<------ newbie here, Hello!

hello all,

the names Eddie, we have just taken in a rabbit hence my arrival here. I have used forums of various topics to gain valuable knowledge usually getting better quality information by forums like these.

so

as i've said we have taken in a rabbit, i have zero experience with rabbits so will be making heavy reading on the subject over the next few days (mostly probably from here). the rabbit we have has been described to us as a lop eared rabbit, male, 6 months old.

here he is, quite a large thing tbh,and been told he is still growing?



pic is poor as i didn't want to disturb him too much with his recent move, i'll take another when he's running around.

a few quick questions so i dont get it totally wrong but i'll probably read about it in the coming hours i see alot of rabbit runs for sale, can they not just run freely in the garden? or is there another purpose for the run (protection)

i've got two bags of "bedding" one bag of barley straw and a bag of wood shavings i've used the straw in the bed area for him and the wood shavings in the lower hutch area (he has a 2 level hutch).

also was looking at these bed wigwam thingies, any good? or no good?

anyways will be taking him to the vet soon for a checkup and a chat.

as for his name, my 5 year old wants to call him slinky, opinions?

so anything anyone thinks i should know now please speak up and i'll get stuck in but for now i'll start some reading up here.

thanks

eddie and "slinky"

Hello and welcome! :wave:

This forum taught me all I know Slinky is handsome!

First tips to keep you going then!

Lots of fresh hay to eat - buns need to eat all the time, and hay is the best thing for their diet. It also helps keep their teeth trim as they never stop growing.

What feed is he currently eating? Pellets are much better than a mix, but if you do change, do it very slowly as they have very delicate stomachs - add afew more pellets each day and take out a bit of mix. In the end he only needs about an egg cup of pellets a day - :shock: I know - not much eh! That's why so much hay!

Rabbits can free range in the garden, but make sure he can't get out - also - I'd say always to keep an eye on him, incase of predators - cats etc - that's why people have runs, so buns can be out unsupervised.

The RSPCA recommend a minimum hutch size of 6 x 2 x 2 feet. With lots of excercise out. If you think of a bun in a hutch which is less high than 2 feet, they can't stand up on their back legs and stretch out - VERY painful after a while, like us living in a cinema seat haha!

Hello & welcome.

You have a beautiful bunny there, he looks quite big from the pic.

First thing that I am sure you'll quickly find out is bunnies love a bunny friend, that's probably one thing you could do to make a huge difference to his life (it took me 3 years to learn this).

In regards to the bedfing i would go with newspaper and hay mainly, I believe wood shavings can cause respiratory problems to some bunnies. I am sure someone with more knowledge of this will be able to give further advice.

And welcome to being a bunny ownet-you will love it!!

SamanthaJane said:

Hello and welcome! :wave:

This forum taught me all I know Slinky is handsome!

First tips to keep you going then!

Lots of fresh hay to eat - buns need to eat all the time, and hay is the best thing for their diet. It also helps keep their teeth trim as they never stop growing.

What feed is he currently eating? Pellets are much better than a mix, but if you do change, do it very slowly as they have very delicate stomachs - add afew more pellets each day and take out a bit of mix. In the end he only needs about an egg cup of pellets a day - :shock: I know - not much eh! That's why so much hay!

Rabbits can free range in the garden, but make sure he can't get out - also - I'd say always to keep an eye on him, incase of predators - cats etc - that's why people have runs, so buns can be out unsupervised.

The RSPCA recommend a minimum hutch size of 6 x 2 x 2 feet. With lots of excercise out. If you think of a bun in a hutch which is less high than 2 feet, they can't stand up on their back legs and stretch out - VERY painful after a while, like us living in a cinema seat haha!

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hi :wave:

ok, it looks like a mix so i'll look for pellets then and try to slowly feed them through. how much hay should i place in the hutch with him? (will have a browse of members pics for this)

Hiya :wave: you can never give too much hay maybe start with a pile the size of him and see how he gets on with that! There should be enough that he never runs out. This forum is awesome, anything you need to know willbe found here! Happy reading! And keep asking questions :wave:

Hello and welcome to ru. Around 85% of your buns diet should be hay mine have several large handfuls per bun per day.

