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Bunny Advice please!

J

jazzylala

New Kit
Hi,
So I am planning on buying a bunny. I am looking at website after website on how to care for your bunny and give in the best life possible but I still have a few questions.
My bunny will be a house bunny, in the cage do I place hay all over it? Or just in the litter box, the least messy the better. It will be a baby bunny though so I don't know what would be best suited for him at a young age. I want to place blankets down in most areas but is that a good idea with a baby?

When would I feed him? I understand an unlimited amount of hay and water is required for the bunny but when should I give him things like veg and pellets?
How active are they at night?
I do want to eventually build a bunny condo, they look amazingly spacious for when I am out of the house. Where can I buy all the appropriate materials like the wired boxes and the wooden pieces?
I have so many more questions but I will leave it at this for now.
Please, as much advice as possible is very welcome.

Thank you, Jasmine xx
 
Hi Jasmine. Well done for doing the research before you get a bunny, so many people (including myself) get bunnies on a whim and are then surprised about how much care and time and space they require :0)

Are you in the UK or US or somewhere else?

Firstly, rabbits do need a lot of space, in the Housing section there are some great examples of indoor set ups. The rabbit condos look fairly spacious but the bun will need free range time too. You may find it easier and cheaper to Rabbit proof a room or portion off an area.

Baby buns are super cute and I admit I got both of mine as babies but since being on the forum I've learnt how many rabbits there are in rescue centres in the UK. I would definitely rescue in future. It's less hassle too as the bunnies are generally spayed. Also, bunnies do like rabbit company so getting a pair may be good.

Re the hay, I have a fairly normal set up which is a litter tray with newspaper and Hay in it and a Hay rack above so the buns have access to clean Hay. Then I have vet bed in the rest of the cage area to keep it warm and comfy. My buns are litter trained so they keep everything fairly clean apart from the odd poo. Also I have had to stop Harvey going on the sofa as he kept peeing there!

Hope this helps.

Liz :)

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk
 
Oh re feeding. I give mine pellets in the morning (i use science selective but excel are good too, unlimited for a baby bun and then an egg cup full when they are fully grown, depending on size) and they get some greens in the evening before I go to bed, just equivalent of one leaf each. But this is just what I do, just do what fits best with your routine. Don't overdo the greens as this can give them an upset stomach. Rabbit's digestion can be sensitive so introduce things slowly. And as you say unlimited hay and water.

Rabbit are most active at dawn and dusk so can be very active long after I have gone to bed and before I get up. Mine are very sleepy at lunchtime and liven up in the afternoon.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk
 
Firstly bunnies need companionship of their own kind too, so you'd need a pair. A castrated male and spayed female is the best pairing. Even if you did have just one or two boys or two girls it would still be essential to neuter for a number of reasons; firstly you cannot really litter train an unneutered rabbit, secondly male rabbits spray urine every where if not castrated, thirdly unneutered rabbits are general very unfriendly and can be extremely aggressive (all those pent up hormones), fourthly females have a very high risk of uterine cancer if unspayed and finally same sex pairs will fight if not neutered.

Rabbits also need vaccinating against myxo and VHD regardless of whether they are indoors or outdoors. This needs doing annually and costs around £30-40 a time (dependant on vet and where in the country you live).

RWAF recommends a minimum of a 6x2ft (x2high) hutch/cage with an attached run area of 8x4ft - thats a minimum square footage of 44 -thats for a small to medium rabbit. You'll find that there isnt a single indoor cage on the market that is anywhere near as big as a rabbit requires (even the multiple storey ones) - they can make a good base to put hay, litter tray, food etc in but a rabbit should not be shut in one (most people use puppy panels to make a run around it or they just completley rabbit proof a room and allow the bunny to freerange all the time.

Bunnies are most active very early in the morning and late at night (when you want to sleep) so it really is important that they have enough space to run around in whatever way you choose to house them.

Many people on here get from rescues. I got my first 2 bunnies from pet shops but my lastest bun from a rescue (as a partner to one of my original buns, as the other has sadly passed away). Its been much less stressful getting from a rescue and cost a lot lot less money. If you get bunnies from a pet shop or breeder, youll have to house seperately until they are old enough to neuter and for a weeks after whilst hormones die down, in that time they wont be very litter trainable, the cost of neutering (anything from £30-80 for a boy and £80-140 for a girl dependant on where you live and the vet), the cost of vaccination (£30-40) and then you then have the stress of bonding (which is an absolute nightmare!). Plus they only look like cute babies for a few weeks. BUT if you get from a rescue, you can still find reasonably young bunnies (theres lots of 4-6month olds in rescue, and buns live 8-12yrs!), they will already have been neutered, vaccinated and bonded. Most rescues only charge in the region of £30-45 for a bun and around £45-60 for a pair which is an absolute bargain when you look at the expense they've gone to in getting bun(s) vaccinated and neutered). You should also be able to litter train very easily and quickly as they are neutered and hormones will have died down (my rescue bun was fully litter trained in about 12hrs! My pet shop buns were partially litter trained after a few weeks and not fully litter trained until a few weeks after neutering when hormones had died down).
 
