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New Rabbit - Guidance on Care.

Hi
I have joined this forum for advice on rabbit care. Whilst walking my dogs today I saw a rabbit in a cage, no food or water and a tiny bit of hay by the rubbish bins at the front of a house. Took dogs home, went back and knocked, usual story, had it for 5 months and now dont want it. They said they were going to take to pet shop but apparantly it had been out the front for two days!!! Practically shoved her in my hands.
Having been a magnet for dumped animals over years, gerbils, rats, guineas, but never rabbits, and knowing how overrun rescue's are I and family would like to keep her but have a few concerns before making final decision. The main problem being she would have to be kept outside as I have two guinea pigs in a very big indoor run (4foot x 3 foot) and no room for another indoor. Plus two rescue JR's who R fine with the Guinea's but one of them is a bit to fascinated with Ruby.
I have seen a very good hutch which is a double decker 4foot by 25inches.
We have a large garden table it could sit on to be off the ground and dogs cant reach. But what about winter and nights, she is a dwarf and do they need to be inside, will she be warm enough, etc etc.

If we do keep her I will get another rescue to keep her company(male nuetered), she will have run around time at night as the guineas have an hour supervised in the room their cage is in. I am hoping supervised there will be no problems as room is big. The guineas also have a large enclosure on the grass for when we are home to supervise and she and friend could take turns having time in this enclosure.

So any advice gratefully recieved. If it is not practical to keep her I will take her to a rehoming centre. I just did not want to leave her by the bins open to any risk and I also had a feeling they were going to dump her somewhere. Thankyou in advance for help.
 
Hi :D A 4ft hutch is too small really especially if you will be getting another bun to keep her company. Have you seen the happyhutch ones? I have this one for 2 of my bunnies and its really good http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Massive-Rabbi...ryZ63513QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


she will have run around time at night as the guineas have an hour supervised in the room their cage is in. I am hoping supervised there will be no problems as room is big.

Do you mean the bunny will have run around time with the piggies? Bunnies shouldnt really play with guinea pigs because it would be really easy for the bun to hurt the piggy :(

My buns all live outside ok :D In winter the hutches and runs are covered with blankets and waterproof sheets and they have loads of heat pads and boxes of hay to keep them warm :D Night times arent a problem for them to be outside as long as your hutch and garden is safe and nothing can get to the bunny, mine have access to their runs all day and night but the only other animals that come into my garden are cats and they cant get into the hutches or runs :D
 
Hi Becky
Thanks for advice, the hutch I am thinking about is a two story one. I looked at the ebay one which is fab but I need to have the hutch off the ground because of my JR terrier. The hutch website I found is http://www.rabbithutchwarehouse.co.uk/hutches.php and it is the grand country hutch. It would fit on a large solid garden table, do you think this would be ok? We clean our guineas out daily and would do for rabbit as well.

Good that its OK to keep her outside, will buy waterproof, what do you use? I was thinking of pond liner.

Will have her running around without piggies to be safe.
If that two storey cage is Ok then will most likely keep her but want to make sure I can give proper care.
Thanks.
 
Hello and welcome :D
When you say she is a dwarf, do you mean a dwarf lop (not in fact small, but average sized bunny) or do you mean she is small? Like a netherland dwarf or a mini lop for instance?
A 4x2 double hutch wouldn't be too bad for small bunnies if they got plenty of exercise time, but bigger would be better if you can do it :D Remember that you loose a bit of floor space with the ladder and hole.
Being outside through winter will be no problem as long as they are out there all the time - then they develope a thick winter coat as it gets colder and will be warm enough as long as you provide plenty of bedding.

