Urgent: Bought a baby bunny from santee alley

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bunnybeginner

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So apparently, it is actually illegal for rabbits to be sold at such a young age, but I had to buy him(ill refer to it as a boy for now) after seeing the seller grab him so roughly. Basically I know almost nothing about rabbits, and I wanted to find out how to raise this bunny.

1) Is it a boy or a girl?
2) What is the difference between a bunny and a rabbit?
3) What is his/her approximate age?
4) As I understand, I should feed him/her some alfalfa hay and pellets. Is this correct? In the little cage he came in, there were some carrots and lettuce, but is he too young to eat these?
5) Any other care tips I absolutely need to know?

As I've read, many of these bunnies from Santee Alley die soon after purchase, because they are too young, and sold with improper cages and food. Please help me care for my bunny.

Pictures coming as soon as I can put them up
 
You should know that it's now illegal to buy rabbits off the street in Los Angeles, just as it's illegal for them to be sold. For more information on what to do in the future: http://www.larabbits.org/faqs/ http://www.bunnyworldfoundation.org/

It's hard to say age without photos and you may or may not be able to sex the rabbit at this point, but here's a link to the house rabbit society's information on sexing rabbits. http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/sexing.shtml

A bunny and a rabbit are the same thing. Baby rabbits are known as kits. Females are does and males are bucks.

Your bunny is probably too young for lettuce and carrots are generally considered just a sugary treat. A good quality pellet, likely alfalfa based for a growing rabbit, is important and you can offer alfalfa or a grass hay (timothy, orchard, etc.). A growing rabbit should be offered all the pellets that they'll eat.

I think if you look through our library section you'll find a lot of the answers to your questions just by reading about rabbit care.
 
I don't know anything about the legalities in your local area, so I'll defer to missyscove's knowledge there.

Your rabbit does look awfully young...not knowing the exact breed will make it difficult to accurately determine an approximate age, but if I were guessing, I'd say he is four or five weeks old - way to young to have been weaned and to be on vegetables.

My advice is to get him off veggies immediately and get him on a quality alfalfa pellet and alfalfa hay immediately. Also make sure he has plenty of fresh water, preferably from a dish and not a water bottle.

Good luck with your bun, I really hope he does well :)
 
Oh my goodness, that rabbit looks less than four weeks old (probably 3-3/12). Definitely not five weeks old. No matter what breed it is, I can see by the way its back is shaped that it just started walking. It should still be drinking it's mothers milk. At this age, bunnies will lightly nip at gingers in search of a nipple. I'm appalled that people sell them this young. It's illegal for a very good reason.

Although getting a milk substitute won't help. The best thing you can do is provide this bunny with Timothy hay or Orchard grass (alfalfa is fine for babies too) and pellets, preferably what it was eating when you got it. Absolutely nothing else should be in its diet. No fruit or vegetables. If it gets runny poop, take away the pellets and hope for the best.

It's hard to impossible to sex rabbits at this age.

That's about everything. The major danger here is diet-related.
 
Can't tell the sex without looking at the genitles. It can be tricky to tell in such a young rabbit. If you want to take a look, both males and females will pop out and you need to look at the shape to determine the sex. Males are round like a doughnut, while females have a slit like a taco. There are some good photos out there if you need to know what it should look like. Right now, there is no pressing need to know the sex other that to be able to say boy or girl. Abound 4-5 months, there can be some behaviours that indicate the rabbit is becoming sexually mature. At that point, it is good to get them spayed or neutered.

Bunny and rabbit are the same thing. Bunny might refer more to a young or small rabbit, but there is no actual difference.

He looks pretty young, probably under 4 weeks old.

The diet needs to be carefully controlled. Hay, pellets and water should be all that is given. Babies are very sensitive to change, so you don't want to be offering veggies at this point. There could be some benefit to supplementing milk, but you do need to get a good formula. Alfalfa hay and pellets are fine for now. You can also give timothy or other grass hay.

Up until about 8-10 weeks, babies can be at risk of digestive problems associated with weaning. Their digestive system changes and can lead to problems. You will need to be careful for the next month at least.
 
