Newbie and confused.

[ashtonns]

Im new to this board and new to being a bunny owner. We purchased a rabbit for my daughter from a local breeder while at our towns fair this Saturday. I didnt think to ask about what breed it is and I cant seem to find the breeders phone number to contact them. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what breed they think he is and give me any tips for caring for him. His name is Jasper. Im not really sure how old he is either.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

He looks like he could be a dutch or possibly a vienna marked Netherland dwarf. He looks pretty young as well, probably around 8 weeks.

Did you get any pellets with him from the breeder? It is usually good to get pellets so you can transition them with as little upset as possible. If you did not get pellets, you can still make it work. If you have pellets, mix them with the new pellets you want to feed over a couple weeks (if you have enough). Gradually increase the amount of the new pellets while decreasing the old pellets. If you did not get pellets, then introduce the ones you want to feed slowly. Start with a small amount, and gradually give more as he gets used to it. No matter which way you do it, watch for runny or mushy poops.
Give hay. Alfalfa is good for babies, but you can give timothy or other grass hay as well. You can give as much as he wants to eat. Around 6 months of age, you should stop giving alfalfa and stick to grass hay.
Make sure he has access to fresh water. I prefer to give it in a dish, but a bottle is good as well. Rabbits tend to drink more from a dish.
Don't give veggies or fresh foods for at least another month and then only in small amounts.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Jasper looks to be a Dutch. Dutchies are lovely little rabbits. Very friendly and affectionate.

I'd recommend looking at finding a better cage for him. Those wire floors are for convenience, not comfort. And once he's litter trained, there's no longer any reason to have him on wire.

I'm no good with telling age, but he's definitely a baby.

Did the breeder sex him for you?

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[ashtonns]

He looks like he could be a dutch or possibly a vienna marked Netherland dwarf. He looks pretty young as well, probably around 8 weeks.

Did you get any pellets with him from the breeder? It is usually good to get pellets so you can transition them with as little upset as possible. If you did not get pellets, you can still make it work. If you have pellets, mix them with the new pellets you want to feed over a couple weeks (if you have enough). Gradually increase the amount of the new pellets while decreasing the old pellets. If you did not get pellets, then introduce the ones you want to feed slowly. Start with a small amount, and gradually give more as he gets used to it. No matter which way you do it, watch for runny or mushy poops.
Give hay. Alfalfa is good for babies, but you can give timothy or other grass hay as well. You can give as much as he wants to eat. Around 6 months of age, you should stop giving alfalfa and stick to grass hay.
Make sure he has access to fresh water. I prefer to give it in a dish, but a bottle is good as well. Rabbits tend to drink more from a dish.
Don't give veggies or fresh foods for at least another month and then only in small amounts.

I didnt get any pellets from the breeder, but I purchased some from Walmart. I live in a town without pet stores, and the closest Walmart is actually an hour away, so thats my only option until I can make a trip somewhere to purchase more things for him. And I am giving him hay..he has been eating like crazy. His poop was running for the first day after we purchased him, but it is normal now (i think)

 

[ashtonns]

Jasper looks to be a Dutch. Dutchies are lovely little rabbits. Very friendly and affectionate.

I'd recommend looking at finding a better cage for him. Those wire floors are for convenience, not comfort. And once he's litter trained, there's no longer any reason to have him on wire.

I'm no good with telling age, but he's definitely a baby.

Did the breeder sex him for you?

Hope that helps!

Rue

We are actually going to buy a different cage as soon as he is litter trained and nuetered. My uncle has a large one that he no longer uses and I was going to purchase it from him, its really tall. And Jasper seems to like to climb things (couch, boxes). We let him out to roam around the room and i put a box in the floor with two doors cut out and he would go into the box and come out and get on top of it.

 

[ashtonns]

Jasper looks to be a Dutch. Dutchies are lovely little rabbits. Very friendly and affectionate.

I'd recommend looking at finding a better cage for him. Those wire floors are for convenience, not comfort. And once he's litter trained, there's no longer any reason to have him on wire.

I'm no good with telling age, but he's definitely a baby.

Did the breeder sex him for you?

Hope that helps!

Rue

And the breeder said that he is a boy..Im assuming thats what you were asking by "Did the breeder sex him?".. If im wrong please tell me...Im really new to all of this, lol..

 

[missyscove]

Sexing a rabbit refers to determining if it is male or female, so yes.

