I'm considering adding a rabbit to the family

[lilchris_28]

I'm thinking about adding a rabbit or two to thefamily. I've just recently started research on them, so Istill am unsure about a few things. So far I've learned thatthey need to be kept in pairs, to feed them about three different typesof veggies every day, and that pellets should be a small part of theirdiet. I already knew about the timothy hay, the fact theyneed floortime, that they like toys, that they are prone togettingsometimes life-threatening hairballs (though I don'tknow what to do about that other than brushing...can you give them catlax?), and that they live about 10 years. Mainly I need toknow everything there is to know about rabbit care. Withguinea pigs, www.guinealynx.comand www.cavycages.comarethe places to go. Is there a website for rabbits that "is theplace to go"?

Some specific questions I have:

How big should the cage be for two adult rabbits?

What type of pellets are best?

What breed should I get?

What little health "quirks" should I know about other than the hairballs?

That's all I can think of right now... Thanks.

 

[orion94nl]

Hi,

How big should the cage be for two adult rabbits?

As big as possible . Most people make something themselfes as mostcages sold in shops are not that huge, especially not if youare having 2 rabbits. The need a huge cage, but besides that ample timeoutside of the cage (at least 3 - 4 hours a day). Just search on theinternet to see different kind of cages people have at home (home-madeor adapted to their needs)

What type of pellets are best?

Hopefully someone else on this forum can help you with that. I am inthe NL and there they don't have the pellets they have in the USA

What breed should I get?

Does that really matter
I would advise you strongly to go to a rabbit rescue shelter or anotheranimal shelter in your area to see if they have pairs up for adoption(most of the time they have). They can tell you all about thecharacters of the rabbits and as they are already bonded no fuss aboutbonding them (and all the problems that can occur then).
I have one official breed at home (didn't know about shelters at thattime) and he is very friendly (got him when he was 6 months old), theother we bought in a shop (got him when he was about 6/7 weeks old)and, although we love him very much, he is less friendly and not thatsociable.

Nowadays I do some volunteering work at a shelter and how often thoserabbit shelters turn out to be the greatest pets there are.

What little health "quirks" should I know about other than the hairballs?

GI Statis (gas in the stomach); here in NL one of the most causes when a rabbit dies.
Why? because most people haven't heard of it and just don't do anythingwhen a rabbit stops eating. Always have medication in house / availablein case this happens.

Ofcourse there are other small health things like teeth problems (arabbit is born with that), poop problems (all related to the food thebunny gets), nailclipping (must be done regularly), etc. etc.

Please consider adoption a pair or rabbits for a shelter. They will give you so much fun!

greetz,

MJ


o yes... good bunny related issues: check the House Rabbit Society website.
There is all you need to know!

 

[jordiwes]

lilchris_28 wrote:

Is there a website for rabbits that "is the placeto go"?

Check out the rabbit resources, here! Also www.rabbit.org is a great source of information

How big should the cage be for two adult rabbits?

You can build some great cages yourself for much cheaper than buying acage. See the cages section of our forum, or cavycages.com is a goodexample as well.

What type of pellets are best?

Pellets with minimum 18% fiber, max 16% protein. Depends on the age too.

What breed should I get?

Meet some rabbits, and go with what your heart tells you.

What little health "quirks" should I know about other than the hairballs?

Rabbits can have all sorts of health issues so it's best to take themto a vet at least once a year. I've had 2 rabbits for over a year andno health problems so far (knock wood).

Did I mention the rabbit resource center in this forum? :bunnydance:

Good luck in your search!

 

[hummer]

It sounds like you have come to the right placefor answers to your questions. And I am by far no bunnyexpert, but I do have 1 very happy rabbit. And thereare a lot of other "bunny slaves" here that also have just 1very happy bunny. If you do find a bonded pair and you fallin love with just one, then it would be best for both of them to bringboth of them home of course. But if you find just one rabbitthat you love, then bring home that one and maybe in the future youmight be able to adopt another one?

