sleepmask4life
Member
Hi, my name is Billy and I am a new rabbit owner who is a tad over his head. Sorry for such a long post, I like to write and hope you read it and tell me what you think.
O.k. here is the situation. I bought my own house and am living alone, so I decided that I would buy a rabbit to keep me company. I've cared for rabbits in the past while living with my parents many years ago, so I didn't think I couldn't handle it. Saw this gorgeous two story rabbit hutch made of wood with metal grating and I couldn't resist. It's heavy duty enough to keep outside but I wanted to put it in my dining room, so I can always see my bunny. I was also determined to litter box train the rabbit, to avoid big messes I had to deal with cleaning up after rabbits from my past. Well, I saw the pet store had this dwarf loop eared rabbit and I fell in love. I got to hold it and then noticed there was another bunny living in the cage with him, a dwarf albino breed. And he was going nuts looking for the other one I was holding, he seemed concerned. When I put the loop eared rabbit back, I could see the other rabbit kissing him and that they were friends. So I decided to get them both. They were already bonded and I liked the idea of having two rabbits living together to keep each other company, especially since I work very odd afternoon and evening hours. The two story rabbit hutch was plenty big for them and has nice shelves for the rabbits to lie on and a hideaway section. The only problem is the pet store had no idea what their sex was but I didn't think anything of it. Ignorance was bliss, at least for a little while. I thought I probably have two males and I named the albino one Wilbur and the loop eared one Harvey.
They took to the hutch really well and seemed extremely happy. The litter box training also went off without a hitch. I read a lot on how to do it, found out where they were going in the cage and put the litter box there with some of their soiled stuffing (I'm not using chips, I am using this stuffing that sort of reminds me a bit of pillow stuffing... and yes I got it from the pet store) and it was a success. I let them out for at least two hours a day to hop around my dining room, which is penned off and completely free of wires and other dangers. And they would jump into the air so I knew they were happy. And they love each other, would lick each other and lay right next to each other, it was great. They really took to the toys I got them, all homemade stuff like paper towel rolls or toilet paper rolls stuffed with hay. I would take layers of tissue paper and pin it under a chair and they would go nuts trying to rip it up. They also loved playing with a big paper bag, jumping in it and dug a hole out the other end. And a small box with both ends open, they love running through it. And then they run around the dining room at top speed, jump in the air, jump on and off a chair, they are happy bunnies!
There was only a few things they were doing that I wasn't the happiest about. One was trying real hard to get under the rabbit hutch when I let them out to hop. But I took some wood and fastened it all around the bottom of the hutch, problem solved. The other problem is that they liked to jump into the litter box and dig so that all the stuffing went flying. They would not stop until almost all the stuffing was pushed out of the litter box and I struggled with constantly having to put the stuffing back in. I ended up having to get them a bigger litter box with higher sides, that helped. I also started taking tissue paper and clamping it in between the two sections of the litter box so that they would try like crazy to rip it up, instead of digging in the stuffing. But of course once they ripped up the tissue paper, the stuffing is next to go. I'm open to suggestions because this is a problem I am still dealing with. The stuffing is there to soak up the pee, I don't want them pushing it all out of the litter box.
Originally I got them their own water bottle and food dish, but they only wanted to share one of each, so I eventually took away one water bottle and one food dish. Around that time, the really bad bunny behavior began. Mostly it came from Wilbur, he was being the dominant male. He was pushing Harvey out of the way when he was drinking water, as if to say, my water bottle. Then he would dig in the food and put his paws in it as if trying to prevent Harvey from eating. In fact I have seen him pull the food dish away from Harvey, basically he became a big bully. One of the problems was the food I got them, these pellets had some special carrot flavored pellets mixed in and he would go nuts digging in the dish to get all these special pieces and eat them before Harvey gets a chance. In fact many of Harvey's meals were eating the pellets off the hutch floor after Wilbur dug through the dish and sent food pellets flying everywhere.
