Help! New rabbits not eating, drinking or moving much

Hello everyone!
I've just got my first pet rabbits after wanting some for years, and decided to ask here for some advice because I've been a long-time lurker!
I got my rabbits yesterday from a breeder about an hours drive from where I live. They are a bonded pair of unneutered females. According to the breeder, Susan is a 15 month old Dutch and Joanne is a 5 month old Dutch cross. Joanne seemed really stressed out by being put in the box to go in the car, and growled at me when I put her in the hutch. I've tried to leave them alone to settle in, but I am very concerned that they don't seem to want to move from the bedroom area of the hutch and therefore haven't eaten or drunk very much at all (Although my husband says he saw one of them chewing on the straw bedding)
This evening -so 30 hours since I got them home- I opened the bedroom area door to check they were OK, and Susan looked quite lively but Joanne still seemed really shocked and nervous. I placed a bowl of water and a rack of Burgess grass in the bedroom area and Susan sniffed the water and nibbled on some grass, but Joanne is still hiding at the back of the bedroom. There were a few droppings about.
They're in a 2 storey hutch, and the breeder had them both in a single hutch, so I've now closed the ramp to make it look more like their old setup.
Sorry to waffle on, I know I need to be patient in getting them to not be nervous of me, but I'm very worried that they are eating, drinking and moving so little. Am I doing anything wrong? Is there anything else i can do to help them calm down? Thanks for your time- any advice on what to expect from new rabbits will be gratefully recieved!

My rabbit Honey seems to get gut stasis quite a bit which we think is brought about by stress (it can be anything - sudden drop in temperature, cat walking past the run etc).

If she's refusing food I think you really need to get her to a vet tonight. Rabbits can go downhill very quickly when they stop eating and a vet will be able to give her something that will stimulate her guts. Try and keep an eye on her as much as possible and see if she is eating. My vet says that a rabbit that's not eaten within 12 hours is an emergency case.

Hi

Firstly I'd leave the ramp down so they have that bit of extra room. Have they got any greens and dry food in besides hay? they are probably a bit stressed due to the travelling and change of surroundings, if they haven't eaten overnight I would take them to the vet's and have them checked over. They will eventually both need spaying. I think seeing that they have come from a breeder I would get them fully checked out anyway to be on the safe side.

Are you sure that neither of them are PREGNANT................

UPDATE-new rabbits not eating, drinking or moving much

I think they are coming through the worst- this morning when I went out to check on them the were both sitting outside the bedroom area, and the dry food dish. hay rack and water bowl were all empty- Joanna ran back into the bedroom area as soon as she saw me but at least it looks like they are both eating, drinking and hopping about now. Obviously I'll keep a very close eye on Joanna in particular today, and if there are any problems theres a vet right around the corner, and I was planning on taking them to the vet to get checked over and booked in for jabs anyway asap.
Thanks for your advice everyone!

Must have just been quite stressed from the new surroundings and journey, I hope they continue to get better for you. You might want to try and keep an eye on their feeding though especially if one is more nervous than the other. I tend to put the food in the hutch then watch who eats it from in side the house.:lol:

happynihilist said:

I think they are coming through the worst- this morning when I went out to check on them the were both sitting outside the bedroom area, and the dry food dish. hay rack and water bowl were all empty- Joanna ran back into the bedroom area as soon as she saw me but at least it looks like they are both eating, drinking and hopping about now. Obviously I'll keep a very close eye on Joanna in particular today, and if there are any problems theres a vet right around the corner, and I was planning on taking them to the vet to get checked over and booked in for jabs anyway asap.
Thanks for your advice everyone!

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Make sure both of them are eating and not just one eating all the food.