If you go down to the bottom of the home page here, there is a readonly forum "Bunny 101", there is a ton of advice there, great place tostart. There is a thread in there called "Rabbits Only CheatSheet", that is the info that I started with (and so many others too!)and there is a ton of advice and wisdom in that thread.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[manda]

i just keep one rabbit too, and i have noproblems! she is with me 12- 16hrs a day 3 days a week and 5hours a day the rest of the week, so she is bonded with me like i amthe other rabbit.

but i am thinking of getting her a playmate myself

 

[naturestee]

Welcome to the forum!

If you are looking into building a cage with wire shelving grids alaCavycages.com, the minimum size for a small-medium sized rabbit is 2x3grids. Bigger is always better, plus rabbits like havingshelves or multiple levels to play on. With multiple rabbits,I like to make sure they'll have space to get away from each other ifthey want to.

Breed really doesn't matter. Often the dwarf breeds will bemore hyper and hard to handle while the large breeds and giants tend tobe more lazy, but it does not hold true for every rabbit. Goto a shelter or rabbit rescue and see who you like. Plus,since you want two, they'll sometimes have pairs or even trios ofrabbits that need to be adopted together, or they might be able to helpyou bond two rabbits of your choice. They'll also often bespayed/neutered already, which is important if you want two rabbits tolive together, even if they're the same gender. Check outthis site to see some of the rabbits in your area:
http://www.petfinder.com/

Jordiwes listed the basics of pellets, but don't forget that theyshould be plain pellets with no treats. Young, growingrabbits need alfalfa pellets, while adult rabbits usually do better onthe low-protein timothy pellets.

As for hairballs, true hairballs rarely occur on their own.It's more common that something slows down the intestines or causes therabbit to stop eating, and the hairball forms because ofthat. The best way to prevent problems is to feed your rabbita high fiber pellet and lots of hay and to be aware of theirhealth. Rabbits need to have food moving through theirintestines constantly, so not eating anything for 12 hours is worryingand at 24 I call the vet. There's more info in the GI stasisthread in the Rabbit Health References here:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11918&forum_id=10

There's lots of info in Bunny 101 and the Rabbit Health References,although they're not completed yet. The HRS site is great,and this is another very handy site:
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html

 

[3Bears]

I'd just like to add that if you do get morethan one rabbit, they will need to be seperated at about 12 weeks toavoid pregnancy (in case of opposite sex) and also to avoid deadlyfights (in case of same sex pairs). It is at about 12 weeksof age that the baby rabbits develop their hormones, which leads tothese problems. Females are generally very territorial.

Just my opinion, but I'd say it's better to adopt just one bunny fornow... and when he/she is ready, have them neutered (3 mo +) and spayed(6 mo +), and then give them a month to let the hormonesdissipate. After that you can begin introducing them to analready neutered buck or doe. It's best to allow your firstbaby to chose their own mate (as they can be picky), which will alsomake bonding the two a much better experience for you.

I speak this from experience, as I unknowingly brought two bunnieshome, which ended up being two does, who had to be seperated at 12weeks (they began to circle each other). Then after spayingand waiting the month healing time it took me 1 year, and threeseperate tries to bond the two together. It did happeneventually, but took a looooot of work and dedication on my part.

Other than that, I hope you find the bun of your dreams.Personality wise it really is individual... however, lops and biggerbuns are generally calmer... but this is just a generalization!!

Sandra

 

[TrixieRabbit]

3Bears wrote:

I'd just like to add that if you do get more than onerabbit, they will need to be seperated at about 12 weeks to avoidpregnancy (in case of opposite sex) and also to avoid deadly fights (incase of same sex pairs). It is at about 12 weeks of age thatthe baby rabbits develop their hormones, which leads to theseproblems. Females are generally very territorial.

