I've just inherited four bunnies!

Hello, RabbitsOnline!

I'm...kinda new to the world of rabbits to be honest. Due to certain recent events, I've just inherited four adult bunnies (three are female and one male). One of those rabbits is around five years old and is the mother of the other three. Her children are one year old each.

As I said before, I'm new to raising rabbits, but I want to do my best because they're the only thing left from their former owner. At the moment they are in my backyard, in their cages. The temperature is 19º (celsius). I've been giving them pellets that I buy from a local market together with the ocassional carrot/apple/banana.

I let them run around a fenced space I left specially for them. They spend around 4-6 hours a day.

I know that females should be spayed because of the risk of cancer. But I live in a place far away from a vet capable of performing such procedure. So that's kinda out of my reach. The best vet capable of treating my bunnies told me that the risk is not so big, but internet says otherwise. Which one is the truth?

Is there anything I'm doing bad or Am I missing? Should I cover them with a blanket while they're outside in their cages and/or at night? Please, anything you say might help me deal with this situation. I really want the best for them.

Thank you!

The risk of uterine adenocarcinoma is generally far greater than the risk of a spay procedure. All surgical procedures carry risk, but spaying female rabbits is a pretty easy decision and highly recommended unless there are other medical complications present.

The best medical advice you can get is from a knowledgeable veterinarian with a background in rabbits. If you're not near one, perhaps try calling such a vet in a nearby larger city for an opinion.

I'll leave the outside rabbit advice to those with experience in that area, as I've only had house (indoor) rabbits. Seeking out information via books and forums like this is a great start to providing them with long, happy lives, though

Best wishes to you all!

OnionKnight said:

Which one is the truth?

Click to expand...

Hi,
actually, nobody knows for sure, but this is a good read on this topic:
http://buckysbunnies.tripod.com/UC.html

Internet says otherwise because people with an agenda keep repeating it over and over again, people copy/paste it everywhere without ever asking where these numbers actually come from.

There are imho more weighty arguments pro/contra spaying, like behaviour (more a thing for pet/indoor bunnies), bonding , no worry about offspring ( 20 accidently seconds sometimes is all they need), risk of the surgery, costs etc.

Outside is fine, as long as it doesn't get too hot, they cope with cold better. What predators live where you are?

samoth said:

The risk of uterine adenocarcinoma is generally far greater than the risk of a spay procedure. All surgical procedures carry risk, but spaying female rabbits is a pretty easy decision and highly recommended unless there are other medical complications present.

The best medical advice you can get is from a knowledgeable veterinarian with a background in rabbits. If you're not near one, perhaps try calling such a vet in a nearby larger city for an opinion.

I'll leave the outside rabbit advice to those with experience in that area, as I've only had house (indoor) rabbits. Seeking out information via books and forums like this is a great start to providing them with long, happy lives, though

Best wishes to you all!

Click to expand...

Preitler said:

Hi,
actually, nobody knows for sure, but this is a good read on this topic:
http://buckysbunnies.tripod.com/UC.html

Internet says otherwise because people with an agenda keep repeating it over and over again, people copy/paste it everywhere without ever asking where these numbers actually come from.

There are imho more weighty arguments pro/contra spaying, like behaviour (more a thing for pet/indoor bunnies), bonding , no worry about offspring ( 20 accidently seconds sometimes is all they need), risk of the surgery, costs etc.

Outside is fine, as long as it doesn't get too hot, they cope with cold better. What predators live where you are?

Click to expand...

I think that tomorrow I'll take the mommy to the vet for a check-up and then I'll ask him about the probabilities of cancer. I think he's pretty knowledgeable in rabbits because he treated the father of the three bunnies a couple of times. Also, if I'm not mistaken, there was another vet that told the rabbit's former owner the same thing. But maybe I'm mistaken.

We're now about to be in winter, so the temperature is expected to fall a little bit. When would the temperature be considered "cold" for a rabbit so it has to come inside the house?

I have some dogs that wander where the rabbits are in their cages, but they seem to get along pretty well.

Also, I've been reading about GI stasis and it seems really dangerous. How common is it?

