OMG *flail* I'mma get a bunneh!

[kage no neko]

Today I went to a local pet store because they had a sale on bird stuff (got two bird cage covers, hooray!) and I was looking at their bunnies.. And I fell in love with this black and white one. Which I promptly named Oreo (of course). No clue the gender yet, or the age, but it's still young.

Tomorrow I'm gonna go buy him. smile So excited. A bunny that won't run in fear from me! (I've helped rehab wild bunnies)

Any suggestions? What do bunnies love? I fully intend to spoil this little bundle of fluff!  

[Kithy Kitty]

Mine loves collard greens and spinach.

I totally recommend Oxbow brand hay and pellets though.  

[Azusanga]

I have 3 rabbits. Ask me ANYTHING.

^--Mocho
The three

One of the twins.

Bedding: Good= Carefresh, kiln-dried pine, aspen, newspaper
Bad= Anything "scented", regular pine, corncob, cedar, etc.

Housing: Make your own. Cheaper, easier, and waaay customizable. What we did is we took a 4x6 board and made that the bottom of the cage. Then we put two table legs onto it. After that we used boards to make a border, as well as make upright posts on all the corner, as well as 2-4 (depending on the side) posts in the middle. After using nails and screws to secure everything, we used fencing to make the walls. We lay down a painters tarp over the bottom of the cage (cut a large one into 4 pieces) to also help protect the wood and to make clean-up a breeze. We left it open top because it's tall enough that our dog at the time would not have been able to reach it. We painted the whole thing white to help protect and seal the wood. I'll try and find a picture of it. We also made a little hutch out of spare wood, which turned out awesome- the rabbits love it. The main cage has no litter in it, since they're (mostly) litter box trained. Their hutch is filled with shredded paper (think junk mail, bills, old letters, old phone books), which fluffs up substantially. We actually made this whole cage for our original rabbit, Mocho, before we even considered buying our does, Latte and Decaf. When we got the girls, they were so small that we had to add a layer of chicken wire around the cage, because they could fit through the squares of the fence.

Food: timothy hay and pellets. Timothy hay available at all times. Pellets available either at all times or at specific feeding intervals. I will type up a more detailed guide later. I suggest fencing off a section of yard and letting the grass grow long and trimming it down and giving it to the bunny to feast on.

Companionship: Find out gender of rabbit. Females usually get along alright, males should be neutered and paired with a female. They get along best in pairs, and occasionally trios can work. Depends on the rabbit.

Grooming: Depends on the rabbit and season. For a smooth/short haired rabbit, a brush like this wouldn't be very ideal. But on a fluffier or longer haired rabbit it would work very well. This type of brush would work great on a smooth-haired rabbit. Rubbing them down with a damp cloth once in a while helps in shedding, as well as minimizing odor. A drop or two of vanilla in a small bowl of water with the rag soaked in it will help eliminate any odors

Toys: Rabbits love toys. LOVE. Dog toys (plushies) are fun to toss around and drag all over the cage. Shiny bird toys are great to poke at. Boxes filled with treats and folded shut make GREAT boredom busters. My rabbits' favorite is an empty paper towel tube stuffed with grass, then with a paper towel jammed in each end. They have to figure out how to pull all of the greens out, and they love it!

Litter training: Very possible. Will make a more detailed guide later.

I'll type up a rabbit guide later. Au revoir!  

[kage no neko]

That's super awesome, thanks! biggrin


Yeah, I totally got her. I named her Chii. Decided that "Oreo" just didn't really fit her, even if it fit her colors.

Finally took pictures last night, so I'm uploading them now!
Here's a super cute bunny face for you all!
 

[kage no neko]

I've the dummies guide to bunnies, and looking for what they suggest, it seems Chii is a girl. We'll see in a few months if anything develops that I didn't notice of course.

And I think next week when I get paid I might bring her to the vet for a checkup, and see about what it'd cost to get her spayed.

So far she doesn't seem terribly interested in the ball toys I got her. Came as a three pack, decent sized wood balls.. one has some peanuts inside, another has a bell... the third doesn't make noise but seems to be made of alfalfa or some other grass instead of wood. I'll buy more toys and see what she ends up liking.

