Help with my new bunny?

The past month, I've been a bit obsessive with bunnies because I was hoping my mom would let me get one for Christmas. Well, she didn't, and my boyfriend and his brother offered to get me one yesterday. We knew someone on the road near our school was selling them for 10 dollars, so we went on a search.

I didn't think I'd actually end up buying one, but rather cooing over them and chickening out due to my mom being set against it. But when I got to the place, the rabbits were extremely scrawny, had barely any fur, and were kept outside in the cold. Oh, and there was a dead one in the corner of a small cage of about twelve rabbits. So, I immediately bought the skinniest one (I always have a soft spot for runts). The woman put her into a big paper bag that once contained pellets, dumped some pellets on her, and gave me the bag.

I got a large cardboard box for her, and put in a towel. I understand carrots are only meant to be treats, so I put in half a carrot, a bunch of celery, and transferred the pellets the woman put in the bag to a bowl. I also put in a bowl of water.

The rabbit seems fine. I don't know how old she is, but I'm going to assume she's young, as the rabbits for sale were smaller than the larger rabbits I saw in other cages. Her ears were perked up when the lady pulled her out, but I think she's relaxed now, as they flop down to the floor. She likes to explore my room, and seems fine with being held or sitting in my lap for long lengths of time. I'm buying more food for her (any help on that would be greatly appreciated) today, and a large cage and bedding tomorrow.

I'm concerned with her lack of fur, as I can see her pink skin clearly. The lady said it would grow back. Is there anything I can perhaps feed her to speed this process? Also, can I give her a bath? She has some scabs and the fur on the bottom of her feet is yellow, so I assume it's urine? Is there any food that will help her put on weight quickly? I can see her spine!

i would take her straight to the vet ASAP to get her checked.... and report this women to the local authorities

First thing I would be doing is ringing the RSPCA and reporting that pet shop!

Hope your bun makes a full recovery!

If someone had done that to poppet then handed me him in a bad i think i'd of hospitalized them :evil::evil:

I didn't think of reporting her, as I didn't really know I could. It's not a pet shop, but some woman selling rabbits out of her back yard. I did tell a lot of friends about them though, and two of them have went up there already and bought two more bunnies.

Will she keep eating, despite being full, if there is food in front of her? My boyfriend just told me that he took the food out of her box (kept the water in), because he was afraid she would overeat and get sick. She's finished off two stalks of celery, the carrot, and most of her pellets. If she's malnourished like I think she is, wouldn't an abundance of food help her?

cortni said:

I didn't think of reporting her, as I didn't really know I could. It's not a pet shop, but some woman selling rabbits out of her back yard. I did tell a lot of friends about them though, and two of them have went up there already and bought two more bunnies.

Will she keep eating, despite being full, if there is food in front of her? My boyfriend just told me that he took the food out of her box (kept the water in), because he was afraid she would overeat and get sick. She's finished off two stalks of celery, the carrot, and most of her pellets. If she's malnourished like I think she is, wouldn't an abundance of food help her?

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i definetly think you should get her checked by a vet and report this women the more rabbits u take off her the more she will breed to sell and the more rabbits will be left in this horrible way..

Pictures please?

Rabbits shouldn't be bathed. You can spot clean them if necessary but you have to be very careful about getting their fur soaked through. Be careful about introducing too many new foods as you could make her ill. Make sure she has fresh hay all the time to eat and give her the food she came with but slowly start to change over to a high fibre pellet food for rabbits (not sure where you live so can't recommend a specific type).
And you need to get her to a vet ASAP. Rabbits can go downhill extremely quickly and if she is underweight she is at even higher risk.

Hi, wow, what a lot to deal with! Firstly, thanks for rescuing the poor little rabbit. I assume as you mentioned "10 dollars" that you are in America? or Australia? either way, the seller really needs to be reported to the authorities and the rest of the rabbits taken into care. You sound young (no offence) but if you are under 18/21 perhaps you could get your mum to call for you? give them as much details as you can about location, cages, conditions etc.

As your bunny is young, in poor condition and may have some health issues the first thing to do is get it to a vet for a check over. He/she can give you suitable treatments for the lack of hair, scabs on her feet etc, and confirm which sex she is. she will need vaccinations and neutering later, when she is fit and healthy.

In terms of food, you should start with the pellets the seller gave you (do you know the brand to get more?) and lots and lots of hay. the hay is the most important part for their guts and teeth. as she is young, likely stressed, possibly ill i wouldnt give her any veg for now as this can give them stomach ache if they are not used to it - i doubt the seller gave her any before. your vet can advise you on the best pellet food available, whichever country you are in, which she needs to be weaned onto gently.

