Baby Rabbits

[chip1123]

Ok guys, this is my first post, so bear with me here...

My girlfriend got me 2 rabbits this summer and I loved them (iamat work, have no pictures here to post, sorry). One is amix ofcolors and her name is Chelsea. The other isa dwarf rabbit named Oreo that is mostly black except a white patcharound her eye that goes down her leg.

1) they live in a modified ferret cage that is 3 stories tall, theylove jumping around in it and having fun. i try to get them out andplay with them but they love to tear stuff up. they usually stayin the cage because they tear stuff up- is there a way tomake it where this does not happen?is this a problem with the cage? dothey not get enough entertainment? do i need to let them out more?

2) the other thing is- they were supposed to both be girls- turned outOreo was not. she turned out to be a male. we found this out one daywheni got home and the rabbits had pushed a bunch of theirbedding over to the side. there were 2 baby rabbits on top (maybe theyclawed their way up?). i could see a few others there as well. Well, ihave heard not to touch the babies because that would make the mothernot care for them. there was also a lot of fur from Chelsea (thefemale). Well, over the next 2 days, we kept seeing one rabbit a daydie outside the little nest thing. Then I came home and the nest hadbeen torn down. We put Chelsea and Oreo in a small cage and lookedaround and there were 7 babies, all dead. What happened? did they dieof suffocation in nest, mother not caring for them, father hurtingthem, etc? I really do not want this to happen again- it was reallysad. please help if u can...

 

[Stephanie]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

I will let our expert breeders here answer the question about the kits (baby rabbits), as I have no experience there.

Rabbits need to chew, and it very well may be that your rabbits arebored so are going after other things you may not want them to, such aschair legs, furniture or carpet. I give my rabbits untreated cardboardboxes (anything that's plain, no waxy or dyed stuff on it), untreatedwicker baskets that are very inexpensive and you can get at any craftstore, plus paper towel tubes.

A good thing to have on hand is a water bottle,the kind used to mistingplants. Say a loud NO! and a squirt, they'll learn quickly. Rabbits arevery smart, sometimes too smart for their own good.

What are you feeding them? Do you provide an unlimited supply oftimothy hay? It's very important for their digestive systems to eat alot of hay.

Also, I would strongly suggest getting both of your rabbits altered,especially the doe. Unspayed does have a high percentage of developingfatal cancer. Also, as rabbits get older and into the teen years (as Isuspect yours may be), they get major attitudes and altering helps withbad bunny behavior.

Post some pictures if you can! We love seeing everyone's rabbits.

 

[chip1123]

i usually feed them one major meal a day (rabbitpellets and either timothy hay or alfafa) and we give them snacksduring the rest of the day (salad, apple peelings, bread, etc). theyhave chewed on the tunnels that are in the cage, torn most of theirtoys up, etc. i did not know if this was normal. i was planning ongoing to get some books sometime soon to help educate myself...

 

[Stephanie]

Chewing is just a natural part of a rabbit'slife. Their teeth never stop growing, so they need to "file" them down.So yes, it is 100% normal for them to be chewing up all their stuff.

Perhaps they need a larger cage? Even the larger ferret cages that I'veseen in the pet stores never seemed quite big enough forafull grown rabbit. How big are your rabbits? How many pounds do theyweigh?

I'd be a bit careful to the amount of snacks you feed them. I know it'shard (my own rabbits are pros at begging, they put any dog to shame).You just dont want to end up with chunkabuns. lol Apples, bananas andraisins are especially fattening for rabbits. I'm not sure about breadeither.... Otherwise it sounds like they've got a good diet.

There is a handy thread at the top of the page, in the first four, the rabbit cheat sheet.

 

[lanna21974]

 

[chip1123]

these are my 2 rabbits. the big white one is chelsea, the small blackand white one is Oreo. i have no idea what kind of rabbits they are(except they said oreo was a dwarf rabbit)

 

[cirrustwi]

My guess is Chelsea is a mini lop, but we would need more info on her size and such.

Your girl is probably pregnant again, so separating them would be agood idea. Give her a nest box that the babies can't get outof, that way you won't have the same problem with them gettingcold. I don't have much experience with breeding...I've had 2litters born at the store I manage (people dumped both pregnant does)and I have relatives who used to breed Flemish giants, but I can makethose couple of suggestions.

As for the tearing up stuff -- rabbits just do this. The wayI have combated this is by designating a room for them and totallybunny-proofing it. Their cages are in this room and it onlyhas an old cabinet that we won't be upset if it is chewed -- their foodand such is in this. Otherwise everything in this roombelongs to the buns or my ferrets who also play and live in thisroom. The carpet is exposed at the moment, but I think I'mgoing to cover it with plastic matting because Basil had to havesurgery after eating a bunchof it a couple of months ago andI caught Sage trying to eat it last night.

Welcome to the forum!

Jen

 

[ariel]

Hi and welcome!

I think with your hutch question, do you let your bunnies out each day for a hop and play?

Supervised play every day is great for buns.

Some bunnies tend to "tear" things like paper to have fun. Keep remembering bunnies natural instinct is to dig.

If you like you could an empty toilet rool in their hutch to play with, maybe try some plastic baby toy keys on a ring, they are easy forbuns to toss around and have fun with.

Making sure your rooms where your buns play in are bunny proof is avery good idea, don't want any chewed up cords or charcoal bunnies

As for your 2nd question I can't help you as I only have 1 bunny but Iam sure there will be plenty of people here to offer advice etc

Have fun and enjoy yourself!

Editing to say your bunnies are cutties!!