Do you have any feed stores near you? They usually carry rabbit pellets. There are a number of good brands out there and while everyone has their favorites (e.g. mine is Oxbow), you definitely want just a plain pellet (vs. one of the ones with all the colorful bits, seeds, etc. in the bag).
I agree that he looks like a dutch. My first rabbit was a dutch who was about 4.5 lbs so they're a pretty small rabbit as well.

 

[Jackelope]

Wire floor cages are fine for some rabbits as long as he has adequate resting surfaces, so whether or not you decide to get a solid-floor cage, you should give him something t stand on! Somewhere cushy to lay will make him comfortable as well. Make sure to check that his feet are covered in a full layer of thick fur. Any bald spots on the bottoms of a rabbit's feet means that the wire floor is too harsh and they need to be taken out of the wire floor cage right away. Some rabbits do very well on wire because the fur on the bottoms of their feet is good and thick. That depends on breed (the Dutch is a breed that typically has well-furred feet, so they tend to do well on wire). It depends on your rabbit's behavior/personality as well, though. Provided with resting surfaces, some rabbits will constantly stand on the wire and cause their feet to get worn, so they shouldn't be on wire. Here is an article about the misconception that wire-bottom cages are always bad: http://shinysatins.weebly.com/wire-floors.html

The basics of rabbit care are mainly to keep your bunny out of the heat, provide plenty of hay (timothy hay or orchard grass for adults, though alfalfa is fine for babies), and plain rabbit pellets (not the gourmet mix stuff, which isn't very good for rabbits).

He looks like a Dutch judging by the length of his face and ears (and markings). He also looks young based on how pinchy his nose is (males usually get more rounded, masculine faces as they get older).

Maybe it's just the quality of the picture, but it kind of looks like he wasn't too well cared for. Young rabbits typically have better fur. I don't know what's going on with the little indent in his fur below his eye. It looks like a molt line, but a two month old Dutch rabbit shouldn't have that. Was he living with other rabbits, in cramped or dirty conditions, or eating anything other than hay and pellets?

Good luck with your new bun!

 

[funnybunnymummy]

I did not say the cage was bad. I recognize that for convenience many breeders keep their rabbits on wire flooring. I'm okay with that and recognize that they would not use wire flooring if it caused injury to their rabbits. But for pets that are litter trained, there's no reason I can think of to have them on wire flooring.

JMVHO

Rue

 

[Jackelope]

I did not say the cage was bad. I recognize that for convenience many breeders keep their rabbits on wire flooring. I'm okay with that and recognize that they would not use wire flooring if it caused injury to their rabbits. But for pets that are litter trained, there's no reason I can think of to have them on wire flooring.

JMVHO

Rue

I understand. ^^ It's not only for convenience though. It's also for sanitation, which is very important for rabbit health. Even if you clean meticulously and frequently, some rabbits will dirty themselves.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Ours all have wire floors as it was the only kind available to us at the time. They have a litter box full of wood shavings and board, carpet and tile to rest on so there is very little wire they actually walk on. We get our pellets at Walmart and orchard grass from Drs. Foster and Smith. Very cute little one and I'd say Dutch too.

 

[ashtonns]

Wire floor cages are fine for some rabbits as long as he has adequate resting surfaces, so whether or not you decide to get a solid-floor cage, you should give him something t stand on! Somewhere cushy to lay will make him comfortable as well. Make sure to check that his feet are covered in a full layer of thick fur. Any bald spots on the bottoms of a rabbit's feet means that the wire floor is too harsh and they need to be taken out of the wire floor cage right away. Some rabbits do very well on wire because the fur on the bottoms of their feet is good and thick. That depends on breed (the Dutch is a breed that typically has well-furred feet, so they tend to do well on wire). It depends on your rabbit's behavior/personality as well, though. Provided with resting surfaces, some rabbits will constantly stand on the wire and cause their feet to get worn, so they shouldn't be on wire. Here is an article about the misconception that wire-bottom cages are always bad: http://shinysatins.weebly.com/wire-floors.html

The basics of rabbit care are mainly to keep your bunny out of the heat, provide plenty of hay (timothy hay or orchard grass for adults, though alfalfa is fine for babies), and plain rabbit pellets (not the gourmet mix stuff, which isn't very good for rabbits).

He looks like a Dutch judging by the length of his face and ears (and markings). He also looks young based on how pinchy his nose is (males usually get more rounded, masculine faces as they get older).

