Netherland Dwarf baby :)

[Jen]

Hi! I'mnew here. My name is Jen and I live inAlabama. I am driving 200 miles (!) to pick up my new9-week-old Netherland Dwarf baby this Saturday (she's a blackotter). This is my first bunny. I will be keepingher in the house and having her spayed when she's old enough.I am a 3rd year pre-vet student and I have lots of animals but Idecided I needed a bunny to sort of round things out. So, I have been reading everything I can get my handson. Also, I went to PetsMart and got some supplies:litterbox, litter, water bottle, timothy hay, mineral licks, chew toys,and food.

I do have a couple of questions. First about thefood. There are so many choices! I figure the onesthat are "pretty" are meant to appeal to the people. Sopellets are best? Any particular brand? Also, thekind I got is called Jr. Bunny and it's for 8 to 20 week oldbabies. Is this okay? Second abouthousing. As I said she will be staying in thehouse. I have a medium sized dog crate to keep her in as Iunderstand bunnies are worse than puppies about chewing. I dohave an 8'x8' pen so I can let her go outside some (I havebigdogs). And she will be free in the house whensupervised. Is this a happy life for a bunny? I ama student but I am home quite a bit.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Carolyn]

Welcome aboard Jen,

Pellets are best for your rabbit and it is suggested to get your feedfrom feed stores as opposed to pet stores or department stores forreasons of freshness. You're correct in thinking thatcolorful feeds aren't good for rabbits, in general. Theydon't usually provide the essential things that rabbits need.Look for pellet feed that has at least 18% or more of crude fiber andat least 12% or more of crude protein. Store in tupperwarecontainers. Some folks also freeze it to insure it remainsnutritionally valuable.

Your rabbit should be able to comfortably stretch out in his/her cage.

For more detailed information, please see Buck Jones' post entitled"Accentuating the 'obvious'" and my post entitled "RabbitReferences." Don't be afraid to poke around in the forum andask any questions you have.

Happy to have you. It sounds like your new little buddy is off to a great start with you.

-Carolyn

 

[Jen]

Thank you for your reply, Carolyn. I will check out those other posts.

 

[bluebird]

Congratulations,I raise and show Netherland Dwarfs.welcome to the board.bluebird

 

[Buck Jones]

Jen,

I use dog crates often for my house bunnies. I construct arectangular frame of 1" x 3" cheap lumber, cover it with 1/2' x 1/2"vnyl clad hardware cloth and suspend it about 2" - 3" above thenewpaper lined dog crate tray with chain or hardware hooks.The hardware cloth permits any urine and refuse to passthrough and fall to the tray. I do install a litter box,though, which does take the brunt of that process, so the newspaperdoesn't have to be changed all that often



Buck

 

[Jen]

Thank you, bluebird. I did not know until recently that people showed rabbits. Very interesting!

 

[Jen]

Thank you, Buck. I already havesomething very similar that I use for raising ducklings. Ibet it would be perfect.