new rabbit, lots of questions!!!

hi i bought a hutch 2day n im gettin a rabbit very soon!! its soooo cool!!!

anyway, i am getting my rabbit from an rspca rehoming thing, they are 20 weeks old and are a x breed with dwarf lop in them. i was wondering because they havent been handled whether they are too old to learn that handling is fine? and does it matter that i dont have a hay rack, i will just put it in a pile on the floor, or do i need to get one?

soz bout all the questions, just 1 more! what do i need to put on the hutch floor cuz i was going to put newspaper first, then in the sleeping bit im gunna put straw n in the running bit i will put a bit of straw and a bit of sawdust, is this fine?

thanks so much, im really excited!!!!!

Hi and welcome!

You don't need a hayrack for your bunnies, mine prefer to have it piled in their litter trays that way they can eat as they poo ! If you get a litter tray then you can train your bunnies from day one to use it (you'll probably find they pick a corner and if you put a tray there with some dirty litter in it then they will use the tray) this makes cleaning out a whole lot easier.

In my shed I use newspaper on the floor and pelleted sawdust catlitter in their trays to absorb the urine. Sawdust/woodshavings isn't usually recommended as it can be very bad for them in enclosed spaces (dusty and in some cases potentially toxic). Something paper based like megazorb or pelleted sawdust is better.

It is never too late to win an animal over. Even my Athena who was supposed to be incurably aggressive has mellowed over time and is a lot more tusting now. The others I have adopted that were just a bit timid have really chilled out and are just as loving (and in one case more so) than Zeus that I had from a baby.

Caz

it doesn,t really matter what age you get them as with alot of care and love , they will not take long to get used to being handled , groomed and cuddled . I would get a hayrack if possible or even a deep dish for putting straw in as it keeps it fresh and away from the floor of the bed , saying that tho ... cheeky used to eat the straw from his litter tray !!! .

The best thing to do with the hutch is to put down paper in the whole hutch and then loads and loads bedding in the sleeping area , alot so its nice and cosy . I,m not a big fan of sawdust but sevetal other folk use it with no probs , i just don,t trust it as whenever i used it cheeky had terrible probs with sneezing ... he was very sensitive tho so you may be ok . In the front area you can use some layers of paper , then sawdust on top of that if you like and then some straw , not as much as in the sleeping area tho .

Its also very very important that they are vaccinated (if not already done) against vhd and myxi and keep an eye on their teeth , hocks and under the bum . Its a good idea to get them used to being handled as that way its easy to do a quick check every day on the "problem " areas .

If you have never had rabbits before - you will soon learn that they are affectionate , funny creatures , they really realy are and you have years of joy and fun ahead of you . Enjoy it , once you catch the bunny bug .. it doesn,t leave you .

When you get them tho , if you have any issues of problems then don,t hesitate to come on here as there is always someone around with some advice. Get a good vet tho before any problems arise .

good luck . x

hi

I'm thinking of the same questions at the mo as I might split my girls up - it's very hard taming a group of 5 scared rabbits, and they are starting to fight a bit with not being spayed yet...

I THINK (there's so many different ways to do things) I'll put lino on the hutch floor so it's easy to sweep with a hand brush....Put paper litter like Megazorb (shavings and sawdust can cause health probs) in a big high sided litter box (at the mo I use underbed storage boxes - depends how big the hutch is) with hay at one end, as they like to pee and eat at the same time - So I HOPE (ha ha) most of the mess will be in the box! I won't put anything in the 'bedroom' of the hutch unless I can fit another plastic box of litter and hay in there - they'll just use it as a toilet if it has straw in. In winter I think they'll need lots of bedding though - :roll: there's always some decision to wonder over with bunnies :lol:
And I'm going to put shutters on at night and at siesta time (11-4pm) so they don't get scared by cats...And a board at the bottom of the wire to stop rubbish falling out...And a net curtain stapled over to stop flies going in....Might be easier to just have them all in my bedroom :lol:

So long as they get a run out am and pm, good, tasty hay, good high fibre pelleted food, some veg and grass, clean water and are safe and cleaned regularly, it doesn't really matter I guess

Are you getting one or two buns? Advice is really read loads and loads first...lots to read on here and there are really helpful people on this site too. Enjoy

cheeky was only out occasionally in his hutch outside - he preffered to be free range (the garden is very secure tho) - but he slept in the house overnight . His bed consisted of his corner litter tray , straw in the basket , his water , some toys and his duvet with his little sleepy sheep duvet cover