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A few new (to be) owner questions.

G

Gingerbread Man

New Kit
Hi.

We've been thinking about getting a house rabbit for a while now with the view to buy and start our ownership in the New Year.

The New Year is now upon us and as luck would have it, we've been offered the chance to re-home a black Lion haired 'cross' rabbit.

The rabbit is 2 years old and currently lives outside in a hutch. Would this rabbit be okay living a new life as a house rabbit?
We'd obviously have to house train it and we've herd that slightly older rabbits have the ability to learn easier, so being 2 years old could work in our favour?


If the rabbit takes our hearts and would be fine to live inside, then we may soon be new rabbit owners.

David & Nyssa.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum :wave:

Well done for thinking of taking on a slightly older bun, I'm sure you will make great bunny parents :)

Any bunny can be a house rabbit, I would imagine a single bunny who has lived alone for 2 years would love the chance to have some company and come and live with you :)

Bunnies can be litter trained fairly easily and with a little bunny-proofing make great house pets :) I have a male bunny called Wilm who lives in my spare room and goes free range when we are home :)

One thing you do have to be aware of it change of temperature though, the bunny will have developed a winter coat and suddenly being brought into a warm house may be too much of a shock to the system and cause her to be ill. Do you perhaps have a cooler room like a conservatory perhaps? Once indoors she will lose her winter coat and then can be brought into your home.
 
Hi Loopylouie.

The idea was that the rabbit would have free run of the flat (1 bedroom flat with 5 rooms in total).

I think, but have not yet gone and seen, the bunny lives with another bunny. Will it mind loosing a bunny friend for two delightful adults?


At the moment it is snow snow snow outside, so bringing them inside to an 18 degree celsius house would be a shock. How long would there need to be a cross over period? We don't have a conservatory, but we have the entrance hall way which we could turn off the radiator in. The hall way has a draft to it so would be cooler than the rest of the flat. The only problem would be how long the cross over period is, due to having a rabbit cage in the hall way, would for a long time, be a pita.

D & N
 
If the bunny is 'bonded' to another bunny it would be wrong to separate them unnecessarily (in my opinion). Both buns' would be sad and lonely being alone after having had a friend - rabbits are very sociable animals. Why can't they be rehomed together?
 
Gingerbread Man said:
Hi Loopylouie.

The idea was that the rabbit would have free run of the flat (1 bedroom flat with 5 rooms in total).

I think, but have not yet gone and seen, the bunny lives with another bunny. Will it mind loosing a bunny friend for two delightful adults?


At the moment it is snow snow snow outside, so bringing them inside to an 18 degree celsius house would be a shock. How long would there need to be a cross over period? We don't have a conservatory, but we have the entrance hall way which we could turn off the radiator in. The hall way has a draft to it so would be cooler than the rest of the flat. The only problem would be how long the cross over period is, due to having a rabbit cage in the hall way, would for a long time, be a pita.

D & N
Click to expand...

Please don't split the bunnies if they live together, bunnies love the company of other bunnies and ideally should be kept in pairs. Do you know why they are being split up? That's so sad :cry: Could you not perhaps take both? :D

Not too sure about the crossover period to be honest. I would imagine if it was fairly cool you would be ok.
 
Is there any way you could rehome them both? Bunnies form such strong bonds that being seperated can make them pine terribly. (When one of mine died, her partner stopped eating, and nearly went into statis.)

It's a great idea to have a rabbit that has been through the tricky "teen" years. Well done for rescuing.

House bunnies are wonderful, and you will be so glad you got one.....or two!;)
 
If we get both...(the others a Mini Lop), would they still be very affectionate towards us or would they seek it from each other?

My girlfriend liked the idea of the bond/ affection/ playing being between her/us and the rabbit.

There is no real reason why they couldn't both come here. We were only looking at one for the above reason.

As I mentioned, we planned on them having free run of the house. I would guess that we'd need a bigger cage if there was a 'them' as opposed to a single rabbit.
 
Definatley don't separate 2 buns that are happy together - it would be like someone coming in and taking your wife/husband away.

