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BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

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 I need ANY advice!!!

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    • Kylie
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        I won a bunny at a fair last night.  I was never expecting to win and shocked when I did.  I was very happy and am ready to care for this bunny.  I am confident she is a female.  Apparently, “Carny” bunnies have almost no info.  I dont know how old she is, what kind  she is or anything. She seems young…I can see she is not full grown (I attached a picture). I do know they feed her hay often.

        So far, she has a cage, but it isn’t appropiate yet.  I will buy a better one.  Anyways, I bought a small bag of timothy hay, we gave her organic romain lettuce and some pellets a friend had.  She has a small little box with no name kitty litter and a water bottle wth a carboard box that she loves to be in.  She loves being cuddle and comes to us very well.  I am 24 and have the resources/finances/time to care for the animal.

        I’ve scoured the internet but need more questions answered.

         

        My questions are:

         How often do you feed your bunny greens and pellets?  I have hay in there at all times.

         Is there a reliable place to order Hardwood stove pellets?

         How often do you clean the litter bin?

         Do you brush a bunny everyday?

         Do they need a salt/mineral wheel?

         Should I get her spayed, how do I know when she’s old enough?


      • Bumblebunny
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          Welcome. You have come to a great place. This is the site we got our information from when we found our little guy on the street almost 4 years ago. The bunny info section has the answers to most of your questions. I know one of the first recommendations was to look for a good rabbit savvy vet and have the bunny checked out; usually it takes a vet to tell if it’s male or female and I am not sure they can tell if the bunny is very young and they usually spay/neuter around 5 or 6 months. If you can’t find wood stove pellets ‘Yesterday’s News’ unscented cat litter works fine. (a bit expensive) and I think there are others listed. If the bunny is very young he should have unlimited alfalfa based pellets, such a Oxbow for young rabbits and greens should be introduced one at a time. You can use romaine lettuce, cilantro and parsley,and others listed in the info section.


        • FrankieFlash
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            Hi! First, Bunny greens are introduced at 12 weeks, one at a time slowly. I feed Bunjamin 3 med. salads a day. One type of lettuce in the morning (red leaf, green leaf, or ramaine) then something different in the evening around dinner time (raddish roots are a new fav) then we end the day with a different type of lettuce at night. He expects the lettuce in the morning and night and loves it. He hops right in to his condo at night for it.

            I don’t use wood pellets. I personally use yesterday’s news- unscented because I’m allergic to a lot of woods and yesterdays news is safe and I find it cheapest at meijer. Although a lot of people find wood pellets at Tractor Supply stores, you still have to be careful what type you get.

            My litter box is cleaned every 4-6 days depending on how well he’s using it But I have a large box for my bun and refresh the top occasionally. You’ll develop a preference but mainly you don’t want them to have to stand on poop and pee a whole lot. I used to do it daily with a smaller box.

            Bunjamin’s fur doesn’t require brushing everday, just during the shedding season. Long-haired rabbits though require daily grooming. Depends on the bun.

            No salt or mineral wheels needed!

            Yes spay/neuter is a great idea. Females have high rate of cancer if UN-neutered.

            Even though I’ve answered all the questions I would suggest you find a rabbit savvy vet. They will help you determine age, sex, diet, even tips on grooming.


          • scatterbunny
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              Wood stove pelets can be hard to find this time of year, you can get feline pine or something similar at walmart or pet stores (check the cat section, i have seen the same product sold for 2x more in the small pet section vs cat section of the same store).  if you have a tractor supply or feed store near you chek and see if they have wood pellets for horses.  I know my tractor supply carrys them for $6 for a 40 lb bag, this is a good alternative until wood stove pelets become available again. 

              When I was using Scat’s entire cage as his litter box (his cage is attached to his pen) I could get away with cleaning the cage every 4-5 days.  Now that i have cut back to a small litter box in the cage, i clean every day-every other day.  Even though i clean more often, it takes less time.  i just remove the litter box, dump, refil and place back in cage, takes less than 5 minutes including walk to the compost pile out back, its definately much easier.


            • RabbitPam
              Moderator
              11002 posts Send Private Message

                Hi, and welcome,
                You sound like this little bunny found a great new Mom, since you are asking some excellent questions. Now that you’ve found the BB site, I think you will be greatly helped by going to the green banner at the top of the page and clicking BUNNY INFO. There you will find menus with all sorts of information on habitat, diet, health care, maintenance etc. BB has been studying rabbits and giving advice for many years, and those info. sections are the result of collaboration with lots of knowledgeable bunny sources.