Then came the excessive humping. Swear to God it was absolute bunny hump fest! And it was always Wilbur trying to hump Harvey. He would run away and Wilbur would chase him till he could pin him down and hump away. Sometimes it would be the wrong way and he would hump Harvey's face, which didn't make me the happiest. At first the humping was funny, but it fast got out of control. It was all Wilbur had on his mind, constantly humping Harvey. They did it in the cage, but especially when I let them out to run, they would chase each other. On a few occasions, I saw Harvey humping Wilbur, which relived me a little because I was starting to feel like Harvey was just going to be Wilbur's rape victim all day and all night. But it was rare, it was mostly Wilbur humping Harvey. All the while, I don't know what sex they are. I tried flipping them over and seeing if I could see anything, and one day I did on Wilbur, I got to see his pecker that was like a quarter piece of a toothpick. But on Harvey, I could find nothing.
Well the humping continued for months and then things went from bad to worse. I started making noises any time Wilbur was getting ready to mount Harvey, I was going to try and discourage it even though it was basically futile. I believe a little has to do with me becoming slightly jealous of my own rabbits humping like crazy while I have been single for over ten years, but that's another issue. Harvey was running away and I started to feel I had to protect him from Wilbur's bullying. I started noticing mounds of fur and thought that it was Wilbur pulling the fur out of Harvey because I've seen him bite her on the back of the neck when mounting. Of course when I started chasing Wilbur away when he wanted to hump, he became very unhappy with me. He started thumping and shaking a little around me. It probably didn't help that he bite me twice when holding him and I pushed his head down with my own and held it for a little to try and show him that I was the dominant male. And a few times he tried jumping out of my arms only for me to catch him in mid air and pull him back to me, I would only put them down gently, not allow them to fly out of my arms. Well, basically he knows who is in charge and isn't happy about it. I even tried to stop him from pushing Harvey out of the way when it came to food, sometimes grabbed him away so Harvey could eat in peace. Harvey, meanwhile was a perfect angel, except for the constant digging in the litter box.
Then I started noticing that Harvey was doing things that a pregnant female would do. She ripped up a ton of newspaper and made a nest out of the hideaway area, complete with her own fur, ripped up tissue paper and hay. Yes, I finally saw her pulling her own fur out, it really concerned me at first till I did some research. Of course like an idiot I cleaned up the fur, only for her to pull more fur out, so I now I just leave the nest alone. Then she became super moody and started growling. One day I heard loud growling coming from the cage and it was because Wilbur was trying to hump Harvey and she was growling at him. I said enough is enough and have permanently separated them. The two story rabbit hutch has a trap door in between the two floors, so I closed it. I kept Harvey on the top floor which is where the hideaway section is that she turned into a nest box. And Wilbur has to stay on the bottom floor. I took back out their own water bottles and food dish, which at first I thought one of the bunnies was going to protest because when I had them both out, they only used one. But I am happy to say they are still eating and drinking.
They are very unhappy being divided and cannot see each other because they are on different floors. Keeping them separated has also become extremely stressful on me because I could not let them run free together. Wilbur would try to hump Harvey and she would growl and hop away. So now I let them out at separate times to hop around, but as soon as I let one out the other becomes extremely jealous. Especially Harvey who is on the second floor. When she sees I let out Wilbur, she digs at the cage bars wanting to come out. Then when I put him back and let her out, she goes up to the cage and bites at the bars, she wants to let Wilbur out to play! But of course when I do and they are together, he tries to hump her and she growls and runs away.
You may have noticed in this story I have started calling Harvey a she, well she is a female. I needed advice so I took them to the vet. I had put it off for over three months since I got them, I'm a first time homeowner and just don't have a lot of money. The vet told me that Wilbur was a male, which I already knew, and Harvey is a pregnant female. So I have a pregnant female rabbit on my hands, great. The vet suggested that I get them fixed but being a first time homeowner who is basically starting over money-wise, I don't have the $420 a piece to get them fixed. Heck I won't even be taking them back to the vet at $73 each just to look at them! These are all things I did not consider when buying these rabbits. I have just enough to feed them well, plenty of hay and pellets, even some treats, fruits and veggies... and keep their cage and litter boxes clean. When it comes time to cutting their nails, I will be doing it myself.