OnionKnight said:

I think that tomorrow I'll take the mommy to the vet for a check-up and then I'll ask him about the probabilities of cancer. I think he's pretty knowledgeable in rabbits because he treated the father of the three bunnies a couple of times. Also, if I'm not mistaken, there was another vet that told the rabbit's former owner the same thing. But maybe I'm mistaken.

We're now about to be in winter, so the temperature is expected to fall a little bit. When would the temperature be considered "cold" for a rabbit so it has to come inside the house?

I have some dogs that wander where the rabbits are in their cages, but they seem to get along pretty well.

Also, I've been reading about GI stasis and it seems really dangerous. How common is it?

Click to expand...

Rabbits can tolerate cold pretty well; heat, less so. I'll let others weigh in on the outside rabbit stuff, as I've seen some good info on that topic from people here.

You'll want to be very careful with predators and prey species intermixing, so you'll just want to keep an eye out there. Do you plan on having the rabbits caged in the house 24/7, or will they have free-roam time around the house with the dogs?

GI stasis is one of the more common rabbit maladies. In my personal opinion, it's often due to misconceptions as to a proper rabbit diet (e.g., insufficient hay in diet, quick changes to diet, ceral feeds), but it's one of those things that can happen to anybunny. The condition can be deadly. You'll find a lot of information, questions, etc. about GI stasis on the boards, as well as in any number of helpful rabbit books (e.g., Blackwell's Five-Minute Veterinary Consult-Small Mammal).

The risk of 80% of uterine or ovarian cancer after their 5 year was confirmed to me by a vet who is considered to be one of the top rabbit specialists in France (when you are in his waiting room, there are almost only rabbits ^^). I've been lurking on rabbits' forum, in French and in English, for the past ten years and I've seen quite a few threads about uterine / ovarian cancers too. So the big C argument is quite reliable in my opinion even if it's hard to have an exact percentage, especially since the explanation behind it is quite logical (rabbits don't go in heat, they are fertile all the time which means their body is drenched in hormones all the time - they are not engineered to live long, only to reproduce efficiently). The risk of the surgery is pretty low (less than 1%) but only if the vet knows what they are doing, of course.
If you are new to rabbits, I advise you to read through a reliable website about the subject before asking specific questions on forums. I personally like to have a textbook like thing to rely on when it comes to a new area of expertise (but maybe that's just me). I suggest the House Rabbit society website, which is really complete and answers most of the problems you can encounter when you 'start' (diet, housing, health and such) with short simple articles and lists (of vegetables, fruits, pellets) :
http://rabbit.org/category/care/diet/

Good luck with your new furry friends!

samoth said:

Rabbits can tolerate cold pretty well; heat, less so. I'll let others weigh in on the outside rabbit stuff, as I've seen some good info on that topic from people here.

You'll want to be very careful with predators and prey species intermixing, so you'll just want to keep an eye out there. Do you plan on having the rabbits caged in the house 24/7, or will they have free-roam time around the house with the dogs?

GI stasis is one of the more common rabbit maladies. In my personal opinion, it's often due to misconceptions as to a proper rabbit diet (e.g., insufficient hay in diet, quick changes to diet, ceral feeds), but it's one of those things that can happen to anybunny. The condition can be deadly. You'll find a lot of information, questions, etc. about GI stasis on the boards, as well as in any number of helpful rabbit books (e.g., Blackwell's Five-Minute Veterinary Consult-Small Mammal).

Click to expand...

Ok, so I won't worry so much about cold since it's a bit hot where I live. I'm planning in letting the buns run around the fenced area around 5-6 hours a day and then cage them. Is it ok or should I let them be more hours? Do they like being in their cage for long hours? Don't worry about the dogs because they're in a different part of the house and also they are very obedient.

Those are bad news. The previous owner have only feed them pellets for their whole life. Should I get them hay immediately?

Thanks for your answer! I really appreciate it!

