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Strue85

Strue85

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Hi everyone!

My name is Samantha. I am a mom to 3 rambunctious boys and as of today I am a mom to 4 rabbits! A girl in my town was in the unfortunate position where she had to rehome all of her pets. I have never had bunnies before. They seem happy and well cared for. They are a little scared, understandable with the new environment I think. But I was able to handle all of them without issues. They came in a decent sized cage, but will also spend plenty of time outdoors once I bunny proof the gate. I went to the pet store and got them bedding, quality food, hay and some stuff to chew on. I was told ahead of time that they were dwarf rabbits but I'm pretty sure they are not. If anyone could tell me what kind of rabbits they are it would be greatly appreciated! Also open to any and all bunny owner tips! I want to provide them the best possible care and home!

I also want to add the cage looks so bare because that's how I received it. It has since been made more comfortable!

TIA,
Samantha

20170908_152216.jpg
 
Hello and welcome to the forum!

Do you know their history? Some in photo look very young.

Hate to be the bearer of (potentially) bad news, but it is actually quite out of the ordinary for 4 rabbits to continue to get along once hormones kick in. Just getting two to get along can be difficult enough once those hormones activate. Are any spayed or neutered?

You may want to consider a litter box so clean up is easier for you. They typically take to litter training quite readily. Once trained, they can spend several hours each day in a bunny proofed area of your home. (Outdoors is filled with potential dangers from overhead birds of prey to mosquitos to mites, ticks and nasties.)

As small as the bunnies are, the cage will do temporarily, but, unless they spend 5 hours per day outside the cage, it is really much too small. Rabbits need space to run and jump and binky and dash about for good muscle and bone development. An exercise pen could be attached to the cage to enlarge their permanent space.

Be sure they have constant access to hay (you mentioned you got some). That is more important than the pellets. They should each eat about their body size in hay every day. With as many rabbits as you have, you may want to consider getting hay by the bale! It is super economical that way and so you won't need to worry about waste.

Congratulations on your bunny group.
 
Blue eyes said:
Hello and welcome to the forum!

Do you know their history? Some in photo look very young.

Hate to be the bearer of (potentially) bad news, but it is actually quite out of the ordinary for 4 rabbits to continue to get along once hormones kick in. Just getting two to get along can be difficult enough once those hormones activate. Are any spayed or neutered?

You may want to consider a litter box so clean up is easier for you. They typically take to litter training quite readily. Once trained, they can spend several hours each day in a bunny proofed area of your home. (Outdoors is filled with potential dangers from overhead birds of prey to mosquitos to mites, ticks and nasties.)

As small as the bunnies are, the cage will do temporarily, but, unless they spend 5 hours per day outside the cage, it is really much too small. Rabbits need space to run and jump and binky and dash about for good muscle and bone development. An exercise pen could be attached to the cage to enlarge their permanent space.

Be sure they have constant access to hay (you mentioned you got some). That is more important than the pellets. They should each eat about their body size in hay every day. With as many rabbits as you have, you may want to consider getting hay by the bale! It is super economical that way and so you won't need to worry about waste.

Congratulations on your bunny group.
Click to expand...

The white one is the mama and she is about 3 years old. The other 3 are her babies and they are a year old. All are female. Do you think they will stop getting along at some point? They really love eachother at the moment and are always cuddling. They are not spayed. When do their hormones kick in?

My house is pretty small and I also have a medium sized dog. She is still getting used to them. I would hate for her to eat them though. I love in the city, we don't really have mosquitos, mice or ticks. I've never seen birds of prey in the area but I will do some research. I'll look into an exercise pen as well. I'm sure I could set one up for a few hours a day and take it back down.

I bought the biggest bag of Timothy hay there was. The gentleman said to provide them with an unlimited amount so I put some in the cage and filled the Hay manger and will make sure it is always full. He said he bought a bail locally recently and his guinea pigs died after eating it so he only trusts Timothy brand now... What about fresh veggies? Offer them every day? They loved the leaf lettuce I gave them today. I was told nothing citrus and no onions. Anything else to avoid?

Any idea what breed they are? Mini rex maybe? The mom and the brown one are incredibly soft, the 2 grey ones aren't quite as soft.
 
They have short ears it looks like, so not mini Rex. Some kind of dwarf breed maybe? Cute in any case.
I feed my two rabbits fresh greens twice a day. About a cup a serving. It depends on their size and weight. They get romaine lettuce, cilantro, parsley, mint, dandelion, sometimes those mixed salads you buy in plastic containers when i have no time, broccoli, kale, carrot tops etc. I try to give them four or five different things in a meal. Then they get a scatter of oxbow Timothy pellets twice a day and an oxbow rabbit cookie once or twice a day. That's what I do anyway. And of course fresh hay and water always available.
 
Since they are older, they probably will continue to get along even though they aren't spayed, though there is always the possibility in any bonded group for there to be a falling out. At some point you may eventually want to get them all spayed as uterine cancer becomes a real possibility the older they get.

I can't say for sure, but they do look like they could be netherland dwarf rabbits. If they are about 2-3 lbs, then that is likely what they are. Rex rabbits have a very different coat. It's very thick and plush, almost like velvet, and they will have curly whiskers. From your picture, it doesn't look like that's what your buns are.

Rabbits can be fed a variety of veggies, but I tend to avoid cruciferous ones as they seem to cause stomach upset more than other veggies. I stick with dark leafy greens like romaine, green leaf lettuce, cilantro, parsley, carrot tops, willow and apple leaves, ribwort plaintain. I don't feed sugary veggies or fruit either as I have some buns that are sensitive to digestive upset. Best to avoid iceberg lettuce as too much can lead to diarrhea, which can be potentially fatal in rabbits. This link has a pretty good list of different foods for buns. It's not mentioned on the list, but with tomato it's essential to remove any green stem as that part is toxic.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/feeding_en.pdf
 
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