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needing advice

katie10

Young Bun
hi i am needing some advice, i have a bunny named jessica she is 13weeks old, i got her about a month ago, when i got her i didnt know tht much about caring for a rabbit, just the basics. i have two small children age 3 and 1, and im expecting my third in two weeks. we let jessica hav th run ov th sitting room on an evening wen kids r in bed, after bunny proofing that is. At first she was great, but latley she has started chewing wallpaper, and fireplace, pooing on my sofa even tho at first shr used a corner with newspaper down. and generaly doing stuff shes not allowed. with my baby being due in 2 weeks i was thinking about getting her a playpen type thing instead so she is in 1 area and i can keep an eye on her. is this cruel? will she miss running round the sitting room? please help!
 
Sounds like your buns hormones are kicking in. Our bunny pees on the couch and she's 4 and fully litter trained. Everything I have ready says that this is territorial behaviour in unspayed/unneutered bun buns and they choose the areas where our scents are the strongest. Couches/ beds etc.
 
it isn't cruel! its sensible. get a couple of puppy pens and fit them together, put in some flooring ( i use tarpaulin with dust sheets over, some use vinyl) and put in her toys and somewhere to hide (cage, hutch, carrier, tent) and she'll be fine.

she will need to be neutered to prevent uterine cancer and calm her down. ask for pain relief during the op and to bring home, because not all vets think it is necessary. don't have it done yet, though - my bun tabby didn't respond well to her spey and needed taking to the vets almost daily for a couple of weeks, which is no good if you have new baby!

when everything settles down after your newbie, your bunny would value a friend, to speak 'rabbit' to, and to groom her, including licking her eyes and the inside of her ears, which we tend not to do...:lol::lol::lol:

i don't actually know anything about this stuff, but the experts don't seem to have reached here yet... they'll be along shortly, i'm sure...:)
 
I dont think it is cruel getting a pen... use it to block of things like the sofa and fireplace and she can then still get her playtime and you will be happier too.
 
thanx all

thanx 4 the advice every 1,im nt the only 1 with the hormones kicking in then lol if jessicas r too. I think it would be a gud idea to get another bunny after i have baby, coz she seems a bit bored in her hutch, is that unusual?
 
no, its not unusual for single rabbits (or even more) to be bored. they're more intelligent than people think! toys, lots of stuff to dig, big cardboard boxes...
 
To be honest im really worried i feel like im doing everything wrong, from getting her from the petshop to having her for a mnth iv been told so many diffrent things, my fiance thinks i worry to much. 1 of the things im worried about is when i got her i planned on having her outdoors, so i bought a hutch, (which i think is too small) but we were having too much rainy weather n i didnt like her out there so i brought her hutch indoors. It was ok untill the wee started leeking down the leg ov the hutch on to the floor and she kicks all the woodshavings out the front so im constantly hoovering. With me being due baby soon money is tight and i havnt been able to get an indoor cage n wudnt know which 1 to get as they all seem so small. Then there is cleaning her hutch i do it every nyt coz she poo's almost allova so i remove all the woodshavings every nyt and replace with new, i change her hay bedding area once a week but make sure i put fresh hay at the front every day coz she likes to munch it. We use bob martins cage cleaner once a week on the floor ov the hutch. Am i doing it all wrong? i give her a mixed rabbit food every day too 1 lil bowl full and some romaine lettuce sumtyms. she has wooden chew toys bt dusnt bother with them, oh and a jingly ball. we aso made her a big cardboard castle using ldz ov boxes which she is nw bored of. plz help am i doing it all wrong? x
 
Pellet food is better, but you would need to swap food over gradually so she doesn't get an upset stomach. There are lots of varieties and everyone has their opinion on which is better, but they prevent selective feeding so you know she's getting everything she needs. She'll only need a handful of pellets, a little bit of veg and unlimited hay everyday. If you want to swap her it might be best to do it once every thing's settled down with your new baby. :)

Perhaps you could attach the playpen as a run to the hutch? Have you thought about using a litter tray if you can get her to pee in that it shouldn't run out of the hutch. You can buy cheap cat litter trays in Wilkinsons. Wooden hutches are a right pain for pee seeping out, lol.

You might not be doing everything right, but you're doing the most important thing right: doing your research and making improvements for her. (Sorry if that sounded patronising, it wasn't meant to.) :)
 
hi,

hope this helps....

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this is what i did when i got theo, i lined the floor with carpet tiles from focus which cost £1 each. it worked well and he learnt to use his litter tray. if he had an accident then it wiped off the tiles and i could just replace them when they got riffy.
 
wow tht looks great, thts one ov the main things im worried about, her hutch seems tiny, my partner measured it nd its nt quite 4ft long 2ft tall n 2ft wide, and is devided in two for a sleeping space. I hav her out in the sitting room to run about from 7pm till bout 11pm. But she has started being naughty while out latley. I hate putting her bk in she looks sooo bored x
 
wow tht looks great, thts one ov the main things im worried about, her hutch seems tiny, my partner measured it nd its nt quite 4ft long 2ft tall n 2ft wide, and is devided in two for a sleeping space. I hav her out in the sitting room to run about from 7pm till bout 11pm. But she has started being naughty while out latley. I hate putting her bk in she looks sooo bored, i just want to do wots best for her and hav a happy bunny, feel so betrayed by pet shop 4 saying the hutch was big enuff x
 
wow tht looks great, thts one ov the main things im worried about, her hutch seems tiny, my partner measured it nd its nt quite 4ft long 2ft tall n 2ft wide, and is devided in two for a sleeping space. I hav her out in the sitting room to run about from 7pm till bout 11pm. But she has started being naughty while out latley. I hate putting her bk in she looks sooo bored, i just want to do wots best for her and hav a happy bunny, feel so betrayed by pet shop 4 saying the hutch was big enuff x

dont beat yourself up about it, I had theo in a 3 and a 1/2 foot indoor cage for weeks before i joined here and learned it was too small. Again, I was advised to buy the cage at the pet shop.

As long as bunny is getting regular excersize then the hutch will be fine for a few weeks until baby is settled and you can afford another. Just make sure she gets regular excersize. Maybe an hour in the morning, an hour at lunch and two hours at night whilst you can supervise?

The set up is not idea but certainly not cruel
 
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