Seeking info on training & raising!

[sammi]

Hello everyone! I've been sitting here for a bitreading up some of the older posts but I figured it would be better offto just ask, since there are so many!

Anyways, on Christmas Santa delivered a sweet baby dwarf bunny to mydaughter and I. I am uncertain as to her age, but I have been informedthat she is a girl, good to know! I have had rabbits in the past, butit was about 10 years ago that I had my last, He was half-wild andspent more time out than in, He was semi-trained but basically gave upon the litter box once he spent more time out than in. This bunny wehave now, Lulu, is going to an indoor bunny and I want to start her outright.

Tell me, concerning litter box training, what is the best litter touse? Is it best to put a litter box inside the cage as well as in theroom where she roams? I have cats, and I realize that bunny-brains workdifferently...When I cuddle the sweet baby she rarely poops on me, onlytwice so far and it was minimal, so I know she is clever and ready formore concrete training. Tips anyone? Do you put a few poops in the newlitter to give them the idea, and then plop the bunny in? She's still asilly baby, sitting in her food dish and pooping in there too. I made alittle bed in the other corner of teh cage and she rests there now,instead of her food bowl, which is something else she was doing inthere and she doesn't poop in that. Hmm. Just looking foropinions, methods, and perhaps a good explanation of what I can expect.I realize that it is rare that bunnies become 100% trained, but Ifigured I would try my best, I want Lulu to have some freedom as shegrows, I don't want a caged pet, That's just not fun for anyone.

Ok, and also, I have read about the diet of bunnies. Lulu is small, shefits in the palm of my hand, spilling over the edges just a bit. She iseating pellets and of course water, Is it safe to incorporate otherfoods, like hay and greens etc... and at what age is it safe to do this?

OK then, just one more thing: I am pretty sure I read about a bunnycarrier, Do these actually exist? Do people carry there bunnies aroundto town and such? I have never seen such a thing but I am very muchinto attatchment parenting with my daughter so to learn this isinteresting. I admit it, I carry Lulu around as much as I can, I foldher in my knitted cape and she just sleeps as happy as can be. She's sosweet.

That's definitely enough. Did I mention that I'm new here? Glad toarrive, and I look forward to hearing any replies you all may have forme! Thanks!

~Sammi~

 

[mygrl2k3]

Welcome As of litter a more naturallittler is the best. Some kinds arent good for them. If yourbunny is young and by the size all she needs is a good pellet food andhay and water of course. If thiers color in thepellets then thats not normally a good brand. I have neverowned a baby bunny. (mine came from shelters as adults) a more babybunny experinced person can probably give you more tips on brands andwhen you can introduce other kinds of food as treats

Bunnies love to play with toys. Bird toys and baby toys are agood place to start. Also bunnies dont always take to peopleas fast as we would like them. Thats all i can think of. Thissite has alot of helpful people here.

Cristy

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Good Alfalfa based pellets for now

Alfalfa or Timothy hay (they need some type of alfalfa for the protein as a baby)

water

When she's about 4 to 5 mos you can start giving her greens.First give her one kind then add one every three days ormore. At that time, limit the intake of things like Kale andParsley..... there is a list I will try to post later..... I don't knowwhere it is at the moment...... Higher calcium is bad for them......you want to keep it low, but they still need some.

Litter: You can use carefresh bedding/litter, yesterday'snews, those that are natural, less dust.... etc. A lot of ususe Woody Pet (found at horse supply stores like TSC or Elevators)... Ijust switched and we LOVE that stuff.

Find where she is going pee in her cage and then put the litterbox in that corner....

I took my baby rabbit in for an initial checkup with our Exotics vet.

Hope all of this helps

 

[m.e.]

As far as the carrying goes (and muchos kudos toyou, AP Mom! ), Buck Jones (a member here) has modified a pack into afront-carrier for his rabbits. I'll try to dig up a post where heexplains how he did it. And another member, RaspberrySwirl, has arabbit that loves to be held and carried. I think it works bestwhen you start young, as you are doing with Lulu.

 

[m.e.]

Here 'tis:

The "Buck Pack"

There are also slings and similar "soft" carriers available from mostonline pet supply stores. I've been looking into getting a sling forour kittens, who absolutely looove to hang in our home-made sari/slingI just want one that's a little more secure for going outanywhere.

 

[Buck Jones]

Good, quick refresher course on rabbit raising isavailable on the forum at A Cheat Sheet for Rabbits.Just link here:http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=3005&forum_id=1

Buck

 

[sammi]

Thanks! All your info is greatly appreciated! (Ihave read the cheat sheet on basic rabbit care already, too) One thingI would like to know is, from those of you who carry your bunnies,Aren't they easily frightened when out in "the world"? Or do theybecome so mellow being near their owners in carriers and such that theyare fine? This bunny of mine seems to like to be carried all the time!And I would love to take her out with me also, but I would never wanther to find the experience terrifying and perhaps traumatizing! I'mstill stuck on this idea that people can carry their bunnies about, asyou can all see, and I would love feedback from those of you who reallydo so.

 

[Buck Jones]

My experience leads me to believe it depends uponthe bun. To date, we've owned three "carriers," all of whomfell into it naturally. Our other seven buns were carriedwith varying degrees of success. Some got "antsy" realquickly, others lasted a bit longer, but they all registered somedegree of displeasure. Not fear, particularly, butdispleasure.