Her official cage is due to arrive tomorrow. Right now she's staying in the largest bird cage I have and seems to be content with it, lol.  

[Levina-jade]

I've had my baby Sammy for 7 years and he was 3 years old when i got him. Hes a pure dutch and a rescue from a bad bunny breeder.

Watch spoiling the bunny too much they are like small children and if we give them their way they take over, Especially if they are not fixed, thats the BIG thing get your bunny spay or neutered as SOON as you can, in addition to better temperament it cuts down on cancer by ALOT i think its up in the 80% range but i'll recheck my books.

I would have to DISagree on the kiln-dried pine, aspen bedding, they do a horrid job of collecting the smell and liquid.
I do like the paper beddings both ones like carefresh and the unscented recycled paper pellets. If you use shredded newspaper please watch the following the ink in the paper sometimes its toxic, and the store adds on the softer paper, those always use toxic ink.

I went with the extra large store cage its a plastic bottom so its easy to clean. its 48x24x24 however my bunny is a dwarf breed at a full size of 5lbs, if your rabbit is a larger breed that cage may not be large enough. a good rule is 5x larger then the full size of your rabbit. azusanga gave a great way to make a cage.
OH and NO NO NO wire bottoms, it leads to poor cut up bunnies. My little boy also has a large dog playpen to hang out in.

For food yes yes yes on 24/7 timothy hay, I also like a pellet food with HIGH fiber per my vet, there are a few brands with 28% fiber, my boy gets oxbow, petsmart has it WAY over price, your better off finding at your vet. I also go with a food with NOT treats in it, bunny's pick out the treats and leave the healthy stuff.

You can make ALOT of home made toys, toilet paper rolls stuffed with hay are great, just watch that it doesn't have any glue on it the glue has zinc and that makes bunnies ill. other good toys phone book, baby toys, and lots of chews.

This site has the BEST information I have ever been able to fine:
http://www.rabbit.org/

AND a GREAT veggie and fruit list!: (scroll down)
http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html

and sorry for the wall of text I am a vet tech for small animals and reptiles, so i tend to share to much.
click pics to make bigger


 

[Azusanga]

kage no neko

I've the dummies guide to bunnies, and looking for what they suggest, it seems Chii is a girl. We'll see in a few months if anything develops that I didn't notice of course.

And I think next week when I get paid I might bring her to the vet for a checkup, and see about what it'd cost to get her spayed.

So far she doesn't seem terribly interested in the ball toys I got her. Came as a three pack, decent sized wood balls.. one has some peanuts inside, another has a bell... the third doesn't make noise but seems to be made of alfalfa or some other grass instead of wood. I'll buy more toys and see what she ends up liking.

Her official cage is due to arrive tomorrow. Right now she's staying in the largest bird cage I have and seems to be content with it, lol.

I'm scared to ask. What did you order? Can you take a picture of her/his vulva/p***s so that we can see what you have? I found that if you place your finger just above the opening and press down into their abdomen (gently) and down towards the tail, a p***s could easily poke out.

My rabbits also like plastic spoons. They like tossing them back and forth. Sometimes they like that toy, and if you have a lot of open pinecones, baking them in the oven for a while to sanitize them and remove the sap. These rock.  

[Azusanga]

Levina-jade

I would have to DISagree on the kiln-dried pine, aspen bedding, they do a horrid job of collecting the smell and liquid.
I do like the paper beddings both ones like carefresh and the unscented recycled paper pellets. If you use shredded newspaper please watch the following the ink in the paper sometimes its toxic, and the store adds on the softer paper, those always use toxic ink.

The reason I said that those two are safe is because they don't contain the harmful aromatic oils that cedar and types of pine bedding do. For me, pine went well. Clean industrially (bleach), and a lot of spot cleans kept the cage nice.  

[kage no neko]

I ordered this. Just need to go get a huge bag of timothy hay now. The store I got her from gave me a small bag of pellets and a small bag of hay to last for a little bit.