                As for wood stove pellets, any will do as long as you are sure they do not contain an accelerant. But a good substitute that is easy to find locally and very cheap are Feline Pine pellets, or their other product Equine Pine. They are the same thing, just sold in grocery stores and pet stores. Btw, do not use pine or cedar shavings ever with rabbits, or feed iceberg lettuce.


              • Sarita
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                18851 posts Send Private Message

                  Another alternative to wood stove pellets are horse stall pellets which may be more readily available to you at a feed store if you have one near you. That’s what I use – it’s a product called Lone Star Bedding, but any horse stall bedding pellets should do.


                • CinnabunMom
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                    Hi and welcome to BB! This is a really great site for all bunny owners.

                    I personally clean Cinnabun’s litter bin everyday, just because she tends to poop like a mad woman and I want to keep the smell away. Also, because she’s a small bun her litter box is smaller than those for a larger bun, so to keep her feet dry and her bum clean, I change it every morning.

                    I also brush Cinnabun at least once a day. For the most part it’s not really required, maybe a few stray hairs, but for my own comfort (I worry about GI stasis constantly because I, too, am a first time bunny mom) I do it once a day. During her summer shed this year I had to do it at least 4x a day. But Cinnabun actually enjoys being brushed, so it’s not too hard.

                    I’ve heard various things about salt wheels. Cinnabun sniffed at hers once, decided it was in her way and moved it into a corner where it sat until I gave up and thew it away. 😛

                    Like others, I recommend an apt with a bunny savvy vet as soon as possible.


                  • CinnabunMom
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                      Oh, one more thing. I’m not sure what kind of cage you are planning on, but make sure that it doesn’t have a wire bottom, or if it does, that you can cover it up. Bunnies don’t have pads on their feet and can get sore hocks on their paws and it really hurts!


                    • tanlover14
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                        I to am new to the bunny world! And I’ve spent a lot of time researching my buns and the best stuff to get for them! I’m also close in age to you, 23!

                        I’m not sure how much you’re looking to spend but some things I’ve gone through and learned with my buns are: the best cages are the ones where they can jump around (you can find cheaper ones with only one level and tons of space pretty cheap at PetCo and PetSmart or Petland). I started out using ECO-Bedding and would definitely not recommend it. It sounded the safest for the buns but it has absolutely no absorption and my buns just knocked it out of the way and slept on the hard floor. We were also buying a pelleted litter for their boxes (All Living Things), which worked good. We however switched to CareFresh Pet Bedding and we are absolutely in LOVE with it. It goes as bedding and litter and the buns love playing and digging in it and it comes in lots of fun colors so you can color coordinate to your room if your buns are out in the open!

                        Also, we’ve learned that toys are a NECESSITY. Buns will certainly cause trouble if they don’t have something to occupy both their time and minds. Some good easy things to use are things like toilet paper rolls and phone books but if you’re looking for some good toys that you can spend money on our buns LOVE the toys we got them from the PetStore. I can’t remember the brand but one is a huge wicker/straw carrot with a bell inside that they will literally toss around for hours and the other is a straw ball with another bell inside. The only problem with the ball is the girl pretty much tore the whole thing apart and got to the bell so we keep that one away unless she’s supervised but she hasn’t done that to her carrot yet so I think it’s more sturdy. Another really neat thing are wooden ledges. We bought them at PetCo and it’s a great way to make an extra little step up for them and also something they can chew on all day, every day (safe to chew on and it helps them keep their teeth trimmed down!). Apple wood chew sticks are also available at PetSmart and PetCo and our buns will throw them around for quite some time also (and also really good for their teeth!). All these toys were literally the ONLY way we could get our buns to stop chewing on the furniture and digging and tearing at the carpet. It really did wonders to solve those problems though!

                        As for food, if you have a young bunny, ours are 4 months old and after doing a ton of research – we found Oxbow Bunny Basics to be the best for a growing baby bun! We also use their alfalfa and since we have started mixing in timothy, we’ve also gotten both from Oxbow! (Our vet is a REALLY good bunny vet and she strongly recommends Oxbow also.) Some really good treats that we’ve found our bunnies to love are kale and cilantro! Even our skiddish bun gets excited about her veggies! Be careful with certain veggies and you can use the links on this website and the Rabbit House Society website to figure out which ones are good and which ones should only be used as treats!

                        Another good thing to have on hand is a nail trimmer. Our buns nails grow like weeds and after a month of having our first one he could claw your whole body apart with his long nails just walking across your lap! I would take your bunny to the vet first and have them show you how to do it first though.

