Preparing for adoption day - what have I forgotten?

Adoption day is drawing closer Please feel free to comment on my plans and tell me what I've missed.

We'll be collecting the rabbits in the early afternoon. They'll be travelling home in the same carrier, and we'll put some of their bedding in to make it more familiar. The journey will be 10-15 minutes and they'll travel in the back, next to my daughter who can keep an eye on them.

When we get home, I'm planning to put them, in their carrier (with the door open!), in their run, which will be set up with hay, water, food etc with access to their playhouse, and just let them explore in their own time. I'm expecting that we won't go into their enclosure until it's time to shut them away in their home (playhouse) for the night (and we'll check hay and water levels at that point too).

Does that sound ok?

A couple of extra questions - I've bought two types of pellets, following recommendations here, to see which they prefer as they are currently fed on whatever has been donated to the shelter (which mostly seems to be muesli-type mixes). Any views on whether I should open both bags and give them a mixture from the start, or try them on one and stick with it if they eat it, or change to the other type if they don't?

And vaccinations - they are currently unvaccinated, which I want to rectify asap. Should I go for the earliest possible appointment, or give them a few days to settle in?

Thanks for reading!

All sounds sensible :thumb: In addition to their bedding, I would also bring some of their poo back in the carrier. I agree with leaving them alone for a while to settle. As you've got two different sorts of pellets, I would mix them and see which ones get eaten first. Also don't be a rush to change this and make any dietary changes gradually. Regarding vaccinations, as long as they are eating and pooing OK and appear otherwise well, I would get them done as soon as you can, starting with the vaccination for RHD2 (Filavac or Eravac) and then arrange for Nobivac a couple of weeks later.

Good luck this afternoon and let us know how you get on

Thank you! (Just to clarify, we're not collecting them this afternoon, but when we do collect them it will be afternoon )

So - poo in the carrier, and a mix of both types of pellets to start with. That I can do!

When we have a definite adoption day I will make vaccination appointments, but it's good to know that it doesn't need to be absolutely straight away. We will definitely get the full set of vaccinations.

OliveTree said:

Thank you! (Just to clarify, we're not collecting them this afternoon, but when we do collect them it will be afternoon )

So - poo in the carrier, and a mix of both types of pellets to start with. That I can do!

When we have a definite adoption day I will make vaccination appointments, but it's good to know that it doesn't need to be absolutely straight away. We will definitely get the full set of vaccinations.

Click to expand...

Yes, I realised that after I replied :lol:

You are obviously taking the responsibility of taking on Rabbits very seriously, which is brilliant. If only it were something everyone did.

With regards to the food. I'd ask for a small amount of the type they have been used to at the Rescue. Changing over food needs to be done gradually over about 7 days. Especially when an environmental change is happening to and/or the Bunnies are babies. You could give the a bit of their previous food mixed with one type of pellets to start with. You may find they ignore the pellets at first, but as long as they have eaten the muesli and they are eating hay and pooing OK just leave the pellets down and dont top up the bowl with more muesli. They should get the message that if they dont eat the pellets then there is only hay.

Also, I always offer new Rabbits water from a bowl as well as from a sipper bottle. I eventually use just water bowls for all of my Rabbits. Good luck with your new additions

Thanks for replying. I definitely want to be a responsible rabbit owner!

I'm not sure if the rescue would give me any food but I could ask them. When I asked before about what they ate, they said that they give them whatever has been donated so not to worry about giving them what they're used to because they'll eat anything. They've definitely had muesli each time we've visited though, so that's probably the sort of thing they're used to. I wonder if I should get a cheap, generic bag of muesli and move them from that to the pellets over the course of a few weeks. I don't mind the cost (it's bound to be cheaper than the pellets anyway!), I just want to be gentle on their digestive systems and do the best thing for them.

I have some water bowls but I wasn't sure about getting a bottle as well. The ones I've got are heavy so hopefully won't be easy to knock over, but apart from that I wasn't really sure about the pros and cons and thought that a bowl would be easier to clean.

I always use bowls only for my rabbits. Ceramic dog bowls.

Sounds like you are really well organised. Cant wait to see pics once they are settled in.

Thank you