new here and new to bunnies

[imarowdyrebel]

hi there thought i would introduce myself, I'm ananimal lover with 2 kids,3 horses ,1 goat, 1 dog, 1 cat,fishand tommorrow I'm getting 2 six month old bunnies and Ihave never owned bunnies before. Can they eat the same hayasthe horses? What kind of treats are ok? And is living in abasement better than living outside (it gets very cold here in winter,nova scotia) they currently live in a basement and they are littertrained would it be ok to let them roam free or is that too dangerous?lots of ?'s I'm sorry but just trying to learn so I don't hurt themthankyou for any info you can give me!

 

[lanna21974]

imarowdyrebel wrote:

hi there thought i would introduce myself, I'm an animallover with 2 kids,3 horses ,1 goat, 1 dog, 1 cat,fishand tommorrow I'm getting 2 six month old bunnies and Ihave never owned bunnies before. Can they eat the same hayasthe horses? What kind of treats are ok? And is living in abasement better than living outside (it gets very cold here in winter,nova scotia) they currently live in a basement and they are littertrained would it be ok to let them roam free or is that too dangerous?lots of ?'s I'm sorry but just trying to learn so I don't hurt themthankyou for any info you can give me!

Hi there imarowdyrebel. Whattype of hay does horses eat? Rabbits like timothy hay. I give mybunnies an unlimited supply of hay plus and ounce of rabbit pellets perpound of body weight per day. Nutritional values of pellets should be16 to 18% fiber/protein for a complete diet. Any treats would be extra.Mybunnies like apple,carrots, cucumbers cheeriosand a few other treats. Be careful about certain types of treats asthey can be harmful to a bunny's digestive tract. Never uscedarshavings for their litter. It seems tocauseliver disease in bunnies.I dont know thatliving in a basement is better than outdoors.ButIdont think the basement is a problem as long as you bunny proof it.You'll needto bunny proof electrical cords so that thebunnies dont chew them and electrocute themselves.Myhousebunnyhas free reign in my house except at night. Thenhe's in his cage until morning. There's a site that Iparticularly like for bunny info. There's a lot of good informationhere on feeding, grooming, housing and sexing yourrabbit.

http://tranquilacresrabbitry.com/content/articles.asp

Hope this helps.

Lanna

 

[imarowdyrebel]

thank you for the info, my horses eat a timothymix hay, I believe the bunnies are eating alfalfa now should I weanthem to the timothy if I'm going to change them over?

 

[lanna21974]

imarowdyrebel wrote:

thank you for the info, my horses eat a timothy mix hay, Ibelieve the bunnies are eating alfalfa now should I wean them to thetimothy if I'm going to change them over?

I would wean them to timothy.Ive read that alfalfa is too high in protein and can cause healthproblems for adult rabbits. I'd give them half alfalfa/half timothymixes continually adding more timothy until all they get is timothy.With a change in pellets i usually do it over a week so I'd think it'dbe about the same for hay. I'd also ask the previous owner what type ofrabbit pellets they use and wean them the same way if you change theirpellets. Bunnies dont do well with change but seem to adapt better witha gradual change.

Lanna

 

[bunsforlife]

oh... and since you are in NS... buy Woody Pet for their litter boxes! gosh I love that stuph =)

Make sure you have things for them to chew on that are appropriate...and if you have a male and a female... either make sure they are bothaltered... or keep them apart until like a week after the male getsneutered!

 

[RaspberrySwirl]

Hello and welcome!We have a great group of folks here that will be a tremendous help toyou. I've bumped a post called "cheat sheet" for new owners. I thinkyou will find answers to many of your questions and some that you'venever even thought of! Use the search feature above to look forspecific key words and you will find a great wealth of information inprevious posts! Looking forward to pictures of your new bunnies!

RaspberrySwirl

 

[bluebird]

Welcome ,i think eveyone answered your questions so i will just say hi.bluebird

 

[Carolyn]

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Iamarowdyrebel!



Happy to have you here with us.

-Carolyn

 

[imarowdyrebel]

thank-you very much! We got our bunnies lastnight! Their names are Rex (black) and Cuddles ( white w/ black) verycute and my little one is in love! The dog is good with them and mycat was very curious,we let them hop around theliving room for awhile last night and this morning they seem to besettling in and don't seeem to stressed. I hope they aren't they areeating and drinking, the old owners gave us everything withthem from feed dishes and cage to their brushes They fed them alfalfaand I gave them that with some timothy that my horses eat. Is it ok tobed them with hay or is sawdust better? The old owners used a littercalled yesterdays news made out of recycled papers is that woody petstuff cheaper or better?

 

[m.e.]

Awww ..... I have a black bunny named Rex too!

Bedding them with hay is fine, you'll just need to make sure it getschanged frequenty and they don't eat the soiled stuff (that'll makethem sick). Sawdust is dangerous as they can breathe it in and causeall sorts of problems.

I think the general consensus is that Woody Pet is both betterand cheaper than Yesterdays News. If you can't find Woody Pet inyour area, as I found, I just use the wood pellets for burning in woodstoves. Works very well!

 

[imarowdyrebel]

ok I didn't know you could use those pellets thank-you very much!

 

[m.e.]

Yep. Just so long as they don't eat them, but Ihighly doubt they'd even try. Most of the rabbit rescues in our areause those wood pellets.