first time bunny owner- some ? about my adopted bunny

[dknylady]

Hi ! I am a first time rabbit owner,though I've had a guinea pig when I was young...Anyway I adopted thisrabbit a few days ago from some people who had a little girl who wasgetting a dog, and they couldnt' keep her. She is as big as acat, and is a year old. She came with a large hutch andalmost all supplies, I went and bought her some toys and treats, etc.

So my question is this: I dont know how to approach pickingher up. She seems fine when I pet her, but when I try' topick her up, she gets really scared and struggles, so I giveup. I have yet to hold her. I'm going to have topick her up soon, so I can clip her nails and let her have someexercise around my room or something.

Also the hutch has attached high legs so I can't just put it on the floor and let her crawl out.

I would appreciate your help! Also any tips or anthing for me would be appreciated!

And does anyone know what kind of rabbit she is?

Thanks!!!
Virginia

 

[dknylady]

oh! and should i get rid of the salt lick i stuck in there?

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Here's a good link on picking up and handling your rabbit:

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-11/lift.html

Welcome and good luck!

Laura

 

[Shuu]

Could also try using something stable as a ramp or make some stairs for her until she's more comfortable with you.

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

Welome to theforum!:wave:Hereisthe cheatsheet for rabbit care, it has lots of useful adviceon it :

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=3005&forum_id=1

 

[bluebird]

The salt can go it will rust the wire quickly.I think the bunny is a mix breed.bluebird

 

[dknylady]

thanks!

i read the list and have a question on: -Bunnies need to digest somefoods twice therefore have two different types of droppings. They eatthe softer droppings (cecetropes) and should not be discouraged as it'snormal and necessary for the rabbit.

now she is in a hutch with a wire floor, so she can't dothat. I put cardboard on the floor in spots, will she besmart enough too poo on that? i have no idea. whatshould I do? should I create a litterbox in the hutch forher? how big should it be?

thanks!

also I am thinking of moving the hutch into my room..she is in thestairwell and it must get boring out there, as I'm not going to spendall night in there.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

dknylady wrote:

They eat the softer droppings (cecetropes) and should not bediscouraged as it's normal and necessary for the rabbit.

now she is in a hutch with a wire floor, so she can't do that.

They generally eat the cecotropes directly from the, um,"source". They usually only "drop" the extras. Sheshould be fine.

Laura

 

[dknylady]

oh ok good! haha the guinea pig used to do that, yummy!

I've read a few things that say rabbits are better behaved, andhappier, when they are spayed/neutered. I am thinking ofgetting her spayed, if it's not too costly. Should I wait amonth or two till she gets acclimated to her new environment?Is this a good idea? I have no plans to get another rabbit,but if it makes her happier and healthier, it may be worth it.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

It is best to spay her because she will most likely develop uterine cancer as she gets older.

You said she's about a year old, right? That's a good age tospay. It may be a little costly. I paid $200 formine, but it's worth it.

There are lots of good threads here on the subject. Just typespay or neuter in the search box above and the information will popup.

Do some research and find a good vet who is rabbit savvy and your bunny should be fine.

Laura

 

[GreatBritGirl]

Picking up is a problem i had with quinn and thesame as you his hutch is on legs so i needed to get him - i triedbribing him into his carrier with food which worked a few times so youcould try that?

But basically what worked in the end was getting my own confidence up,i watched the vet pick him up and that gave me more confidence that hewasnt about to bite my hand off or something - although most rabbitsdont love being picked up i do think its best to persevere and it doesget easier - now my rabbit doesnt mind so much and he sulks when he hasto go back into his hutch!

 

[Shuu]

dknylady wrote:

also I am thinking of moving the hutch into my room..she isin the stairwell and it must get boring out there, as I'm not going tospend all night in there.

You may regret this when she starts banging things around at 2 or 3 AM.As long as you have some safe toys in there during the night she shouldbe fine. She'll spend most of the time sleeping, anyway.

Is there any way you can move her in there during the day and back intothe hall at night without disturbing her too much? The constant movingmay not be pleasant for her unless she's not in the cage when you do it.

 

[dknylady]

good idea about the carrier thing...i think I'll try that...