Housing - i take it as you said she is in your room, that she will be living indoors? ideally she needs a cage to feel safe and secure in, somewhere she can snuggle up and hide when she is afraid and you can shut her in when you need to. most rabbits can be litter trained so she should have a litter tray in her cage too, although she may not be very good at litter training until she is speyed. If you dont want everything in your room eaten or explored, and to keep her safe from electric cables, which they like to chew through, you need to put barriers up in your room or give her a playpen to live in. if you explore this forum you will find lots of advice on cages and pens.

i hope that helps as a start, feel free to keep asking questions! there are lots of very experienced owners on here and can give you more detailed advice to specific questions. all the best for you and your new bun, i hope she is happy and healthy soon.

cortni said:

The past month, I've been a bit obsessive with bunnies because I was hoping my mom would let me get one for Christmas. Well, she didn't, and my boyfriend and his brother offered to get me one yesterday. We knew someone on the road near our school was selling them for 10 dollars, so we went on a search.

I didn't think I'd actually end up buying one, but rather cooing over them and chickening out due to my mom being set against it. But when I got to the place, the rabbits were extremely scrawny, had barely any fur, and were kept outside in the cold. Oh, and there was a dead one in the corner of a small cage of about twelve rabbits. So, I immediately bought the skinniest one (I always have a soft spot for runts). The woman put her into a big paper bag that once contained pellets, dumped some pellets on her, and gave me the bag.

I got a large cardboard box for her, and put in a towel. I understand carrots are only meant to be treats, so I put in half a carrot, a bunch of celery, and transferred the pellets the woman put in the bag to a bowl. I also put in a bowl of water.

The rabbit seems fine. I don't know how old she is, but I'm going to assume she's young, as the rabbits for sale were smaller than the larger rabbits I saw in other cages. Her ears were perked up when the lady pulled her out, but I think she's relaxed now, as they flop down to the floor. She likes to explore my room, and seems fine with being held or sitting in my lap for long lengths of time. I'm buying more food for her (any help on that would be greatly appreciated) today, and a large cage and bedding tomorrow.

I'm concerned with her lack of fur, as I can see her pink skin clearly. The lady said it would grow back. Is there anything I can perhaps feed her to speed this process? Also, can I give her a bath? She has some scabs and the fur on the bottom of her feet is yellow, so I assume it's urine? Is there any food that will help her put on weight quickly? I can see her spine!

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Do get the bunny checked by a vet, it my have mites or fleas that have caused the hairloss, and also judgign by the condition it was kept in may have worms/malnutrition etc.
Do not give too much veggies to a young bunny ir may upset its belly.
Most importantly buy bunny some hay. Hay is very important on wearing bunnies teeth down and giving a constant supply of fibre going through the gut. A bunny pellet which is high in fibre rather than a muesli type mix would be good to give.
I would find out who/what your local animal protection organisation is (you're in the US right?) and report that woman. Those poor bunnies. It sounds like and awful place.
I realise your friends wanted to help the bunnies by going to buy a couple but if this woman does not get reported she will continue making money out of these poor bunnies and more will be born into that nightmare.
Good luck with you new addition. We'd love to see piccies! x

whoops! they came out a little big...

god his skin looks awful pls take him to the vet

Poor thing Looks like she is in terrible condition. Definitely needs to see a vet without delay.

Unfortunately, I cannot take him to a vet until my mom gets paid, because yes, I'm only seventeen. Fortunately, she gets paid within the next few days. Also, I asked her about reporting the woman, and she said she would when she gets home from work today.


I don't think she has fleas, I've checked her body and have found none. I'm not sure about mites. Her skin isn't flaky, it's just very visible through her thin layer of fur. Also, I asked before- can I give her a bath? I wiped her down a bit yesterday with baby wipes because I was afraid attempting a bath would scare her.

she has the potential to be such a gorgeous little bun

She really does need to see a vet asap - poor wee mite, so glad you've rescued her from such horrible conditions. I'm sorry though the evil woman who has caused this to happen to her & no doubt many other buns in her supposed care needs reporting asap & closing down. It sounds very much like she doesn't care about the state of the buns or their living conditions & is only interested in making money out of them :evil::evil::evil: Please, please, please ensure your mum reports this woman to prevent anymore suffering to these beautiful animals.

Cant you take her to the vet get her checked out and pay the bill once your mum has been paid?
She deffo needs to see a vet and that woman needs to be reported!! If i saw that i would have screamed my head off at her! :evil::evil::evil::evil:
Just give half a bowl to 3/4 full of pellets and lots and lots of hay and water!

I hope she is going to be fine

I don't know how the bills work with the vet? Every time I've taken my cats, we always paid up front. Until then, I do plan on taking the bunny to my friend's house, who's mother is a retired vet, so hopefully she can point me in the right direction with all of this. :]

If you cant pay the vets later then your friends mum is her best bet for now!
I wouldnt feed to many new veggies as it might upset her tummy!

Lots of healing good vibes getting sent her way xx