do I have this right?

[kansas]

We are still doing research on rabbits and ifthey are the pet we want to go with, and what breed we want. But Ithought I would give a run down on what I am understanding so far. Theyneed to be fed 2 times a day, bedding changed daily, cages cleanedweekly. No corn! mostly pelletts for food and Timothy hay for ruffage.something to chew on for the teeth . A reasonable size cage. would bean inside pet that would be greeted with lots of love and affection.Can be played with(held) to an extent. they go throughhormonal changes and that affects temperment so best to Neuter males,males are more affectionate. Can not have 2 rabbits in thesame cage( how do they mate?)...ok I think I have covered most of whatI am learning so far... anymore in put would be great... Thank You..

 

[jordiwes]

Yup, most of it sounds right.

I just wanted to add that you should neuter boys and spay girls. Thiswill help with territorial behaviour and has health benefits later inlife.

You CAN house rabbits together, in fact they usually love the company.You first must make sure that they are both fixed and that they getalong before you can leave them together.

We have lots of information on bunny bonding on this site.

Feel free to check out the resource centre for lots more good information!

 

[maherwoman]

I think it's WONDERFUL that you're putting this all down and asking if you've got the right idea.

I will say that you're mostly correct in what you said, but there are a couple things I'd like to add, if I could.

1. You should have your bunny spayed/neutered as soon as it's of age.

2. You could get a bun from a shelter that's already spayed/neutered, and give a bunny a home that really needs one.

3. As far as holding, it really depends on thebunny...neither of mine wanted to be held after hitting puberty, andfrom what I've read, only about half of all buns like to/will toleratebeing held.

4. How often you feed them pellets is mostly dependant onsize and age (I'll give you a great link in a sec), and Timothy Hayshould be given unlimited at any age/size. You can give bunsunder six months alfalfa hay, but should taper it off (which can beeasily done by giving the bun Timothy hay and alfalfa cubes, makingsure the cubes are JUST hay, nothing added) after six months ofage.

Here's a great site about pellet feeding amounts:
http://www.carrotcafe.com/diet/index.html

5. As far as males being more affectionate, that really doesdepend on the bunny. I've heard of both sides of the coin forboth genders, so it's really up to each individual bunny what they'relike.

6. You can indeed have two buns in a cage, and they can be ofany combination (male with female, female with female, male with male),as long as you go through the bonding process successfully (which youcan read about in the Bonding thread in the Rabbit 101section of the forum). The personality of each bun comes intoplay here, too. Some buns get along famously right off thebat, others take some time, and yet others just never bond.It's best to go to the shelter and ask them for two bonded buns, or ifyou have one before the other, taking that one to the shelter to seewhich bun he/she bonds with easily. Let the bundecide. The people working there should also be able to helpout.

7. If you get an un-neutered male and an un-spayed female,have them in separate cages (or you'll definitely have a surpriselitter), and be sure the cages are at least a foot apart, preferablyeven on completely separate sides of the room/walls. Buns have been known to mate through the cage bars (don'task).

Everything else, yes! Wonderful that you already know aboutcorn, as well as changing the bedding daily, etc. Sounds likeyou've mostly got it down!

My MAJOR kudos to you for researching so much! That's thebest thing you can do for buns, whether you decide to get one ornot!

Keep us updated on what you decide! Also, if you decide tohave buns, we'll want pictures, so fair warning!

Hugs!

Rosie*

P.S. Feel absolutely free to post any and all questions!

 

[kansas]

Thank you for the great replies.. yes I willdefinetly keep doing research before we decide if this is the pet wewant. I wouldnt dream of getting an animal blindly knowing the care andup keep that it takes. Yes the rescue part is a great idea Iwish we had one close to where I live but unfortunately the closest oneis about 2 hours. But we are in no hurry so we will keep reading andlooking. Thank You again...

I did know about the spay part I have actually contacted avet that is Rabbitsavy he used to raise themand hesuggested to get a male the Neuter part isnt as hard on the rabbit asthe spay would be and it is the price of a female cat. about $85 Iguess our biggest worry is the bonding and being able to hold it andcuddle.... stuff like that. We have been told to get a cat if we wantthat type of animal but cats tend to climb all over the place. ThankYou again

 

[TinysMom]

Breeders will usually tell you that males make the best pets....they're friendlier and less territorial.

Peg

 

[Pipp]

kansas wrote:

Weare still doing research on rabbits and if they are the pet we want togo with, and what breed we want. But I thought I would give a run downon what I am understanding so far. They need to be fed 2 times a day,bedding changed daily, cages cleaned weekly. No corn! mostly pellettsfor food and Timothy hay for ruffage. something to chew on for theteeth . A reasonable size cage. would be an inside pet that would begreeted with lots of love and affection. Can be played with(held) to anextent. they go through hormonal changes and that affectstemperment so best to Neuter males, males are more affectionate. Cannot have 2 rabbits in the same cage( how do they mate?)...okI think I have covered most of what I am learning so far... anymore input would be great... Thank You..

I wrote a huge response to this and my computer glitch ate it. :cry4:

Anyway, , I've had dogs, cats, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs and other pets, but rabbits win, they're my favourite.

My backroom bunnies only get fed once a day, but theyeattwice a day, they have unlimited hay and leftovers from the previousmeal. The two living room bunnies are fed twice a day 'causeI like watching them eat. The bedroom bunny, mybonded mate, is fed little bits all the time because I haven'trecovered from a non-eating scare :shock:so I keep testingher. (Not a hint of a problem since).