The three carriers all seemed to enjoy it and were either pure bloodDutch or Dutch Mixed Breed, if that had/has any bearing. Ourcurrent Dutch, Ernestine, carries well, but tends to flinch if someonereaches out to pet her too quickly or abruptly. It is almostlike a turtle pulling in its head, as she retreats back into the"front" pack.

If a passerby approaches slowly, Ernestine does not pull back andallows herself to be petted and admired. The previous twoDutch bucks, now deceased, could be approached in any manner and rodearound in the pack for hours at a time, with no accidental peeing orpooping, I might add. We do have a "comfort station" cage inour full sized van, with food, water, litter box and hay in the adventthat we think the bun needs a respite break. All the Dutchesseem to have enjoyed or enjoy being the center of attention, as far asI can tell.

Dajet2, who used to post here frequently in the past, had a great dealof success perambulating her Giant Flemish rabbit, Apollo, around in ababy stroller, as he was too large and heavy to carry around in apack. There was no doubt he enjoyed the experience, as didthe many people who were introduced to him as a result.

If you are concerned, I would recommend taking your bun and putting itin a suitably sized back pack to see how it reacts. My frontpack is nothing more than a back back that was ever so slightlymodified to make it fit comfortably on my chest. I purchasedit for about two dollars at a yard sale.

Prior to that I used an infant carrier I had also purchased at a yardsale. It worked well, but the back back provided better support, aswell as having additional pockets, storage space, and zippingmeshor fabric top closures. I simply open thetop(s) half way, fold inward, and deposit the bun in the pack,bolstered by a couple of small towels, if necessary.

I have subsequently seen animal carriers not terribly unlike myarrangement, but the cost has been in the neighborhood of $50.00 orso. I can see no noticable improvement over my version,consequently have notfelt the need to buy, nor testone. Perhaps, they do offer improvements I am not aware of.

Buck

 

[Bramble Briar86]

i have not personally trained a rabbit to go onoutings. i've only trained dogs. i have an idea of how you train themto do this.

start by introducing them to lots of new people. the trick is to getthem well-socialized. introduce them to mellow cats, dgos, horses,cattle, sheep, and any other thing you can think of. people running,shouting, dogs barking, sudden noises, loud noises (not thatloud) and radios and TVs. let them get used to anything imaginable orunimangable they may or may not encounter.

do it slowly and when your bun is used to all of these things, begin toget them used to new rooms they haven't been in and letting them downto explore them. as well as cars and outdoors.

when your bun is used to all these things, sit back and continue letting them sink in.

remember to take it very slow. your bun is a prey animal and needs time to adjust and undo some of his natural instincts.

next take him for short car rides and when still, let him down toexplore the car. then take him to a neighbor's house that has noranimals like adog or cat so they aren't overstressed.

it's important to remeber that most traveling is very stressful forrabbits and this particular rabbit may or may not bethis outgoing.

let your rabbit decide if he likes to be out and about or notas you take him on longer and longer rides and stays. take it slow andit may work out for you.

decide now or a little further into training if you do want to exposeyour rabbit this must and frazzled him. stress can be dangerous!

yes! put a litter box in his cage and one where he'll be running around the room in.

and you do put the litter in the box with some fecal pellets and sethim in it. be pateint as you do this and don't scold him, you'll undothe traiing and make him fearful of you. you can clean poop up with avacuum and pee with urine neutralizer from a local pet shop. set alitter pan in each room that the bun is allowed to roam

kitty litter is fine as well just make sure your bun isn't allergic to that particualr type of litter.

expect a lot of presents around the room when first training but those presents with become less and less.

never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever (enough evers?) ever, lol, chaseyour bunny. only let him down into the the room to run when he'sperfectly tame. if you chase him he will be very wary of you and you'llneed to undo this. you can slowly walk up to your bunny speaking softlyto recapture him (please do not make a sudden hand/arm movement to grabhold of him) or gently corner him with body language and get him backthat way.

you can contact me at this forum any time. i'd like to say i know quite a bit about animal logic and training methods.

hope this helps, Ellie

 

[mygrl2k3]

From all i read kitty litter isnt good forrabbits. I used it with my first rabbit. Not living anylonger. Before i learned it wasnt safe for them.

Cristy

 

[Carolyn]

mygrl2k3 wrote:

From all i read kitty litter isnt good for rabbits. I usedit with my first rabbit. Not living any longer.Before i learned it wasnt safe for them.

Cristy

Absolutely correct, Cristy.

If clay-based cat litter is ingested, it can cause a lot ofproblems. It can get caught between their paws and then theyeat it. Even if I were to consider using it, I wouldn't usecat litter unless I had a wire-bottom cage. Also, the dustfrom the litter when poured into the pan, if inhaled, can also be verydangerous to rabbits.

-Carolyn

 

[sammi]

After posting my initial questions, I've doneeven more reading up on this forum, the archives and whatnot...I didn'trealize you all were such a close-knit group! I basically sat down atthe computer, did a search on rabbits and voila! here I was! Thatworked out pretty well for me anyways. I just wanted to thank you allfor your prompt, and thorough replies! They've been very helpful andreassuring, as I really do not remember what I did when raising myother rabbits. As I mentioned before, the last was 11 years ago. I'msure I'll have a million more things to ask as time goes on, but fornow I feel confident about the initial stuff. Thanks again, you guyshave been great!

Happy holiday wishes to all of you!

~Sammi~