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My new friend is here!

Radhika

Young Bun
I didn't know where to put this topic. I just want to talk about my bunny! I picked him up earlier today. He was bonded with his brother but they were at awful Pets at Home in their adoption centre, and somehow one brother got bloat and they put him to sleep :(. I couldn't leave bunny there after that so I finished building the hutch as soon as I could and went to collect him.

He doesn't seem sad or lonely, although I'm no expert in bunny language. He is very bright and energetic and eating LOADS. I put a small handful of pellets in his bowl and he ate them all up in about half an hour. I wasn't sure whether to refill it but according to various bunny websites at his age (6 months) he should have as much as he wants? So far he hasn't shown any interest in the hay. I also gave him two spinach leaves and he really loved it - I will keep an eye on his stool and if it's alright, give him some more tomorrow.

He has explored his bedroom and the box lined with carpet I put there for digging. He found his food bowl super quick, and he has drank water several times. He didn't approve of my litter box and spent some time moving the litter (paper one) around to his liking. He has sniffed the ladder but doesn't seem to realise he can go down it and find another level. In there I put two cardboard boxes, one as a hidey hole and one filled with torn paper for digging and burrowing. He's also got a ball and a chew toy down there.

I'm just rambling now! I wanted to share my happiness with new bunny, although I'm really sad about his poor brother too. I have booked bunny in for a vet visit next week for vaccs and a check up, then he can be neutered, then I can try and find a neutered and vacc'd female for him to bond with. I'm not sure how I will manage that, his big hutch is taking up half my bedroom I can't fit another one in here. I'm sure I'll be here for advice in a month or so when he's healed from his operation and no longer potent.

Thank you if you got to the end of all that :D
 
We need pics :)

You shouldn't feed him too many pellets, thats probably why he is not interested in eating hay.
 
*personally* I would avoid using paper as bedding (except under megazorb/litter and hay)

Some bunnies tend to eat it....If I remember rightly someone who boards lost a bunny client a while back as they had eaten so much paper their entire system was blocked (the paper was eaten before he came to stay)

Switch the torn paper for hay and you might find he is more interested..Marnie loves to dig through a big pile and find the 'best' bits.

Hope the vets visit goes well :wave:
 
Aww, your first bunny, SO exciting!! :love:

At 6 months his pellet intake should be limited to approximately an egg cup full a day. This will encourage him to eat more hay.

I agree that paper litter isnt the best to use for the reasons stated. I use a wood based pellet which is brilliant (Im in France so no point telling you the name as it wont be in shops over there.)

Does he have a name yet?? Piccies please!!!
 
Thank you for the advice. :)

My plan was to use straw for bedding and paper for litter and watch him like a hawk to see if he is eating either. So far he has shown no interest in eating the paper, he's just re-arranged it and lain it it grooming himself. I'm a bit confused, I've read so many different websites and they agree on most things but not on litter. Is there no danger if they eat wooden litter?

I will leave off the pellets until tomorrow. He seems to have an unlimited appetite!

He came with the name Bruce, but personally I'm not a fan of that. Since he doesn't know his name I'm planning on changing it, but I want to get to know him first and then decide what name suits him. I'm just calling him Bunny for now, and I registered him as 'Rabbit' with the vets until I've decided.

I will take pictures as soon as I can. My husband has taken our camera on a business trip so I will have to try and borrow one from somebody.

Thanks for sharing in my excitement :D
 
Hi there :wave:

Yes get some pics of him when you can. I use newspaper in the bottom of my litter trays then straw on top and then I have a hay rack above the litter tray filled with hay so they don't poop on the hay they eat. I only use straw as a base for the litter because its cheaper than hay though. I agree to limit his pellets but i would reduce it gradually so not to upset his tummy and introduce small amounts of veg...very slowly though so he doesn't get an upset tummy. Also collecting dandilion leaves, brambles, grass and other forage is good for them if you have access to any (just make sure its not next to a busy road where the car fumes get on the plants).
 
If I can use straw that's great - I have unlimited access to free straw and hay since I work at a cow sanctuary. Of course if it doesn't work out for bunny I can pay for something different, but if he's okay with the free stuff everyone wins. :D

Should I be concerned that he still hasn't realised he can go down the ladder to the rest of his hutch? I don't want to interfere with him, I want him to feel that the hutch is his safe space where he doesn't have to worry about strange humans bothering him. But I also want him to fully explore his new home.
 
Yes we need pics of your new bunny!

Re the pellets, you may feel you are being mean but when the amount of pellets go down, the hay eating will go up! Keep a check on the colour of his bumbles, they should be a nice brown colour :thumb:

He'll investigate the ramp in time when he is more familiar with his surroundings. Bunnies are naturally nosy so he'll be down in no time.
 