In the second picture, that bunny only looks to be about 3-4 weeks old, but in the first picture it looks to be older then that, so it's kind of hard to tell unless you want to post a few more pics. If it really is that young, you may encounter some eating and health problems with it, as that is far too young for a bunny to be weaned and away from its mother.

If it is only 3 weeks old, you will probably have a pretty hard time determining it's sex. Even experienced breeders can get it wrong until the rabbit matures more and it becomes easier to tell if it's male/female.

I agree that veggies aren't a good thing for it until it's older, though there may be an exception. Usually pellets and hay are what you want to feed it. It would be best to start it with a grass hay like timothy, but if this bunny is really that young, it may have difficulty eating hay, or even may not be used to it and not know how to eat it. If it will eat grass hay, that's what I would start it on. If it won't, you may have to try something else. You may even need to feed veggies if that is the only solid food it is used to, but that would be the only reason I would feed such a young rabbit veggies. If you do end up having to feed veggies, don't feed carrots( or anything else sugary as it can disrupt the gut flora and cause runny poop or digestive problems) or iceberg lettuce(which can cause diarrhea and can be fatal to rabbits). It would be better to stick with dark leafy greens like parsley, cilantro, dark leafy lettuce, and try to introduce only one veggie at a time. And keep a really close eye on it's poop. You don't want to be seeing any mushy poop.

If your bunny will eat the grass hay, then start with that. Then you can gradually start introducing alfalfa pellets into the bunny's diet. You want to start out with a very small amount, like a pinch, and gradually increase that amount each day to give the bunnies digestive tract time to get used to the new food. Suddenly introducing pellets into a rabbits diet can often cause digestive upset and other issues, so best to go slow. You want to work up to feeding an amount that will last most of the day. It's better though to not give unlimited amounts of pellets as you still want the bunny eating some grass hay so that it is getting enough fiber. With my baby bunnies, I fed twice a day, and enough pellets so that they would run out about 3 hours before the next feeding. Then in that time they could snack on their grass hay to get their fiber. I know some places recommend also feeding baby bunnies alfalfa hay along with their alfalfa pellets, but in my experience having so much alfalfa in their diet is too rich of a diet and can sometimes cause some digestive issues. They are already getting plenty of calcium and protein from their alfalfa pellets, so I don't feel alfalfa hay is also necessary. I've found that grass hay with the alfalfa pellets works best. Though if you do decide to feed alfalfa hay, it should be introduced gradually in small amounts, like the pellets, as it can sometimes cause digestive upset if introduced too quickly. Grass hay on the other hand, is almost always well tolerated by rabbits and doesn't need to be gradually introduced into the diet.

You will also need to make sure it is drinking ok. If it is only 3 weeks old, it may not have learned that yet from it's mother.
 
I agree with the 3-4 weeks old, certainly not much more than that. Ours start nibbling on hay when they're 2-3 weeks old, along with pellets. Unless this little guy was with mom and eating veggies with her as soon as he came out of the nestbox I'd stay away from it...but then you probably don't know if that was the case or not. I'd give him any hay/grass he'll eat right now along with a small amount of alfalfa based pellets. It's tough to know what's best though when the seller probably told you nothing about what he's used to eating.
 
I would like to advise to buy him Sherwood Forest pellets for growing rabbits. Would it be a good advise?
I wouldn't be that much worried about finding out what gender he is at this point of time.
Poor thing... so little with no mom or siblings in the big box...How about giving him a smaller box that would help him to "snuggle"? You can also try using hiding toys (small tunnels) for bunnies. My little buns loved hiding inside of them.
 
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That bunny is an infant and looks way to young to be weaned. I don't know if anyone agrees with me but I would contact your nearest rabbit rescue immediately as it can be very tricky to take care of a rabbit that young without a bit of expertise - he looks like he still needs to be on his mother's milk. I'd also contact your local animal welfare office or something similar and report wherever you bought him from.
 
That bunny is an infant and looks way to young to be weaned. I don't know if anyone agrees with me but I would contact your nearest rabbit rescue immediately as it can be very tricky to take care of a rabbit that young without a bit of expertise - he looks like he still needs to be on his mother's milk. I'd also contact your local animal welfare office or something similar and report wherever you bought him from.

