• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Things, that now experienced bunny owners got wrong when acquiring their first bunny.

Mrs. Bunnykins

Wise Old Thumper
I've had bunnies as part of my family since 1995 and so much has changed since then.....all for the better.

But just in case any less experienced bunny owners think that we didn't ever make any mistakes.....here's a few of mine. And I've posted them because we all have to start somewhere and have no doubt all made a few mistakes along the line. I'm still on the learning curve and loving every minute of it.


Right a few of my mistakes when I acquired my first bunny.....


Bought a lovely hutch..........................3 1/2 ' x 2' x 2' !!!!!! My bunny...Arfur.......R for rabbit, free ranged around the house, but occasionally he was shut in his...................tiny hutch.:(

Fed a muesli mix!!!!

Hoped that a neutered buck and an un-neutered buck of 2months old would live happily live together forever!!!

Bear in mind that in 1995 I didn't have a computer and even if I did have, there was no where near as much information out there regarding rabbit welfare as there is today.

I hope that in some way this lets people know that even experienced owners had to start somewhere.
 
Thank you for sharing. Think it really helps people... I also think it's brave to share...

So embarrassed... I first had bunnies when I was very young. I must of been around 10/11... We "rescued" a family of buns who were going to be released into a field. I worked really hard and made a 4ft by 4ft hutch from odd wood in dads shed. I cleaned them out every week, and lugged home food, straw, hay and shavings as we didn't have a car. I knew nothing and nor did my parents. :cry: though I did my very best and I loved them so very much.

There was no info re. neutering and vaccines, they had musli mix and their run wasn't attached. :( but I spent a long time talking with them, stroking them and much to mums disgust, brought them in for cuddles and nail checks...

When I think of them now, it's hard - but makes me determined to do better for my rabbits.

We found homes for most, but kept mum and daughter. They had both been runts of their litters but were so strong. Nibbles and Sherbert (Bertie), you were very much loved. I'm just sorry I was too young/so uninformed.

Xx
 
In 2000 I went to the pet shop to buy either a rabbit or a guinea pig and came home with one of each and an indoor 3 foot cage, and a big bag of muesli. At least I had some hay (even if I didn't realise how much they needed) I had a big long hallway and did at least let them out to roam in it until the rabbit started digging up the carpet.

Then it was an outdoor 4 foot double story hutch and an attached run in the garage or outdoors depending on summer/winter. A friend of a friend who had 3 rabbits advised me that she kept hers in a shed with an attached aviary and that it was much better for going out and spending time with them/cleaning etc. I thought that a bit strange :oops: Now I get it.

I do actually feel seriously bad when I think of the life my first rabbit had. I really really wish I'd had proper advice back then:( I didn't discover this forum until I lost a bunny I was very attached to and had progressed to a shed by then, but I've learnt loads since I've been here.
 
The good thing for us all is that we are learning and will continue to do so.

I feel that sharing our past experiences may help new and or less experienced members on RU to feel that us older/ more experienced owners have not always got things right.


We are only human.............and we do have a wobble or two!!!
 
Ooh good thread, I bet we all sound like 'know it alls' sometimes.
Confession time... I bought my first bun on a complete whim with no forethought whatsoever! I had found a stray neighbours bun one day and had him for two days before he was claimed, I had got so attached and to chear me up my OH said did I want to go get a bunny, and so we did there and then. I bought a baby lop and also bought a 3 1/2 foot hutch.
Only afterwards did I do a bit of googling and realise the hutch was too small, and they like to live in pairs. I also didn't know how many bunnys are out there that need a forever home.
I soon put that right, once my boy had had his op, and we got him a new bigger two storey hutch, and a rescue lady bun.
That was 3 years ago, and I now have another two rescue buns, but I'm still making mistakes, like not grooming often enough letting my buns fur get matted. I only found RU a month or two ago but it's so good for information and advice I sometimes still feel like I know nothing!
 