So, it's been over three weeks of keeping them divided and it isn't easy but I am managing. I want to have the babies and I pray to God that they survive because I don't like the thought of dealing with dead baby bunnies, especially if it was the mom who killed them. Now that I know Harvey is pregnant, I am trying to not upset her too much, but that isn't easy. I had to get a second litter box for Harvey on the second floor because she was ripping up all the newspaper and stuffing and really ruining the wood in that hutch. Meanwhile, Wilbur is so angry he can't see Harvey, he is eating the wood ramp between the floors and he doesn't realize he will be out of luck if he eats completely through it! I have given them both things to chew, but they rather eat the wooden hutch. They love timothy hay and keep it coming. I used to have a wire hay basket attached to the cage but had to get rid of it because Wilbur kept ripping it down. I'm trying to loosen him up but he is just not as happy as he was when together with Harvey. And Harvey I try now not to even reach in her cage because she growls at me and ferociously attacked me the other day with her claws and mouth wide open , I never saw her so p*ssed off! It was because I was trying to put the stuffing back into her litter box after she dug and pushed it out.
So here is where I am at. I want to have the babies and hope they survive. I don't want to have a huge bunny family, especially considering I don't have funds for vets and getting them fixed. I'm keeping them divided but ideally I want to get back to where I can have two bunnies that can get along and completely co-exist without any problems unsupervised. I want to keep Harvey and am debating doing away with Wilbur.
O.k. so I may not go through with it, Wilbur has got me to laugh, especially when he binkies and soars through the air. So I am sure he is safe, but I can't have a male and a female when I have no intention of getting them fixed, nor do I want to have litter after litter of baby rabbits. After this pregnancy passes and Harvey has her kits, I'm good as far as ever wanting them to breed again. I didn't buy them to breed them, I just didn't know better or fully understand the situation that I was getting myself into. I would be happy to keep a female kit and have her live with the mother, but you can't tell their sex right away. I do know that the vet told me I have to divide the babies sometime between 3 and 6 weeks, or I can have more pregnancies and this can get out of hand really fast. I don't want to fill my dining room with different cages for each rabbit!
I'm going to have to find people who want rabbits, I don't want to sell them or give them to the pet store. I'm definitely not going to just open my front door and say see you later, I'll have stew before ever doing that. Heck I wish I could have a small bunny family and they would all co-exist and not multiply, but I know that is not the case. I wish I had the money to get them fixed but I don't, the mortgage comes first and right now I don't even have money to splurge on myself.
Any advice would be appreciated it, I am way over my head here. And wish me luck that Harvey has healthy babies and they survive. What would you do if you were in my situation?
Here is a picture of them, I will take better ones. Harvey, the female, is the loop eared rabbit.
Thanks for reading my post.
--- Billy
O.k. here is the situation. I bought my own house and am living alone, so I decided that I would buy a rabbit to keep me company. I've cared for rabbits in the past while living with my parents many years ago, so I didn't think I couldn't handle it. Saw this gorgeous two story rabbit hutch made of wood with metal grating and I couldn't resist. It's heavy duty enough to keep outside but I wanted to put it in my dining room, so I can always see my bunny. I was also determined to litter box train the rabbit, to avoid big messes I had to deal with cleaning up after rabbits from my past. Well, I saw the pet store had this dwarf loop eared rabbit and I fell in love. I got to hold it and then noticed there was another bunny living in the cage with him, a dwarf albino breed. And he was going nuts looking for the other one I was holding, he seemed concerned. When I put the loop eared rabbit back, I could see the other rabbit kissing him and that they were friends. So I decided to get them both. They were already bonded and I liked the idea of having two rabbits living together to keep each other company, especially since I work very odd afternoon and evening hours. The two story rabbit hutch was plenty big for them and has nice shelves for the rabbits to lie on and a hideaway section. The only problem is the pet store had no idea what their sex was but I didn't think anything of it. Ignorance was bliss, at least for a little while. I thought I probably have two males and I named the albino one Wilbur and the loop eared one Harvey.
They took to the hutch really well and seemed extremely happy. The litter box training also went off without a hitch. I read a lot on how to do it, found out where they were going in the cage and put the litter box there with some of their soiled stuffing (I'm not using chips, I am using this stuffing that sort of reminds me a bit of pillow stuffing... and yes I got it from the pet store) and it was a success. I let them out for at least two hours a day to hop around my dining room, which is penned off and completely free of wires and other dangers. And they would jump into the air so I knew they were happy. And they love each other, would lick each other and lay right next to each other, it was great. They really took to the toys I got them, all homemade stuff like paper towel rolls or toilet paper rolls stuffed with hay. I would take layers of tissue paper and pin it under a chair and they would go nuts trying to rip it up. They also loved playing with a big paper bag, jumping in it and dug a hole out the other end. And a small box with both ends open, they love running through it. And then they run around the dining room at top speed, jump in the air, jump on and off a chair, they are happy bunnies!
