
Hello and welcome to the forum hope you like it. The petshop gave you wrong advice. The more room the rabbit has the happier it will be and therefore be more friendly because it gets to spend time with you.
 
Thanks for that. I've been lining the wooden hutch with newspaper, then putting sawdust down, then straw in hte bed section and hay over the run part. He has dried food and water and loves his food. I'm sure he would eat the paper if it was on its own. Wouldn't that hurt him?
 
Hi there :wave:

I think I may know what the shop could have meant. I rescued a rabbit who had very little human interaction and got him when he was one. very sweet but scared of people. At first he was a house rabbit and litter trained etc. However with the huge amount of space he had, he could always avoid being touched by us. He now lives in the shed in a hutch and loves to be stroked, as basically, he has not choice cos there he cant run far :lol: So I get the chance to build a bond a pick him up etc. During the day he has the run of the garden, but comes when called back to his hutch for dinner. This works well for us and him.

So as long as you can touch and hold him even though he gets his house run it sound like everyone's happy ;)
 
You can buy hay managers and dont have to spread it over the shed and you can litter train your bun aswell ,you can use wood based litter and he/she will use it for weeing,keeps things tidier,you could also attach a run to the shed so he can get fresh air.
 
ok well firstly i would buy a large garden run or make one and give him run of that. make sure you get the vaccs done (thats myxi and vhd with a 2week min seperation between the 2) if he she is neutered they will be less hormonal when growing up can have a freind and will be freindlier to you too oh plus litter training and health benifits...obviously hubbys allergy is a prob so i wouldnt bring straw/hay into house..but bunny could come in for a run i hubby was happy?(minus the straw/hay) rabbits should have as much space as possible and if its a baby rabbit then it will get a bit bigger yet..and need more room....a hutch size of 5ftx2ftx3ft is recommended minimum really and a 6x6ft run for at least 3 hours a day. im sure you will love this site and the information you will learn is vast! (trust me and id had several buns before i found ru!) hay should be plentiful for a rabbit and pelleted food is best mine like science selective best.tho different rabbits prefer diff ones, basically a good food has a high fibre content and prevents selective feeding(keeps the teeth nice) introduce any new food including grass and veggies in slowly so as not to upset a sensitive tum! x
Hi there. I love this forum and I only joined today. :lol: I bought a rabbit 1 week ago and I think he is a mini Rex. He is Harlequin in colouring, and sooo cute. BUT My husband is allergic to the hay/straw and so the rabbit has to stay in his hutch in the shed. I don't like keeping him in there all day but at the moment he seems happy. I work all day and see to him before work and after work. I am trying while hubby is at work to bring him indoors for a cuddle and run around but the petshop where I got him said if I give him too much room to run in he will not be so friendly. Is this true? I thought the bigger the better!
 
forgot to say rabbits being natural prey animals often hate being picked up but i you sit on the floor with a treat will soon learn to hop up to you and onto you with a bit of patience....and be quite loveing(well most will some are more rabbit freindly than human freindly! lol)
 
Hi and welcome :wave:

I wouldn't let him eat much paper - the odd bit shouldn't do any harm, but it's not good for him to have much. As long as he has lots of hay to eat, he should do well - hay should make up the majority of a rabbit's diet.

This is a great forum and there's loads of advice and friendly people here - there's a great search facility too :)
 
I don't suppose that petshop has ever heard of house rabbits then :roll:

I'm so sorry they gave you such poor advice, one reason I despise petshops. Unfortunately it's all too common and most people will never find forums like this one and get correct advice. Consider yourself a lucky one! :lol:

Run around time, in a space as big and safe as possible is invaluable for a rabbit's health, building muscles and using energy. It also gives them the chance to interact with you and become friendlier :rolleyes: This is particularly important if the bun is single.

Welcome to the forum, I'm sure you will find it a wealth of information as I have :) :wave:
 
:wave:

I am thinking all I had to say has been covered already.

Just popped by to say WELCOME to the forum and hoping you get all the answers you need from here (I certainly have!)

TP:D
 
Hi there :wave:

I think I may know what the shop could have meant. I rescued a rabbit who had very little human interaction and got him when he was one. very sweet but scared of people. At first he was a house rabbit and litter trained etc. However with the huge amount of space he had, he could always avoid being touched by us. He now lives in the shed in a hutch and loves to be stroked, as basically, he has not choice cos there he cant run far :lol: So I get the chance to build a bond a pick him up etc. During the day he has the run of the garden, but comes when called back to his hutch for dinner. This works well for us and him.

So as long as you can touch and hold him even though he gets his house run it sound like everyone's happy ;)

I agree this is probably what they meant by 'friendly' - more like hard to catch rather than unfriendly. You'll also find that as he matures he will start scentmarking in the house, which you might not like so much, so he may need neutering at about 4 months old - good idea to find a vet now that knows rabbits, as many vets only specialise in cats and dogs, and rabbits are very delicate compared to them, so you need a vet that isn't going to put your bunny at risk. If you say what area you're in there's probably someone on the forum knows a good bunny vet in that area :) Your setup sounds fine to me - I'm sure he's a very happy bunny - just don't give him any veg for a few months till he's settled, and then make it just a mouthful, inceased over a few weeks, grass included, as it can be too much for a rabbit that's not used to digesting it :)
 
just want to say welcome too - you will find all you need to know on this forum and everyone is very helpful if you do have any questions. ( looking at your username - are you in Cornwall? - i am on the north coast. )
 
Smudge was brilliant at the vets. Ahhh, bless. She said that he can go on the grass now but introduce slowly - like 10 minutes a day to start with is this right? Also got to change over to Timothy Hay - (Much more expensive) and not the food I was feeding as he is selective feeding on the nice bits. :roll:

I am Cornish but now live in Somerset. Having moved all over the country from Surrey, devon, Hampshire etc.
 
Yep sounds right but why timothy,mine do have timothy but the main one i use is farm bales,i have six buns and if i used timothy i would be skint
 
I don't know why Timothy - she just said it is the absolute best. Maybe I'll use the other hay that I have a lot of now to line the run part of his hutch and use Timothy in the hay rack. That way it shouldn't cost much. This little packet cost £4!!!
 
Thanks. Your Rabbits look adorable! I had no idea I would fall in love with Smudge like I have - he's sooo adorable. I can get his run in 2 weeks time - can't wait - he'll love the exercise rather than being in his hutch.
 
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