Why don't you contact Happy Hutch company and ask them to make you something to spec? They've done this for me and several others I know of. They have very reasonable prices too. Perhaps they could quote you for a two story 5x2, or if you only have 4 foot of space see if they can make it deeper to increase the floor space??
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/The-Happyhutch-Company
 
Well done for helping this little bunny to get away from what must have been hell! You sound like your doing the right thing by checking all your options first. I have 2 dogs and the 6ft Happy Hutch with 2 bunnies in. My dogs are fine with small furries but its not the same with wild furries, squirrels etc. If your dogs are ok with the guinea pigs, maybe when they get used to the new rabbit they will be ok with her too, they are bound to be fascinated with the newcomer. I'm not saying let them be together or anythign but if you have something like the Happy Hutch the rabbit wouldnt need to come out for excercise and be near the dogs. Just a thought. I'm sure you will find the perfect solution and give her the happy life she deserves.
 
majorchelsea said:
Hi Becky
Thanks for advice, the hutch I am thinking about is a two story one. I looked at the ebay one which is fab but I need to have the hutch off the ground because of my JR terrier. The hutch website I found is http://www.rabbithutchwarehouse.co.uk/hutches.php and it is the grand country hutch. It would fit on a large solid garden table, do you think this would be ok? We clean our guineas out daily and would do for rabbit as well.

Good that its OK to keep her outside, will buy waterproof, what do you use? I was thinking of pond liner.

Will have her running around without piggies to be safe.
If that two storey cage is Ok then will most likely keep her but want to make sure I can give proper care.
Thanks.

Is space in your garden an issue? Its just the grand country hutch is £124.99 and the happy hutch 6ft hutch with run is £110 so its cheaper and bigger :D Really I would recommend the happyhutch one, my bunnies binky non stop around the run most of the day :lol: My neighbours dog sometimes comes into our garden and is fine with the bunnies. They are not bothered at all by the dog and as long as the dog cant actually get to them its not a problem at all :D Your dogs will probably be more interested at first anyway and then pay no attention to the bunny :lol:

How big is she? Its just when I got Buu I was told she was a dwarf lop and wouldnt get much bigger but she is the biggest bunny I have and would take up most of the hutch stretched out in a 4ft hutch. I have a 4ft hutch in my garden which is always open. No bun lives in there but they do jump in and out of it when playing in the garden and I think its really way to small if the buns going to be shut in. Mine was used for living in but it was inside a 7ft x 8ft run and the door was always open. Some people might think that the one you have seen would be ok but I personally wouldnt have my two smallest buns in one that size :D

It depends on how much time out of the hutch the bun will have as well. If they are only going to be coming out in the evening for a couple of hours then I would go for one with an attached run

The sheets I have are just really big clear waterproof sheets that I got in B&Q. I think the pack just said clear waterproof sheets. They are srtonger than the blue ones you can get and I think they were about £5 each :D

Bunnies can be litter trained so you wouldnt need to clean the whole hutch every day :D I just clean the trays daily and give the hutches a proper scrub with disinfectant once a week.
 
Hey thanks for help.
I am going to phone the happy hutch tommorrow and ask about a suitable hutch. I like the look of the ones with runs and do have space on patio. Would it be ok to have on concrete or should I put a piece of board underneath for warmth. Also should I put newspaper under the hay? Sorry ask so many questions but have never kept pets outside and am quite nervous about it. If only I had a bigger house.
Still undecided, my daughter is a vet nurse and is going to see if any of her colleagues have established rabbit homes and would like another, something tells me though we might be keeping her.
Spacegirl-she is a small dwarf bunny with really big eyes and little pointed ears, she is smaller than one of my guineas. Very sweet.
 
Awww she sounds lovely :love: Bunnies are such lovely pets and they are so funny to watch :lol: Cant wait to see pics of your little one :D

I have vetbed in my hutches. The closed off part I put nothing on the floor but have big litter trays in there. The litter I use is called Megazorb. You can get a huge sack of it for about £5 and its really good :D Then I fill the closed of part with different types of hay. My runs are on concrete and I havent had any problems with them being cold or anything. They usually sleep streched out in the middle of their runs :lol:

The happyhutch guy is quite nice to talk to and im sure he will be able to help :wink:
 
She sounds like she might be a nethie . .
jessrabbit.jpg


I have two of the happy hutch run combos and I really recommend them. Mine are both on concrete which is good for safety and also helps to keep nails short.
I have a few toys/tunnels downstairs and I line the hutch with newspaper and put hay in the bedroom and in a hayrack too.
Ask as many questions as you like :D
 
Hi
Yes that picture posted by spacegirl is exactly like Ruby.
Thanks so much for the advice, our minds are no made up as we know that we can look after her properly, I am going to buy a big hutch with run from the hutch place, she will live on the patio outside the kitchen & dining room doors, the space is sort of protected from wind and there is always something happening, kitchen door is usually open in summer when we are home, there is usually someone around with shifts and college, so she will have activity to watch and we are always in and out to garden all seasons. Play time in evenings with us and we are going to adopt a little friend for her. Would it be a good idea to try and co-incide new hutch and bunny at same time? Are bunnies very territorial or will it be OK to get hutch now?