And I like the carefresh bedding. It's amazing how this little block of it can fill such a huge space, lol.

And I bought a litter pan and it's in a corner of the cage now.. with some urine soaked paper towel pieces in it. It's pretty neat, it has a grate on it so she can sleep in it if she wants and not sleep IN it. I've seen lots of bunnies sleeping in their litter pan. I also gotta find her a nice bed that she'll like to sleep in.  

[Levina-jade]

Azusanga

Levina-jade

I would have to DISagree on the kiln-dried pine, aspen bedding, they do a horrid job of collecting the smell and liquid.
I do like the paper beddings both ones like carefresh and the unscented recycled paper pellets. If you use shredded newspaper please watch the following the ink in the paper sometimes its toxic, and the store adds on the softer paper, those always use toxic ink.

The reason I said that those two are safe is because they don't contain the harmful aromatic oils that cedar and types of pine bedding do. For me, pine went well. Clean industrially (bleach), and a lot of spot cleans kept the cage nice.

true on the lack of toxins and yes on spot cleaning, I lucked out my boy is 100% litterbox trained so his box gets cleaned a few times a week and the whole cage once a week.  

[Levina-jade]

kage no neko

I ordered this. Just need to go get a huge bag of timothy hay now. The store I got her from gave me a small bag of pellets and a small bag of hay to last for a little bit.

And I like the carefresh bedding. It's amazing how this little block of it can fill such a huge space, lol.

And I bought a litter pan and it's in a corner of the cage now.. with some urine soaked paper towel pieces in it. It's pretty neat, it has a grate on it so she can sleep in it if she wants and not sleep IN it. I've seen lots of bunnies sleeping in their litter pan. I also gotta find her a nice bed that she'll like to sleep in.

hopefully she wont rip apart the bed, lol. That is a really good cage for that price! the food it comes with is ok, think about switching when its all gone. And yes bunnies love to sleep in their potty boxes, its weird but it makes em happy.  

[kage no neko]

Levina-jade

hopefully she wont rip apart the bed, lol. That is a really good cage for that price! the food it comes with is ok, think about switching when its all gone. And yes bunnies love to sleep in their potty boxes, its weird but it makes em happy.

I bought a huge bag of timothy hay for $10, so I basically made her a little bed out of it, lol. She seems content with it, she can sleep and eat without having to go anywhere.

I went to the pet store today to get more information on her from the owner (since the guy who sold her to me didn't know anything). Apparently she's 3-4 months old and from a 4-H farm. I'm gonna email him later to get information on the breeder, but I'm happy to at least know how old she is.

Google says around 6 months is best to get bunnies fixed, so I'll ask my vet about all that when I bring her in for a checkup this coming week.  

[Levina-jade]

kage no neko

Levina-jade

hopefully she wont rip apart the bed, lol. That is a really good cage for that price! the food it comes with is ok, think about switching when its all gone. And yes bunnies love to sleep in their potty boxes, its weird but it makes em happy.

I bought a huge bag of timothy hay for $10, so I basically made her a little bed out of it, lol. She seems content with it, she can sleep and eat without having to go anywhere.

I went to the pet store today to get more information on her from the owner (since the guy who sold her to me didn't know anything). Apparently she's 3-4 months old and from a 4-H farm. I'm gonna email him later to get information on the breeder, but I'm happy to at least know how old she is.

Google says around 6 months is best to get bunnies fixed, so I'll ask my vet about all that when I bring her in for a checkup this coming week.

I am SOOO glad they are willing to share breeder information with you. It means you have a healthy bunny. We have a chain store in my area that get their rabbits from a rabbit mill.  

[Akiska]

My bunny hated toys designed for rabbits. He would have the most fun with cardboard tubes [paper towel and toilet paper] crumpled up balls of computer paper, shredded paper in a box, and an old washed out tuna can with no sharp edges.

As for bedding, Well mine were long haired show bunnies, so they had wired floors over the dried pine shavings, the ventilation in the room and the raised floor kept them from dust etc. [They had wooden slats to get off of the wire.]