H i! I'm Emilie and these are my bunnies!!!!

[lovemybuns]

Hi All! I would like to introduce myself, I'm Emilie and these are my wonderful bunnies -

Pops; 2006 Simese Smoke Netherland Dwarf,

Jack; 2011 Self Black Dwarf Lop,

Lucie; 2011 Agouti Mini Lop,

Evie; 2011 Fawn Mini Rex,

Mr. Brown; 2011 Chocolate Self Mini Lop,

Teddy: 2012 Tricolour Mini Lop,

Tammy; 2012 Chocolate Torte Mini Lop,

Aine; 2012 Lilac broken pattern/VM Lionhead,

Rupert; Brother to Aine, Blue Vienna Marked Lionhead,

Freya; 2012 Blue Fawn Butterfly Mini Lop

Phinley; 2012 Opal Netherland Dwarf x Mini Rex

As you can see i have a fair few bunnies but I am fortunate enough to be able to spend lots of time with them all! Most of my bunnies are rescues from homes where the owner was unable to properly provide the proper care. Consequently a lot of my buns came to me with health problems which along with the support of great rabbit experienced vets and my family, i have been able to restore bunnies to their peak condition.
There have been loses along the way with older un-spayed does having uterine cancer/tumors when coming to me. Sadly two does had to be put to sleep this year as the rescue was just too late. RIP Penny and Pixie, always remembered, always missed.

All my bunnies live in 4x2x2ft double hutches or 5x2x2ft single or double tier hutches. I make their hutches and runs myself so they are ideal homes or bedrooms as i like to call them.

I am in the process of spaying and neutering all my bunnies and bonding so rabbits can choose their friends to live with. At the moment, all hutches face each other so bunnies are still able to see fellow rabbits. I of course choose my bunnies neighbors carefully to ensure all parties are content.

Bunnies spend much of their time out in one of our three lawned gardens where we allow weeds, grass and other bunny friendly plants to grow freely, weather permitting.

In the evenings bunnies take over the house and enjoy some quality time with the family.

I feed allen and page natural pellets along with ample varieties of hay, fresh uncut grass, freeze dried grass, weeds, herbs, vegetables and the odd bit of fruit as a treat and to aid natural defenses.

My bunnies are litter trained and hutches, food bowls, water bottles are cleaned daily. Litter trays cleaned out twice a day

This is biscuit our border terrior, he is the bunny guard and keeps dangerous mr fox well away! We thank him so much for helping us to look after our bunnies. Hes brilliant with them and treats them like his own babies, we often find hes been licking them through the mesh and some buns even lick him back!

I hope i may be able to give advise on bunny care, health and wellbeing and learn from forum members too!

Thank you for taking the time to read about me and my buns!
xx

 

[Captain Helen]

Hello and welcome! :wave:

Beautiful buns!

 

[Barn Yard Bunnies]

Welcome to RU :wave:

Really gorgeous bunnies and dog.

You have come to the right place for advice but sounds like you know what you are doing.

 

[lovemybuns]

thank you!

Hello and welcome! :wave:

Beautiful buns!

Welcome to RU :wave:

Really gorgeous bunnies and dog.

You have come to the right place for advice but sounds like you know what you are doing.

Thanks!! I am mad about rabbits! lol. I need an outlet for my chatter of them really, others don't always seem to understand how i can spend all day with my buns, sitting in runs etc and then spend the rest of my time talking about them or reading up about rabbits! lol.

Im off to do a bunny round, lovely weather for it...

 

[Alfiesmummy]

Alfies mummy

Hi emilie im new here,too. Your bunnies r adorable. I envy u having the time to spend with them. I am a first time rabbit,owner. I have a14 week old double maned lionhead.I would love him to have a companion soon, just worried about the bonding. Its lovely to b able to chat with other rabbit lovers, because as u say people dont always understand our need to talk about our buns !! Its good to have the support too !

 

[lovemybuns]

Hi emilie im new here,too. Your bunnies r adorable. I envy u having the time to spend with them. I am a first time rabbit,owner. I have a14 week old double maned lionhead.I would love him to have a companion soon, just worried about the bonding. Its lovely to b able to chat with other rabbit lovers, because as u say people dont always understand our need to talk about our buns !! Its good to have the support too !

With lionheads, youll probably appreciate not having too many other buns to groom!
Bringing a doe back to buck already established in your home is usually easier so you probably wont have such a challange bonding? If your wanting a companion for him I would recommend waiting until he is neutered and they say males are still fertile for up to a month after the op, if you introduce a doe right toward the end of that month, chances are he will still have enough male hormones floating around to keep him interested in making a new friend.

