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elle523

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Hi,

I'm new to this forum and am also a newbie bunny caretaker. My brotherand I first noticed a bunny wandering around our front yard a few weeksago. It somehow moved into a our backyard, and the rest of my familyreported sightings. After a few attempts of trying to coax it to me, Iwas finally able to corner and catch it on Friday. I asked my next doorneighbors to see if it belonged to them (they have bunnies), and theytold me a boy on our street had lost his bunny. I went over to theirhouse, and despite what appears to be a gigantic rabbit hutch builtinto their house minus bunnies, these neighbors said they did not ownthe bunny. Since I have a feeling it will be euthanized if I take it toour shelter (even though it's pretty good about trying to find homes),I guess I'm keeping it until I can find it a suitable home.

For those who are knowledgable about bunnies, what kind of breed is it?How old do you think it is? Will it get bigger? He's very light, andI'm wondering if itsa little under weight from having been loose.

I've been free feeding orchard grass (courtesy of my horses) to it aswell as giving it a cup of carrots, collard greens, and broccoli, whichit seems to love. However, it won't eat any of the pellets (KayteeFiesta Rabbit). Is this bad?

I know this posts has a lot of questions, but I'm secretly worried thatI'm killing or hurting this rabbit, and that I should have left himoutside. At least, that's what everyone else is telling me. Am I reallymaking it miserable?

It's somewhat terrified of me, although heslowly seemstobegetting alittle more comfortable.

Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!

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hey hun i cant really tell you much as i haveonly had my rabbit for 2 months and am still lreaning lol, but i wouldsay you defentley did the right think other wise the poor little thingmight of straved or worse. I feed my bun on hay and pellet food whichhe picks at and some veg aday and he seems happy with this he alsodrinks alot of water at the mo as it is so hot. I couldnt tell you thebreed or anything sorry but i wouldnt say your rabbit is that old ?? iwould say it looks rather young to me but i could be wrong tc luv becksxx
 
That's the same way I ended up with my RabbitAniseed. Ended up some neighbors got board after having her a couplemonths and set her "free" :X



Anyways, i'm no bunny expert by any means but i'll answer a few of your questions.

The bunny looks still very young for sure. So he/she should grow.

Try not to feed to much Brocolli, it can cause gas. Here are a couplelinks for diets & food. Since he looks so young Alfalfa shouldbe fed.

http://www.adoptarabbit.com/articles/packet/abcvegi.html

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html



Here is a link on how to sex a rabbit if you haven't allready -http://www.debmark.com/rabbits/sexing.htm

I think you have done the right thing. In most areas a dometic bunnywouldn't live a very good, nor very long life. Call your local AnimalShelgter and just tell them you found a Bunny, just in case a familydid loose it by mistake. I put up signs and thats how I found out Aniwas dumped by her last home.

Welcome to the world of Bunny Slavery! You'll love it!


 
Orchard grass is good... Alfalfa wouldbe good to mix in as well, s/he's just a baby. That should bethe main diet, you started off on the right foot. It shouldbe supplemented by pellets. I'd go easy on the veggies, butit depends on what s/he was getting before, too.Abrupt diet changes aren't good.

Most important thing is to monitor the output, making sure s/he'spooping and peeing. It's a danger sign if the poops get smalland stop.

Would be good to get him/her eating pellets, although just a plain alfalfa based pellet, nothing with any other stuff mixed in.

You may want to post a note in the Rabbitry section to ask about his/her breed.

And you most certainly were right to take in the poor baby!They're domestic European rabbits, not designed to live in thewild.You saved the little one's life.

Dont' be afraid to handle him/her, although best to start off on thefloor, I don't think they like heights. Most rabbits lovebeing pet and cuddled, but they dont' like being picked up.

Easy on the treats, carbs/sugars aren't good. Give him/her very tiny bits to helpmake friends.

He/she will need a much bigger cage and a litter box or atray-- they are easy to litter train. Just makesure the smell of his/her pee is in the box, they keep going in thesame place all the time.

Thanks for rescuing this poor little guy/girl!!



sas :)and crew :bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance:
 
Pipp wrote:
He/she will need a much bigger cage
Click to expand...



The cage I currently have the bunny in is 24.5" x 12.5" x 14.5".

The one larger than that is 30"L x 18"W x 16"H and the one larger than that is 40 1/2"L x 18"W x 20 1/2"H.

My space is fairly limited, so I would like to have whatever box isadequate for the bunny without it being ginormous. Would thelarger box be ok or would it be too small? I plan on gettinghim a little exercise pen so he can play for a while in the back yard.
 
Nah, don't bother with commercialcages. Best is to buy some NIC (Neat Idea) cubes and put themtogether in whatever configuration you want. You can make itmulti-level, so they can be high and narrow, or fit around corners orwhatever.

