New....needing some advice

Hi

Sorry if this post is in the wrong section...not really sure of my way around.

We "adopted" what we believe to be a 1 yo female dwarf lop eared rabbit. She is fairly big so not sure of where the 'dwarf' comes into it. Anyway she is lovely. She came from a home where she had a fairly large enclosed yard that she could roam in but her hutch is fairly small. We have a large garden but not secure enough to allow her to roam so ordered a new hutch with 4 x 4 run which came today.

Anyway, to get on to my query......how do we as a family go about bonding with her? The past few days since we've had her we've been brining her into the living room to get her some time out of her hutch. She happily comes over to be petted but its very difficult to lift her to get her out of the hutch or back in. This morning she gave me quite a hard bite on her way in (which I hope is because she was afraid and not the reason the family needed her re-homed)!!

Also we were advised that she toilets in a litter tray but til now when she's in the house I spend the time chasing her picking up pellets - this isn't a problem really but the wee wees are not so good ! I've been keeping the tray at the same spot in the living room to try to encourage her , should I be doing anything else? She toilets in the one place in her hutch so pretty clean that way. One last thing when she 1st arrived she was doing rather large sludgy smelly poos, any ideas why?

What a long post but I want to make sure that I'm doing the best for her...the kids love her already

Welcome:wave: Firstly, a 'dwarf lop' is not a dwarf rabbit like a netherland dwarf but is still a large breed. Most people assume that because it says 'dwarf' in the title, it's going to be a small rabbit. I'm not 100% sure (someone else will know) but i've a feeling it refers to the size of the ears rather than the size of the bunny (the ears of a dwarf lop being slightly shorter than the ears of a regular lop?????).

Is the bunny neutered? She may have nipped you out of fear (bunnies don't like being picked up as they're a prey animal). Alternatively, if she's not been neutered, she could be a bit hormonal and territorial and was protecting her domain ie. her hutch, from you. I would strongly recommend getting her neutered if she's not been done, not just because it will make her less territorial but also because up to 80% of un-neutered females will develop uterine cancer. Also, once she's been 'done', you can get her a bunny boyfriend from RU

As for pooing in the house, that's pretty normal I'm afraid - especially when she's been put into a new environment. She's marking out her territory. I'd suggest a litter tray in every corner of the room to start with - make sure the litter tray already contains some soiled litter and smells of her. If you get any 'accidents' (wee), I'd mop them up with kitchen roll and put the soiled kitchen roll in the litter tray. Eventually, she'll stop marking out her territory because she'll know it's hers and should start to use her tray. Even the cleanest bun will still drop the occasional rabbit raisen on the carpet!

As for the smelly poops - there are several bits of information you need here. Firstly, these are called caecotrophs (sp). Rabbits produce two types of poop. The first one is a soft, dark brown and shiny poop, usually produced in clusters (looking like a bunch of grapes). These are taken directly from the anus and eaten so that the rabbit gets more nutrients from it's diet. Any waste product is then passed as the hard, round 'bobble' that you're used to seeing laying around. If a rabbit is producing an excess of caecals, this usually means that they are being fed too much in the way of 'hard feed' or rabbit mix/pellets. What hard feed are you giving her? A lot of people on here tend to stick to Supreme Science Selective as they've found that Burgess Excel pellets have a tendancy to make their buns produce too many soft poops. A rabbits diet should be 70-80% hay. The remainder should be fresh veg and a tiny, tiny percentage should be pellets. For example, my largest bun, weighing around 3.4kg, only has half a tablespoon of pellets per day.

Hope this helps. Oh - forgot. You're probably doing the right things to 'bond' with her. Bringing her into the house to spend time with you is about the best thing you can do, short of getting into her hutch with her. Lots of the RU members keep their outdoor buns in sheds or aviaries so that they can set up a chair in the enclosure and spend quality time with their buns as most shop bought hutches and runs are way too small.

Brilliant advice Mackers, thank you.

I'm not sure if she has been neutered but know she hasn't had any immunisations so will be paying a visit to the vet for that so will ask when I'm there (assuming they can tell). When we picked her up the only food we were passed on was museli mix and seed bar things. One of the 1st things we did was buy hay for her and also pellets (to feed rather than the museli as I'd read some advice re this). Great advice especially re quantities of pellets...she has had a full bowl (small bowl but def more than 1/2 tablespoon since last night :shock: so that will certainly be cut back) I also need to get her nails clipped I think.

I'm not sure about introducing another rabbit to her...if I thought it would be problem free then I'd do it in a shot as I worry about her being lonely out in her wee hutch. Can't wait for my hubby to get in tonight to build the new hutch and run for her!

ps not sure if we've been adviced of the correct breed...her ears aren't dwarf either (she looks very like the rabbit pea in your sig)

My dwarf lop is the biggest rabbit I own! :lol: They are classed as a medium breed and can weigh approx. 2-2.5kg. She doesn't have short ears either so I've no clue where the dwarf bit in the name came from.

Welcome to RU by the way. :wave:

Hi, our new hutch and run has come and my husband is currently building it up. Can anyone advise the best way to move bunny into her new home? Should I put her old (& kind of soiled) cage covering in there until she gets her scent? Also should I leave a litter tray in the hutch or run (also does this go in empty or with sawdust in)??

Lots of questions I know, any advice greatfully received!

I think I'd put a few of her things in the new hutch/run ie. dirty litter tray, perhaps some hay and bedding from her old hutch, the floor covering and other bits n' bobs (toys) and then just put her in there. She'll soon make it her own and as long as there's a nice area that smells 'right', she shouldn't feel too bewildered.

Don't cut her pellets down too much immediately. Just cut it down by perhaps a teaspoon a day because over the course of a couple of weeks, she'll be on about the right amount of food. Most people on this forum feed no more than an egg-cup full per day. Mine have a TINY amount because they're (shhhhh)........a wee bit porky :lol::lol:

I don't think 'dwarf lops' have tiny ears, just that I 'believe' (don't quote me) that the dwarf lops ears are smaller than a regular lop (who has HUGE lop ears). I'm sure there will be someone on this forum who knows the real difference between a lop and a dwarf lop. Pea is a Heinz 57 so I've no idea what breed mixture she is. Her ears were up when I first had her at 8 months old, then they helicoptered and now they're semi-lop. She can still ***** them when she wants to!

Edit : hey! It's starred out a totally innocent word:roll: The word rhymes with pick and has an 'r' after the p :lol::lol:

She probably doesnt like being carried, so it might be easier to get her into a pet carrier to bring her into the house. (No-one gets bitten. And - unlike me the other day with mine - you dont end up dropping the rabbit cos she's wriggled too much :shock: Fortunately she's fine but it was a very nasty moment!!!)

For a friend, you could look at rabbit rescues around your area and see if they have a suitable friend for her and they might bond them for you. Hate to say it though but your new hutch and run might be too small for a pair :? The recommended minimum for a hutch is 6'x2'x2'.

Good luck though - you're asking the right questions!

Yes, I think the new hutch is a fine size for Lulu herself and she does seem happy alone with us for company in the evening. She seems OK in the hutch however she doesn't really come down the ramp into the run, it is narrowish so may be just take her time to adjust. Also I can't see any poops in the hutch :?

I hope she's happy in there.

Pet carrier is a good idea, will try that. She was a bit more friendly with us last night, looking to be petted, following me around and she even sat on my knee for a while.

Thanks again everyone for your brill advice