Posted By cactuspancake on 10/12/2010 11:06 PM

Hi, I want some advice to know what I’m doing right or wrong with my new bunny.  (8wk old satin angora )

Congrats!!

He mostly hides under furniture, behind the toilet, or in the my large closet.  We have thin kitten collar on him with a little bell so we can hear him running around the house. He hasn’t tried taking it off and doesn’t seem to mind at all.  He jumped on my bed and peed once and also peed on the couch oh also chewed a hole in my pants on the floor. My fauld… I’m learning! I’m ok and just trying to work with it. My bed is low…. so he can just jump up there again!   I (think) I bunny proofed my room besides the low bed which I really can’t fix.  I wish he didn’t hide so much. I don’t want to scare him or force my will on him; I’m just letting him be and hoping he’ll warm up. He comes up to me a few times a day and I can get a pet here and there, mostly he’s scared though.  

First off, please take off the bell. Rabbits have very good hearing, so imagine how you would feel that if every time you moved, there was a loud ringing noise. I bet you would stop moving around as well and become more and more nervous because you don’t understand what is wrong. Please don’t do that to him, and yes, it bothers him. If you want a tight relationship with him, don’t make him nervous about moving around.

The world is big to a little bunny that has just left his momma and his brothers and sisters. Now all of a sudden, he is in a new place where he doesn’t feel safe, because he doesn’t know the area, and doesn’t know who is there to protect thim. And well, there is a terrible noise whenever he moves…so you have to give him time. usually, bunnies stay in their cage for the first few days so that they have a chance to feel safe in their new home, their cage. Having him in the cage for the first few days without getting your hand in and pet him will also make litter training so much easier on you.

Sit down with him once he is ready to get out of the cage (make sure he gets out of it on his own and not because of treats or because you pick him up), and then just sit there relaxed and let him come to you in his own time. Give him some treats and say his name every time.

But really, make sure that his cage is HIS territory, and that you don’t stick your hand into the cage et.c This is a good way for a little scared bunny to know that there is one place where he can feel safe in the beginning.

Welcome.

Karla covered it well. I also want to recommend that you cover up the wire flooring since this is not good for bunny feet and will make littertraining impossible. Wire flooring is more of a breeder thing, it is not appropriate for house rabbits. If your rabbit is young, it is going to take some time before he’s ready to have unlimited access to the house. Start off with blocking one bunny-proofed room where his cage is set-up, so he can slowly acclimate to your home. Free range is typically not an option for unaltered bunnies or bunnies under one year of age. Littertraining may be difficult until he is neutered, but give him a large rectangular cat litterbox and continue to put his poops in there and clean up any pee accidents. Grooming is a vital part of angora ownership. I don’t think any (active) BB members have full angoras right now, but it is important that he be groomed daily, and now is when you need to start getting him used to it. Pick a spot to groom, preferably a high countertop or table, and start with just a few minutes here and there. Be sure to give a healthy treat after to reward good behavior.

You’ve got some good advice.

I want to reiterate that rabbits should not wear collars of any kind for any reason – they are very fragile and if the collar gets caught on something and he twists, he could severely injure himself.

As for litter training – he’s extremely young and usually as they get older and once they are altered, the litter training will become easier but you must be diligent about cleaning and praising him to use the litter box too.

He will outgrow that small cage very soon too – rabbits need alot of space and angoras are large rabbits.

Everyones already posted great information
As mentioned covering the bottom of the cage floor would be best, I used carpet or cardbord for a cage I had like that. Meat rabbits are kept on the metal mesh cages to keep feces away from the rabbits that are being used for food… so most pet rabbits (more recently) are not kept in that kinda of cage, it’s hard on their feet and can give them sores.
I would definetly reccomend starting with a small space for your rabbit to play in for the begining. This will help him build confidence to his suroundings (not hide all the time frightened) it will also be very helpful for litter training. Start out small, and just extend it every week or so a bit. If the litter habbits get bad, make the space smaller again and keep working on it. After the neuter things will most likely go smoother.

Grooming a long haired bunny can be difficult. Try making it a nice groom between you two, many of my rabbits love me to wash their face with a warm damp cloth. I also use a small comb for my long haired guy. I hold the fur in one hand, and comb it out gently, making sure not to pull on the skin. After the major combing is done I’ll run a slicker brush over him.

