Help!

[naomikate0x]

I've just got a young rabbit and have not really got a clue about how to set up her hutch, which part should be bedroom, eating, toilet areas, and which of these should have sawdust, hay, straw, etc.. I have put a picture on but she also has a run which attaches onto the front, I've been giving her pellet food and hay, but I'm confused as there seems to be conflicting advice online about vegetables as she has only just been weaned.. if anyone could help I would really appreciate it thank you!


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[Bville]

I'm not the most experienced rabbit owner on this forum, but I can help you with a few of your questions. First, the bedroom of the hutch is the part that has the solid door on the front. The part next to that would be a good place for her food (pellets, water, hay). If she has just been weaned she is too young for vegetables. Somewhere between four and six months old is usually when they are ready for vegetables.

As far as what to put down on the floor of the hutch, I'm not sure with a rabbit that young because I don't know if it's possible to litter train them at that age. For litter training, you'd want to get a litter box and fill it with some absorbent material like recycled paper litter or wood pellets (not sawdust as you mentioned). A good place for the litter box is under a hay rack or you can put the hay right in one end of the litter box. This helps with litter training because they will usually poop while they eat the hay. Hopefully, someone else can advise you on when to start that, but in the meantime you'll need some absorbent material all over the hutch to soak up any pee.

 

[naomikate0x]

Thank you, so what goes in the bedroom area? And is sawdust alright as an absorbent material all over or is there something else which would be better? Thank you so much for your help


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[Bville]

I think saw dust would be bad. You could use wood shavings, but they have to be a rabbit safe wood like aspen, not cedar or pine. Personally, I like recycled paper litter/bedding like Carefresh or other brands that are similar. Do you have a pet store nearby?

 

[naomikate0x]

Okay, will check.. Yes, have a Pets at Home superstore just round the corner


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[Bville]

I just checked their website and they have lots of choices of recycled paper bedding or wood shavings. The wood shavings tend to stick to the rabbit's fur which is why I prefer the paper, but the wood shavings are cheaper. You'd probably want to put that all over the top part of the hutch in the sleeping and eating areas until you start litter training, then just put it in the litter box.

Again, I hope someone else on this forum can advise you on when to start litter training as I am not sure. I got my rabbits when they were four and six months old and they were easily trained at that age. I'm not sure about a baby rabbit.

 

[ladysown]

okay.. the scoop on veggies. that that TOO many people give too much too fast and ergo bunnies develop tummy issues and therefore people say don't give them veggies when they are little.

young bunnies raised on greens have no issues. Why? because they have adapted to eating them.

So before feeding veggies to your young bunny find out what they were raised on. If they were raised with veggies they will be just fine as long as you are smart about it. So feed really safe greens such as GREEN food.. carrot tops, parsley, cilantro and the life. Avoid not so safe veggies such as cabbage family plants, fruits and carrots.

I personally would lock her out of the hidey area until she has chosen a potty corner over the wire area. This to prevent her choosing her hidey area as a potty corner. Keep your rabbit cleaner and healthier if you do that.

in the tray you could place whatever bedding you desire. My personal choice would be peatmoss and/or horse stall bedding. Pine shavings would be another possibility. I would not place bedding in her hidey hole area at this point, or possibly not ever. Not like she really needs bedding material there. You won't want to put towels or things like that in there until you know if she's a chewer or not.

 

[geekgirl101]

That is one seriously tiny hutch... anyways that area in the upper-right that has the solid door and the arch leading into it is the bunny bed, which you'll want hay in for your bunny to sleep/nibble on. The more wider area on the upper-left with the grill door is a good spot for putting the pellet and water dishes. The area below is the "run", but this is a very tiny one. I'd get a large extension run to add at the front so that she can bounce around, play with toys, and "periscope" the area on her hind legs. You can put her toilet underneath the hutch and place a hay feeder close to it so she can sit in her toilet and eat the hay at the same time.

Since you said she is a young rabbit I'm hoping you roughly know her age. Make sure to feed her a small handful of pellets aimed at young rabbits per day, no more than that, and keep her hay and water topped up at all times. If you can get it then provide her with alfalfa in her feeder as this is better digested by young bunnies. As she gets close to 6 months old mix ordinary hay with her alfalfa slowly and continue to increase the amount of normal hay and reduce the alfalfa as alfalfa can give older bunnies diahorrea (think feeding baby food to a child.) Do the same also with her pellets, replacing her young bunny with adult bunny.

 

[geekgirl101]

Oh yeah... never use wood chip shavings/sawdust for rabbits as these can be sharp and uncomfortable on bunny skin, and they can ingest it too and develop all kinds of problems as result of internal puncturing of soft tissue. Sawdust can get in bunny eyes and noses. Some alternative materials for padding out their living quarters can include brown wrapping paper, newspaper, cardboard, and for the toilet you can get hold of a special type of absorbent material that soaks up the urine. I forget the name of it, it's specially designed for bunnies since they won't ingest it while there's other types out there that they can ingest and it swells in their stomachs and causes all kinds of health problems. Don't use kitty litter. And while they exist I would say don't bother with pet beds, they'll only use it as a toilet since they like to urinate on soft material.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

If you use wood shavings, aspen is fine or Kiln dried Pine, but never cedar. Ours have pine in the potty boxes with a hay rack and water bottle hanging adjacent to it. For the other areas, I use hand shredded newspaper in a cardboard box--they love to play in it and also use it as a potty and when it gets soiled it's easily dumped out and replaced. If your's isn't a chewer you can also put down carpet remanants for them to lay on.

 

[buster2369]

I just have to say you have a beautiful bunny! And she looks scarily similar to my Buster..


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[Azerane]

How is everything going?