Very new to rabbit ownership, could do with a hand!

[capable]

Oh goodness! Yes it was the vet who told me that, and after your advice and my own research, I'll be using a different clinic. Thank you!

I bought them a few small toys and chew sticks today, as well as some carefresh to sprinkle in the litter tray, and Burgess Excel adult nuggets with mint to wean them onto after their grooming. I've seen the larger bun choose to munch the hay rather than the muesli this morning, while the skinny one hoovered up the mix. How often do others give a hard feed? Morning or evening?

 

[tonibun]

You can split the amount into 2 if you wish or feed the pellets/Muesli in the morning and veg at night.

 

[TheThreeB's]

Hi, welcome to the forum. How are things going now?

You are really kind to take them on and it sounds like you are making a real effort to do the best for them. One of the buns I rescued was very severely matted and dirty when we got her. She is an angora and obviously requires lots of grooming. Luckily she was calm enough for the vet to do it without sedation x

 

[Hele]

It sounds like you are doing really well, lucky bunnies!

I just feed my buns hard food once a day before bed. They get a small scoop (probably just bigger than an egg cup) each and that is it. Other than that they pretty much just get hay. I use veggies as treats and also feed forage (wild bunny friendly plants) but more as a treat than a staple part of their diet. I'm a mean bunny owner :lol: they are healthy little things though so I'm happy with my routine.

 

[capable]

They went to a different vets to be sedated and have the matts clipped out this morning. I collected them on my lunch break from work, so haven't had a chance to take a proper look at them yet.

They've also been named! Chubby bun is William, skinny bun is either Kieth or Jack (undecided). Skinny bun has some sore skin under the dirt so is on 1/2ml of baytril for a week (how to get a syringe into a rabbit gob btw?), and was also sent home with extra fibrey pellet food to keep them from getting messy bums, and to put some weight on skinny bun before they can both be neutered. I'm conflicted about trying to reduce the huge amount of museli they've been used to, to encourage them to eat hay, as skinny bun really needs weight on - thoughts?

I'm going to get a snugglesafe after work and cover the hutch with a duvet and tarp to keep them warm as the hutch is outside. It must be chilly having those gross clumps of fur whipped off! I can't really bring them inside, I've got a curious dog and a cat, and while I could buy a cage it would be much smaller than their hutch. Would that be fair or not? Better than being outside sans some fur? Could I have them in at night and out during the day, or would it disrupt their coats/temperature regulation?

 

[DemiS]

They went to a different vets to be sedated and have the matts clipped out this morning. I collected them on my lunch break from work, so haven't had a chance to take a proper look at them yet.

They've also been named! Chubby bun is William, skinny bun is either Kieth or Jack (undecided). Skinny bun has some sore skin under the dirt so is on 1/2ml of baytril for a week (how to get a syringe into a rabbit gob btw?), and was also sent home with extra fibrey pellet food to keep them from getting messy bums, and to put some weight on skinny bun before they can both be neutered. I'm conflicted about trying to reduce the huge amount of museli they've been used to, to encourage them to eat hay, as skinny bun really needs weight on - thoughts?

I'm going to get a snugglesafe after work and cover the hutch with a duvet and tarp to keep them warm as the hutch is outside. It must be chilly having those gross clumps of fur whipped off! I can't really bring them inside, I've got a curious dog and a cat, and while I could buy a cage it would be much smaller than their hutch. Would that be fair or not? Better than being outside sans some fur? Could I have them in at night and out during the day, or would it disrupt their coats/temperature regulation?

To syringe them meds you will need to get them very secure and then put the end of the syringe in to the side of their mouth (just behind their front teeth) and slowly push on the plunger. I find that I have to cradle them a bit (not flat on their back/horizontal as this is really stressful for them and they can choke, but more holding them vertically so I can see their mouth more clearly). You could also try mixing it with a bit of baby food (ellas kitchen is good, choose one that's just made of fruit/veg, no potato/pasta/meat/dairy) because apparently Baytril tastes nasty. Did the vet check their teeth? If skinny bun's teeth are fine then perhaps keeping him on his meusli would be the better option until he's put some weight on, also he's going to be stressed with the medication taking so you don't want to change too many things at once. Could you separate them at feeding time and get the bigger bun on a healthier diet? I think keeping them outside in the big cage away from your other pets will be best, bringing them in and out isn't ideal especially when the difference in temperature inside and outside is going to get a lot bigger, the duvet and tarp sounds great though. If you put lots of hay and straw in the bed area of their hutch that should help them keep warm, straw is a good insulator (better than hay but usually a bit pokey so i like to put straw in first then hay on top).