                        Also, do a lot of research in your area to find a good bunny vet. If you look around you can read horror stories about vets that had no idea anything about rabbits. It takes time for it’s definitely worth it in the end. My bunny just had his first checkup and the vet we went to specializes in exotic animals, specifically chinchillas and rabbits. Make sure that they see a good number of rabbits a month and that if they plan on neutering/spaying your little guy that they have experience! The House Rabbit Society website has a list of really good questions to ask before taking your bun to a vet to help you find a really good one for your new family member!

                        Also, if you plan on letting your new little bun friend lose — don’t forget to bunny proof your room!

                        Good luck and hope some of this info helped!


                      • LoveChaCha
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                        6634 posts Send Private Message

                          TanLover, you don’t need litter as bedding It just wastes money Bedding can be just put into the litter box


                        • tanlover14
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                            Thanks for the tip!


                          • Kokaneeandkahlua
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                              WOW Welcome! She’s very lucky to have a dedicated owner who will do what’s right for her!

                              I think your questions have definitely been answered. Your picture didn’t come through for us-I’d love to see her pictures when you get a chance, and feel free to ask any more questions as they come up!


                            • Amys Animals
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                                Posted By Kylie on 06/17/2012 12:29 PM

                                I won a bunny at a fair last night.  I was never expecting to win and shocked when I did.  I was very happy and am ready to care for this bunny.  I am confident she is a female.  Apparently, “Carny” bunnies have almost no info.  I dont know how old she is, what kind  she is or anything. She seems young…I can see she is not full grown (I attached a picture). I do know they feed her hay often.

                                So far, she has a cage, but it isn’t appropiate yet.  I will buy a better one.  Anyways, I bought a small bag of timothy hay, we gave her organic romain lettuce and some pellets a friend had.  She has a small little box with no name kitty litter and a water bottle wth a carboard box that she loves to be in.  She loves being cuddle and comes to us very well.  I am 24 and have the resources/finances/time to care for the animal.

                                I’ve scoured the internet but need more questions answered.

                                 

                                My questions are:

                                 How often do you feed your bunny greens and pellets?  I have hay in there at all times.

                                 Is there a reliable place to order Hardwood stove pellets?

                                 How often do you clean the litter bin?

                                 Do you brush a bunny everyday?

                                 Do they need a salt/mineral wheel?

                                 Should I get her spayed, how do I know when she’s old enough?

                                Wow, I can’t believe some one would raffle off a rabbit.  Goes to show what kind of world we live in though.  Anyways, welcome and thank you for researching!  

                                I feed my Rascal a big salad at night.  It has about 3-4 different varieties of greens in it and I occasionally through in a fruit or carrots and such.  I switch out one green a week.  I wouldn’t recommend switching out more than one veggie since buns have sensitive tummies.  I feed Rascal 1/3 cup of pellets a day.  I feed him half in the morning and half at dinner time.  The amount of pellets fed to a bunny varies on how much the bunny weighs.  Rascal weighs 5lbs and it was recommended to me to feed him 1/3 cup and I think that’s what it says on the Oxbow bag too.  Since you don’t know how old your bunny is take it to a vet and have it checked up, maybe they can tell you?  

                                I’ve never used hardwood stove pellets for litter for my buns.  I’ve always ever used CareFresh bedding.  It absorbs well and doesn’t really smell.  But it is a little dusty.  You can buy it in bulk on petco.com or just buy one package at petco.  I buy mine in bulk.  I don’t know what kind of cage you are getting but IMO I don’t like cages for buns.  I think they are too small.  Unless you plan to have bunny out most of the time then a cage, in my opinion, would be okay.  I would suggest getting an x-pen or two and set it up.  I like bunnies to have lots of space.  Petco usually has deals going on, and amazon.com is a great place to get them too.  

                                I clean my litter box every 3-4 days.  It’s in my bedroom so it starts to get stinky by then.  If bun is in a cage sitting in its urine and poopies I would suggest cleaning every other day.  If there is a litter box in there and it uses it, then that of course is unnecessary.  

                                Honestly, I should be brushing Rascal everyday since he sheds a whole lot, but I’ve been brushing him about 1-2 times a week.  He is short haired so it’s not really necessary to brush every day but while he is shedding as much as he is I think it is.  If your bunny is long haired I would suggest brushing everyday.  I just saw a horrific situation of a bunny who couldn’t walk because it had matted fur all over from neglect.  So sad. 

                                They do not need a salt or mineral lick.

                                Yes, you should absolutely get her spayed!  It prevents diseases.

                                Please I urge you, like others have stated already, take her to a vet to have her checked out.  

                                Hope I helped some and I hope the others helped too!  


                              • Kylie
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                                  WOW thanks everyone!!
                                  Took her to the vet and she is about 3 months old.