If you have a loot in the care sections on here there is lots of info on diet and housing. Is your bun vaccinated and neutered?

Hellooooo and welcome to you both

He looks lovely - Looks like a Harlequin lop tho it could be the lighting? :wave:

Like the others have said... Hay, Hay, Hay! [No, I'm not singing :lol:]

There's tons of very experienced people on here, so ask away if there's things you need to know xx

Aww he is lovely!

We are new to bun-hood so i dont have much to offer but let him have unlimted hay...I was so suprised at this one becuase I thought they should have mix/pellets as their main diet but our two have a tiny portion of pellets daily (10 max) and lots and lots of fresh hay.

There is so much advice and knowledge on these boards so I will leave it to those that know better than me but welcome and congrats! :wave:

eddieace said:

hi :wave:

ok, it looks like a mix so i'll look for pellets then and try to slowly feed them through. how much hay should i place in the hutch with him? (will have a browse of members pics for this)

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We use hay as bedding too so their bedroom is full of hay, the upstairs landing is covered with hay too and then both their litter trays downstairs are full of hay

Hello and welcome! :wave:

Slinky is lovely!

Janey said:

Hello & welcome.

You have a beautiful bunny there, he looks quite big from the pic.

First thing that I am sure you'll quickly find out is bunnies love a bunny friend, that's probably one thing you could do to make a huge difference to his life (it took me 3 years to learn this).

In regards to the bedfing i would go with newspaper and hay mainly, I believe wood shavings can cause respiratory problems to some bunnies. I am sure someone with more knowledge of this will be able to give further advice.

And welcome to being a bunny ownet-you will love it!!

Click to expand...

just measured his hutch, it measures 4' long 2.5' tall 1.5' deep given the 6x2x2 rscpa recommended i may have to leave a bunny friend for a little while, he spent a lot of his time in his previous owners house, what is other peoples opinions on this and will he be ok if i let him roam the house?

eddieace said:

hi :wave:

ok, it looks like a mix so i'll look for pellets then and try to slowly feed them through. how much hay should i place in the hutch with him? (will have a browse of members pics for this)

Click to expand...

Excel Pellets are easiest to get hold of. Big green bags

Another thing when you go to him in a morning, he will look like he has hay maybe - if he didn't eat it all.

Bin it and put new hay in - they are so picky - for ages I left in the same hay and couldn't understand why they weren't interested. They have to have fresh hay - bit like us having an apple already sliced into, on the side for a while.

Picky monkeys!

thanks all for a very warm welcome,

hmmm ok plenty of hay then

eddieace said:

just measured his hutch, it measures 4' long 2.5' tall 1.5' deep given the 6x2x2 rscpa recommended i may have to leave a bunny friend for a little while, he spent a lot of his time in his previous owners house, what is other peoples opinions on this and will he be ok if i let him roam the house?

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A lot of people have house rabbits - I do

Options are usually,

a bedroom to themselves

a large dog crate and just popped in there at night time for safety.

Just consider - wires! Bunny proofing isn't too bad once it's done. But they do like to chew wires - if you can get them pinned out of the way and covered - fab!

Take a look at this link for indoor housing

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?304613-Indoor-Housing

and this for outdoor

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?311878-Outdoor-Housing

Lots of ideas there

Wowee hes a big bunny! I'd go with a french lop or dwarf lop (which is a large breed of bunny despite the name :lol: )

If he were mine these are the things I'd want to change
- hutch, bigger 6x2x2min
- bedding, shavings arent brilliant for them. My bunnies are litter trained so only have straw in the bedroom area and nothing else on the floor
- food, I'd swap him onto pellets (Science Selective in my house)
- hay, lots and lots and lots and LOTS
- a run is a definate, free range time is brilliant though when you can supervise
- Decide if he is indoors or outdoors, not swapping during the day so he can get used to the temperature dropping
- vacinate him. Myxi 6monthly, VHD once a year
- neauter him
- get him a friend