Aki said:

he risk of 80% of uterine or ovarian cancer after their 5 year was confirmed to me by a vet who is considered to be one of the top rabbit specialists in France (when you are in his waiting room, there are almost only rabbits ^^). I've been lurking on rabbits' forum, in French and in English, for the past ten years and I've seen quite a few threads about uterine / ovarian cancers too. So the big C argument is quite reliable in my opinion even if it's hard to have an exact percentage, especially since the explanation behind it is quite logical (rabbits don't go in heat, they are fertile all the time which means their body is drenched in hormones all the time - they are not engineered to live long, only to reproduce efficiently). The risk of the surgery is pretty low (less than 1%) but only if the vet knows what they are doing, of course.
If you are new to rabbits, I advise you to read through a reliable website about the subject before asking specific questions on forums. I personally like to have a textbook like thing to rely on when it comes to a new area of expertise (but maybe that's just me). I suggest the House Rabbit society website, which is really complete and answers most of the problems you can encounter when you 'start' (diet, housing, health and such) with short simple articles and lists (of vegetables, fruits, pellets) :
http://rabbit.org/category/care/diet/

Good luck with your new furry friends!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the honest answer. I don't know what to do in that regard. I know that their previous owner asked about spaying them, but nobody here does that kind of thing. If what you're saying is true, maybe I should think of taking them to another place to be spayed. But that requires a lot of work, money, and other resources. Also I'm afraid the bunnies would get stressed when being moved so far away. I'll think what to do.

OnionKnight said:

Ok, so I won't worry so much about cold since it's a bit hot where I live. I'm planning in letting the buns run around the fenced area around 5-6 hours a day and then cage them. Is it ok or should I let them be more hours? Do they like being in their cage for long hours? Don't worry about the dogs because they're in a different part of the house and also they are very obedient.

Those are bad news. The previous owner have only feed them pellets for their whole life. Should I get them hay immediately?

Click to expand...

I think 5-6 hours of free time per day is great -- it's probably more than a lot of poor pet rabbits get. These little guys are naturally made to have lots of space to run and hop, so the more they can behave in a natural rabbit fashion, the happier & healthier they will be. Some breeds are more active than others, so it will be a learning process for all of you as to what works best.

Regarding the cage: it depends on their personality, the size/entertainment value of the cage, and when they're in it. Rabbits are crepuscular, so they're most active in the mornings and evenings. If you can time their free time to when they're naturally active, it'll be better for everyone.

Even if the dogs are obedient, rabbits are natural prey for them. Do you trust their obedience more than their instinct? It's going to be situationally dependent, but I'd just suggest not letting them hang out in the same room together unsupervised in general... just in case.

Rabbits need to always, always, always have hay available. Yes, please get some ASAP! You can read up on this kind of stuff (it was all new to me; particle size, silicates, acid detergent fibers -- there's a whole science here), but they really need hay for dietary, cecotropy, and dentistry needs. While pellets are made with hay, it's not the best type of hay. You can look this up, but the route that consumed hay takes in their digestive system depends on particle size; they need more than what pellets can provide. Also, don't neglect their teeth, which are always growing, and require the silicates in hay to keep them ground down. (Note that rabbit dentistry is extremely expensive; prevention is key here.) You may need to work with your rabbits in determining what type of hay they like. If you're in the US, I recommend a company called Small Pet Select for hay.

Hay aside, you want to take care when adjusting their diet. Don't make changes too quickly. If you switch from one pellet type to another, or introduce veggies, do so slowly over a couple weeks.

samoth said:

I think 5-6 hours of free time per day is great -- it's probably more than a lot of poor pet rabbits get. These little guys are naturally made to have lots of space to run and hop, so the more they can behave in a natural rabbit fashion, the happier & healthier they will be. Some breeds are more active than others, so it will be a learning process for all of you as to what works best.

Regarding the cage: it depends on their personality, the size/entertainment value of the cage, and when they're in it. Rabbits are crepuscular, so they're most active in the mornings and evenings. If you can time their free time to when they're naturally active, it'll be better for everyone.

Even if the dogs are obedient, rabbits are natural prey for them. Do you trust their obedience more than their instinct? It's going to be situationally dependent, but I'd just suggest not letting them hang out in the same room together unsupervised in general... just in case.

