Baby rabbit coming...Dwarf food? ETA: RIP Olivia :'(

I'm picking up a gorgeous Netherland Dwarf on Saturday, she'll be 8 weeks old & we are calling her Olivia My pair are adopting her as they haven't been successful at conceiving after their visit to the vets :lol: Im hoping they will accept their new daughter & will live as a trio - if not I will have 2 pairs.

I've seen dwarf rabbit food in pet shops - is it any different/good or is it a bit of a gimmick?!
& if it is should I feed her separately from my other 2 (a lop & a lionhead)
Is there a suitable mix for all 3 of them? I'm currently using Super Burgess Excel (the dark green bag) which I add a tiny amount of P@H muesli or Beaphur Xtravital for variety as I've had no problem with selective feeding.
They have grass almost daily, constant access to fresh Timothy hay, a small bowl of dry mix & the occasional carrot/cauliflower leaf/cucumber.

I've also read that young rabbits shouldn't have any fresh food at all until 5/6 months. Does this include grass? Poor Olivia will have to be in when her 'parents' are out!

Anything else I need to know about?

Personally I haven't used dwarf food for a baby rabbit before so I really don't think it matters. It would probably be a lot easier to feed them all on the same food. The fresh veggies bit is incorrect in my opinion. My rabbit was eating fresh veggies from a very young age. As long as you introduce them gradually and in small quantities i.e. start with a small piece of cabbage or carrot. As with the grass small quantities until the baby bunny is used to it.

Hope they bond well.

As Olivia is only 8 weeks old, when she first comes to you i would keep her on what her previous owners were feeding her to avoid an upset tummy.

The grass thing is incorrect i think :? Ive never heard that before. Only thing is, again, introduce her slowly to grass, so start with 15 mins, then 30 mins etc

I have fed baby rabbits ive had here before the light green bag of excel, junior and dwarf stuff but as shes going to be living with another pair, i would just feed her on the normal excel pellets

She sounds like shes going to be spoilt xXx

Thanks guys. The breeder is giving me a bag of food for the transition period.

It's going to be nice knowing her birthday as I've only ever had rescues (& pet shoppers when I was little)

I'm picking her up in a few hours, can't wait. Piccies will follow

I got my girls at 9 weeks old, and they went out on grass a few days after getting them, so grass is fine for the young ones. But introduce it slowly so they don't get an upset tummy. On the first day, put her out for 15 mins, second day - 30 mins, third day - 45 mins, fourth day - 1 hr, and then increase by an hour each day.

Hiya!! Beebee was on Russel Rabbit when I got him at 9 weeks..then the minx got selective so I decided to change to the junior/dwarf stuff.He cannot keep his paws off it!! Took less than a week to switch over, he was that keen and all was well with the rear end bit!!
Awww...I'm jealous!!!!

My mini lops are on junior and dwarf excel, it has slightly higher protein content, my vet said they have higher metabolical rates tha bigger buns so need more protein. But other than that, something like the adult excel is very similar.

Itd be hard to feed them seperate, so i would say used the same food, and just monitor the weight, if it goes down a bit maybe try feed it a bit more, but if its the same, then theres nothing to worry about!

My two baby buns were exactly the same yvette, one was one a different pellet and one was on the same food as my older bun, a mix one, and as soon as i started swapping them onto the excel junior/dwarf they munched that up and barely touched their own food. Must be tasty i guess...My older bun on the other hand seems to hate it, wev tried several times to swap but no success!

Veg and grass...iv always given mine it since wev had them, most aged 8 weeks! Just introduce slowly and there shouldnt be any problems. See how much grass the bun nibbles, if its constantly eating it definately dont leave it out too long to start, but if its not too interested then longers fine. The first few times i had my two babies out they were fascinated and ate a lot, which gradually decreased as i got them out longer and more often, but ALL my other buns never even touched the grass so it wasnt an issue!

I went to the breeders & they had a girly who was retiring & was for sale but said I could have her for free because they said I was a good home...I couldn't say no So now I have 4 bunnies! I didn't even plan on having the 1st one! :lol:

I've called her (Freebie) Feebie, she's 3. She bonded with Olivia straight away so they are settling in together before I intro the 2 pairs. Olivia keeps trying to suckle from her :shock:

I have been putting them in the run on the concrete & giving them small handfuls of grass - Olivia doesn't stop eating & Feebie isn't that bothered by it :roll: Olivia is SO teeny

keep her on what ever the breeder was feeding her and if she's been getting grass and veg then continue that. If she has not been on grass nor had veg then they need to be introduced very slowly. I don't agree with waiting until they are 6 months old but I would say don't give her anything new for 2 weeks to settle in. When you do introduce veg, do it one veg at a time starting off with a 50p sized piece and increase over a week. Then start on the next veg. If she gets the runs, cut down and start again.

Olivia died yesterday We are devastated.. She was absolutely fine.. & then next time I went in the garden she was dead I'm so upset. She was so little & beautiful & cheeky, she was perfect & we both loved her so much already...

RIP Olivia... run free at the Rainbow Bridge

I'm very sorry for your loss. It's always very sad to loose a bun but especially one that you have been planning and waiting for. Unfortunately baby buns, even when they can be taken away from their mums at 8 weeks can still do downhill very rapidly because of stress brought on by the move, changes in diet etc. Just to be on the safe side though it would be worth while having a PM done if she was in contact with your other bunnies and keep a very close eye on them incase she has introduced an illness.