New Rabbit Owner

[Amy Sanders]

Hi everyone!
A member of my church was looking to rehome a couple of rabbits that were a surprise gift for her 2-year-old daughter. The bunnies are approximately 6 months old, and the family just didn't have the time to properly care for them. I love animals of all kinds, but this is my first foray into owning rabbits. I've helped my neighbor care for theirs some, but I just don't know enough to be totally confident in caring for these cuties just yet. I've been reading up on rabbit diets and I have figured out that while the rabbits were being given enough hay, they were also being given way too many carrots and pellets. I was also given a bag of fresh collard greens, but if I'm reading correctly, this isn't the best for them. Romaine would be better. Can you please verify this? I want to be sure that my new babies are eating the proper diet, so any advice in that direction would be appreciated. What veggies are good for them and in what amounts?

Also, these bunnies were kept outside. They do have an awesome multi-layer housing unit, but I've decided to keep them inside. The poor little things are dirty and from what I'm reading, I shouldn't give them a bath, so my question is...how do I get the poor little things clean? One of them is a lion's head and the poor guy has mats. How do I deal with those without hurting him? I do know they have sensitive skin, so I need to be careful. Please...I would love any help you can give me!
Their names are now Marsh (short for Marshmallow) and Graham, (short for Graham Cracker). The family's daughter had named them, and I didn't want to change the names too much.

 

[a reader of books]

Hi and welcome! It's very kind of you to take these bunnies into your care. It sounds like they'll have a good home with you, since you're trying your best to find out how to care for them properly. Collard greens aren't really bad for them at all as far as I know, but it's best to introduce cabbages slowly as they can cause problems in some bunnies. If they're already used to them, though, I'd just keep giving it. Romaine lettuce is fine, too, but doesn't have a lot of nutrients. Here's a list of recommended veggies by the RWAF: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/recommended-vegetables-and-herbs/ The whole website contains lots of information, so it might be helpful to you to read some of the other articles. As for the amount of greens, it depends, really. My bunnies get unlimited greens, but other people give very little. For now, I'd stick to maybe a regular sized food bowl daily of a few different veggies, depending on how many they're used to, and see how much hay they eat. If they're good hay eaters, they can have more greens, but you don't want them to have so many greens that they won't eat their hay anymore. It depends on how they handle greens as well, so you'll have to keep an eye on their poops. If they go soft or they leave a lot of caecotrophs (the soft, smelly poops that look like a bunch of little balls stuck together) they might be getting too much, or there might be a a certain veggie they don't tolerate. Soft poops or leaving caecotrophs can be caused by too many pellets as well, so you'd have to think about what recently changed in their diet if you see those.

Depending on how dirty they are, they might get themselves clean given some time. The mats the boy will need help with, though, yes, so personally I'd get some small scissors and cut out the mats, as that will be quicker and less stressful than trying to comb or brush them out. Just make sure to cut away from the skin, as, like you said, bunny skin is very sensitive and you don't want accidents. If there's any fur that's particularly soiled, I'd use scissors for that as well, rather than trying to clean it, again because it's quicker and thus less stressful. Just be careful to not cut away much fur from the bottoms of their feet, as they need a thick layer of fur there to protect their foot soles.

Their new names are cute. I'm not sure I'd want to be named Graham Cracker, so I'm sure Graham is fine with his new name. If you have any more question, feel free to ask them, and if you want to tell us more about Marsh and Graham, or post photos, we always like that, too!

Maybe someone can move this thread to the right part of the forum? I don't think many people will see it here in the Help Using The Forum section.

 

[tonibun]

Hello and welcome to the Forum. Basically a Rabbit's diet should be 80% Hay, 10% Pellets and 10% veg or forage,ie Herbs, Dandelions etc. I tend to stick to Spring Greens or dark green Cabbage. Rabbits usually keep themselves very clean so I am not sure why yours are dirty? If they aren't already litter trained then it's a good idea to give them a litter tray with substrate at the bottom and hay on top. The reason for this is that they like to pooh while they chew! Are they 2 boys?

 

[Zarla]

When my older lionheads get dirty underneath I give them a shallow bath in a washing up bowl. Around 3-4 inches of tepid water is enough. Position them with their front paws on the edge of the bowl so that they don't get too wet. Hold them steady the entire time and don't get their back or head wet.

Wear gloves and gently ease off any embedded droppings and tangles. After the wash, sit them on your knee wrapped in a towel to dry off, then let them hop round the room for a few hours until they dry.

Don't put them straight onto sawdust or other bedding after their bath. If they've very dirty, you can add a few drops of baby shampoo to the water but tepid water should get most of the dirt off.

Good luck!