Rabbits need to always, always, always have hay available. Yes, please get some ASAP! You can read up on this kind of stuff (it was all new to me; particle size, silicates, acid detergent fibers -- there's a whole science here), but they really need hay for dietary, cecotropy, and dentistry needs. While pellets are made with hay, it's not the best type of hay. You can look this up, but the route that consumed hay takes in their digestive system depends on particle size; they need more than what pellets can provide. Also, don't neglect their teeth, which are always growing, and require the silicates in hay to keep them ground down. (Note that rabbit dentistry is extremely expensive; prevention is key here.) You may need to work with your rabbits in determining what type of hay they like. If you're in the US, I recommend a company called Small Pet Select for hay.

Hay aside, you want to take care when adjusting their diet. Don't make changes too quickly. If you switch from one pellet type to another, or introduce veggies, do so slowly over a couple weeks.

Click to expand...

Well, the buns really enjoy being outside. They even jump to where the plants are and start eating them.

What kind of things can I put in the cage to make them feel "entertained"?

The oldest bun is a bit cranky. She "attacks" me with its paws as soon as I put my hands in her cage. But as I understand, she has always been like that.

How often should I give them banana or apples? I know that they're kind of desserts, but how often these desserts should be given?

Bananas, apples, even carrots, are all high in sugar and should only be offered very sparingly. They should get no more than a tablespoons worth on one day. That means if they get one slice of apple on a given day, then they should not get any other fruit or carrot that same day.

Yes, hay! Lots of hay (just not alfalfa). Any grass hay will do (like timothy, bermuda, etc).

The female sounds cage aggressive - not surprising since she's intact. Can you post a photo of their current cages?

Here is a video (not mine) that I like to share that shows a nice outdoor setup for rabbits. Of course, these rabbits are fixed and bonded. I keep my rabbits indoors year-round. (Many here on RO do.)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXKe5tuw47A[/ame]

Do you have or know someone who has an apple tree (not sprayed with any pesticides or anything)? Bunnies usually love to chew the bark off the branches. Keeps them happy and busy.

OnionKnight said:

Well, the buns really enjoy being outside. They even jump to where the plants are and start eating them.

What kind of things can I put in the cage to make them feel "entertained"?

The oldest bun is a bit cranky. She "attacks" me with its paws as soon as I put my hands in her cage. But as I understand, she has always been like that.

How often should I give them banana or apples? I know that they're kind of desserts, but how often these desserts should be given?

Click to expand...

I wish I had a better house setup to get my rabbits outside a bit. I bet they'd love digging in the dirt and eating fresh grass.

For entertainment, I've found it really varies by rabbit. Mine love hay twists, apple sticks (they just chew the bark off), willow balls, and certain types of cardboard boxes. They also love large, thick pieces of orchard medley hay that I pick out for them. I have baby keys, stacking cups, and interlocking rings as well that they like to play with. Willow tents also make nice hidey-houses as well as snacks. Oh, I have a couple small stuffed rabbit toys that they like to sit with and groom, too

I echo Blue Eyes on the treats -- rabbits can get overweight very easy, and it's hard for them to lose the fat.

Regarding your attack doe, think of the world from her perspective: if someone reached their huge, weird-looking paw into your tiny cage, what would you do? She's just scared and trying to protect a tiny piece of the world that's hers. For all she knows, you're a huge predator that's going to eat her! Once she gets some freedom and learns her humans are good people, I bet she lightens up. Maybe give her some respect when it comes to personal confrontation: let her come to you if she wants, and don't try to push yourself (or any parts of yourself) towards her. Maybe that'd give you some 'bunny cred' with her

I got my rabbit spayed and before I did so I was scared to but it turned out really great and now I feel much better, theres always a risk but the truth is if the rabbit is healthy and the vet is good around rabbits and knows what he/she is doing then your rabbit is going to be fine.

Blue eyes said:

Bananas, apples, even carrots, are all high in sugar and should only be offered very sparingly. They should get no more than a tablespoons worth on one day. That means if they get one slice of apple on a given day, then they should not get any other fruit or carrot that same day.