They're easy to build and they're cheap -- I pay about $20 for abox. I have two boxes, because the extra panels also aregreat for blocking off areas you don't want the bunny to go.I never did get around to building a cage, mine just run around thethehouse. But rabbits chew -- that canbethe hardest part about being a bunny slave. But if you coveror block off wires and and whatever your bunny decides he/she likesbest (sometimes it's baseboards, sometimes carpet and sometimes justtheir toys)--it's very workable.:)

This is a monster mansion (and Elf's a pretty big bunny!), but here'san example (courtesy of Elf Mommy) of building the cage to fit theenvironment. :)



And here's the Resource Center page on cages, there's instructions, tons or ideas, etc:

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11792&forum_id

I hope you keep your bunny. Mine are just as smart and loving(actually, moreso) than my cats. They come when they'recalled, they know what 'no' means, and there's nothing better thanwatching a happy bunny binkying across the livingroom.:) I don't know whyeverybody doesn't have at least one. :)



sas :)and the bunnies! :bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance:
 
Pleased you are keeoing the rabbit. They makethe most wonderful pet, but be careful of anything valuable andchewable when it is loose in the house. Ours love their run in thegarden and I have posted pics on another forum but need to re-boot tofind them.So bye 4 now
 
What a cute little baby! And such hugeears! I wonder if he's a lop? Sometimes the earsdon't "lop" until they're a little older.

And how smart is he not to eat Kaytee Fiesta! That stuff'snot very good for him. He needs his nutrients since he's soyoung, so it's best to give him a plain pellet with no treats init. Like Pipp said, he should also be getting some alfalfahay.

He's going to grow a lot, and that cage is going to be much to smallfor him. I second Pipp's idea of making a cage out of wireshelving grids. I use those and I love them!They're also very inexpensive compared to buying cages in a store.

Ask all the questions you want! That's what we're here for.;) There's also lots of info in Bunny 101.
 
He doesn't look like a lop to me. Hope you sexhim/her soon. Fiesta is NOT a good pellet to feed. It is full of sugarsand is not good for the young bunny. Something like Purina, Pro Manna,and others are good. Orchard grass is fine. The cage does look smalland she looks very young so she will probably get much bigger soon. Sheis very cute though so thanks for sharing!
 
I just took the little guy out of his cage andin the 3 minutes he was out, managed to drop about 8 pills. Iknow he's not litter box trained, but wow... I was wonderingif this was normal? I have a sneaking suspicion I'm going tobe doomed with an untrainable non-using litter box bunny.
 
elle523 wrote:
Ijust took the little guy out of his cage and in the 3 minutes he wasout, managed to drop about 8 pills. I know he's not litterbox trained, but wow... I was wondering if this wasnormal? I have a sneaking suspicion I'm going to be doomedwith an untrainable non-using litter box bunny.
Click to expand...

Normal for a baby. :)

Mine (all adults) are all trained, but most of them aren't perfect,although most of the time it's because they're marking territorybecause I've got other bunnies, but I find the 'pills' easy to dealwith. Just as long as they always pee in their litter boxes,and poop there most of the time, I'm happy.

>>> I have a sneaking suspicion I'mgoing to be doomed with an untrainable non-using litter boxbunny.<<<

Or you could have a litter-perfect, sweet and loving bunny who showersyou with kisses and chews his/her toys and nothing else.:)

It's a bit of a crap shoot. (Just like with kids)

sas

 
Where are you located? I'm pretty sure if youneed to find him a home you can post it here and find a good bunnylovin home:bunnydance:

BTW
He is adorable:inlove:
 
I went to target to buy him those little wireboxes to make a play pen for him outside, and he seemed ok.He was in there for about 15 minutes when I went inside to getsomething. When I got out, the bunny was gone, and I couldsee him on the other side of the yard. I'm sure I traumatizedit some more, but at least I caught it. I didn't think hecould climb out of a 1 foot-ish fence.

Will he always try to run away or is it a result of him being out in the open for so long?
 
Did you only make it one grid high? Myrabbits can jump that no problem. It should be at least twogrids tall to keep him in. Although it's really not a goodidea to walk away while he's playing outside because of predators.

He's still getting to know you. He probably doesn't know ifhe should trust you yet. That's why he runs. Well,that and it's instinct for a rabbit to run if it's being chased.
 
naturestee-

I had no idea my little bunny could jump that high!! Ithought about predators and what not, but decided to run inside to grabhis toy, and in the 30 seconds I was gone, he was out. Iliked the size of the play pen for him because he's so small he hasenough room to run around. I made it 6 by 3 grids.I think I have to buy another wire set to make it a little higher forhim.

I could tell he was a little bit torn. I had some collardgreens with me and was trying to tempt him, but he'd run three stepsand turn. I think I'll keep him inside for a few days untilthings get sorted out.
 
Welcome and your new addition to your family isbeautiful! You have done a wonderful thing in rescuing this bunny.Though I have always enjoyed my sister's rabbits (Elf is her currentone - the one with the mansion) I recently added a rabbit to myhousehold. She has captured my heart with her bunny 500 laps and herjumps (binkies).

The pictures you took were great. Watching them grow is such fun. Itook my bunny next to the same box two months in a row and BOY can Isee the growth. Good luck!
 
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