Congrats on the new additions

It may take a bit for the lionhead baby to get used to things, some bunnies are big babies Give him time And definitely get him to eat hay! If he is only eatign pellets, I say cut down ont eh pellets, so he has to eat hay when hungry. Maybe try a couple types of hay to see what he will like.

Maybe try alfalfa hay….assuming you are offering timothy.

WOuld haev to take away the alfalfa ina few months though, as the babies get bigger. I would try orchard grass or oat. They are a fav here.

I can see that the hay you are giving them is in a hay rack. Is it over their litter box? It’s a bit weird but my rabbit Sammy would eat a lot less hay when I just provided it to him in a hay rack, than now that I also give him hay loose in his litter box. He still has access to a backup supply of hay in the hay rack but he mainly eats the loose one in his litter box, and has been eating MUCH more hay this way. Your bunny might have a hay rack aversion as well. It might also just be that he’s not very comfortable yet.

Honestly, I know that the lionhead might have issues due to hair ingestion, but I would not remove pellets from the babies. Rabbits that young are supposed to have unlimited access to pellets and hay as far as I know. Someone else might have a more exact response though, so maybe wait to give them back the pellets until a second person either denies or confirms this.

The problem though, is he isn’t eating the hay when he has pellets available. hay is more important. Give him some pellets a couple times of day and that should be good.

I would put the hay rack by the litterbox. It will help get them litter trained easier too.

I’d just be worried about them having enough nutrients to grow and develop properly without the pellets… but I’ve never had a long-haired rabbit so I guess you have to balance that with concerns about hair-block.

I would move his hay rack to over his litter box because usually rabbits go to the bathroom while they eat hay, so that’s one of the key ways to start litter training them if you’re interested in doing that

Otti, thats why i suggested giving pellets a couple times a day, smaller amounts, that way he still gets nutrients, but isnt stuffing himself on just tasty pellets

lol! Thats bunnies for ya You may want to try using a cat sized rectangular litter box. My 3 love em, and they actually have to jump in to get tot heir hay

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Posted By Zack Rayne on 10/26/2010 02:16 PM

Yeah ill do that tonight then. Im trying to litter train them cause for now they have not even picked a corner, they just go EVERYWHERE.

 

HAHA next question, little dude flopped over and I noticed he has some dry poop in his fur (probably from before I got him to his nice new swagy cage) any suggestions for cleaning that out of there? This whole “having long hair thing” is very hard to get used to after having a bunny that didnt need me for anything asside from filling his food and water and opening his cage door when he moaned at me.

I have a baby long haired rabbit too, my satin angora Franz. So I 

have been through the same things you have! 

My bunny took about 5 days to pick CORNERS; he still doesn’t go in one. I’ve had him for two weeks now. Putting lots of litterboxes in the cage and then slowly taking them away has worked for me! 

Also, I know your lionhead is skittish, but mine was just like that for the first few days! You HAVE to get him used to handling for his health so you can brush him and prevent the wool block. I 

had to give mine his first good brushing after three days. He was getting super matted and I 

didn’t want to let it get out of hand regardless of how he felt about it! Put some towels down in the bathtub with some yummy food like carrot shreds/ lettuce and shut the curtains. Touch him and show him the brush and brush him just a bit every day like this and he will hopefully get used to it fast! My baby did in just two days, now I 

can brush him on the floor for a good 15 minutes. Use a men’s hair comb as it doesn’t pull on the fur much. He won’t like being touched near his face so just do his back first. Make sure to let him explore the bathtub first! All in all, since he is fluffy, it must be done. Also feed papaya treats a few times a week! There is an enzyme in it that helps break down protein to pass. I’m learning all about long haired baby bunnies so feel free to ask me some questions!

We just rescued a bunny that (we think) is an angora/lionhead, etc…mix.  Her fur is super soft & EVERYTHING seems to be attracted to it, especially her hay.  It took me days patiently getting the mats out that I could as she was in pretty bad shape.  Her back end was way too close to her skin to even attempt it so we got that portion shaved when she was spayed last week.  Now you can really see her hop-hoppers…shes going to be a pretty good size girl!  Keeping up the brushing has kept her fur under control and she absolutely LOVES it !  Oh yeah, WHERE ARE THE PICTURES???

Actually, I was just admiring the poop in the pics. heheh! I thought it looks nice and healthy.

Theyre a sweet little pair. It’s nice to hear you have bunnies again. With the hay, they might be telling you their preference here. You could get a big ol litterbox and just pile the
hay in there. Lots of them prefer to eat it of the ground/out of the box.

Sorry if I sound pedantic here but you will be separating them in due course won’t you? You mentioned a he and a she & it’s not long before they can start having litters.

By the way, Rock and Roll would be super cute names for them!

They look so young but looks can be deceiving i guess. You posted they’re aged 2-4 months old? They start to mature around 3 months. Some bucks have there testes descend
10-12 wks old. I’ve heard of some even earlier. I think Does can carry litters from 3 months of age (crazy!)

If you haven’t had them sexed by a vet, that’s probably the first step. If they definately are different sexes then I’m afraid they;ll have to live apart until after
their ops. You might be able to have one upstair of the hutch and one on the bottom perhaps.

For the Lionhead I would have definite hands on everyday. Just manipulate a certain body part & not for long. I think in general Lionheads are a little on the skittish side. I have 1 now for 2 years but I also got her as a 2yo so she had lots of different situations & not alot of handling. Went from wherever she was breed to someone or maybe just straight to the Petstore where she had a litter & she was the only one left & then the people I got her from bought her from the Petstore & had her for 1 year. She is in no ways a mean or aggressive bun just that it took a great deal of handling of her to stop her from thumping constantly. Even out about in the room for free time she just hid in a corner. Took about 1 year for her to actually come up to me & sniff me. Now she just turned 4, handles well, grooms well, still won’t have much to do with humans if she is loose in the room. I have talked with people who at one time or another had Lionheads & they had all said that the Lionhead is pretty much like that. Not one of them actually breeds them anymore & went on to different rabbit breeds. So, I would suggest lots of hands on with your rabbits. As for grooming you might want to find a qualified groomer meaning ask lots of questions & even if they own them to help you with handling your rabbit. It is easier with 2 to remove the mat on the hind end. If you do have someone to hold your rabbit then once secure, calm, etc…. take a small comb slide it between your rabbits skin & the mat & then scissor on top of the comb, & then brush out or comb out any remaining tangles. You must put that comb in between though so as to NOT cut the skin. Being a pro groomer I too often see cats & the occasional dog that the owner tried cutting out a mat & ended up cutting the skin with the mat. Yikes!!!!! the comb will prevent that.

My Lionhead changes her living arrangements daily. Her litter box also becomes a nest box, also a place for her to stash things & is moved daily from the corner I put it in. She also hates certain foods that my rabbits growing up with loved. Miss Money Bunny only eats Oat Hay, pellets & the occasional carrot. She turns her nose at all vegetables & even apples. go figure. She though now likes Cherrios, so I give those as treats. My Flemish I got from a show breeder at 4 months of age & he is totally opposite- he eats everything, loves everyone & hops all over the place. Even loves the small dogs. Very different rabbits.