My Newbie Questions

[MLS]

Since I keep coming up with questions about bun care for my incoming rabbit, I figure I'd start one big thread to keep adding questions to. I've done a lot of research but there are some things I'd like direct and not book/article advice on. I'll edit in new ones as I need them rather than cluttering up the forum with my posts. Hopefully this is alright to do, if not a mod can take down this post and I'll gladly just make separate postings for questions. In advance, thank you all for your patience with me and my silly questions I just want to try and get everything right as I can

A little background: I'm planning on bringing home a baby Belgian Hare in the fall. I emailed back and forth with the breeder earlier this summer and I'll be sending another email soon to see exactly when a litter would be ready to go to their new homes

Questions: 7/14/12- How do y'all store you hay to keep it from going bad? How long can hay sit before it goes bad? I'm planning on buying half bales from the Wisconsin HRS and I live in an apartment so I'm planning on storing it in my walk-in closet but I'm not sure how to do so. Would keeping it in a plastic tote with the lid off be fine? Or is that not enough ventilation? Suggestions are welcome!

I'm planning on building his cage out of an X-pen. The one I'm hoping to order is 7' x 2' when arranged as a long rectangle. This is large enough to house one rabbit according to the HRS and he'll have free-roam time daily in my bedroom and possibly another room. However, I'm not sure how tall of a pen to order. Is 42" a good idea for a larger breed rabbit or over-kill compared to 36"? Also, for a young rabbit that won't be litter trained when I get him, are there any major precautions I should take with random peeing or is not so bad? I have hardwood floors and if necessary I could put puppy pee pads in his pen for the first few weeks and I was planning on getting a cheap carpet to put under the pen so he isn't slipping and sliding all over the floor.

 

[mdith4him]

Rabbits are the best! You're going to love your new bunny when you get him/her.

For the hay, it'll last a long time if stored properly (I believe a year or so). Make sure it's in a container that can breathe and that doesn't sit in direct sunlight. We ordered a 25lb box for our bunnies (so much cheaper to order in bulk) and it's in a shaded corner in the box it came in. The plastic tote sounds fine to me. You could even put the lid on if you poked some holes in it.

42" is probably a good height. It all depends on your bunny. Some are jumpers, others not so much. We have 28" high cage walls for our buns. One of them (our Netherland Dwarf) jumped over it one day! We couldn't believe it! We quickly put a top on her pen. Our other rabbit, who is larger than her, has never attempted to jump the 28" wall. I think he could probably do it if he tried, but he's not the type of bunny to try.

Cheap carpet is a great idea to prevent slipping on the floor. For litter training young bunnies, it's best to start them in a smaller area. So even though your x-pen will be 7' x 2', you might want to restrict his area even more before he's litter trained. Put a couple litter boxes around and see which one he uses most. You can the extra boxes one at a time so that he's eventually just left with one. Usually, bunnies tend to pick a corner and stick with it. So if he starts peeing in one particular spot, just move the box there!

Hope that helps!

 

[LakeCondo]

About the hay: storing it is trickier in summer than in winter because of the humidity. So hopefully your place is air conditioned.

It would be better to keep the tote's lid on but drill holes into the top & sides. With the lid off but no holes, you'd need to rotate it within the tub frequently & there'd be the chance of a mouse infestation as well.