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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum DIET & CARE New Bunny owner with a few questions :o

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    • stephyowns
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        Hii my name is Stephanie and I recently got my first bunny. She is a 3m.o. tan&grey Lionhead Lop named Nala. I’ve done a lot of research but can’t seem to find answers to these questions:

        -My bunny is supposed to be a ‘lop’ but one of her ears are up and one is down. Will she be completely ‘lopped’ when shes mature?

        -How do you guys effectively discipline your bunnies? ( she doesn’t mind getting spritzed with water)

        -I wanted to know what kinds of herbs are safe to feed her? If someone could give me a list of some good herbs for her ( i know i cant feed her anything but pellets and hay til 4-6mos)

        -I have read that feeding your bunny peanuts can be bad but the food I purchased from my pet store has peanuts and other seeds in it. Is it okay to continue feeding her this mixed food or should it be straight pellets?

        -I read in another forum that giving your bunny vitamin supplements isn’t necessary. But I already purchased a bunny vita solution that goes in her water. Is it actually detrimental to her health at all or can I continue using it?

        -Does anyone really walk their bunnies? I have seen the little leashes they sell at pet stores for bunnies but I can’t believe people actually do it.

         

        Thankyou so much for taking the time to read my post!!

        Nala at 8 weeks

         

         

         


      • LoveChaCha
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          She looks like a mix, actually. She looks like a Lionhead/Lop mix. I’m not so sure about lops, as I have a Nethie, but I hope someone can answer your question!

          Pet Store treats are not recommended, as they are just for owner convenience! There are a lot of stuff in the treats that bunnies shouldn’t even eat. It could lead to digestive problems. Buns have sensitive bellies. I like to give Oxbow brand treats (this site sells em!) . My bun really enjoys the strawberry ones and whenever I open the package, I must smell the sweet berries Even a small slice of banana is good

          I have not given my bunny any vitamin supplements. She gets her vitamins from her pellets and veggies. It is enough for bunny

          Well, if you want to walk your rabbit, YOU will be the one being walked I don’t recommend walking a rabbit that hasn’t been fixed yet. Rabbits will need to get used to wearing a harness.  If you do, you will need dto take her to the vet and get the correct dosage of flea medicine to put on her. Owners can’t buy just any flea medicine, as some rabbits can die from certain brands. Your vet will be able to tell you which is good, what good dose is. It depends on the bunny.

          I talk very sweetly to my bunny. When she is being naughty – biting the x-pen, I say “NO!” or “STOP!” she stops and hops away. Spritzing is totally fine.

          WELCOME


        • Monkeybun
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            Definitely stop the food mix and switch to straight pellets. All the other stuff mixed in just isn’t good for bunnies. It’s made more for humans, really. They make it look good so people will buy it

            Vitamins are definitely not necessary. They get all they need from their regular diet.

            Disciple is a weird one. Bunnies respond better to positive reinforcement, or distraction. Instead of disciplining a bunny, give it something more fun to do, or get its attention with something other than what it is doing to make you want to discipline. Baby bunnies will try anything they can, they are exploring and learning, and sometimes you need to let them do so But saying NO loudly or clapping hands will generally startle them and make them think twice about what they are doing.

            Herbs and veggies can be started at around 12 weeks old. Cilantro, parsley, romaine lettuce are good starters. Then its really just finding out what your bun likes. Not all veggies are safe for them though. check the Diet section under Bunny Info at the top of the page for more on diet.

            Welcome to BB!


          • jerseygirl
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              Welcome Stephanie! Your Nala is beautiful. Lovely soft colour.

              I guess time will tell with her ears. In some bunnies the ear never lops. I think it’s super cute with one up one down. Airplane or helicopter ears.

              Ditto in the feed, nuts and vitamins – it’s just not worth the risk upsetting their intestinal system and just a way for companies to make money and a way to make bunnies unhealthy. My feeling on vitamins additives to water is that it would make the water quality deterioate quicker. In a bowl or water bottle, it would promote growth of nasties more than it would do anything for the rabbit.

              re discipline: the others have given some good tips. What behavior are you trying to correct?

              Looking forward to seeing more pics of your Nala !


            • nugget
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                With lop mixes it is more common to have one ear up and one ear down. I think they are cuter that way ;o) gives them character.
                I have had harnesses for my bunnies. Not to “walk” them …but to let them roam around outside without running the risk of them running away. Harness can be very dangerous for a rabbit though….I got mine used to wearing it without a leash first. Both took to it quite well. But it a rabbit likes to run or gets a little crazy while on a leash, they can easily hurt themselves.
                I will agree with the others about the pellet food….the mixed food you get at the pet store is made to look good to you. Alot of those have corn in them too, and rabbits aren’t supposed to eat corn (they can’t digest the hulls). Stick with the plain pellets. My vet also reccomended giving greens earlier. We started with fresh alfalfa and then parsley. My lionhead is about 13 weeks, and has been doing fine with greens for the last month or so.