Good luck

You’re very welcome! And please post some pics of him when you can! Like I said, I don’t think we have any active members with angoras right now… so I, for one, would LOVE to see him!

Welcome!!! Like Beka said, I have not noticed many Angora owners around here. I would love to see a pic of your bunny. What made you decide on that breed?

Just tell your boyfriend that he has two options. 1) He can keep the collar on because it’s easy to locate the bunny, but risk having the rabbit break its neck, or 2) You leave the collar off and just keep him confined to a small area for now. Choice #2 is the best option, as you already know. Your bunny should not have free-roam of the house right now anyway. Our rabbits are house-trained but we still keep them confined to their “bunny room” when we are not around. Plus, keeping your bunny in a smaller area for now will help him feel safer and more at home. Good luck!

Posted By cactuspancake on 10/14/2010 10:00 AM
Thanks again for the great advice everyone! I took the collar off and he seems happier, and now I feel bad for doing it but I guess everyone makes mistakes. Yesterday he really blossomed! He is running around with his ears up, jumping, eating veggies from my palm ect. He also rubbed faces with me and circled and jumped over me! I feel like I really bonded with him. Great for 3 days home I think! I lined the bottom of the cage with cardboard and put a third litter box in there. He is sleepig in one and avoiding the second so I put a third. The second one I think I messed up by putting hay at o e end and he just ate out of it and pooped in the middle of his cage! I will see what happens!

I’m so happy that you took of the collar  And yes, we all make mistake. Sometimes the really obvious things are not clear to us. That’s just the way it is. We have all been beginners in regards to rabbits, so no worries.

It is great that your relationship has alreadyimproved. He is a happy little bunny now that can just do binkies and enjoy life without strange noises. If you want to teach him commands or his name, just handfeed him his pellets and say his name every time you hand him one. It works like magic, and it is an excellent way to bond with your rabbit.

Keep up with the hay in the box. It will work. And everytime he has an accident, place it it the box.

Ohhh I am so glad you took the collar off. Don’t worry, we all make mistakes! Owning a pet is a journey.

It sounds like you are doing well. Some catch on to litter training earlier than others. With Oliver, we had a rocky start, but within a week he was using his litterbox about 90% of the time. Putting hay in a litterbox is actually a great way to convince them to start using it. For some reason, bunnies love to eat in the bathroom. I’ve noticed that my buns actually prefer to consume hay out of their litterbox than their hay racks or when I spread it free-choice on the ground. Placing the litterbox in an area where your bunny already likes to go is another good tactic. If your bunny prefers the middle of her cage, try placing a box there, and see what happens. Please keep us updated!

Prices will vary from place to place and state to state. I would just get on the internet or the phone and call around about the wire cube things.

You don’t want to give to much space until he learns to use his litter box – you want to gradually increase the space.

Here’s some corrugated protection tubing you buy by the foot ( 75cents/foot for 1/2″ diameter, 99 cents/foot for 3/4 inch) from bunnybytes:

http://bunnybytes.com/cgi-bin/start.cgi Search corrugated protection tubing or scroll next page under supplies. It’s tougher than the clear plastic tubing,

Maybe someone can point you to the NIC grids for building your condo.

Posted By lashkay on 10/13/2010 04:55 AM

 

Binkybunny, The article below was edited due to length so is posted here. I thought since the member has an Angora, there were some valuable tips in it.  Let me know if I need to edit it out.  Thanks!

 

 

I just sent you a message about this. Unless it’s just a few sentences or a short paragraph with a source link, it’s best if members post the link and the specify the paragraph locations that are important.

Binkybunny, as you may have seen, I have taken out the Betty Chu article in my previous post above and just posted the link to it with some recommendations to disregard what she writes about the cattle manna mixture and giving birdseed as I thought you too, would suggest. Thanks.

Also, corn is not recommended for rabbits.

If you scroll to the very top of the page, at the top right you will see Inbox and Notifications. If you have a message it will be in your inbox.

Sorry for the confusion, cactuspancake, I mean I edited my earlier posting and removed the article that had been posted there, and sent BINKYBUNNY member a message, in reply to her message to me.  That’s great that he lets you snuggle with him…tell me, what’s the secret of your success?

That sounds like an A-1 prescription for affection to me!! Wonderful! Thanks for the tips. I’ll “dose” my bunnies with them and see how we make out. lol