new bunny mama. lots of questions… HELP!

[stella'smom]

Hi all! I had bunnies growing up, but this is my first bunny as an adult. (and i.am.in.loooove!) Stella’s a 5 week old Holland Mini-lop (i thought they were 2 different breeds?!) Anyway, i’m getting conflicting advice on what to feed her. the pet store sent us home with timothy hay and regular pellets (that contain timothy and alfalfa). i just read that she should be eating alfalfa and should not be eating timothy until 7 mo old! what do i do? should i take back the pellets and get her… what? is there a baby bunny pellet out there with just the alfalfa? 

also, they gave me a huge bag of food and hay. i heard that you should only get what your bunny will eat in 6 weeks, b/c it could mold. so i want’ to take it back and get a smaller bag.

and what’s all this talk about eating cecotropes? what’s that? i’m assuming it’s their poops.

oh, and the pet store sent me home with pine shavings, which i read can cause liver damage. i would like to use all-cotton pee pads, and wash them every couple days (i cloth-diapered all 3 of my children as babies, so this doesn’t bother me.), instead of bedding. i think it’s so much easier then changing bedding (and i’m going to kitty-liter train her…)

which brings me to my last question… when can i start kitty-litter trainer her. i heard she’s too young. i was just going to watch where she goes in her cage, and put a litter pan there to start. so the pee-pad won’t get very messy anyway. i plan on putting blankies in her cage, so she can burrow in that. 

tia! i appreciate all of your bunny wisdom!

[mocha200]

you can get a good alfalfa pellet from oxbow. It is called ” Bunny Basics 15/23″ I highly recommend oxbow for rabbits.

This is what it looks like:

Cecotropes is poo that they eat right when it comes out. They look like slimy poo stuck together and if you start seeing them all the time it could mean there is something wrong. ( these are different from the hardish round ones.)

You can try to start litter training her but sense she is not spayed yet she will have hormones which will make her want to mark.

[Monkeybun]

a pet store sent you home with a 5 week old bunny? Thats sad… they aren’t supposed to be taken away from momma bun til 8 weeks

When I brought home my first bunny, Monkey, she litter trained herself within a couple of days. I use carefresh litter in her litterbox (she’s picky… only likes soft stuff on her tushie) and i didnt put any litter or bedding in her cage, so it wouldn’t confuse her as to where to go. What kind of litter were you thinking of? regular kitty litter isn’t a good idea if its a clay or clumping variety. Yesterdays Mews is a good paper pellet litter, wood stove pellets are great too. and you’re right to not use pine shavings.

Mocha is right about the pellets, the oxbow 15/23 is an excellent quality alfalfa pellet for babies, and when she gets older, the oxbow bunny basics T is excellent for adult buns, its a plain timothy pellet. My girl Monkey HAYED alfalfa when I brought her home, so she has been on timothy hay and pellets since day 1 with me, and she’s doign great. so if you stick with timothy hay, that would be fine, especially if you give an alfalfa pellet.

Congrats on your new baby

[Helenor]

If you’re going to use kitty litter for her litterbox, be sure to only use the paper based ones. The ones with clay and such are bad for bunnies. Instead of buying expensive kitty litter, you could always go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy a big bag of wood stove pellets without chemicals.

[stella'smom]

oh man… i thought something was off when i read last night that babies should get mama milk until at least 7 weeks. as a nursing mama myself, i felt bad for stella. oh well… i plan on going back into that pet store and educating them a little.

thanks for the info on litter… i read all about the ones not to get last night. and thanks for the food info. i plan on taking everything back tomorrow. thank God i had alfalfa in my herb cabinet, so stella’s been eating that. (along with some of the pellets).

has any of you used cloth to line the bottom of their cage? i’ve been putting her in the kitchen with gates up (i have an 8yo rotty/shepherd/lab mix, name Mishka that i don’t want to get her). so she’s living in the kitchen, until we go somewhere, or we go to bed, then she goes into her cage. after having her for only one day, i opened the cage last night, and she came right up to me, trying to get me to take her out! SO CUTE!! from the minute i held her in the pet store, she nestled right into me… no racing heartbeat…. no bulgy scared eyes…

and i introduced mishka to stella. i thought it would take awhile to get mish to adjust…. no. she seems almost bored with her! the bunny’s too young to be afraid of the dog, and the dog just glances at her as she passes by. i’m shocked! i wonder what the dog thinks this thing is that’s hopping around! i’m not leaving anything to chance though. i will never leave them alone in a room until i’m certain they’re ok together (although i heard you should never leave them home alone together… any one have experience with this?)

anyway, i’m rambling, i’m just so enamored with my little baby… i wasn’t even looking for a bunny. i went into the pet store to look for a snake for my son, saw her and fell instantly in love (and there were other bunnies in the same pen, that i wouldn’t have taken, just something about her!). her one ear sticks up and the other flops down, she just looks SO CUTE!!! oh God, and the SMELL… i LOVE to just sit there holding her with my nose in her fur.

this.is.addicting… LOL!!!