                                  Heres the crazy thing…I finally found a vet who had spayed/nuetered rabbits and knew about them and he is ALLERGIC to them! But the vet also said that my bun is bred small so there is a 15-20% chance that the anethesia from spaying can kill her. That kind of worries me :/.
                                  I live in a rural area so bunnies being “won” at fairs is a norm. There are many blue ribbon rabbiteers around here. Just none that I know personally who I can talk to

                                  I was thinkin of getting a cage with a wire bottom but putting a bottom on the wire so the padded. Our closest pet store is 2 hours away.
                                  Im going to scour the internet for better cages. Thanks!


                                • Elrohwen
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                                    Any vet who quotes that high of a percent of unsuccessful spay/neuter is a vet you want to stay far far away from! Vets who claim it’s dangerous do so because they’re not comfortable with it. Find another vet who really knows their stuff and does the procedure all the time and she’ll be fine. A rabbit not making it through surgery is very rare with good vets – not even close to 15%. A good vet will want to wait until she’s bigger, probably 6 months old, before doing the procedure.

                                    I would completely avoid a wire bottom cage – they’re just not very useful and never come in a large enough size. Almost all rabbits are able to develop good litter box habits and having them on wire just makes it harder for them to learn. Not to mention wire is terrible for their feet. A minimum cage size is 4’x2′ for a small rabbit, but most of us like at least twice that size. A puppy exercise pen is an easy solution and they are typically 4’x4′. Lots of people also use NIC grids – it’s a shelving system made with 15″x15″ pieces of metal grid and you can set up a cage anyway you can imagine. I don’t use these for my cage, but I do use them for bunny proofing. They can be found at most Walmarts, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc.

                                    That’s very sad that bunnies are just given away at fairs! Your bunny is very lucky to have found an owner who is trying to learn everything possible about her care 🙂 Just come back here with any questions and we’ll be happy to help.


                                  • Sarita
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                                      How many spays/neuters does he actually do? I doubt it’s hundreds…it’s certainly not uncommon for a vet who does spays/neuters for rescues to lose a few rabbits but they are working on lots and lots of rabbits so the risk of losing a rabbit could be higher…but I agree that sounds like way too much – while it may be risky, it’s still standard for any vet who see’s alot of rabbits. I would not feel comfortable either and would keep looking. Now he may be fine for diagnosing and dealing with rabbit health concerns, but not so much with spays/neuters.

                                      I agree, avoid the wire bottom cage, it’s never good no matter what.

                                      You do have a very lucky rabbit who has an owner who cares…makes me sad though that rabbits are given out at fairs…after all, dogs and cats are not and rabbits aren’t easy less of a pet than a cat or dog.


                                    • tanlover14
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                                        Three months old! AWWWW. Our first bun was 2 months old when we got him — and I swear, he grew like a weed. I agree with the above post — if the vet said there’s a 15-20% chance of death then they don’t know their stuff well enough. My vet specializes in exotics and does a lot of rabbits — so far she’s never had a rabbit die while being neutered/spayed and she typically likes to wait until they’re a little older (closer to 5-6 months) before doing neutering/spaying!

                                        Definitely would recommend finding someone else!

                                        Also, we have our buns in cages right now until they’re all bonded them we plan on using one big cage with a small pen for them to run around all day long in. We let them out A LOT though.

                                        http://www.amazon.com/Living-World-Deluxe-Habitat-Large/dp/B005AYYDCM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340203210&sr=8-1&keywords=Living-World-Rabbit-Cage-

                                        ^^ This is the best cage we’ve gotten so far — it opens from both the top and the side so they can have a little door they can come out also but the top makes cleaning the cage so much easier than a lot of others. It also comes with the hay holder which is helpful! And it’s REALLY sturdy. Definitely my fav of the cages I’ve seen so far!


                                      • Freyja
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                                          another good cage idea is to use a dog crate, similar to this one;
                                          http://www.amazon.com/Black-Triple-door-Suitcase-Style-Folding/dp/B001QXHHRE/ref=sr_1_8?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1340203963&sr=1-8&keywords=dog+crate
                                          you could add some shelves made from wood or NIC cubes to make it multi leveled if you google image ‘dog crate rabbit’ or something similar it has some good pics of shelf ideas you could put in it.
                                          the typical indoor rabbit cages sold most places are usually way too small for buns once theyre fully grown and quite expensive for what they are!


                                        • Amys Animals
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                                            I was actually using an x-pen and dog crate for Rascal. It was so big and he loved it. He only has the x-pen for now because I have two x-pens set up since I’m going to be bonding bunnies.

                                            I think a large dog crate could work too just by itself.

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                                        Forum DIET & CARE I need ANY advice!!!