Hello everyone :wave:
I know for a fact that we have given our male rabbit Mr. Ham a much improved life compared to his previous home. He was living alone in a small hutch and only got interacted with once a day to be fed. Now he has an 8x10 run which he can run around in 24/7, and he is besotted with Beatrice, who we got for free on Gumtree when her owner was moving house. She was also a lone bunny too so I think they've really found each other <3
Despite the facts before me, have found that owning rabbits isn't very easy and need some reassurance that I'm on the right track! I'm constantly worried about whether they have 1. The right diet 2. The right accommodation 3.Enough Stimulation.
1. They are fed an 'eggcup' of pellets each per day between 8.00 and 9.00am, and are also given a handful of kale, spinach, broccoli and a couple of small carrots. I have read about foraging, but we don't even have dandelions in large supply around here, so it's really hard to get them stuff from 'the wild'. If people can recommend me the best forage then maybe I can buy seeds online and start to plant them. I bought 10 000 dandelion seeds online which I'm going to plant so that they have more variety in their diet. They also have two types of hay in constant supply, burgess hay mixed with marigolds and pillow soft meadow hay. They love eating both of those.
2. Their walk in run is a converted timber frame greenhouse, protected with perspex and wire. It is 8 x 10 ft, so quite large, and attaches straight on to their hutch so that they can hop in and out. It has some old tree trunks that they knaw on and climb, plus a little tunnel they can run through. Thr hutch has a sleeping area which is always stuffed full of hay and straw for when it is cold. They have a litter tray downstairs with a hay feeder over it which both of them happily use.
3. They have balls with bells in to throw around, plus the tunnel to run through and logs to climb on. I feel that I could do better in this department but don't want to overcrowd the run either?
My worries have amplified recently because last Thursday we had to rush Ham to the vet when he stopped eating for no apparent reason. I'm a little concerned again today - he ran up to me and got under my legs as usual when I came out with food, but only ate a fraction of what he'd usually have before going upstairs again and lying down with his eyes closed. I picked some tiny dandelions in the garden to check he wasn't totally off his food and he ate them all but then closed his eyes again. Is he just tired or something? :/ He's lying down on his side a lot too.
We never 'wanted' rabbits as it were. We had just bought our first house and were at the beginning of new jobs. A lot of change was happening at the same time we took on Ham. We did it because we couldn't turn a blind eye to his suffering. I love him dearly but I never feel like I'm doing a good enough job. I've grown up with cats and don't know enough about rabbits.
I just want to do my best for both of them! And I worry about Ham more because Bea seems to be in better health overall.
I know for a fact that we have given our male rabbit Mr. Ham a much improved life compared to his previous home. He was living alone in a small hutch and only got interacted with once a day to be fed. Now he has an 8x10 run which he can run around in 24/7, and he is besotted with Beatrice, who we got for free on Gumtree when her owner was moving house. She was also a lone bunny too so I think they've really found each other <3
Despite the facts before me, have found that owning rabbits isn't very easy and need some reassurance that I'm on the right track! I'm constantly worried about whether they have 1. The right diet 2. The right accommodation 3.Enough Stimulation.
1. They are fed an 'eggcup' of pellets each per day between 8.00 and 9.00am, and are also given a handful of kale, spinach, broccoli and a couple of small carrots. I have read about foraging, but we don't even have dandelions in large supply around here, so it's really hard to get them stuff from 'the wild'. If people can recommend me the best forage then maybe I can buy seeds online and start to plant them. I bought 10 000 dandelion seeds online which I'm going to plant so that they have more variety in their diet. They also have two types of hay in constant supply, burgess hay mixed with marigolds and pillow soft meadow hay. They love eating both of those.
2. Their walk in run is a converted timber frame greenhouse, protected with perspex and wire. It is 8 x 10 ft, so quite large, and attaches straight on to their hutch so that they can hop in and out. It has some old tree trunks that they knaw on and climb, plus a little tunnel they can run through. Thr hutch has a sleeping area which is always stuffed full of hay and straw for when it is cold. They have a litter tray downstairs with a hay feeder over it which both of them happily use.
3. They have balls with bells in to throw around, plus the tunnel to run through and logs to climb on. I feel that I could do better in this department but don't want to overcrowd the run either?
My worries have amplified recently because last Thursday we had to rush Ham to the vet when he stopped eating for no apparent reason. I'm a little concerned again today - he ran up to me and got under my legs as usual when I came out with food, but only ate a fraction of what he'd usually have before going upstairs again and lying down with his eyes closed. I picked some tiny dandelions in the garden to check he wasn't totally off his food and he ate them all but then closed his eyes again. Is he just tired or something? :/ He's lying down on his side a lot too.
We never 'wanted' rabbits as it were. We had just bought our first house and were at the beginning of new jobs. A lot of change was happening at the same time we took on Ham. We did it because we couldn't turn a blind eye to his suffering. I love him dearly but I never feel like I'm doing a good enough job. I've grown up with cats and don't know enough about rabbits.
I just want to do my best for both of them! And I worry about Ham more because Bea seems to be in better health overall.