Maybe it's just the quality of the picture, but it kind of looks like he wasn't too well cared for. Young rabbits typically have better fur. I don't know what's going on with the little indent in his fur below his eye. It looks like a molt line, but a two month old Dutch rabbit shouldn't have that. Was he living with other rabbits, in cramped or dirty conditions, or eating anything other than hay and pellets?

Good luck with your new bun!

He did have another rabbit inthe cage with him, it was also a boy and was the same size and everything. I'm not sure about his living conditions prior to our purchase of Jasper, since we were at a county fair and there were several other rabbits from different breeders there. He wont let m hold him for long, he freaks out and gets.scared..was he possibly mistreated before we got him? I know it will take time for our family to gain his trust. We are already in love with him how long should we wait before we get him neutered?

 

[majorv]

Yes, I agree with a Dutch, though not well marked, and his color appears to be tort. I understand that Walmart sells Small World pellets which are, I think, alfalfa based. This is fine for youngsters and the manufacturer, Manna Pro, is well known. He actually looks to me to be in pretty good shape.

 

[Chrisdoc]

He is a very cute bunny with lovely colouring. I suppose it all depends on taste as far as cages go. Mine don´t like wire flooring as they have very small feet and they don´t like the feel. As they are litter trained, I have them in a standard pet shop cage but they have an enclosure round it so are in and out of it all day.

If it´s a boy, you will have to wait until the testicles descend and I think you can neuter from 3-4 months, I´m sure someone will chip in if I´m wrong. I didn´t neuter my boys until the hormones set in and they started spraying and fighting which was around 8 months.

A good pellet for young rabbits and lots of timothy or alfalfa hay with a good supply of water at the moment. You can start to introduce veggies at around 12 weeks. Try only a bit of the new veggie or herb, there is a list of safe veggies in the library section and if he tolerates try new ones to see how he goes.

Keep us posted and more pics of this cute little bunny.

 

[ams1786]

Re: not letting you hold him, many rabbits do NOT like to be held. It's just part of their nature (it makes them feel like a hawk has them). While there's a wide range of personalities, if you have one of the very many rabbits who won't tolerate holding it's just something you have to respect and shouldn't try to "train" them out of (that will just make them hate you as their aversion is an instinct, not a habit).

Most rabbits prefer to stay on ground level and interact with you on their plane. Just let him out and sit quietly with him and interact with him when he comes up to check you out, or just let him climb on you. NEVER pick him up if you can avoid it or chase after him to put him away (his cage should be at ground level/by a ramp where he can exit/enter on his own). A lot of buns just can't stand cuddles or being restrained, but they have their own lovely ways of interacting with you. If he doesn't like being held he likely wasn't abused or "not conditioned" right - he's just trying to tell you how he likes to play! Very important to listen to him as forcing him into situations he doesn't like will prevent him from learning to trust you, and can create problems down the line. I don't know how old your daughter is, but if she's younger then be sure to keep a very close eye on them and don't leave her alone with him, and teach her how to understand what he likes and doesn't like.

That's rambly bc I'm in a rush but hope that helps a bit - good luck! Also, I agree about the age for neutering (4 months or so depending on bun) - the most important thing is to find a vet who is VERY experienced with rabbits and is an exotics expert, even if that means driving a few hours. Rabbits react very differently to anesthesia and many common dog/cat medications and an average family pet vet can seriously hurt a bun if they don't know what they're doing.

 

[Blue eyes]

In the photo, it does look like the little guy's front paw has passed all the way through the wire flooring and to the base below. I would think this could be a potential problem if he twists or tries to hop suddenly away while his paw is down there.

Have you looked through the photo thread showing the different cage options that various members have? That may give you some ideas for your future cage.

 

[BunnyRabbitShop.com]

hi,
good luck with your new bunny, it is adorable! I would definitely recommend putting at least a piece of untreated pine board in the cage for bunny to stand on. Also, be sure to give him (or her?)some time every day out of his cage to run around and play in a controlled area and get to know you and your family, just make sure to supervise, they are fast little buggers! They are easy to potty train, once they are used to eating and pooping in their cage, they will go back there to go even when they are hopping about the house. But I should mention that once they hit maturity after 6 months or so, they tend to try to mark their territory by pooping and peeing other places. But once you get them fixed, they go right back to being model bunnies!

Andrea
BunnyRabbitShop.com