How can I make my rabbits live healthier and longer

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Kmaketbi

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One of my rabbits is 3 months, the other one is 4 months ,
Due to my past trauma from the past rabbit I’ve been really careful, with what I feed them.
I mostly feed them hay all the time, but they prefer dried grass sometimes, Everything sounds normal, until my mother decided to put them in our backyard, our backyard is full of fresh grass, and she keeps insisting “ they need to live their lives” they have been feeding on grass, but what was my concern was the weather, it been cold often, and she digs up a hole and covers the top of it, as thier “home’. The backyard is very big, so they have been running here and there, the 3 month was jumping now the 4 months is driving me crazy because in the backyard here is a timer and it happens that 4 months splashed with water, I rushed to dry it with towel and under the sun. The 3 month is worrying me because he is not as active and he sleeps most of the time, when he wakes up he gives no reaction to humans beside him basically if you stood beside him he will stand on his feet if he is looking for something. He moves but not active as before, and he sleeps often, so I decided to make shredded cucumbers and the moment I placed the plate in the cage they jumped in cage and started eating as if they were starved, is it ok to feed them because the 3 month became more active after the cucumber and he looked more healthier . Shredded cucumbers are easier to digest because they are softer and smaller. What are the types of veggitables that can help them digest and easy for their stomach.
They told me to never feed them lettuce. And because they’re outside now, can they feed on grass or is it dangerous to them? I have noticed orange dust on both rabbits fur d, but it looked like it is from the flowers. So please tell me how can I maintain my rabbits health, what I must do and what I must not do.
 
Spaying and neutering can help prevent cancer and they can live longer. Romaine and dark lettuces are ok but NEVER Iceberg lettuce. And as long as the grass is not sprayed with any pesticides then them eating grass is ok.
 
Getting their sex organs taken out. Unspayed females are very prone to get uterine cancer and getting a male neutered can help with behavioral problems such as spraying urine.
 
Grass hay is just fresh grass that is dried to make it easier to store and feed to animals. Fresh grass is fine as long as they are eating it well, it's not sprayed or treated with pesticides/herbicides, and they don't show signs of getting soft or wet poop. You do need to keep an eye on their weight and body condition to make sure they are eating enough grass. If they aren't eating the grass very well they will lose weight and get skinny, which means you should be free feeding grass hay as well so they always have food to eat.
https://research.unc.edu/files/2012/11/Body-Condition-Scoring-Rabbit.pdf

Your rabbits are also at the age where they become sexually mature. So if you don't plan on having baby rabbits everywhere, you should get the male neutered and the female spayed(surgery to desex/remove reproductive organs) before she becomes pregnant. That is if you have a knowledgeable rabbit vet near you to do the surgeries. It's important that it's a vet with specific training in rabbits. Cat and dog vets aren't the same, and a vet giving a rabbit the wrong medication could kill your rabbit. If you don't have a knowledgeable rabbit vet to do the surgeries then you will need to keep the two of them in separate areas if you don't want her getting pregnant every 4 weeks.

If it's been cold there that could be why he isn't as active. Or if it gets too hot they also will be less active. If it's cold then you definitely do not want him getting too wet being outside, as this could get him sick. Also if it's warmer weather there and you have flies, wet fur or poop stuck to fur can attract flies to lay eggs and this can lead to a condition called flystrike which is very dangerous. So make sure your rabbits always have clean dry fur and check them over at least twice a day to make sure they are healthy. As long as they both continue to eat well, stay clean and dry, and aren't losing weight and getting skinny, or having runny poop, then that means they are staying healthy. A rabbit that is sick won't want to eat at all or won't eat very much. That's how you can know something is wrong with your rabbits, and also if their poop isn't the normal round poop. Changes in poop and changes in eating are the two signs to look for to know a rabbit might be sick.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/drop/Drp_en.htm
http://humanesocietysoco.org/New/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Sick-Bunny-.pdf
https://therabbithaven.org/rabbit-emergencies
http://language.rabbitspeak.com/

Cucumber is fine as long as it doesn't cause your rabbit to get runny/mushy poop or cause your rabbit to get an upset stomach and stop eating. Generally when giving your rabbit a new vegetable or leafy green vegetable that they've never had before, it's best to start with only on veggie and a small amount to make sure it doesn't upset their stomach. If there is no mushy poop or signs of an upset stomach the day after feeding it, then it's safe to gradually increase the amount of that vegetable. Then after a week you can start an new vegetable/greens. I like to feed leafy green vegetables like cilantro/coriander, parsley, dark leaf lettuces like red/green leaf and romaine lettuce(just never feed iceberg lettuce). Here are some food lists for rabbits.
https://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/feeding_en.pdf
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Food/Food_main.htm
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/index_en.htm
 
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