Just my opinion, but I'd say it's better to adopt just one bunny fornow... and when he/she is ready, have them neutered (3 mo +) and spayed(6 mo +), and then give them a month to let the hormonesdissipate. After that you can begin introducing them to analready neutered buck or doe. It's best to allow your firstbaby to chose their own mate (as they can be picky), which will alsomake bonding the two a much better experience for you.

Sandra

My vet said pretty much the same thing...she also does bondingat her clinic, where they bring in 3 adoptable males (if your bun is afemale) or females(if your bun is a male)and lets your bunnypick the most compatable companion.....

 

[maherwoman]

How big should the cage be for two adult rabbits?

I've been told that a rabbit cage should be 4x the bun'ssize. My best suggestion would be to take a look at a coupleof NIC cage threads. (You can put "NIC" in the search box,and I'm sure you would come up with ALL KINDS of threads thatmatch. You could also search under "cage".)

What type of pellets are best?

Take a look at a couple of sites (the second link is mentioned in the first one I list)
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12160&forum_id=17
http://www.lagomorphs.com/pellets.pdf

For older buns, pellets should contain no more than 15% protein, orthey could have excess cecal poo (you can check outhttp://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12076&forum_id=17orhttp://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/diet/cecals.htmlto read more about that). For buns that are still growing (Iwould say under a year old), you want pellet food that contains 16%protein.

Amounts for everything else are contained in the other links Iprovided. The following site also has good generalinformation about food, including important information about what NOTto feel your bun:http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

Be sure to ask whomever you get your bun(s) what kind of food they arecurrently eating, so you can start him/her out on the samefood. If you choose to change his/her food, you should do agradual change over a 14 day period. (The first link I gaveyou has plenty of information like that.)

What breed should I get?

That really depends on your situation, and isn't something that Iparticularly know a whole lot about, but I would suggest checking outthe following site(http://www.rabbit.org/care/new-bunny-index.html),and asking around in the Rabbitry forum to see what theysuggest. As far as exact breed characteristics and needs,they would definitely know!

What little health "quirks" should I know about other than the hairballs?

Well, rabbits don't actually get hairballs. They're bodycannot process hair that way. Something that should bementioned is that they have a fairly sensitive digestive system, sothat's one thing to be aware of.

One good suggestion, instead of my listing all of them, is to check outthe Rabbit Health 101 section of this site, and checking out the HouseRabbit Society link I gave you. Those are the two sites Iresearched a lot with before bringing home our Maisie. Theywere extremely helpful (as well as the people on this site).If you've read all that, and still have questions, or more specificones, etc. let us know! We're VERY happy to help!Now, I don't claim to be a Bunny Expert, but I've asked A LOT ofquestions, and those are the answers I got...and all were correct to a"t"!

Another thing you should do is be sure to get your bun(s) from awell-known source you can ask questions of (like what breed is yourbun, what his/her parents were like, what kind of food he/she waseating, etc.). I don't recommend getting your bun(s) from apet store. There are too many people that have had really badexperiences with that. You could go the Rabbitry section andsee if anyone knows of a good breeder near you once you've figured outwhat breed you prefer, or check out a local shelter.

Anyway, let us know how it all goes!

 

[lilchris_28]

Well, it's going to be SEVERAL months before Ican get a rabbit... especially now.. I'm about ready to losemy home and I'm having to find homes for the animals I nowhave. So yeah... It's going to be a while.

 

[maherwoman]

Aww...I'm sorry to hear that. Are you doing ok?

lilchris_28 wrote:

Well, it's going to beSEVERAL months before I can get a rabbit... especially now..I'm about ready to lose my home and I'm having to find homes for theanimals I now have. So yeah... It's going to be awhile.

 

[lilchris_28]

Well, I've never gotten rid of any of my animalsbefore and now I'm having to get rid of 7 and put 4 to sleep, so no,not really.

 

[maherwoman]

Oh, I'm so sorry...I wish there was something I could do to help...

lilchris_28 wrote:

Well, I've nevergotten rid of any of my animals before and now I'm having to get rid of7 and put 4 to sleep, so no, not really.