              • nugget
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                  ….and…..
                  I have never given vitamins (but I am a fairly new bunny owner too), with an adequate diet I don’t think its neccessary. As for the discipline, my Oliver used to like to chew at the legs of the coffee table. I would just put my fingers in between his mouth and the table each time he went to chew. I kept at it until he got so annoyed with it he just walked away. I did the same thing when he would try to dig through the carpet.


                • Deleted User
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                    What a beauty you have! I absolutelly love the color and the ears! The lionlop is a novel breed with genetic throw-backs of erect ears from regular lionhead stock defnitely possible to turn up in a litter. I would not be concerned with this as it does not affect the rabbit’s health. You don’t need the vitamins, as everyone above stated. Petstores want to sell products that appeal to owners even if the product is not needed. I can’t say that the vitamins will hurt Nala but with rabbits you can give too much of a ‘good’ thing easily so I would discontinue the vitamins.
                    I do not belive in walking rabbits on leashes because injuries have ocurred when a rabbit became frightened and in an instinctive response wanted to dart off forgetting all about the harness and leash attached… rabbits are flight animals and should not be tethered for that reason.
                    Definitely go with a pelllet that has no nuts, seeds or anything in it. At her age a straight alfalfa-based pellet will be perfect for her, and around 6 months of age, when she is ready to be spayed also, you would want to wean her off the alfalfa pellets and feed timothy pellets such as Oxbow T. The most important element in her diet will always be hay, alfalfa is OK now, but again, timothy hay is ideal for adult rabbits.
                    For training your rabbit, you might like to consider clicker training as it is built on positive reinforcement that has better succcess than forms of punishment. Punishing your rabbit will just make her resent you. I do like Nugget’s suggestion above with using your fingers to teach her “off”; essentially this is the single most effective way to keep a rabbit controlled: block access to where she does bad things.
                    Love Nala’s color… I might need to hire a professional bunny-napper…
                    –here is a suggested veggie list

                    http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html


                  • stephyowns
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                      Nugget your lionhead is so cute and hairy! I wonder if Nala will grow more of a mane.

                      So Nalas badness includes, but is not limited to:
                      Biting on the bars of her cage in the morning
                      peeing and leaving bunny trails. ( i cant seem to litter train her!)
                      jumping on my bed, which is quite high, im afraid that she will get hurt jumping off or pee on my bed.
                      getting into my room trash
                      trying to dig at the carpet and biting it

                      If my bf is over and i leave the room for a minute, she will do something naughty as soon as I walk out the door. She knows what shes doing is bad but she always does the same things! I tried bitter lime spray on some of her cage bars but she just licks it off!!!!!!!!. I tried making her some toys. I made her that jellyfish toy from the website toy archive. I also just filled a large paper bag with a bunch of tissue paper and she likes to go rummage in there but she will only play with her toys for a few minutes at a time. Ill say NO really loud and she will still just do what she wants…. Then i have to go tap her on the nose a few times and then shell shake her head and run away but 3 min later she does it again…

                      I noticed that her ear is going up and down this morning!!

                      So since Nala is about 12 weeks should i start introducing greens?

                      [URL=http://img411.imageshack.us/i/img00018201009100852.jpg/][/URL]

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                    • stephyowns
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                        sorry the pics huge, im new to forums


                      • Deleted User
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                          I for one like Nalla’s mane just like that. I think she is perfect. Watch out for the professional bunny-napper coming… (j/k)
                          don’t raise your voice, it won’t work, it will just wear you out. When dealing with these challenges, think like a rabbit: rabbits love biting cage bars… mine will even chew them from the outside.~ I fixed a large board of wood and wired it to the enclosure bars mine chewed. They now chew that board of unfinished wood instead. Rabbits teeth grow about 4 inches annually so their urge to keep them trim with gnawing is very strong.
                          I do not recommend giving her too large of a roaming area as she is not littertrained and will potty everywhere. It will make training her later harder. Also, you must block her access to dangerous things like the trash. Young rabbits can swallow things that make them sick. Littertraining you can start after her spay. Until then, as her hormones start to dictate her behaviors, you will see more and more unwanted actions. You might like to read up under “bunny info” above, in the “bunny gone nutty” section.

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                      Forum DIET & CARE New Bunny owner with a few questions :o