A lot of people have success bonding an older rabbit to a younger one if you are able to provide a new area. Maybe you could reserve a room that your buns not been into yet? If he hasnt conquered the whole house already! lol.

I would recommend a different breed of rabbit to pair with him. In my experience lionheads can be a bit more jumpy than say mini lops, by bonding with a more relaxed breed, the calm and confident behaviour could rub off on him. Saying that, my lionhead buck is super confident so it really is a generalisation regarding lionhead temperament. A really chilled out mini lop doe could be paired with him, if bonding goes well and when its time, she can be spayed and he will be there to support her post op and their bond 'should' be strenghened by him being there for her. Youd just have to be careful to make sure neither she or he is grooming the surgery scar.

How is your buck settling in? How long have you had him and whats the little guys name?

Emilie.

 

[Alfiesmummy]

Alfies mummy

Hi, emilie, thank u,for your advice on bonding, im sure it will come in,handy when I,decide to get a bunny friend for alfie. He is ny first rabbit , I have alway had guinea pigs before. I have had him 7 wks now and he has settled in,really well from day one . He is a very confident little bunny and,seems,to,think he owns the place. I adore him though and he is very spoilt. I notice u have two lionhead rabbits, how do u find,their temperament in comparison to your other rabbits ?

 

[Mrs. Bunnykins]

Hello and welcome to RU.:wave::wave:

You'll find loads of helpful advice and support on here.

Have fun.:thumb:

 

[Charlotte Seaney]

:wave:
Beautiful buns

 

[Tuckerbunnies]

Hi & Welcome to the forum :wave:

What beautiful bunnies you have they are all so gorgeous and of course Biscuit the Border terrier

 

[lovemybuns]

Hello and welcome to RU.:wave::wave:

You'll find loads of helpful advice and support on here.

Have fun.:thumb:

Hi & Welcome to the forum :wave:

What beautiful bunnies you have they are all so gorgeous and of course Biscuit the Border terrier

Thank you all for your lovely comments about my bunnies its lovely weather here today so they will be able to enjoy the garden as theyve been a little cooped up the last few days with all the rain.

Emma, I find that the lionheads are more wiggly than other breeds. They take a min longer to settle being carried and the doe is a bit more defensive in her hutch. This of course can be down to early handling of breeder or lack of. It also can be inherited by parent rabbits.

Rupert is more attention seeking which is typical of bucks. Neither nib much but do occasionally which is largely down to their age - 11 weeks.

They are not as comfortable being on their backs as mini/dwarf lop or ND but this is the same for mini Rex.

Aine is a lap rabbit and enjoys grooming where as Rupert prefers to be on the move. My lionheads seem to have strong stomachs and tolerate new additions to their diet with ease. Of course all new foods are introduced gradually.

I'm currently testing new bedding materials. I quickly moved away from wood shavings due to the high dust in even 'dust-extracted' shavings.

I found easibed very good and it doesn't tend to stick to lionheads. Ecobed was pants. I'm currently using auboise which is more expensive than easibed and will give a review of it next week. I'm also using megazorb. I find it too dusty to use as a substrate so it's just in litter trays and will report on it next week also.

Megazorb is no good for lionheads as it sticks all over their fur but easibed and auboise seem good options. I will also be trying oxbow and Tima straw pellets in coming weeks.

If anyone has any products for me to trial and review please let me know.

Love to all and your bunnies from me and my gang

 

[lovemybuns]

Hi, emilie, thank u,for your advice on bonding, im sure it will come in,handy when I,decide to get a bunny friend for alfie. He is ny first rabbit , I have alway had guinea pigs before. I have had him 7 wks now and he has settled in,really well from day one . He is a very confident little bunny and,seems,to,think he owns the place. I adore him though and he is very spoilt. I notice u have two lionhead rabbits, how do u find,their temperament in comparison to your other rabbits ?

Just to note, which I'm sure your already aware of but 7 weeks old is much too young for a bunny to be rehomed. My doe Evie continues to suckle her litter and they are now eight weeks old. I have been told of does nursing until kit has been 18 weeks!

Not only do kits miss out on nutritional immune building milk but they also miss out on caeotrophs from their mother which builds healthy gut flora.