If you are giving them free range then 1 or 2 would make no difference spacewise. Of course you probably want to shut them away when you are in bed or out (when it benefits a bun to have a friend). Indoor rabbit cages tend to be way too small for one let alone 2 rabbits - take a look around this site for wonderful ideas of indoor housing made from dog crates with extra levels added and nic cubes you will be amazed!

Buns are generally affectionate with people (they vary in temperament of course) but its lovely for them to have another of their species to interact with too and lovely for you to observe that.
 
Gingerbread Man said:
If we get both...(the others a Mini Lop), would they still be very affectionate towards us or would they seek it from each other?

My girlfriend liked the idea of the bond/ affection/ playing being between her/us and the rabbit.

There is no real reason why they couldn't both come here. We were only looking at one for the above reason.

As I mentioned, we planned on them having free run of the house. I would guess that we'd need a bigger cage if there was a 'them' as opposed to a single rabbit.
Click to expand...

Not at all. I have such a bond with my Teddy, that he will get up, from snuggles with Ruby, and give me attention!

With any new pet, you'll have to gain their trust. If they're living outside then it's possible that they haven't had much fuss, but so long as you persevere you'll have two happy rabbits. If you put the time in then they'll both loving with you.

Please don't split them up. It's really not fair on them...just because you want a stronger bond. If anything I think it would make the bun you do get go into his shell...so you can't bond with him!
 
:wave: I had Sooty as a single house bunny since 4 weeks old (due to ill health) she is nearly 1 now, I had such a close bond with Sooty and she loved our company..but was never a cuddley bun, prefered to sprawl out on the rug in front of the fire.

then we got Oreo in september and he is 6 months old. He is more of a cuddle bun and would jump on the sofa to be with us, I let them free-range the downstairs alternately.

Last weekend I bonded these 2 for company to each other - see my signature. They are both very affectionate - Sooty even more so now she has Oreo - I think it has rubbed off on her. They are both exactly the same with me.

If i was you - I would definetly get the two bunnies or none at all (if there are 2 bunnies), I could never split my 2 up now - even though they have only been together a week they wont leave each others side, they will even have to go on vet trips together etc.

What Im getting at is A pair of bonded bunnies is The best thing to see - them all snuggled up but they will still LOVE interaction from your girlfriend - I spend a few hours an evening with mine and they still love that time even though they have each other..

Im sure they would love to be House bunnies, there are so many advantages. especially in this weather!!!

Get Both!!! :D - Let us know how you get on - would love to see piccies as and when you get them x
 
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Okay, both or nothing it'll have to be. I don't know 100% if they're hutched together but I'm having a guess they are.

Do house rabbits have to be caged while we sleep/ go out to work, or can they be left to run around the house?

I guess this depends on how rabbit proof the house is?
 
Gingerbread Man said:
Okay, both or nothing it'll have to be. I don't know 100% if they're hutched together but I'm having a guess they are.

Do house rabbits have to be caged while we sleep/ go out to work, or can they be left to run around the house?

I guess this depends on how rabbit proof the house is?
Click to expand...
Hello there and welcome to RU :wave:

Ok, if they are not hutched together at present that that is a slightly different story. I totally agree with everything everyone hs said so far, bonded bunnies are totally amazing to see. But, if they are not bonded, you will need to know what sex they are, have they been neutered or spayed? if they have not been spayed or neutered then thats the first thing you need to have done, for health reasons as well as not wanting babies.

I have 3 male buns, they have only just started living in the house although they lived in the heated shed before since they didnt have winter coats when we got them. We brought them in while we did some alterations and decided to keep them in as they instatly became so much happier and tamer once indoors. We are now looking to become foster parents so the shed space is not wasted.

They were only a few weeks old when we got them from the pet shop, they were huddled so close to each other and we just couldnt bear for them to be separated from each other. They were so terrified at first and it took a long time for them to even allow themselves to be stroked.

They now live in the dining room which is totally bunny proofed but when we are home they are allowed to free range all of downstairs.