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Hi there. He will venture down the ramp when he is ready, don't worry. Rabbits are explorers! Hay will be the most important part of his diet now that he is 6 months old as this will promote healthy digestion and teeth Enjoy your bunny!
 
He's nibbled some more hay, I put it in a toy so he can have fun getting it out. He pushed the toy around and it fell down the ladder hole, I was so hoping he'd follow but he lost interest. Tomorrow I will give him a spoonful of pellets in the morning and another in the evening and hope that he fills up on hay instead. He seems to have a bottomless pit for a stomach though!

Now it's very dark and he's chilling in his litter box, all spread out and peering around the room. He seems like a very confident bunny.
 
Hes very lucky to have found you (or you to have found him)! I wish all unloved bunnies could have such a lucky turn! Good for you and hope you have a great many years with Bunny! :wave:
 
Bunny has chosen his own name. I said different names out loud and when I said "Harry" he whipped his head around and looked at me. So Harry it is! When he gets a girlfriend she can be Ginny. Or Sally.. then I can have a thread "When Harry met Sally".

I've been keeping an eye on his stool to see if the spinach is upsetting him. His pellets look like pictures I've seen, firm and lightish brown and round. But I haven't seen any of the other kind, the one that they eat (I forgot the name). Will he eat them straight away? Is it normal not to see them in his litter tray? He ended up eating a lot of hay once his pellets had run out. I filled a punch bowl with it and at least half was gone this morning - close to his body size, I would guess. Every time I woke up in the night I could hear him munching. This morning I gave him a spoonful of pellets and I put four spinach leaves in a cardboard tube so he could toss it around and pull them out. The rest of the day he has been eating hay.

Also I closed off most of the room and let him out into a little space about 7ft x 4ft. I put his litter tray out and he was an angel, he went straight to it to do his business then hopped out and carried on exploring. He has ignored all the chew toys I've given him but he went straight to my laptop and tried to gnaw the keys off, so I've started training. I said "NO" and clapped, then moved the laptop out of reach and gave him his chew toys. When he chewed on his wicker basket I said "good bunny" and gave him a pellet.

I think the fun of exploring has worn him out, he went back to his hutch and is sleeping in his hay bowl :)
 
The poos they eat are called Caecotrophs and its not normal to see them in a healthy bun as they eat them straight from their bums :shock::mrgreen:

With regards to training him, just be careful you dont startle him too much when you clap as you dont want him to see you as a scary thing. I only managed to train (if you can call it that!) one of my buns Timmy that I did by placing my finger on his nose and saying no quietly but in a firm tone when he tried to chew something Id rather he didnt. It doesnt scare them just annoys them and now whenever I say no to him in that firm tone he stops :)

I tried the same thing with my others though and they just ignore me, rabbits on the whole are not very trainable :roll::lol:
 
Congrats on your new bunny, I think Harry is a lovely name :love:

I've always used loud noises in my 'training' but in all honesty it doesn't really work anyway! Loki will dig at the corner of the carpet simply because he know that I will shout at him and jump up to stop him, at which poit he binaries happily across the room. I have tried chasing him, he has no interest in that he wants to be told off :roll:

I think you are either lucky and get a non destructive bun or are even luckier and get a furry home designer!!!
 
Congrats on your new bunny, I think Harry is a lovely name :love:

I've always used loud noises in my 'training' but in all honesty it doesn't really work anyway! Loki will dig at the corner of the carpet simply because he know that I will shout at him and jump up to stop him, at which poit he binaries happily across the room. I have tried chasing him, he has no interest in that he wants to be told off :roll:

I think you are either lucky and get a non destructive bun or are even luckier and get a furry home designer!!!


Yes thats another thing, alot of rabbits find a telling off hilarious. My Max binkies and runs off laughing when I tell him off :lol: So training him is impossible! Timmy only responded because hes a sweet natured little angel :love:
 
The poos they eat are called Caecotrophs and its not normal to see them in a healthy bun as they eat them straight from their bums :shock::mrgreen:

With regards to training him, just be careful you dont startle him too much when you clap as you dont want him to see you as a scary thing. I only managed to train (if you can call it that!) one of my buns Timmy that I did by placing my finger on his nose and saying no quietly but in a firm tone when he tried to chew something Id rather he didnt. It doesnt scare them just annoys them and now whenever I say no to him in that firm tone he stops :)

I tried the same thing with my others though and they just ignore me, rabbits on the whole are not very trainable :roll::lol:

I've trained Rupert in this way, he now stops what he's doing when I say 'no' in a firm voice..... most of the time anyway, sometimes he claims to not hear! :lol: The look on his face when i touch his nose and say 'no' for stealing tia's food is hilarious... he stands up and stares at me, tries again, stands up stares at me.... tries again, after the third time he comes over and pushes his head under my hand for fuss.... then goes back to tia's food :lol: :roll:
 
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