Baby bun going nuts in cage

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bonelady29

Bone Lady
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
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Location
Birmingham, AL
We got our little bun from a breeder Saturday a week ago. We were allowed to take him home early because we've had several house buns before. We were told to keep him in his cage unless we were holding him so his little underside can finish developing as running around the house could mess that up. He is 6 weeks old now and wants out of the cage so bad he can't stand it. We take him out and hol k d him several times a day but it's not enough anymore. He has a solid bottom cage and wire top and he has started climbing and jumping and biting and shaking it. He has ripped the hay Manger down and it's just getting worse. He's bouncing off the walls. Ive let him have a little bit of supervised time out the last two days but he still tries to destroy the cage. What do I do? Do I let him out all the time or keep him in? He's gotten so wild I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself worse by being inside. He's done perfectly out loose in the house and it's bun proofed. Only allowed in living room and dining area.
 
Letting a baby bunny run around is NOT going to mess it up. In fact running around is good for them to develop muscle, and have some exercise and fun. The only thing you may need to be careful with is not letting your bun have extended time on slippery surfaces, as in some instances this can cause baby rabbits to develop splay leg. It's rare to occur, but it can happen. If you have flooring that he won't slip on, it might be worth just letting him out if the area is safe for him. You'll need to keep an eye on his potty habits and any chewing. Especially make sure no cords are accessible. Another option would be putting an xpen around his cage, that he could free roam in.

With him chewing and pulling on the cage bars, you need to be careful about this occurring, as it can sometimes lead to the rabbit pulling their front incisors out of alignment, which will lead to malocclusion and regular dental trims being needed by a vet.

Being able to take a baby bunny home before eight weeks old, doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the experience of the owners. It is generally considered best for babies not to be weaned and sent to new homes before eight weeks, primarily for health reasons. They have sensitive digestive systems and are prone to developing problems due to the stress and diet changes that can sometimes occur in a new home. So you'll need to keep an eye out for any signs of digestive trouble. It's best to avoid any treats and changes in the baby's diet til a few weeks older. With the exception of giving a grass hay, as it's well tolerated by most rabbits.
 
That's exactly what I thought. He's on juvenile pellets that he devours and I can't keep the hay stocked fast enough! He loves to eat and run. We have carpet everywhere but the kitchen and bathrooms. We have put up all cords and blocked the stairs with a baby gate. We have an apartment tand the living room, kitchen, and dining room are one big space. He doesn't go in the kitchen but he loves to run laps between the living room and dining room. I think the hardest part though is he keeps finding little things to eat even though I've vacuumed. He tried to eat a tiny piece of bacon my son must've dropped yesterday morning that I didn't see.

When do you start clipping a little buns nails? I've only had adults so I'm not sure what age to start that part.
 
Do your best with the crumbs. Most important is try to not let him get any sugary ones, as sugar disrupts the gut flora more than anything. Just keep an eye out for uncharacteristic changes of behavior, not eating or pooping, or mushy or very tiny poop. These are the best indicators of something being wrong

I do my first clip around 8-12 weeks old, usually closer to 12 because they nails are so tiny and hard to clip without getting too close to the quick. But by 12 weeks definitely. They will be like little needles by then, and you'll want them clipped :) There's not much to clip, mostly the tiny sharp tip. But you really can clip them at any time if you feel they are getting too sharp or long.
 
I figured I'd ask because they were sharp when we got him of course because they're tiny, but they've gotten even sharper the last couple days and it's brutal. I can handle it for a while longer if need be, I just wasn't sure about the age. I've been doing dog and bunny nails since I was a little kid, I just don't have any experience with a baby buns nails. Thank you so much for all your help! :-D
 
so basically you are going to reward his bad behaviour by letting him get what he wants. What he is doing is being a toddler throwing a fit. Teach him to respect his boundaries and you. I'm being serious.

The sheer number of bunnies I get given to me (because I breed rabbits and ergo want more right?) and the poorly behaved ones have ALWAYS been given whatever they want. Oh.. he hates being in a cage. Oh.. he hates lettuce or pellets or whatever. Picky poorly tempered things. The best behaved bunnies bar none .. are those who are given a space to call their own and are taught to respect that space. They are given free time out of their space but they are expected and required to respect their cage space.

Supervised play time.
You want him to use his cage as his bathroom.
Too much freedom too soon does not teach him to respect his given space, it just makes him want more and more of his own thing. which leads to grumpy teenage behaviour. NOW is the time to teach him to respect his area.
Teaching a rabbit to respect it's space. You stay confined until you are mostly litter trained.
One would give bunny toys and things to do in its cage.
Pulling on the wire should not be rewarded with anything. It should be ignored. If it doesn't get rewarded, there is no point in continuing the behaviour.

I know everyone has different paradigms of what they think is acceptable behaviour.... but a six week old kit acting up that badly... if the cage is a good size is just very odd and demanding behaviour and I would ignore it until he settles down again. Simply because I'm thinking long term down the road to the teenage years of bunny hood when they can be total little stinkers.
 
I kind of agree in that this seems like unusual behavior for a 6 week old. I can only think that it may be happening because he hasn't adapted well to his change of environment at 5 weeks. Even our Tans, who tend to be high strung and high energy, don't act that way at that age.

I like the x-pen around the cage idea because it allows him more room without giving him too much room, and you can control what he puts in his mouth. I don't know how much you're feeding him, but at that age you could probably increase his pellets/hay as long as he isn't gaining too much weight. Do you know what breed he is?
 

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