Future Bunny Owner – am I doing this right?

[naodar]

Hello! I am new to BinkyBunny and would like to hear a few opinions on what I have set up for my future bunny. I would like to mention that, while this is not the first bunny to live in my house, it is the first one to be my responsibility. It will be a young Holland Lop. 

I have been researching for the past 2 weeks, and it seems like what I have is a good set up, but I would like to run my plan by some of you guys first and see if you spot any holes in my plan or products/practices that are outright bad for the bunny.

This is what I have already purchased:

• 1 playpen with a mat, 4 ft. diameter, 2.5 ft. high – this is the bunny’s cage in my room. It contains:
  • high wall litter box with a low opening to hop over
  • a self-refilling waterer that holds 50 fluid oz but dispenses about 10 oz at all times
  • a food bowl
  • a cardboard box (14 in. x 10 in x 9 in) with 3 openings
  • a willow branch dumbell toy
  • a hanging pinecone and wood toy
  • 4 hard plastic jingling balls (ferret toys – danger for bunnies?)
  • a fleece blanket (will be removed if being eaten)
• 16 Whitmor grids, 14 in. x 14 in. each. –  this will make an 7 ft. x 4.5 ft play area for when I am home to supervise the bunny
  • flooring will be fleece
  • connects to the cage with velcro, so the bunny will have full access to the cage and play area when I’m home
• Grooming brush, shedding brush, nail clippers

This is what I plan on purchasing sometime this week:

• 128 oz. of Drs. Foster & Smith Western Timothy hay (will be kept in a dark garbage bag)
• 10 lbs of Oxbow Essentials Young Rabbit Food (separated into a small and large container so I will only expose 2 lbs to air when I refill the bowl)
• Styptic pads
• wire hay rack
• Equine Fresh pine pellets for litter
• a second 4ft diameter playpen to function as a nighttime cage in a separate room (my mom will not allow my bunny sleep in my room) – the bunny, litter box, food bowl, waterer, cardboard box, and fleece will be transferred here at around 10pm each night.

I plan on unlimited hay and pellets and water until the bunny is 4.5 months old (too young/old?), then limiting pellets (and changing to oxbow’s adult pellets) and slowly introducing veggies. I am aware of rabbit safe veggies and the make up of their diet.

During my summer vacation and all other school breaks, the bunny will be have access to its cage and play area in my room from 10am to 10pm, and will sleep in the 4 ft cage in the separate room.

Once school starts in late August, the bunny will have the same schedule on weekends. But on weekdays, the bunny will have access to the cage and play area in my room only from 4:30 pm to 10pm. It will unfortunately have to stay in the 4ft nighttime cage for 18 hours out of a 24 hour day. I am worried that this is too much confinement. 

I should add that I have a little brother who spends minimal time in my room or the separate room. The best way to have him bond with the bunny would be to have him read aloud next to its cage, then work our way up towards petting, right? He will never pick up the bunny, by the way. The most he will do is sit in the play area and pet the bunny as it comes and goes.

Please let me know what you think about my plans – what would work or what wouldn’t. If you don’t have time for a detailed response, could you rate my plan? 1 = not ready for the bunny; 5 = completely ready for the bunny. Thanks so much for reading!  

 

LBJ here, I edited out your age.

[Beka27]

That all sounds really good!

Couple thoughts, the bunny may become confused with being taken in and out of the pen for the day/night. Can you figure out ONE LOCATION to have his permanent setup? This way you wouldn’t need separate pens. You could still bunny proof your room for exercise time if you would like, but a separate cage there wouldn’t be necessary.

Will this bunny be already spayed or neutered or will you be doing this on your own?

[naodar]

Thank you for replying! The only place I could set up a cage permanently is pretty isolated, so the bunny wouldn’t be near other living things for more than 4 hours a day. I hope to convince my parents to let the bunny live in my room permanently by asking them to purchase the extra pen (they haven’t spent any money so far – I am buying everything) since they insist the bunny sleep somewhere else.

My bunny hasn’t been spayed yet. I should have mentioned that I plan on getting her spayed as soon as I can and I already have the address and number of a few rabbit-savvy vets.

Thanks for your kind words!

[tobyluv]

Without seeing that hard, plastic ferret toy, it’s difficult to say if it could be dangerous to bunnies. Maybe you could just start with the willow and wooden toys.