[stella'smom]

oh, and when should i have her neutered?

[stella'smom]

i cannot find oxbow 15/23 in any store around me. what about kaytee supreme rabbit food?

and i called the pet store, and they said that the info i received was wrong, that they never get rabbits before 6 weeks old. and that stella’s probably more like 7 weeks old. that made me feel a little better.

i read that rabbits should not eat timothy hay before 7mo, so i told the manager at the pet store and she said that alfalfa is hard on their stomachs, b/c the protein content is higher. and i SHOULD feed it timothy hay. AAAAHHHHH!!!!!! what should i do?!!!!!

i also told her that her worker should not have sold me pine shavings, b/c it causes liver damage and respiratory problems. but since i used it, i cannot get my money back. ugh.

[stella'smom]

should i feed her bunny formula again? she seems to just lay around alot, not really playing (she’ll play a little here or there). or is she just getting use to me. i got her only 2 days ago. or is this normal behavior in a baby bunny?

[LoveChaCha]

Oh my

I would advise taking your business elsewhere at another Pet shop.

your bunny can have timothy hay or alfalfa hay, depending on what it its preferences are. Alfalfa for a few months since your bun is growing. My rabbit didn’t even eat alfalfa hay. I just fed her timothy.

Your baby may be skiddish and scared of you. You have to earn bunnies trust. As they get older and fixed, they will calm down each bunnah has its own personality.

Neutering a boy rabbit is recommended at 4 mths, spaying a female at 6 months. Make sure you have a qualified exotic vet (rabbits are considered exotic) that works with rabbits. Teenage hormones kick in and will remain like that unless bunny is fixed female bunnies have a 80% or higher chance of getting reproductive cancers if left unspayed.

I used carefresh for months as litter. I now use wood stove pellets because its cheaper! Whatever is good for you and bunny and is not hazardous!

and welcome! Please ask more questions if needed

[LoveChaCha]

Binkybunny store sellls oxbow food if you can’t find it in a store near you. The shipping is quite fast and good for what you pay for!

[stella'smom]

no, stella’s not afraid of me. i think she thinks i’m her mommy. when the kids are playing with her and she needs a break, she’ll come over to me and sit on my foot, so i pick her up. she’ll hop around and play a little, but then sits for awhile and chills. i was afraid that she was too sedentary. i wish i knew what to expect about normal bunny behavior. i knew they all have their own personalities, but just generally i wish i knew what to expect.

[Elrohwen]

I felt like you for the first week or so – you’ll figure her out!

I agree with everything Brit said about diet. You can also order Oxbow products from Drs Foster & Smith – I like to get the 50lb box of hay from them (but then I have two rabbits, not one). She is definitely old enough to be eating adult food so don’t worry about having to feed her formula (there isn’t good bunny formula anyway). It really doesn’t matter all that much if you give her alfalfa vs timmy pellets or hay. Alfalfa is recommended, but she’ll be fine with timmy products too.

Bunnies sleep allll day and are active morning and evening. It’s completely normal for her to sleep the entire day away – and babies need lots of sleep.

I’d love to see some pictures of her! You’re right that hollands and mini lops are different breeds (I have one of each) so she’s probably one or the other and the pet shop didn’t know the difference. If you post some pictures we can probably figure it out, but you’ll definitely know as she grows – hollands average about 3lbs and minis average 5-6lbs.

[LoveChaCha]

I didn’t mean to come off wrong, if I did, I’m sorry.

Here is a great link to some information House rabbit society is excellent for information and also finding information on vets in your area!
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#young
I linked you to the site for what young bunnies should be fed, but the site is really easy to navigate

My bunny tends to sleep during the daytime and is very active around dinner/night time.

Pictures is a must

[Lintini]

Where is the poking stick Monkeybun???

We must see photos!!!