There was only a few things they were doing that I wasn't the happiest about. One was trying real hard to get under the rabbit hutch when I let them out to hop. But I took some wood and fastened it all around the bottom of the hutch, problem solved. The other problem is that they liked to jump into the litter box and dig so that all the stuffing went flying. They would not stop until almost all the stuffing was pushed out of the litter box and I struggled with constantly having to put the stuffing back in. I ended up having to get them a bigger litter box with higher sides, that helped. I also started taking tissue paper and clamping it in between the two sections of the litter box so that they would try like crazy to rip it up, instead of digging in the stuffing. But of course once they ripped up the tissue paper, the stuffing is next to go. I'm open to suggestions because this is a problem I am still dealing with. The stuffing is there to soak up the pee, I don't want them pushing it all out of the litter box.
Originally I got them their own water bottle and food dish, but they only wanted to share one of each, so I eventually took away one water bottle and one food dish. Around that time, the really bad bunny behavior began. Mostly it came from Wilbur, he was being the dominant male. He was pushing Harvey out of the way when he was drinking water, as if to say, my water bottle. Then he would dig in the food and put his paws in it as if trying to prevent Harvey from eating. In fact I have seen him pull the food dish away from Harvey, basically he became a big bully. One of the problems was the food I got them, these pellets had some special carrot flavored pellets mixed in and he would go nuts digging in the dish to get all these special pieces and eat them before Harvey gets a chance. In fact many of Harvey's meals were eating the pellets off the hutch floor after Wilbur dug through the dish and sent food pellets flying everywhere.
Then came the excessive humping. Swear to God it was absolute bunny hump fest! And it was always Wilbur trying to hump Harvey. He would run away and Wilbur would chase him till he could pin him down and hump away. Sometimes it would be the wrong way and he would hump Harvey's face, which didn't make me the happiest. At first the humping was funny, but it fast got out of control. It was all Wilbur had on his mind, constantly humping Harvey. They did it in the cage, but especially when I let them out to run, they would chase each other. On a few occasions, I saw Harvey humping Wilbur, which relived me a little because I was starting to feel like Harvey was just going to be Wilbur's rape victim all day and all night. But it was rare, it was mostly Wilbur humping Harvey. All the while, I don't know what sex they are. I tried flipping them over and seeing if I could see anything, and one day I did on Wilbur, I got to see his pecker that was like a quarter piece of a toothpick. But on Harvey, I could find nothing.
Well the humping continued for months and then things went from bad to worse. I started making noises any time Wilbur was getting ready to mount Harvey, I was going to try and discourage it even though it was basically futile. I believe a little has to do with me becoming slightly jealous of my own rabbits humping like crazy while I have been single for over ten years, but that's another issue. Harvey was running away and I started to feel I had to protect him from Wilbur's bullying. I started noticing mounds of fur and thought that it was Wilbur pulling the fur out of Harvey because I've seen him bite her on the back of the neck when mounting. Of course when I started chasing Wilbur away when he wanted to hump, he became very unhappy with me. He started thumping and shaking a little around me. It probably didn't help that he bite me twice when holding him and I pushed his head down with my own and held it for a little to try and show him that I was the dominant male. And a few times he tried jumping out of my arms only for me to catch him in mid air and pull him back to me, I would only put them down gently, not allow them to fly out of my arms. Well, basically he knows who is in charge and isn't happy about it. I even tried to stop him from pushing Harvey out of the way when it came to food, sometimes grabbed him away so Harvey could eat in peace. Harvey, meanwhile was a perfect angel, except for the constant digging in the litter box.
Then I started noticing that Harvey was doing things that a pregnant female would do. She ripped up a ton of newspaper and made a nest out of the hideaway area, complete with her own fur, ripped up tissue paper and hay. Yes, I finally saw her pulling her own fur out, it really concerned me at first till I did some research. Of course like an idiot I cleaned up the fur, only for her to pull more fur out, so I now I just leave the nest alone. Then she became super moody and started growling. One day I heard loud growling coming from the cage and it was because Wilbur was trying to hump Harvey and she was growling at him. I said enough is enough and have permanently separated them. The two story rabbit hutch has a trap door in between the two floors, so I closed it. I kept Harvey on the top floor which is where the hideaway section is that she turned into a nest box. And Wilbur has to stay on the bottom floor. I took back out their own water bottles and food dish, which at first I thought one of the bunnies was going to protest because when I had them both out, they only used one. But I am happy to say they are still eating and drinking.
