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Help with foster rabbit please!

Alibunmum

Wise Old Thumper
I have two 7 month old sisters as fosters at the moment. They have so much energy it's unbelievable. The rate they are chewing at I will have no hutch left to take on any more when they go because the hutch will be destroyed. I would appreciate it if you could look at the pics below and tell me what I could improve for them.

The run, time is split 50 50 between run and hutch.

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The hutch. I used spares from the cat tree to make a new one for them after they chewed the last one to bits.

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I have a couple more. Pics but can't add them from here. They also have two large branches to chew on.
 
They are beautiful! But very naughty!
Sonny, our foster bunny, is a chewer as well and has nibbled his hutch.
Have you tried cardboard boxes?
He has a hay box and will 'decorate' it to his design! We also have a toy box for him, which is just a plastic box with willow sticks, wooden chew toys and those carrot things. He loves to tip it over empty it out. This gives him something to do, so he's less destructive of his hutch.
Hope you get some good ideas.
 
My bunny Sherlock used to be a huge chewer - the only thing that I could do to reduce him chewing on his hutch was to buy him lots of chew toys - like sisal carrots, willow rings etc. the bigger the better.
 
We have used metal plastering strips/corners to protect the hutch where possible. They are not expensive & available from most DIY stores. :wave:

Apart from that: As much time out as possible, lots to 'do' + stuff they can chew i.e. apple/pear sticks :D
 
Awww there gorgous, are they wildie x's? I found out last week my new boys a wildie x belguim hare and hes a ****** for chewing, hes chewed one of my bed legs were its so unstable, my wardbrobe, the walls and my floorboards have also had a good seeing too :roll: :lol:

I tend to give him lots of wooden bits he can chew and lots of pear and apple sticks, with his toys he ends up with cat and dog wooden bits and a couple of trunks of bunnysafe trees from my boss. I end up giving him different things every 3days to keep him abit more busy with his mind and they tend to last abit longer, so one day he will have a set of toys then the next they change then the next they change again then the next day he gets the same toys and day 1 etc. It seems to of slowed his chewing down abit more as its mainly exploring them again before the demolishing sets in.
He also seems to be more inclined with things he can stand on and dig so he has a massive dig box thats really deep and it keeps him rather amused.
 
Rachel89 - what do you use for your digging box? I tried to provide one for my bunnies and they aren't interested so I think I've set it up wrong?
 
Cardboard boxes last about an hour.:roll: I have put plastic edging along as many places as I can but they have now started on the flat walls too:lol:. They have a digging box full of hay, readigrass and pellets! I buy cheap willow plant pots for them on eBay because they are much better value than the toys designed for rabbits and I checked with the person who makes them that the willow is untreated.

These are the branches they have!

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Gray, they are not supposed to be, they were an accidental litter from pet shop buns but I think there must be woodie there somewhere given their behaviour. I have dealt with chewing before but never on this scale!!!!

Thanks for all the replies folks. It's great to know I am not the only one with mega destructive rabbits! Now I need them to find a new home...SOON!:lol:
 
I find it so amazing how you are determined to keep one step ahead of them! :lol: Just pop a fallen tree trunk in with them! :lol:
 
I was going to ask if they were widlie crosses but everything about them implies they are.

They are going to absolutely run you ragged, in a wonderful and crazy way.

I have very few suggestions but everything will need to be like Fort Knox (especially when they go to their new home because you clearly know what you're doing).
 
Cardboard boxes last about an hour.:roll: I have put plastic edging along as many places as I can but they have now started on the flat walls too:lol:. They have a digging box full of hay, readigrass and pellets! I buy cheap willow plant pots for them on eBay because they are much better value than the toys designed for rabbits and I checked with the person who makes them that the willow is untreated.

These are the branches they have!

SkyStick.JPG


Gray, they are not supposed to be, they were an accidental litter from pet shop buns but I think there must be woodie there somewhere given their behaviour. I have dealt with chewing before but never on this scale!!!!

Thanks for all the replies folks. It's great to know I am not the only one with mega destructive rabbits! Now I need them to find a new home...SOON!:lol:

They have characteristics of wildies - looking at their back legs, they appear slimmer and more streamlined, like the legs of a wildie, who needs immense speed off the mark, more so than a domestic rabbit.

That was why i asked - if they do have any Wildie in them, they are going to run you ragged!
 
Thanks guys, I already decided to tell the rescue that they were for an experienced home only. If they go to anyone who is nervous of them then they will wriggle, scratch and get loose and will end up back in the care of the rescue.

They are good to handle as long as you keep them feeling secure as you lift them and carry them. They will sit on my lap for ten to fifteen mins before getting wriggly and they happily let me clip or inspect their nails. I do this every morning as part of their routine!

They have tested me in all of my rabbit entertaining knowledge and made me come up with new ideas too! Like the shelf at an angle! It is unfortunate that the back garden doesn't have space for the run to be attached to the run all the time. I think it would make a big difference.
 
can you make their runarea any larger? My pure wildie loved to have lots of space to run about in. She also chewed/dug her hutch to death before I got given her (was how she escaped).

You might want to try going to a Jewsons (sp?) and asking about their 6inch ground drainage piping. Ben and Jeri have a few length and love running through them and into the boxes we attach to the end. You could get a really long length (something like £1.50 +vat per metre or something like that... could get a really long length and cutin two to make 2 long tunnels that they can loop around in?

See about hitting the charity shops and look for any cheap wooden toys, or maybe buy some 3x3inch wood and get it cut into cubes for them to throw about and chew on instead of the hutch?

Maybe look into getting a low wooden box that you can ill with soil/hay for them to dig and chew to pieces?

I'd say getting the metal plastering brackets is an EXCELLENT idea! Stops the buns nibbing on the hutch. You can even get thin metal sheets and fix them to the hutch interior (or the very fine 1/2 x 1/2 inch wire mess can work too), to prevent them getting their teeth into the wooden body of the hutch.

Are they getting pellets or other additionals foods as well as access to grass? Maybe cut back a little on them to prevent them having such a mass of energy reserves? Bit like cutting oats out of horse's diet to stop it being full of beans!

Just trying to think of things I've used both now and in the past.
 
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