 

[lilchris_28]

Thanks.

 

[BACI]

What type of animals do you have? I justrecently found out that humane societies/rescues do take small animalsas well. Can you check with friends, family to find homes for them eventemporarily. You would be surprised how many of us are softies when itcomes to taking in homeless pets and helping out a friend in need.

 

[lilchris_28]

None of my friends can take care of them and Iwouldn't trust the humane societies here with a toothpick (it was thefirst word that popped in my head).

 

[CuddlesMom]

what kind of animals are you looking to gethomes for i know a pet store by me take in dropped off animals andplace them in homes. Or maybe place a ad in a grocery store on the wantad board?

 

[lilchris_28]

I'm not taking them to a pet store. Iwant to know who they go to. I have 2 ferrets, 2 guinea pigsand 3 rats that need homes.

 

[bunnybunchof4]

Hi! Well there are a few opinions out there onhow rabbits should be kept and fed. I don't think either are badreally, just different.

Personally I have 4 rabbits, and none of them are bonded. They all havetheir separate cages and get separate play times. Rabbits can be veryhappy alone IF they get plently of love and attention from their human! If you aren't home much and they aren't going to get a lot ofattention then having them bonded with another bun is ideal. There aresome downsides and difficulties with bonding. If you get two as babiesthey will usually get along well until the hormones kick in. Two maleswill almost always start to fight (unfixed males). And of course a maleand felmale will make sure and give you MORE bunnies! Two femalescan also fight once those hormones kick in. At that point if you wantto keep them bonded, you need to have them fixed. Then after they arehealed and the hormones are out of their systems you can start thebonding process again. This can be easy or difficult depending on therabbits. I've tried bonding in the past, and the risk of one or bothgetting hurt just worried me too much! On the other hand there isnothing as cute as watching two bunnies snuggle, they really getattached to eachother. But that can be bad for you too, as they may notbond to you as well as they bond to eachother! Just some things tothink about there!

As for veggies, they shouldn't be given to baby bunnies. Just too hardon their little tummies, and it can be quite dangerous for them if theydevelop diahhrea. At first I feed pellets, unlimited hay, and oldfashioned rolled oats (they love these, and I've personally found theyprevent diahhrea a baby bun might get from any stress from being in anew home). Then I introduce veggies later once they are a bit older.Even at this point mine get veggies several times a week, but mostlytheir diet is a measured amount of pellets based on their weight andunlimited hay.

For what breed you should get. Wow, there are so many. And since everybunny is different, go for the breed that interests you. That's part ofwhy I have 4 bunnies! LOL I love Holland Lops, so I HAD to have a lop.I love Netherland Dwarfs, so well had to have one (or 2)! And I justhad to have a bunny with that soft velvet fur, so I had to have aminirex! Hey if you can choose just one, your doing better then me!

Cages, the bigger the better. I like a wire floor with a tray under forany mess. I have "comfy" mats in their cages so that they don't have tobe on the wire all the time.

I feed Purina Rabbit Chow, it's the best I've found in my area so far.They do well on it. Someone else posted great info on what kind ofpellets to feed. Just stay away from pellets with things like sunflowerseeds and other junk foods. It's like handing a person a big mac and anapple. The meal isn't all that healthy, and odds might be that theywon't even eat the apple!

No real other health problems besides their sensitive tummies. Ofcourse like any animal they can have other illnesses, ear mites, skinproblems, the very dreaded "snuffles". But those tummies I think aretheir main problems.

Sorry I've gone on and on! UGH!! Hope this helps, please continue to ask any questions you may have!

 

[bunnybunchof4]

lilchris_28 wrote:

I'm not taking them to a pet store. I want to knowwho they go to. I have 2 ferrets, 2 guinea pigs and 3 ratsthat need homes.

Oh I'm so sorry, here I go rambling on, and then read further... I really hope your able to find them homes in time! Good luck!