The sellers of the santee alley bunnies are known in that area as being a problem. Bunny World Foundation has been leading the charge against them but even after lots of news coverage and police 'raids' it still continues. Bunny World has rescued many of them. My only concern for the OP would be what missycove said about it being illegal not only to sell them but also to purchase them. If it is illegal to purchase them, then by going to BWF (who is experienced in helping such young bunnies) then the OP may be putting herself at legal risk.
 
This little guy looks to be around 3 weeks old. The poor fellow, right now I would not worry about the sex focus on keeping him alive. Rabbits should not be seperated from their mothers until they are 6 weeks old. They continue nursing from the mother until they are around 4 weeks and I've even had some older kits sneak some milk from the mother. I will try to hel[ you out to the best of my breeding knowledge and what has been recommended to me by my vet, when I had a young rabbit that developed wry neck and was unable to move, drink, or eat.

1) Is it a boy or a girl?Like stated before focus on keeping him alive for now.
2) What is the difference between a bunny and a rabbit? There is now difference, they are two different terms for the same thing. A junior, is what a young rabbit or bunny is called they are under 6 months of age. A senior rabbit or bunny is over 6 months of age.
3) What is his/her approximate age? I would guess him to be around 3 weeks. He looks to be a lionhead, and this is what my lionhead kits look to be around this age.
4) As I understand, I should feed him/her some alfalfa hay and pellets. Is this correct? In the little cage he came in, there were some carrots and lettuce, but is he too young to eat these? Never feed a rabbit under 6 months of age any veggies or fruit, it can be fatal and usually causes health issues for the rabbits later on in their life. I had one kit around 4 weeks sneak some dandelion from his mother and he ended up passing away due to bloat. Unlimited pellets and hay are very important, a they usually start nibbling on solid foods around 3-4 weeks of age. Alfalfa hay is an option, because he is so young I would recommend it as he is going to need all the nutrients he can get.

I would recommend getting a 1 ML syringe and giving him some water every few hours or so. Make sure he isnt getting dehydrated. You will be able to tell this by looking at the back of his neck if it starts to get very dry,he needs more water.

Something recommended to me by a vet for my rabbit that wasnt able to eat and that was losing weight very quickly was vanilla pediasure. I know some people say not to give it to rabbits due to it having dairy, however many lactose-intolerant people drink pediasure day-to-day without any problems. It is safe for a rabbit to have and it has a lot of beneficial nutrients in it. If my Benny was not given this he would have died for sure. I would give him a few syringes full of this as well ( around 2)

I personally would not put him on a kitten forumla as in 1-2 weeks he would have been completely weaned off of his milk supply anyways.

When syringe feeding let the rabbit drink from the syringe, if he is refusing to drink, then you will have to put it in his mouth. Make sure the kit is in an upright position so he doesnt suffocate. Rub the belly will help whatever you give him go down.

5) Any other care tips I absolutely need to know? Right now do not consider giving him a big cage, you need to make sure he stays warm and because he doesnt have any siblings he is going to need some extra care. I would put him in a cardboard box, under the entire box put a regular towel. On one side I would make a layer of hay across half the box so he has a lot of hay he can nibble on. On the other side try to put something warm, like fleece in it. Make sure there isnt a place he can get under the blanket as he could suffocate if he gets stuck underneath the blankets. Keeping him warm is key. I would offer him two crocks, one with water the other with food. I also would put pellets on the blanket in the other side, that way he can nibble on them no matter what side of the box he is on. You can also take a water bottle fill it with warm/hot water then rabbit it in multiple towels or blankets. Before you put it in the box make sure it isnt to hot to touch. If the kit is cold he can snuggle up to this. Make sure the bottle is secure in a corner or side so it cant role over the kit



Also if you know where these people are, contact the police or someone immediately. People like this need to stop. This is animal cruelty, no rabbit should be sold before 8 weeks of age.
 
^not sure if you realized that this thread is a couple months old. :D

I'd be curious to hear from the OP as to how the little fella (or gal) is doing.

Yes, I am aware, thank you. What's wrong with me commenting on it?
 
^not sure if you realized that this thread is a couple months old. :D

I'd be curious to hear from the OP as to how the little fella (or gal) is doing.

And also, if you think it's weird that I'm on an "aged" post, then why are you?
 

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