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Completely new at this!!

Chrissie24

New Kit
I got two rabbits yesterday, 12 weeks old. I let them settle into there hutch and then let them out this morning into the garden. They are clearly very excited about having so much space, but my concern is they have spent the whole morning eating all the grass in the garden and they are not eating any hey at all. From what Ive read hey is their main food source, so could eating so much grass be bad for them and if so how do I stop them eating so much grass.
 
I got two rabbits yesterday, 12 weeks old. I let them settle into there hutch and then let them out this morning into the garden. They are clearly very excited about having so much space, but my concern is they have spent the whole morning eating all the grass in the garden and they are not eating any hey at all. From what Ive read hey is their main food source, so could eating so much grass be bad for them and if so how do I stop them eating so much grass.

Welcome to the forum :wave:

Hay is just dried grass and so for an adult rabbit there is absolutely no problem if it prefers to eat grass rather than hay. However, the digestive systems of very young rabbits is a bit fragile and so I would be a little concerned if they had consumed a large amount of grass this morning, especially if they were not eating the same at their previous home. Do you know what their diet was previously?
 
They came from a pet store so it was nuggets and hey. I was wondering if they were just a little over excited and it may calm down, I have kept an eye on there poo and it seems to look like it should.
 
They came from a pet store so it was nuggets and hey. I was wondering if they were just a little over excited and it may calm down, I have kept an eye on there poo and it seems to look like it should.

All sounds fine then :thumb: Just keep an eye on their poo, as you're doing.

What are your new rabbits' names?

I presume you will be needing to find a vet for their vaccinations and neutering, so if you need help with that, just post a thread in Rabbit Chat asking for members' recommendations in your area :)
 
There names are Wriggles and Domino My 5 year old named them!!

Im glad I found this forum its great to now that you can speak to people who know what they are doing
 
Hi :wave: Welcome to the forum :)

Yes, probably not good for them to consume huge amounts of grass if their not used to it. I would build up gradually the amount of time they spend x
 
I got two rabbits yesterday, 12 weeks old. I let them settle into there hutch and then let them out this morning into the garden. They are clearly very excited about having so much space, but my concern is they have spent the whole morning eating all the grass in the garden and they are not eating any hey at all. From what Ive read hey is their main food source, so could eating so much grass be bad for them and if so how do I stop them eating so much grass.


Hi Chrissie and welcome to the Forum :wave:

Grass is fine, but only when rabbits have been used to it - what I mean is build it up slowly as young rabbits can get bloat from eating too much grass at once. It may be that our dried up hay-like grass won't cause an issue (it's often the new spring grass that's the culprit) but to be sure I thought I would mention it :)

Here's some good advice on diet:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/

Diet for young rabbits:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/diet-baby.asp

And a good site to have a browse around is this:

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-diet/


I have to mention also that there are vaccinations that your rabbit should have.
More details here:

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/vaccinations/

And RHD2 - see the link in my signature, which details loads of reports of cases of RHD2, so it's very important to have them vaccinated against it.

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/owners/frequently-asked-questions/FAQRHD


Good luck with your beautiful new rabbits :D
 
Hello, and welcome to the forum:wave: are they both male, both female, or one of each?
 
Kind of newbie or stupid question, is that a bunny has a sense to differentiate between a grass that can be eaten and some suspicious plant. My backyard has a lot "grass" I mean it all look the same to me.
 
Kind of newbie or stupid question, is that a bunny has a sense to differentiate between a grass that can be eaten and some suspicious plant. My backyard has a lot "grass" I mean it all look the same to me.

No, bunnies cannot always differentiate between something which is safe to eat and something which is toxic.
 
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