My first bun that I was old enough to actually look after myself led a pretty miserable life. He was alone, fed muesli and never had hay. :cry: He was put out in a run every day so had access to grass but he always had a mucky bum. He free ranged in the garden completely unsupervised (how he didn't get eaten, I don't know!) and was shut in a 3x3ft converted dog kennel every night. He eventually got fly strike and despite the vets determination, the wound would not heal and he developed a respiratory infection, he also needed a dental. :cry: I got him put down at the age of 8 and I hated myself so much for letting him die as he did. Dandelion died and suffered unnecessarily, and it was simply because I was so ignorant.

Then a year or so later, I went to a pet shop and bought a baby bun with absolutely no preparation. :roll: I didn't even have a cage! :lol: This time, I had the sense to do research, since he was the first animal that was actually "mine" and not the "family's". I had moved out of my parents house (where my first bun was). I had rats, but they belonged to both me and my then GF, she was the one who did all the research for them etc. I then got a 4x2ft cage and he was shut in there every night, or when I wasn't in...he learnt to bar bite something rotten because he was so frustrated and bored and became aggressive. It wasn't until I moved back with my parents and got him a friend and made him free range 24/7 that he calmed down.

Fiver is the one who really got me hooked on rabbits; it's because of this forum that I know what I do and why Fiver has such a brilliant life. He has taught me so much, and this forum has been fantastic! :love:
 
When I first got my rabbits I had them in 4 by 1 hutches :( Now the hutch is open 24/7 for Joshua to come and go as he pleases.
 
I kept Buster in a two story hutch for about 8 weeks, no run attached and on his own! When I had him neutered I bought him inside as it was winter and could see he was so much happier inside so I kept him in the kitchen with the bathroom as his litter tray base! Now he has a proper set up and a friend
 
I don't remember much of my first rabbit Henry (I was very young) but he slipped a disc (and became paralysed) and after that was pampered and washed every day to stop him getting dirty and loved being a house rabbit for his last 2 years.

Then came Bonnie and Buster. We neutered Buster but never spayed Bonnie, luckily they never fought. They lived in a 4 foot hutch (it was 3 feet high at least with another level on one side) and were only ever put in the run in summer. Buster died from fly strike and poor Bonnie was left on her own. I didn't know rabbits mourned and didn't think it necessary to get her a new friend :( I let her free range in the garden though a lot and brought her in to free range 1-3 times a week. We started letting her have free run of the garden with open hutch 24/7 and after only a few weeks of this I found her dead in her hutch, no signs of injury, I assume something frightened her to death or VHD :(

Now on to Harvey.... God I sound awful having been mean to so many bunnies..... I bought him on impulse (whilst not ideal, I do not regret this) bought him a 4x2x2 hutch with attached 4x4x2 run. I got him neuteted the day after buying him, the poor thing must have been so shocked! I shut him in the hutch every night and he'd be furious and shake the bars but I had to because where I lived was crawling with foxes :( I had him by himself for nearly a year, and even though I didn't know rabbits could be lonely I could tell he was, he ran to the end of his run when I went outside and sat there watching me leave :( I also brought him in and out the house even in Winter :( when I decided to get him a partner is when I joined RU and I started improving everything for him :D

The thing I feel the worst about is letting my rabbits be lonely and bored :( I feel so guilty that Bonnie was by herself, and I feel so guilty for Harvey, he is such a fusspot, he must have been so depressed by himself :( and shut in a 4x2 hutch when he likes to sprint and play at night... Poor thing must've bashed himself against the walls :(
 
Now, we mustn't beat ourselves up for the past experiences with our bunnies.

The thing is that we have all learnt so much and are still learning.


So long as we are heading in the right direction......in my opinion that is perfect.:thumb:
 
Oh, I feel terrible when I think back to how we looked after our very first rabbit.
There was an ad in the village shop window saying someone was looking to rehome some rabbits, we called up and went round there.
Looked at the persons single bunnies.
We chose a black girly but the child there started crying and yelling they wanted to keep it, but they hated the grey one so he could go.....so that's how we ended up with Murphy (smurfs was his nickname)
I was about 11 years old at the time.