Seems like you are eager to learn and willing to change though

Georgeypudding said:

Wowee hes a big bunny! I'd go with a french lop or dwarf lop (which is a large breed of bunny despite the name :lol: )

If he were mine these are the things I'd want to change
- hutch, bigger 6x2x2min
- bedding, shavings arent brilliant for them. My bunnies are litter trained so only have straw in the bedroom area and nothing else on the floor
- food, I'd swap him onto pellets (Science Selective in my house)
- hay, lots and lots and lots and LOTS
- a run is a definate, free range time is brilliant though when you can supervise
- Decide if he is indoors or outdoors, not swapping during the day so he can get used to the temperature dropping
- vacinate him. Myxi 6monthly, VHD once a year
- neauter him
- get him a friend


Seems like you are eager to learn and willing to change though

Click to expand...

This is great advice. If finances are an issue as non of this is cheap and christmas is coming I personally would prioritise in order of vaccs, housing then neuter. 6 months is the youngest he can be neutered anyway so you will be ok waiting a couple of months is he isnt showing any signs of hormones

Welcome to the forum!

House rabbits are great pets but if you or anyone you live with is very house proud then you might want to run it by them first :lol:

Bunny proofing is essential and some buns (such as mine) are very partial to the taste of skirtingboards, doorr frames, table and chair legs and carpet :shock: soo be pepared for possible damage :lol:

Also as mentioned it is very important that Slinky is vaccinated

Good luck with your new bun

Hello & welcome :wave:

Thank you for giving him a home & well done for asking questions about rabbit welfare :wave:

As others have said, hay is vital :thumb: If you can source some nice baled hay locally that's the cheapest way of buying it Store it somewhere well ventilated & dry (& not in anything plastic).

A good pelleted diet is also important and you can add a small amount of bunny safe veg to his diet for interest & variety. Do this very gradually though and only give the high sugar veg such as carrot & parsnip in small amounts or as a treat. Cauliflower, Broccolli & cabbage can cause gas so again, very small amounts (if any). See here for more info: http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/leaflet_pdfs/going_green_oct_06.pdf

In addition or instead of veg, foraged stuffs are excellent for rabbit teeth & tummies. Bramble, plantain, hawthorn and apple/pear leaves are good ones to start you off and easy to ID :thumb:

The more space he has the happier, healthier & more relaxed he'll be Any 'safe' free ranging time you are able to offer him will be greatly appreciated by him

If he isn't vaccinated please get this done asap. Myxi (6 monthly) & VHD (annually - avoid the Cylap vaccine as common side effects).

I'm guessing he probably isn't neutered. Please consider getting this done asap. He will be more relaxed (no frustrations), is less likely to territory mark (buns are very easy to litter train) and is likely to be a friendlier and easier to handle rabbit

To litter train, get a washing up bowl or similar & line it with newspaper (lots), then fill with hay. Don't put hay anywhere else - rabbits like to eat & toilet at the same time and so you simply put his hay where you want him to 'go' If he doesn't get the hang of this straight away do persevere! It should improve once he's neutered but in the meantime you may need to consider using more than 1 bowl. I'd start off with one in the sleeping area & maybe one downstairs? You may find that he uses the bowl to sleep in as well Forget shavings, they are messy & can cause blockages + respiratory problems. I personally wouldn't bother with straw either - you just don't need it. You could add a couple of old towels or a fleecey blanket to the hutch for him to snuggle & lie on during the cold weather. Cover the hutch at night to keep out draughts, stop rain blowing in & also to protect him from seeing a predator should one enter the garden.

Please keep us posted on how you get on. There is lots to take in and you won't be able to do or learn everything at once! Please come back & ask more questions (no matter how silly they may seem) :wave:

webble said:

This is great advice. If finances are an issue as non of this is cheap and christmas is coming I personally would prioritise in order of vaccs, housing then neuter. 6 months is the youngest he can be neutered anyway so you will be ok waiting a couple of months is he isnt showing any signs of hormones

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agreed

Hello and welcome.:wave: Do keep us posted with how he gest on, and we always love photos so hope to see more of your bunny.