They are very unhappy being divided and cannot see each other because they are on different floors. Keeping them separated has also become extremely stressful on me because I could not let them run free together. Wilbur would try to hump Harvey and she would growl and hop away. So now I let them out at separate times to hop around, but as soon as I let one out the other becomes extremely jealous. Especially Harvey who is on the second floor. When she sees I let out Wilbur, she digs at the cage bars wanting to come out. Then when I put him back and let her out, she goes up to the cage and bites at the bars, she wants to let Wilbur out to play! But of course when I do and they are together, he tries to hump her and she growls and runs away.
You may have noticed in this story I have started calling Harvey a she, well she is a female. I needed advice so I took them to the vet. I had put it off for over three months since I got them, I'm a first time homeowner and just don't have a lot of money. The vet told me that Wilbur was a male, which I already knew, and Harvey is a pregnant female. So I have a pregnant female rabbit on my hands, great. The vet suggested that I get them fixed but being a first time homeowner who is basically starting over money-wise, I don't have the $420 a piece to get them fixed. Heck I won't even be taking them back to the vet at $73 each just to look at them! These are all things I did not consider when buying these rabbits. I have just enough to feed them well, plenty of hay and pellets, even some treats, fruits and veggies... and keep their cage and litter boxes clean. When it comes time to cutting their nails, I will be doing it myself.
So, it's been over three weeks of keeping them divided and it isn't easy but I am managing. I want to have the babies and I pray to God that they survive because I don't like the thought of dealing with dead baby bunnies, especially if it was the mom who killed them. Now that I know Harvey is pregnant, I am trying to not upset her too much, but that isn't easy. I had to get a second litter box for Harvey on the second floor because she was ripping up all the newspaper and stuffing and really ruining the wood in that hutch. Meanwhile, Wilbur is so angry he can't see Harvey, he is eating the wood ramp between the floors and he doesn't realize he will be out of luck if he eats completely through it! I have given them both things to chew, but they rather eat the wooden hutch. They love timothy hay and keep it coming. I used to have a wire hay basket attached to the cage but had to get rid of it because Wilbur kept ripping it down. I'm trying to loosen him up but he is just not as happy as he was when together with Harvey. And Harvey I try now not to even reach in her cage because she growls at me and ferociously attacked me the other day with her claws and mouth wide open , I never saw her so p*ssed off! It was because I was trying to put the stuffing back into her litter box after she dug and pushed it out.
So here is where I am at. I want to have the babies and hope they survive. I don't want to have a huge bunny family, especially considering I don't have funds for vets and getting them fixed. I'm keeping them divided but ideally I want to get back to where I can have two bunnies that can get along and completely co-exist without any problems unsupervised. I want to keep Harvey and am debating doing away with Wilbur.
O.k. so I may not go through with it, Wilbur has got me to laugh, especially when he binkies and soars through the air. So I am sure he is safe, but I can't have a male and a female when I have no intention of getting them fixed, nor do I want to have litter after litter of baby rabbits. After this pregnancy passes and Harvey has her kits, I'm good as far as ever wanting them to breed again. I didn't buy them to breed them, I just didn't know better or fully understand the situation that I was getting myself into. I would be happy to keep a female kit and have her live with the mother, but you can't tell their sex right away. I do know that the vet told me I have to divide the babies sometime between 3 and 6 weeks, or I can have more pregnancies and this can get out of hand really fast. I don't want to fill my dining room with different cages for each rabbit!
I'm going to have to find people who want rabbits, I don't want to sell them or give them to the pet store. I'm definitely not going to just open my front door and say see you later, I'll have stew before ever doing that. Heck I wish I could have a small bunny family and they would all co-exist and not multiply, but I know that is not the case. I wish I had the money to get them fixed but I don't, the mortgage comes first and right now I don't even have money to splurge on myself.
Any advice would be appreciated it, I am way over my head here. And wish me luck that Harvey has healthy babies and they survive. What would you do if you were in my situation?
Here is a picture of them, I will take better ones. Harvey, the female, is the loop eared rabbit.
Thanks for reading my post.
--- Billy