My granddad built a 'large' hutch for him which looking back must have only been 4 ft.
He was kept alone his whole life and was never neutered.
He did get free run of the garden and came in and out of the house when he wanted.
We fed him lots of carrots, apple and even dry Weetabix :oops:
He had hay as his bedding, I remember that.
But as I got older (and my siblings) we were too busy with our friends and stopped spending time with him so he just sat all alone in his little hutch :cry:

Things have changed SO much since then.
I will always feel bad about how badly Murphy was treated.
 
Now, we mustn't beat ourselves up for the past experiences with our bunnies.

The thing is that we have all learnt so much and are still learning.


So long as we are heading in the right direction......in my opinion that is perfect.:thumb:

Moving in the right direction is definitely one of the most important things :D it works out well for Harvey though when I start feeling guilty about how I kept him because I run over and give him apologetic kisses and head rubs :lol: I'm really glad RU exists, without it I don't know if I'd have been able to improve my rabbits' lives as much as I have!
 
My very first bunny that myself and my grandparents rehomed from my uncle (because I was 15 and hated the way he let my little cousins treat him) didn't have an awful life but there was a lot I didn't know about bunnies back then. He had quite a small hutch for night time which wasn't ideal, but my grandad built an enormous run big enough for three buns for him and he was always let out in there if there was someone in the house to watch him which there mostly was. We even let him have free range time in the garden where he'd go binky crazy for a few hours. However he was never neutered and was fed muesli and not nearly enough hay. He died very young because he managed to escape from his hutch during the night and was eaten by a fox :(

I did my research before I got my next bunny Flump when I was 19 and knew how to properly feed and house him so he was very healthy. Between working 30 hours a week and uni though I didn't spend as much time with him as I should have done, and although I tried my best and gave him as much free range time as I could he really needed a wifeybun. I didn't have him neutered though and by the time I realised I thought he was too old to bond with another bunny as he had gotten very attached to me and was very protective. He sadly got sick last year and deteriorated horribly quickly and died two hours before his vet appointment. I feel so guilty for not getting him to an emergency vet, but I can't change that now and I hope he forgives me as he was in my arms when he died and knew he was loved.

I've learned all my lessons with these two (in my sig) though. We're kitting out our spare room to be one big bun haven, they have as much hay as they can eat and are fed pellets and not meusli. They're kept in a pair in massive housing and are given free range of the living room when we're at home. We've just had Dog neutered and will be having Cat spayed when she's old enough. Wouldn't have learned half as much without RU though :wave:
 
When I first had bunnies I was only 12 or so and I didn't know much about them and nor did my parents. I had a friend with guinea pigs and they seemed similar to me at the time! :?
The hutch they had wasn't tiny, it had an attached run, but it wasn't huge. They had muesli mix and picked out the bits they liked. They were often forgotten :cry:

I feel bad looking back, how little I did for them in their short lives :( But I know that was down to how little I knew at the time.
Obviously now I am worlds away from that, before I had no idea what personalities buns could have! Now I know so much more now about rabbit welfare and health, and through that I can inform my family and friends.

It's easy to feel embarrassed looking back on these first bunny experiences, :oops: but without them we never would have learned, and look how far we have come!
Here we are, sharing experiences, helping others, and spreading knowledge.
Be the change you want to see, eh? :)
 
I first had bunnies in the 80's, when I was a child. We had 2 sisters (we think), and my dad built them a big hutch. Nobody knew about spaying females then though, and they started to fight and my dad had to make it into 2 small hutches. They were fed muesli, not given fresh hay every day, and only got out at weekends, and not always every weekend. Poor rabbits. They were the loveliest buns as well, and always put their heads down for a rub as soon as the door opened.
 