You may want to get some other varieties of hay. Some rabbits aren’t that fond of timothy, but they like a sweeter hay like orchard grass. Oxbow has nice orchard grass. They also have organic meadow hay which many rabbits enjoy. Since you are obviously getting a baby bunny, you can give it alfalfa hay for the first few months. Whatever hay you use needs to not be closed up tightly in a plastic bag – hay needs to breath, so leave the bag open.

I think that you could continue with the young rabbit (alfalfa based) pellets until your rabbit is 6 or 8 months old, then change over to the adult pellets. Veggies can be given starting around 12 weeks of age, just one at a time to start.

[HereComesTheBun]

This all sounds really good! You’ve put some great research into this, and I’m sure you’re going to be an incredible rabbit owner! I have a 5 month old Holland Lop myself, and I know you’re going to love yours. Have you given any thoughts to names yet? 

I do have to agree that even if your rabbit is alone more, I think it will be better to have just one pen, at least at first. When she(?) gets home, she’ll have a lot to adjust to, and I think she will feel more at home if she has one permanent spot than if she’s moving between two. It also makes litter training so much easier. The great things about rabbits are that they’re crepuscular and generally sleep for most of the afternoon, so I wouldn’t worry too much about the hours that she’s by herself. Between that and the time she spends outside her pen, I think she’ll be okay. Or are you just planning on using one of the pens as a play area? If you introduce that later after she’s already comfortable in her space and it’s clear to her that the other pen is where she spends most of her time, that may work. 

I’m also curious whether there’s a way for you get the rabbit from your room to the area where her cage is without carrying her there (which may not be what you’re planning to do at all!). In my (albeit limited) experience, baby rabbits are sometimes more receptive to being picked up before they reach puberty, but even so, most rabbits really don’t enjoy being picked up. Just something to think about so that you can help her trust you (and again, I have no idea what your plans are, so ignore this if you have a different strategy!). 

If the jingling balls are hard plastic, I think they’ll work as long as your rabbit isn’t able make a dent in them. Is the cardboard box a sort of a hidey home that your rabbit can go into? If so, your supplies sound perfect. 

As far as changing pellets go, rabbits should be on their adult diets by about seven months. I’m planning to start my switch within the next few weeks, as I believe that smaller rabbits stop growing sooner. I don’t think it would hurt for you to put off the switch slightly later or to introduce vegetables slightly soon. Also, don’t be concerned about introducing vegetables at the same time as unlimited pellets. Honestly, though, I don’t think there will be any negative ramifications either way. As long as you’re watching what your rabbit’s eating/how she’s reacting, which it sounds like you’re doing, she should be fine! And don’t feel bad if you have to limit your rabbit’s pellets a little bit if she’s not eating hay as much as she should, since hay is the most important part of the diet.

I think my biggest advice is just to remain open and to enjoy the adventure of rabbit raising! Like you, I’m a planner, and I wanted to have everything perfect by the time my rabbit came home. Unfortunately, I discovered I couldn’t do that. My rabbit turned out to be more of a climber and explorer than a player and snubbed some of the toys I got him, and he hated the first brush I used on him. Since it seems like you’ve already gotten all of the necessities, I would hold off from buying anything else until you know your rabbit better (which you might not need to do for a while…yay for DIY!). 

[naodar]

Thanks everyone for replying!

The bunny is currently on timothy hay, so I’m going to keep it that way for at least a week before I introduce more new things to her. I will definitely look into adding some more variety bit by bit.

I think I’ll add the plastic toys once I get a sense for how much of a chewer she is, and I’ll switch to adult pellets at 6 months. And the cardboard box IS a hidey house

It looks like my biggest challenge is to convince my parents to let my bunny stay in one cage. I really want her to live in my room, but if I absolutely cannot, I will most likely set up her cage in one area and the play area in my room. I’ll probably transport her using her carrier so there’s no risk of her jumping out of my arms, and she’ll get more used to the carrier for vet visits.

Thank you guys for your help!

[naodar]

By the way, HereComesTheBun, my bunny is a girl and I recently decided on the name Suki

Thanks so much for your support and advice!

[HereComesTheBun]

Perfect! 

I love the name! So adorable. 

[Author]

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