About to get an 8-week old!!!

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random faerie

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I'll be waiting another 3-4 weeks before release but I just want to be sure I'll be ready when my new bun arrives so I have some new questions. ><

Anyhow, I'll be getting a Netherland Dwarf. They are not very famous for their temperament, but I would like to insist this all depends on each bun's personality. Hehe. Well, based on your experience, are Netherland Dwarves really
"nasty?"

Another worry I have is that, this will be an 8-week old baby bunny. I have NEVER had a baby. My Lionhead now was 5 months old when I got him. What are do's and don't's of feeding for really young rabbits? I'm also worried about treats... What treats can I bribe an 8-wee-old-bun with?

I hope to get some answers... I'm sure more questions will spring up from me soon. Hehe. <3
 
i have rarely met a nicely tempered netherland dwarf regardless of whether male or female.

in my rabbity rescue aspect of life...

Male: met three in my life... all were hump crazy fools. ALL they thought out was "make out with the hand, the stuffie the...." Irritating that. Even continued past neutering for two of them, third ended up living with a breeder.

Females: have had about a few come through in the past three years. TWO were nice, lovely sweet young things. Were rehomed easily. two went to a more patient rabbit rescue who worked with them for two months before they minded their "tudes. The others had "tudes that needed adjustment and went places who knew they needed a "tude adjustment.

MIND... in a rabbit savvy, happy to educate home.. having a cage protective doe is helpful in teaching people that NOT all bunnies like their space messed with. BUT for a pet.. would not be my first choice. polish have MUCH better temperaments.
 
With Netherland Dwarfs, personality does seem to come down to the individual. The smaller breeds do tend to be more active and that can make them harder to handle. As with any breed, some can be totally sweet while others can be nasty. How they are raised does play a role.

Don't mess around too much with he diet for a couple weeks. You probably will need to change the pellets from what the breeder was feeding to what you will feed and hay may need to be introduced, but other than that, don't add anything yet. Veggies should wait until at least 3-4 months and treats should wait a bit as well. Young rabbits have very sensitive digestive systems, so too much too fast can upset them.

For treats, you can try using some pellets if your rabbit will take those from you. You can try using them before you give more food so your rabbit want them. I don't really go for bribing rabbits anyway, most seem to prefer petting and attention.
 
I have two netherland dwarfs and they are both great rabbits. Neither of them is nasty but they do have personality. Snowy is a cuddlebun and doesn´t mind being picked up and just loves to groom me, mostly on my face. Houdini is my little rascal, very smart, inquisitive and a great jumper and although not cuddly, he still comes over for nose rubs and affection. I´ve had them from about 6 weeks and they have free run of the living room when I´m home. When you decide where they´re going to live, do remember that they are good jumpers and take that into account.

I feed them on good quality pellets with loads of hay and veggies twice a day, mixture of greens and herbs. I didn´t start with veggies until after 12 weeks and they do get a bit of fruit banana, apple and pear a couple of times a week as a treat.
 
I know Netherlands that are nasty and some that are angels. It's just down to the individual rabbit. I think they are a lot more hyper and they never really stop running around which makes it hard to catch them and cuddle with them because they always want to be racing around everywhere ( these are just my experiences volunteering at the RSPCA and friends netherlands). It's basically like having a bunny version of a puppy Labrador lol. But I like that about them :)
 
Charlotte, you are right there, one of mine is hyper and although he does sleep, he´s always into something and loves to jump and race and move. The other is a bit quieter so they aren´t all the same but prepare yourself if you get an active one. I was so glad when he learnt to go in for the night himself as it was quite a spectacle trying to catch him lol.
 
Thanks for all the input! I really appreciate them! Now I have another question!

Ding! Hehe. ^^

How much per pound/kg of should I feed my rabbit? I'm sure I found this before somewhere but I can't seem to find it now. ><
 
when i had my netherlands the both got no more then 1/8 of a cup of oxbow pellets and they did great on that much...they got tons of veggies and unlimited hay of course and the 1/8 cup was enough for them....though since yours is just a baby i'd maybe give the bun a 1/4 cup or so since he/she is growing and then just cut back to 18 cup when their 6-8 months


i'm getting a 8 week old bun soon too but i'm getting a flemish giant so it'll be a whole lot more hay and more pellets then my two nethies would have ever eaten. hope you'll a pic of you bun when you get him/her
 
It's usually recommended to feed unlimited plain alfalfa pellets to baby bunnies until they are full grown around 6-7 months old, but I found that feeding unlimited caused digestive problems with my bunnies, so I would usually end up feeding a little less than unlimited so that they would run out of pellets about 2 hours before the next feeding time. You don't want to feed too little pellets cause they need the nutrition, and if your rabbit is having any soft poops, then you know you are feeding too many pellets. I also feed unlimited grass hay. You'll want to make sure to get a weeks worth of transition feed with the bunny also, so that you can safely switch the bunny over to it's new food, so that you don't have any digestive problems.
 
My Nethie is the sweetest thing, so I think it really depends on the rabbit ;) Handling them a lot when they're young can also help get them used to humans, so getting an 8 week old is very good since they can bond more easily with you
 
Thanks again for all the useful information! If I can't get any "alfafa pellets" can I just give them the hay itself (as in the alfafa hay). They'll be fine with that right? Anyway, 1/4 cup is only about 60ml... Is that correct? >< Thanks again and sorry about all the silly questions.
 
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