No the hutch is way too heavy and difficult to move..the noise is ok, Isleep with earplugs in anyway. I guess the smell won't be sobad if i clean the hutch well...

The thing is, I can't make a ramp for her in the stairwell, the door is parallel to a step.

$200, ouch. I will call around though....thanks!

 

[KeltonB]

dknylady wrote:

I guess the smell won't be so bad if i clean the hutch well...

I have been told that a bunny's sense of smell is much more sensitive(maybe 10x ?) than a human's. So if you can smell the hutch, imaginehow bad it would be for the bun who is right over it.

Your bunny is very cute, and you sound very interested in taking good care of her.

Good luck!

Kelton, who's just a newbie here

ps - On the hutch, you can have the legs shortened so that it is closerto the floor, which would be easier to fabricate a ramp in and out. Ithink too that rabbits don't like being up very high and prefer to becloser to the floor anyway.

 

[dknylady]

wow what a great idea! Thanks! I'll do that in a few days (maybe I can get some guy to do the sawing, hehe)

yes this bunny is super cute, and very nice.

 

[ariel]

Hi and welcome.:wave:
Seen as though you've only had this bun a few days I'd lay yourselfdown on the floor when it's play time for her and let her come over toyou and sniff and nudge you, let her get used to you that way on herown terms, then start petting her and see what she does. When pickingher up pop one of your hands underneath her behind and the other tosupport her back and head and slowly lift her.

It takes some bunnies a while to get used to us and others are fine straight away.

Bribery with treats always works too LOL I'd look into lowering thelegs of the hutch and get a ramp made, (MDF or even NIC cubes cut inhalf and zip tied together should work well.)

Carolyn may come up with an idea for a ramp, once when Buck Jones wasvisiting her he built a ramp so she may have ideas. We just have NICcubes cut down the centre and tied together and covered over and thework well.

 

[Carolyn]

ariel wrote:

Carolyn may come up with an idea for a ramp, oncewhen Buck Jones was visiting her he built a ramp so she may have ideas.

Welcome aboard!

This is the ramp Buck Jones built for Tucker and Fauna. It'sjust a piece of plywood with some carpet on it so that the rabbitsdon't slide down it, but can grip it on their way up anddown. It has two little hooks so that it hooks right onto thecage.

-Carolyn

 

[dknylady]

oh that's a good idea for a ramp!

now i have some questions about litterbox training:

She has a hutch with a wire floor, and the poo and whatever goesthrough to be soaked into the bedding in a removable traybeneath. I would like her to use a litterbox, I think itwould be an easier clean up, and she would be better in my room then.

So, do I place one in her cage? what size? what do i put in it? how do i get her to use it, and is this a good idea?

I'm just confused becuase I read some things about litterboxes in thehouse (like on your floor) and I'm not so sure about this, as Iwouldnt' be letting her run around when I'm not home or anything.

Thanks so much for all the help!

(later when I take more pics I'll put them up and see if anyone knows what kind of breeds she is)

 

[Shuu]

They need to be big enough so she can fit in itcomfortably. You may need to use a cat litter box with her size. Youcan put a litter called Yesterday's News in it. Just nothing clay orclumping as your bun could get very ill or die if she ate any of it.Yesterday's News is just newpaper made into little pellets. Try to findout which corner of the cage she uses and put it there. Entice her byputting a little bit of hay in there but don't leave the hay in toolong as she could get sick if she peed on it and eats it. They arenaturally clean animals and litter training tends to come fairlynaturally to them. I wouldn't expect her to poop in there all the time,but once she's trained she shouldn't miss with pee.

 

[dknylady]

hi just wanted to let you know your advice has been working!

i took her out of her hutch using the smaller cage she has...and lether run around my room for 2 hours. she only chewed oncardboard, she was coming up to me all the time, and she let me cut hernails with a nail clipper soooo nicely. she didn't even peeor poo (which i was totally expecting her to)

she didn't want to go back in the cage but she let me pick her up a little off the ground and put her in.

She seems to be a really great rabbit! I still can't get over that she is as big as a cat!

i will start to train her for a litterbox in a few days

thanks guys!