Yes, hay! Lots of hay (just not alfalfa). Any grass hay will do (like timothy, bermuda, etc).

The female sounds cage aggressive - not surprising since she's intact. Can you post a photo of their current cages?

Here is a video (not mine) that I like to share that shows a nice outdoor setup for rabbits. Of course, these rabbits are fixed and bonded. I keep my rabbits indoors year-round. (Many here on RO do.)

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips. I'll put them to practice

stevesmum said:

Do you have or know someone who has an apple tree (not sprayed with any pesticides or anything)? Bunnies usually love to chew the bark off the branches. Keeps them happy and busy.

Click to expand...

No, but I'll try to find one. Are blackberry branches good? They sometimes eat them.

samoth said:

I wish I had a better house setup to get my rabbits outside a bit. I bet they'd love digging in the dirt and eating fresh grass.

For entertainment, I've found it really varies by rabbit. Mine love hay twists, apple sticks (they just chew the bark off), willow balls, and certain types of cardboard boxes. They also love large, thick pieces of orchard medley hay that I pick out for them. I have baby keys, stacking cups, and interlocking rings as well that they like to play with. Willow tents also make nice hidey-houses as well as snacks. Oh, I have a couple small stuffed rabbit toys that they like to sit with and groom, too

I echo Blue Eyes on the treats -- rabbits can get overweight very easy, and it's hard for them to lose the fat.

Regarding your attack doe, think of the world from her perspective: if someone reached their huge, weird-looking paw into your tiny cage, what would you do? She's just scared and trying to protect a tiny piece of the world that's hers. For all she knows, you're a huge predator that's going to eat her! Once she gets some freedom and learns her humans are good people, I bet she lightens up. Maybe give her some respect when it comes to personal confrontation: let her come to you if she wants, and don't try to push yourself (or any parts of yourself) towards her. Maybe that'd give you some 'bunny cred' with her

Click to expand...

Well, she's four years old and she haven't changed. I guess she's just like that. Thanks for the tips! I'll look for branches. Are blackberry branches good? I've seen them chewing some of them when outside.

Ivythelionhead said:

I got my rabbit spayed and before I did so I was scared to but it turned out really great and now I feel much better, theres always a risk but the truth is if the rabbit is healthy and the vet is good around rabbits and knows what he/she is doing then your rabbit is going to be fine.

Click to expand...

The thing is that there's no vet that does this kind of procedure. I've already ask around the city with no luck. Does anybody have experiences of taking the buns to another city to be spayed? This is the only solution I can think of.


Thanks for all the helpful answers!!!

OnionKnight said:

No, but I'll try to find one. Are blackberry branches good? They sometimes eat them.

Click to expand...

That's a good question I don't have an answer to.

Does anyone else here know if blackberry branches are good?

For that matter, how can one tell if a given branch from a tree or bush is okay for a rabbit to chew? I don't know plants, so I've always been too afraid to give them something random from my yard.

You need to know what the plant is before you allow your animal to eat it. If you cant ID it then leave it alone.
There are lots of lists on the forum with safe/unsafe plants.
Blackberry bush is non-toxic. Just a bit painful.

I defiantly wouldn't trust just any vet with spaying my rabbit but if you can find another vet in another town who can do the procedure then there no reason why you couldn't do it.

Watermelons said:

You need to know what the plant is before you allow your animal to eat it. If you cant ID it then leave it alone.
There are lots of lists on the forum with safe/unsafe plants.
Blackberry bush is non-toxic. Just a bit painful.

Click to expand...

I think the blackberries in my country are different from the blackberries you know. Blackberries in my country grow on trees, in yours they grow in bushes, don't they?

Ivythelionhead said:

I defiantly wouldn't trust just any vet with spaying my rabbit but if you can find another vet in another town who can do the procedure then there no reason why you couldn't do it.

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I'll try to do that. I'll have to do some kind of investigation because it's easy to go to a supposed good veterinarian and then in the bad way you find that it's not.