I dind't pick up any of my bunnies, I stayed on the floorwith them until they decided they wanted to come to my level, now theyjump up on the bed or couch or my chair to see me. One of mybuns (a dwarf girl) cuddles and grooms me twice a day religiously,we're a bonded pair.

My little mini-rex follows me around like apuppy and pawsatmy leg (and greets guests at thedoor),he'll always jumpup on the couchtovisit, and he'll nuzzle whenI put myfacein his face, but he hates being picked up -- although heseems okay with it now, he just doens't enjoy it. Hisgirlfriend, a mixed dwarf, comes overand staystobeing petted, but I think she's only comes over toseeif Ihave food. (She's sweet, but Icould live without her).

The backroombunnies crawl all over me and come bounding up tome. The boy will give a few licks, dosn't like being held andcuddled, the girl doesnt' like hands., so she's not one to be held,either. I haven't spent much timewith them.

Bunnies HAVE to have friends, they have to bond with another bunny, ahuman, a cat, a dog or something. A single bunny isgreatif you have lots of time to spend withthem,but if you don't, two bunnies are actually easier totake care of than one. They keep each other occupied, groomedandless stressed.

A cage with more than one level and/or where a bunny can take at leastthree hops, preferably at least five,isadequate.They're really onlyactive for a couple hours twice a day, so they don'tneedallTHAT much attention and exercise.

Some bunnies perfer the security of their cages, somelikekarger spaces. My dwarf was much happier confinedto the bedroom, patrolling thewhole house had been stressingher out, but mymini-rex looks devastated whenconfined. They're very muchy individuals.

Mydwarf girl hit puberty and became a different bunnyattacking the cats and pooping and peeing everywhere,but was back to her sweet self again a month after her spay.

Hope this helps. (never as good the second time around). :grumpy

sas

 

[ec]

I've got to put a vote in here for spayed girls- mine's not territorial at all, loves to snuggle (as long as I'm onthe floor with her), and tends to follow me around (when it suits her!)She also gives kisses (licks my hands while I'm petting her), and willoften come to me when I call her name.

I'm pretty new to bunnies myself, and did extensive reading and askedmany questions ahead of time, and am so happy to see someone else doingthe same!

One piece of advice from me (echoing some other posts here): Go forrabbits whose personality seems to go well with yours. I think you andthe rabbit(s) will be happier for it. (That's how I chose mine, BTW -appearance wasn't that important to me and still isn't.)

 

[hunnybunny63]

Pipp wrote:

I wrote a huge response to this and my computer glitch ate it. :cry4:

Anyway, , I've had dogs, cats, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs and other pets, but rabbits win, they're my favourite.

My backroom bunnies only get fed once a day, but theyeattwice a day, they have unlimited hay and leftovers from the previousmeal. The two living room bunnies are fed twice a day 'causeI like watching them eat. The bedroom bunny, mybonded mate, is fed little bits all the time because I haven'trecovered from a non-eating scare :shock:so I keep testingher. (Not a hint of a problem since).

I dind't pick up any of my bunnies, I stayed on the floorwith them until they decided they wanted to come to my level, now theyjump up on the bed or couch or my chair to see me. One of mybuns (a dwarf girl) cuddles and grooms me twice a day religiously,we're a bonded pair.

My little mini-rex follows me around like apuppy and pawsatmy leg (and greets guests at thedoor),he'll always jumpup on the couchtovisit, and he'll nuzzle whenI put myfacein his face, but he hates being picked up -- although heseems okay with it now, he just doens't enjoy it. Hisgirlfriend, a mixed dwarf, comes overand staystobeing petted, but I think she's only comes over toseeif Ihave food. (She's sweet, but Icould live without her).

The backroombunnies crawl all over me and come bounding up tome. The boy will give a few licks, dosn't like being held andcuddled, the girl doesnt' like hands., so she's not one to be held,either. I haven't spent much timewith them.

Bunnies HAVE to have friends, they have to bond with another bunny, ahuman, a cat, a dog or something. A single bunny isgreatif you have lots of time to spend withthem,but if you don't, two bunnies are actually easier totake care of than one. They keep each other occupied, groomedandless stressed.

A cage with more than one level and/or where a bunny can take at leastthree hops, preferably at least five,isadequate.They're really onlyactive for a couple hours twice a day, so they don'tneedallTHAT much attention and exercise.

Some bunnies perfer the security of their cages, somelikekarger spaces. My dwarf was much happier confinedto the bedroom, patrolling thewhole house had been stressingher out, but mymini-rex looks devastated whenconfined. They're very muchy individuals.

Mydwarf girl hit puberty and became a different bunnyattacking the cats and pooping and peeing everywhere,but was back to her sweet self again a month after her spay.

Hope this helps. (never as good the second time around). :grumpy

sas

your bunnies all seem so happy with you! unlucky about the computer eating your psot!!! lol hope it doesnt happen again!

 

[bluebird]

I only feed once a day.I would start out withone rabbit, sometimes bonding doesnt work.and i think rabbits arefriendlier usually if they dont have a buddy.because they will bond tooyou.I prefer each rabbit has its own cage.that way i know right away ifsomebody is not eating.the sooner you know the better.bluebird