They are so much happier.

I still say get both buns and we will all support you with everything you need to know and learn. We will also support you through the bonding process if need be but you cant just put them together straight off if they are not already bonded and neutered.

I hope this helps :D
 
Gingerbread Man said:
Okay, both or nothing it'll have to be. I don't know 100% if they're hutched together but I'm having a guess they are.

Do house rabbits have to be caged while we sleep/ go out to work, or can they be left to run around the house?

I guess this depends on how rabbit proof the house is?
Click to expand...

Yes both (as Bungle Bunny says - if they are hutched together - I took for granted they were)..
They dont have to be caged, many people let them have free run of the house - but you will have to bunny proof - hide away ALL wires, they also may nibble on things - skirtings, walls etc so when Im not at home to keep an eye on mine I keep then in NIC cubes - you can build these to any shape or size, with levels etc
This is mine..
CIMG0568.jpg


Others also use puppy pens as a base but they must have as much free range time as poss.
 
Do house rabbits have to be caged while we sleep/ go out to work, or can they be left to run around the house?

I guess this depends on how rabbit proof the house is?[\quote]

It was this time three years ago that I got Muppet, he was my new year's resolution :D And Sooty came to live with us six months ago.

Yeah, rabbit proofing is the key. My two live in the dining room - no wires (and no longer much of a dining room... :roll:) and dont actually have a cage at all. Muppet had one to start off with but it was left open all the time and I realised there was no point to it! They have their litter trays, bowls and vetbed to lie on and boxes to play in.

The dining room opens off the front room so they can come in/out when I'm home to keep an eye on them as it's not rabbit proofed. It does have laminate flooring though so they tend on the whole to stay on the rug (and away from the wires). The radiator in the dining room is switched off but it does get ambient heat from the radiator (and gas fire) in the front room.

As regards bonds between the rabbits and the rabbits and you, it all depends so much on their personalities. GIVE IT TIME is my top tip.

Me and Muppet were 'alone' for three years and we have a very close bond. Things are different since Sooty arrived but he and I still have that bond. The biggest change is that he spends less time in the front room in the evenings with me and doesnt come and sprawl at his end of the sofa anymore. He still pops in and out as much, just to check up on me ;), but he doesnt stay. This might change though as Sooty is starting to come into the front room more, so hopefully they'll BOTH come :D

It feels like it's taking forever to establish a relationship with Sooty but my friends remind me I thought the same with Muppet. (Surely not! He's always been perfect... :lol:) She's getting to like me stroking her (and just 'purred' now). But I see changes in her all the time, how settled she feels and how she responds to me.
Click to expand...
 
Went to see the rabbit today. The two rabbits aren't hutched together and apparently don't get on that well when let out together.

So from tomorrow we'll be proud owners of a female black Lion Haired rabbit.

Just sorting out the cage etc.. now and buying a few things tomorrow before we go pick her up.

David
 
Gingerbread Man said:
Went to see the rabbit today. The two rabbits aren't hutched together and apparently don't get on that well when let out together.

So from tomorrow we'll be proud owners of a female black Lion Haired rabbit.

Just sorting out the cage etc.. now and buying a few things tomorrow before we go pick her up.

David
Click to expand...

That sounds great! Are they neutered? (Just a thought...when they are, they could be bonded.)

Bet you can't wait for tomorrow!! :D
 
We picked up the new bunny last night and she seems to have settled in well.

However I have a question regarding her litter box. I put it in a corner with some fresh hay over the top and on inspection this morning she has chucked it around a bit but there are droppings inside, so i thought horray she is using it perfectly. Then I noticed this evening she is urinating next to it. I moved the tray back into the corner and put the soiled newspaper inside the litter box to encourage her to use it. But she busily cleared it all out! I've also noticed she seems to spend a lot of time resting in the litter box rather than the nice soft blankets I put down for her to use.

Could she therfore think the litter tray is her bed? If so how do I encourage her to see it as the litter tray?

Any help much appreciated!

Nyssa
 
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