So the next question, any neutred male bunnies need a home? :lol:
 
Hi, and welcome to the forumThanks so much for rescuing the bunster! It sounds as though she's going to have a lovely home esp if you can get a hutch companion for her! I have two buns in a 5x3 double hutch which has a 4'x5 run attached to it. It sits on the patio which means that the buns have full access to the run 24/7 as they can't dig out and nothing can dig in! It also helps to keep their toe nails short!!They also have an 8x4 run on the garden which they are in for most of the day during spring-early winter. Looking forward to seeing some pictures! :lol:
 
Spacegirl said:
No - I pinched it from google :oops:
He is a cutie isn't he?!

He is :lol:

There are loads of bunnies on Rabbit Rehome :D You can search for one in your area. Bunnies can be very territorial, im having trouble getting my girl to move back into her territory with her new boyfriend :lol:

I waited with bonding my other two until the hutch had arrived and bonded them in the run as it was neutral to them, and they were fine with each other within a day :D

Is she spayed? I think bonding is supposed to be easier if they are both spayed and neutered :D
 
What a wonderful person you are.. taking in that poor little girl from such a horrid life. I'm sure she will become very special to you. :D

I agree with everything the others have said. I know when I got my first bun, I didn't sleep a wink for about 2weeks worrying about the poor little chap being outside in the cold night. :oops: Now however, I have 4 living together and no longer worry about them being outside as they are always toasty and warm in the mornings when I go out. :D
 
Sounds like she is going to have a great home :D

Yes, its a good idea to get her speyed - for one thing it helps with bonding and reducing territorial behaviours and also female rabbits are very prone to uterine cancer so it is advisable to have them speyed for health reasons.

Yes, rabbits are territorial! But you can get lots of advice here on bonding and many rescue will let you bring your bun in for some "dating" to find a rabbit they get on with.

Where abouts in London are you? I expect we can recommend some rescues near to you.
 
Hi
Will get my daughter to arrange for her to be speyed where she works. . I live in Finchley, North London. As she has been on her own I will wait until she has been speyed and got over that before getting friend.Im going to order the cage tommorrow.

I went to the house where she was left outside for a bit more info, I wanted to know where she slept mainly and she has been kept outside in a 4 foot plastic cage with very little hay so she will be very warm in her temporary hutch tonight with lots of hay. They had her for about 8 months or so and then the lady started telling me how expensive they are to buy and that the cage was expensive!!! I was thinking next thing she is going to ask for money!!!.

We have checked on her loads and she is doing fine, so sweet. Thanks heaps for all the great advice. :D
 
Well done for giving this little bunny a home - a cage outdoors, all the way through winter - you can't believe the stupidity of some people can you :x

I've just bought the 6ft HH and it's really good, it went together easily and although my bunnies are having a few problems working out how to get up and down the ramp and the moment :roll: (I'm sure they'll figure it out :lol: ) it's a great hutch and run and they love the run space. I've got it on slabs and they are going to go on the grass under supervision

Can't wait to see pics of your bun, good luck with her spay and have fun finding her a boyfriend!!
 
majorchelsea said:
Hi
Will get my daughter to arrange for her to be speyed where she works. . I live in Finchley, North London. As she has been on her own I will wait until she has been speyed and got over that before getting friend.Im going to order the cage tommorrow.

I went to the house where she was left outside for a bit more info, I wanted to know where she slept mainly and she has been kept outside in a 4 foot plastic cage with very little hay so she will be very warm in her temporary hutch tonight with lots of hay. They had her for about 8 months or so and then the lady started telling me how expensive they are to buy and that the cage was expensive!!! I was thinking next thing she is going to ask for money!!!.

We have checked on her loads and she is doing fine, so sweet. Thanks heaps for all the great advice. :D

Awww im so glad she has found a lovely home with you :D
 
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