I had a couple of rabbits as a kid. Never got let out, very little hay, fed muesli and whatever veg scraps came from the kitchen. No castration, no vaccination. The first died quite young. The second, housed with a guinea pig, mysteriously vanished from its cage - in hindsight it was probably taken by a cat or similar as the tiny hutch only had those swingy plastic latches.

Even more recent... Flymo was bought as a friend to our guinea pig (and they got on great until he started over-grooming pigpig and had to be separated :oops:) and spent most of last winter in his hutch (one of those big chicken coop shack thingies) because I didn't think they should go out in bad weather :oops:

Never, never stop learning :thumb:
 
I have had rabbits as a child that I didnt keep (sold to a pet shop) :cry: I cant tell you how much I regret that. I loved them sooo much but just didnt have the dedication. I used to dream about them for years. I still feel sad about them now.

It is lovely to have forever rabbits now. I am so greatful to RU and all the help, advice and experiences that people share on here.
 
Bobo was an impulse buy at the beginning of last year:oops: - we had one of those tiny cages for him. We got him on a Monday - left him for 24 hours as instructed - and then brought him out and gave him a whole carrot (Bugs Bunny eats carrots right?:oops:). It took us until the Wednesday to realise he wasn't drinking any water from his bottle - so gave him a bowl, which he demolished so quickly - he was so thirsty the poor little guy.:(. He lived in that small cage for a couple of months - just pleased we realised that the size of the cage was rubbish - and he SO loved his new big hutch.

Then we discovered he liked Water Cress - and gave him LOADS - which put him into Stasis. Thankfully we got him to the vets quickly on that day and he recovered on that same day. But we dithered for so long about getting him neutered and having a friend for him - for some reason we believed he was fine on his own:cry:. It took him getting very frustrated one Sunday - obviously hormones going bonkers - for us to finally make that decision to neuter him and to get him a friend.

I am so pleased to say that Bobo is now a very happy little boy, who adores Harley (and vise versa) - and from our mistakes, and the with the support of RU - we've learnt the basics of bunny keeping and will never repeat those early mistakes. Still feel so guilty about them - but just pleased we were able to rectify them quickly.
 
I've had bunnies my entire life, well my family have and I've grown up with them :D

We always had big hutches as they were homemade, but we didn't have more than one bunny at a time (so single outdoor bunnies :(), bunnies all had constant free range of garden (bunny proofed) but unsupervised during school/work hours and we never neutered/vaccinated.

This all changed when I got Lola, she was my first housebun, my first female bunny actually. We vaccinated, neutered and she had free reign of everything :lol::D
 
My two rabbits were rescued from somebody that we knew. When I first got them we kept them in a hutch which was 4.5 x 2.5 x 3 foot. They did have an attached run underneath their hutch but it was 6x2 foot and the ramp took up a lot of space to get it shallow enough. My Dad helped make it for them.

They were kept on sawdust, fed muesli but luckily I knew that they needed unlimited hay as we had some rabbits in college.

They lived like that for maybe two months but during that time I was researching constantly. First I changed their food from muesli to pellets, then I used straw and hay as bedding and covered the hutch with tarpaulin in bad weather.

Once that was done we decided that the hutch was only temporary accommodation - we made the run 6x4 foot to keep them happy in the meantime, and started constructing a shed. We then attached the 6x4 run to the new shed and over time strengthened it. We also had them vaccinated.

Then just this summer we spayed them.

In the space of a few months I did improve their lives, but I can't believe I thought that how I was keeping them before was OK

As new owners I think you often look at how others keep their rabbit, take the bits that sound right, then buy the biggest hutch in the pet shop or make the equivalent, but you don't realise that pet shops don't sell suitable sized hutches. It's not to hard to change it though and I am still learning lots on here. Now I have got the accommodation and routine health care right, I am learning more about diet so I can offer them variety, and also enrichment so that I can make them even happier.
 
Back
Top