Last edited:
Hello Liz, thank you for replying! Your advice and knowledge is so valuable and helpful to me. I am from England, and I will of course be allowing my bun space to run around outside of his cage, the only time he will be in there is when I am either out or in bed. Do you know where I could find local bunny rescue centres? I am from Canterbury in Kent and I don't know if there are any locally. The advice on hay and feeding is brilliant thank you! What is the best way for human/bunny bonding to occur?

bizziel said:
Hi Jasmine. Well done for doing the research before you get a bunny, so many people (including myself) get bunnies on a whim and are then surprised about how much care and time and space they require :0)

Are you in the UK or US or somewhere else?

Firstly, rabbits do need a lot of space, in the Housing section there are some great examples of indoor set ups. The rabbit condos look fairly spacious but the bun will need free range time too. You may find it easier and cheaper to Rabbit proof a room or portion off an area.

Baby buns are super cute and I admit I got both of mine as babies but since being on the forum I've learnt how many rabbits there are in rescue centres in the UK. I would definitely rescue in future. It's less hassle too as the bunnies are generally spayed. Also, bunnies do like rabbit company so getting a pair may be good.

Re the hay, I have a fairly normal set up which is a litter tray with newspaper and Hay in it and a Hay rack above so the buns have access to clean Hay. Then I have vet bed in the rest of the cage area to keep it warm and comfy. My buns are litter trained so they keep everything fairly clean apart from the odd poo. Also I have had to stop Harvey going on the sofa as he kept peeing there!

Hope this helps.

Liz :)

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
Hi there, this is such a wonderful reply. Thank you so much, I understand bunny pairing and I will eventually introduce a second but I believe as I am going to be caring for my first bunny I feel it will be better for bunny and I to bond and I can get an idea of bunny behaviours and learn more before I take on a second little one.
Puppy pens for when I am out or asleep is a great idea, I will look into that. I will be allowing bunny free range of a room to roam about it when I am there to supervise and play. Thank you for informing me of the price of vet trips, would you trust Pets At Home as a good bunny vet? I do not know any local bunny specialists.

Confused_bun said:
Firstly bunnies need companionship of their own kind too, so you'd need a pair. A castrated male and spayed female is the best pairing. Even if you did have just one or two boys or two girls it would still be essential to neuter for a number of reasons; firstly you cannot really litter train an unneutered rabbit, secondly male rabbits spray urine every where if not castrated, thirdly unneutered rabbits are general very unfriendly and can be extremely aggressive (all those pent up hormones), fourthly females have a very high risk of uterine cancer if unspayed and finally same sex pairs will fight if not neutered.

Rabbits also need vaccinating against myxo and VHD regardless of whether they are indoors or outdoors. This needs doing annually and costs around £30-40 a time (dependant on vet and where in the country you live).

RWAF recommends a minimum of a 6x2ft (x2high) hutch/cage with an attached run area of 8x4ft - thats a minimum square footage of 44 -thats for a small to medium rabbit. You'll find that there isnt a single indoor cage on the market that is anywhere near as big as a rabbit requires (even the multiple storey ones) - they can make a good base to put hay, litter tray, food etc in but a rabbit should not be shut in one (most people use puppy panels to make a run around it or they just completley rabbit proof a room and allow the bunny to freerange all the time.

Bunnies are most active very early in the morning and late at night (when you want to sleep) so it really is important that they have enough space to run around in whatever way you choose to house them.

Many people on here get from rescues. I got my first 2 bunnies from pet shops but my lastest bun from a rescue (as a partner to one of my original buns, as the other has sadly passed away). Its been much less stressful getting from a rescue and cost a lot lot less money. If you get bunnies from a pet shop or breeder, youll have to house seperately until they are old enough to neuter and for a weeks after whilst hormones die down, in that time they wont be very litter trainable, the cost of neutering (anything from £30-80 for a boy and £80-140 for a girl dependant on where you live and the vet), the cost of vaccination (£30-40) and then you then have the stress of bonding (which is an absolute nightmare!). Plus they only look like cute babies for a few weeks. BUT if you get from a rescue, you can still find reasonably young bunnies (theres lots of 4-6month olds in rescue, and buns live 8-12yrs!), they will already have been neutered, vaccinated and bonded. Most rescues only charge in the region of £30-45 for a bun and around £45-60 for a pair which is an absolute bargain when you look at the expense they've gone to in getting bun(s) vaccinated and neutered). You should also be able to litter train very easily and quickly as they are neutered and hormones will have died down (my rescue bun was fully litter trained in about 12hrs! My pet shop buns were partially litter trained after a few weeks and not fully litter trained until a few weeks after neutering when hormones had died down).
Click to expand...
 
Hi Jazzylala

Rabbits should really have access to their runs / exercise area 24 hrs a day. This is something I am really struggling with at the moment and have a thread re indoor hutches asking other people for advice on this.

I'm afraid that I can't help with rescue Centre locations but if you Google in sure you can find some or maybe start another thread on here asking for recommendations as I'm sure there are lots of people who could help. There is also a rabbits in need section on here.

I think the best way to bond with a bun is just to build up trust by giving them treats and spending lots of time with them. But I'm really not an expert. Neutering will also help with this as unneutered buns can get aggressive.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk
 
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To find local rescue centres look here http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/centres.asp its part of this site and i think it has pretty much all the rescues that take rabbits in the uk. As your a first time owner its worth discussing accomodation sizes acceptable to your local rescues, so that you can make sure, whatever you buy will meet their requirements.
 
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