I used the oxbow 15/23 on my young rabbits until they were around 10 months and switched over to the oxbow basic T. About a month ago I forgot to call the feedstore for my 50lbs bag that they special order me and I had to make an emergency run to the petshop and after about an hour of reading all the bags for their nutritional information I settled for the kaytee supreme to hold them over. Okay…it was pretty much a huge mistake…they LOVE LOVE LOVE all the dried fruits and crunchy fake treat things and wouldn’t eat the pellets! One of my rabbits even starting growling at me to hurry up and feed him!!! They are completely addicted and I reorderd my Oxbow basic T which they used to gobble up instantly and now all of a sudden that it doens’t have crunchy things, banana chips, punpkin seeds, and all that junk ohhhhh the expensive oxbow gets the nose in the air! Sigh. Indy has been the worst with coming back on the oxbow, he just wants his junk treats. He is the one who started growling and huffing about. Rabbits are so funny. So full of personality, you are really in for a special treat in your life with you new bun.

[Monkeybun]

naughty naughty lindsey, feeding the bunnies the bad stuff! *bonk*

[stella'smom]

brittany~ no worries, you didnt come off wrong!

thanks for all your info guys… i really appreciate it!

i’ll post pics of stella baby when my desktop computer starts working again, later this week. (on my cheap, handmedown laptop right now)

and you are all right.. this is SO addicting!!!

do you think it’s ok that i have only one bunny? i mean, she’s always in my arms, or in the kitchen playing with me or one of my three kids. but do they usually enjoy companionship with other bunnies, or is it ok to just stick with one bunny, for now?

also, the cage they sold me is a medium size. a little over 2x her length (if she’s stretched out). i wasn’t concerned, as she’s never in it, other then when we leave the house for a little, or for bed. what do you all think?

[Elrohwen]

Single bunnies can do just fine! Bonding isn’t really effective until they are spayed/neutered, so if you do decide down the road to get her a friend, do it after she’s fixed and get another fixed bunny as a companion. Of my two, Otto really didn’t care if he had a friend or not and was just fine on his own. Hannah, on the other hand, really needed a friend and it was obvious – she was hyper, restless, and would constantly groom and carry around her stuffed toy. Once they were bonding she wouldn’t leave Otto alone because she was so obsessed with having another bunny around.

I think bunnies who *need* friends are kind of obvious – most are content and just fine on their own, especially with such a loving family like yours! Plus, bonding can be difficult, so I think it’s better to get used to just one for a while and all of her body language, etc, before jumping in with another. If you get a second, you’ll be glad you had that time to bond with her one-on-one.

The minimum recommended cage for bunnies is 2’x4′. Personally, I’m more comfortable with 4’x4′ after you add in litter box, food dishes, etc because they take up a lot of space. Your cage sounds plenty big for now, but just watch as she grows – she will double in size and you might want to get something larger.

[lashkay]

Welcome and congratulations on your new little charge. Can’t wait to see some pictures of this little one ear up and one down! lol You’re receiving superb advice and information. I too, buy from the Binkybunny store regularly and they deliver next day (I live in San Francisco so am nearby). You could even inquire about expedited shipping. Anyway, ENJOY HER and don’t forget the pics!

[LoveChaCha]

Ah, okay thank you

Yes, some rabbits are fine just being single bunnies.

I have a single rabbit. She is spoiled rotten and gets lots of attention and play time.

I agree with lashkay, bunnies grow up SO FAST! Take lots of pictures My bunny is only 1 year 2 months old, and I wish she was still itty bitty

Binkybunny store items are awesome I buy 10lbs of Orchard Grass from the store

[Florida_Bunnies]

We got Nibbler when he was about 8 weeks old (I suspect he may have been younger though, he was TEENY TINY!) and he has grown so much since we got him! They grow so fast so do take photos! It will amaze you how quickly they grow.

I agree with the others, I don’t think another bunny is necessary. Nibbler is very content being the only bunny around here, he is the boss and gets whatever he wants I think he would resent another bunny. I think you would be able to tell if your bun was lonely.

[stella'smom]

omg you guys… i was holding her, like i do every night, and my kids put on a movie, so i wasn’t paying attention to stella and petting her. all of a sudden she came up to my face, and started licking my chin over and over, so i said “ok, ok stella… mommy pet you!!!” and started petting her. so she relaxed in my arms again and fell back to sleep. my hubby called on the phone and once again, i wasn’t paying attention to her, so up to my chin she comes again, kissing me over and over, trying to get me to love on her! how cute is that?!!! guys, i’ve had her for 3 days, and she loves me already!

[LoveChaCha]

StellasMom! You are so lucky Bunny kisses are the SWEETEST ever aren’t they?

My bunny didn’t kiss me until she was a few months old. Now she will wash my face. She is very specific, likes to kiss my lips and cheeks

[Florida_Bunnies]

Nibbler gave me kisses at the pet store, which is why I bought him, lol. He instantly snuggled into my hair and started licking my face and just snuggled into me and didn’t want to be put down. I wasn’t even going to buy a rabbit that day but I just had to take him home after that. =D 

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