Hi from Stevie and Skyler

[SteviesMom]

Hello everyone! My name is Skyler and my little bunny is Stevie. I have had her for about 2 weeks now! Stevie was a birthday present from my boyfriend. She is a 2 month old Holland Lop.

I just wanted to join a rabbit forum to make sure I'm doing everything right for my baby!

I have a cage set up for her in my room, she has full roam of my room when I'm at home.

Her diet is mainly timothy hay and pellets (i forget the name of them but it was something ox?) and a little orchard grass. I offer plenty of fresh veggies but she doesnt seem interested. I've offered: romaine lettuce, broccoli, carrots, and cilantro. She hasn't tried any of them yet. She will eat apple, but I've only given her 2 small slices since it's supposed to be a treat. I have also been rewarding her for good behavior with a few nibbles from a popcorn stick. I know this isn't the best for her but she LOVES it! Is it okay as long as she only has a little?

I'm also slightly concerned about her droppings. 95 percent of her poo are perfectly round little bunny poos, but the other 5 percent are less hard smaller balls all mashed into one piece. Is this bad? Thanks!

This is Stevie and I

 

[SteviesMom]

Right after I posted this, I offered Stevie some more veggies and she ate them all! Romaine, Cilantro and some carrot :biggrin: yay!

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Welcome, Skyler and Stevie I had a sweet bunny named Skyler (the bun in my avatar) and a rat named Stevie. Your little Stevie is so adorable. I think the food you're giving her is called Oxbow. Good brand.

As for her poop, it sounds like you're describing either cecals (which are little balls of soft poop stuck together, sounds gross but bunnies are supposed to eat them) or she may be having trouble with the fresh fruit and veggies you're giving. Unless her mom was fed fresh fruits and veggies, it would be best to wait until she's a few months old to feed them. Young bunnies' tummies can be easily upset. I wait until my babies are 6 months to introduce veggies and fruit but you probably don't need to wait nearly that long. If the poops are cecals, I forgot what exactly to do to encourage her to eat them so let's just hope someone else chimes in.

I don't know about the popcorn stick, is it a rabbit treat? I'd probably stay away. A friend's bunny died on Christmas and the necropsy found his tummy full of undigested popcorn kernels. That probably won't happen with Stevie but I've avoided feeding my guys anything with popcorn because of that. For a bunny safe treat, you could give her a little bit of oats. Like 1 individual rolled oat per treat. Don't overdo it though! Also it would be best to offer Stevie unlimited orchard grass or something like timothy or brome hay.

Hope this is helpful!

 

[SteviesMom]

Thanks for the reply Snowy Shiloh! What you explained for the poop sounds exactly like what she has, like I said the vast majority of her poop looks very normal. She has a constant supply of timothy hay, I also have orchard grass but I stopped giving it to her because I read somewhere it was bad for her? haha wrong info i guess? and yes, oxbow is the brand. The popcorn bar is a rabbit treat, it isn't kernals, but popped popcorn, I'll stop feeding her that though! I just feel bad because she LOVES it Thanks again for the info!

I also had one more question, at night when she is all snuggled up I sometimes hear her making a almost purring or hum noise very quietly. Does this mean she's relaxed and happy? or is something wrong with her breathing?

I have 3 Desert tortoises and with them no noise is a good noise so I just want to make sure that Stevie's humming isn't a bad thing

 

[MarisaAndToby]

Just a thought, if she's two months shouldn't she be on alfalfa pellets and alfalfa hay?

 

[SteviesMom]

Marisaandtoby, I'm new to rabbits, had one when I was little but don't remember the care. If that's what she is supposed to be eating, I'll switch her to that.

Her main diet for the past 2 weeks has been oxbow pellets and timothy hay.

 

[ZRabbits]

Welcome to the Forum! Stevie is a cutie. Congratulations on your new bunny.

Is the Oxbow for Young Rabbits? If so, it is an alfalfa based pellet. If it's not, timothy pellets are just as good but a bit of alfalfa hay for your young bunny will also help her diet.

I think because of bunny's sensitive digestive system at that age, veggies and fruit should be given at a later time. And slowly. Definitely stop the popcorn treats. Though she likes it, it just might be hard for her digest. If you are looking to introduce your young bunny to greens, Wheat Grass is good. I started introducing this to my young ones at 8 weeks. It helps with their digestive system and stimulates them to eat. A few strands a day has worked perfectly for me building up my bunnies to start greens at 6 months.

Also a taste of oats is good for young bunnies. Cheerios works here. They love them. Just don't overdo it. Little at a time with everything you introduce is your best bet.

Soft humming is affection. Sounds like you are building a fine relationship where your bunny is very trusting of you. Congratulations!

K

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Oh yeah, sorry, brain fart about the alfalfa. My vet said babies under 6 months can get either alfalfa pellets and alfalfa hay, timothy pellets and alfalfa hay, or alfalfa pellets and timothy hay. As long as alfalfa's in there somewhere. I've raised 5 baby bunnies using all 3 of those combos and they all resulted in healthy babies. Once Stevie gets to 6 months though you should transition her to timothy pellets AND timothy hay (or orchard grass or brome hay or a combo, there are other suitable hays too) because alfalfa is not good for adult bunnies because it's too rich (weird as that sounds). It can cause things like diarrhea and bladder stones.

 

[SteviesMom]

Oh man oh man! Today was not our best. Giving Stevie veggies was NOT a good idea I wish I had known before I gave them to her. I got back from school to a messy bottomed bunny. I felt so horrible for giving her the veggies. I had to go buy bunny shampoo and I got some alfalfa hay while I was there. Hopefully that will settle her stomach some no more veggies for a while.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Aww, poor sweetie! Give her lots of hay and keep track of her water consumption and she should be okay. Please keep us updated on her health. You don't want her to get dehydrated from the diarrhea.

 

[SteviesMom]

She just had one bought of it, all the rest of her poops have looked normal. I just felt so awful for her Then I had to rinse her bum, poor thing!

I just filled her trough thingy with alfalfa hay and she doesn't seem to like it. (She was eating some pellets and was chewing on her grass mat though) Should I mix in some timothy or orchard? Or just leave it?

 

[SnowyShiloh]

I'd say any hay is better than no hay! Did you figure out what kind of Oxbow she's getting?

 

[melbaby80]

awe he is so cute!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Darn, I was gonna say to hold off on veggies till 4 months and to give her alfalfa til she hits six months. Lordy she is a cute bunny. Congrats and welcome to the forum.

 

[SteviesMom]

It is the regular oxbow i think. it didn't say anything about babies on there. So I went out and got the alfalfa hay for her. She doesn't seem to like it though. I guess I'll try to order the baby oxbow online because they don't sell it at my petco. And I am definitely going to hold off on the veggies now, had to learn that lesson the hard way I took a picture of stevie a few minutes after her bath, i'll try to post it!