If you decide to get another bunny ensure the kit is older than 8 weeks before rehoming and responsible breeders should have carried out a 9 day course of panacur worming and two spot on treatments with selamectin/ivermectin for fleas, mites, ticks and pin worms.

You should follow the 9 day worming and make it up to 31 days to protect against E.C parasite. If the breeder did not worm you can start 31 day course ASAP. I use panacur 10% at 0.2ml per kg daily for 31 consecutive days.

I spot on treat my rabbits 3-4 times annually and worm 1-2 annually with regular 9 day course. This way my buns are fully protected which is vital for when I'm showing rabbits. If one was to pick something up at a show, it would pass it on too all my other buns. Prevention is better than cure.

I also strongly recommend hay racks, food bowls raised from ground level and litter training

I've not had any health issues with my buns other than when I have first rescued them
Almost all of the buns I've rescued had mites/worms and often a bit of statis.

 

[dizzyg]

Hello! Your buns are all so squeeeee!

Welcome to the forum. Xxx

 

[Alfiesmummy]

Alfies mummy

Hi and thank,you for all,your advice. I will make sure my next bun is older than eight weeks when it leaves its mum. I,thought alfie was nine weeks when I got him,and only found out later he was only seven weeks. Everything u say about lionheads applies to alfie , he is very wriggly and dislikes being picked up, although he is getting better. He definitely is an,attention seeker !!! I never use sawdust or wood shavings in my cages after having problems with respiratory infections with my guinea pigs in the past. I tried megasorb too but found it stuck to alfies fur, so I now use biocatolet in alfies litter tray which I like. He uses his tray and never soils,in his cage. Love to u and your gorgeous bunnies. Karen

 

[Kavanne]

You have achieved a feat I never thought possible, you have a happy looking border terrier!!! I always think they look so grumpy

Welcome to the forum and thanks for giving a lovely home to some buns in need :thumb:

 

[blue_vix]

aww :wave:

 

[lovemybuns]

Hi and thank,you for all,your advice. I will make sure my next bun is older than eight weeks when it leaves its mum. I,thought alfie was nine weeks when I got him,and only found out later he was only seven weeks. Everything u say about lionheads applies to alfie , he is very wriggly and dislikes being picked up, although he is getting better. He definitely is an,attention seeker !!! I never use sawdust or wood shavings in my cages after having problems with respiratory infections with my guinea pigs in the past. I tried megasorb too but found it stuck to alfies fur, so I now use biocatolet in alfies litter tray which I like. He uses his tray and never soils,in his cage. Love to u and your gorgeous bunnies. Karen

I heard the biocat litter is good I think I mentioned but I use easibed and auboise. Both work well but thinking of trying tima hay pellets. Sadly there isn't many insulating beddings but straw doesn't cause matting and safe bed works ace for sleeping compartment.

I had same thing with age fib with my cat Oscar. Was originally told he was 8 weeks to find out he was 6! And have recently learnt kittens should stay with mum for 10-12 weeks. Consequently Oscar has some behavioural problems now and again but with patience and understanding we are getting there

You have achieved a feat I never thought possible, you have a happy looking border terrier!!! I always think they look so grumpy

Welcome to the forum and thanks for giving a lovely home to some buns in need :thumb:

Biscuit is always smiling! The great thing about rescue animals is that they seem to appreciate a new life with a loving family. We believe Biscuit was owned by a drinker prior to being at Battersea dogs home. He was petrified of cans and bottles when we first got him. He was very fearful and would pee/poo/vomit around the house if left alone.
After only a few months of being with us he grew massively in confidence. Now he's a very confident, brave and friendly dog who is comfortable with only his own company when we do have to leave him at home alone, which isn't often.
The rabbits have been great for him and Pops lives indoors so Biscuit sleeps beneath his cage at night which seems to be nice company for both of the old boys lol.

I feel so very lucky that I have been able to rescue/rehome so many animals and give them each the time they deserve. It really is me that should thank the animals as they have helped me through some really difficult times, from cervical cancer diagnosis and treatment to grieving the loss of family members to relationship break up. My pets have been a core of love, affection and joy in my darkest moments. I owe them so much xxxx

 

[lovemybuns]

Oh btw Biscuit is 7 years old now we believe. We've had him 5 years now
He came to the vets with Freya today and had a full MOT and annual vaccine. Very pleased to say, vet reports he's in very good condition just a little tartar on his teeth so we need to brush them a little more often.
Also his weight has remained the same for 3 years so no middle age spread for our boy that will be the bunnies keeping him youthful and busy!