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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.
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Hi there! I’m new, in my opinion, to rabbits. I got my first bunny, well technically she was my soon-to-be-husband’s rabbit, 4/24/15. Marshmallow is a dwarf hotot, with black eye bands, I think she carries the blue eyed gene as her eyes changed color from 4 weeks to 8 weeks. For the record, I was appalled when I learned rabbits aren’t supposed to leave their mothers’ till 8 weeks of age. Here’s a photo of her in Oct 2015, she’ll be a year old March 27, 2016.
Everything I’ve read so far, claims does are mean. She’s feisty, but not mean. She’s a hand slapper. If she’s displeased with what you’re doing or tires of petting, she’ll take her front paws together and literally slap your hand. She’s also my chewer. I have to say rabbit proofing out-stripes baby proofing any day!
Then I caught rabbit fever. I thought Marshy needed a companion, so a couple months later, I got Cookie. A woefully, I’m not sure she was even 4 weeks old, undersized “mini” Rex doe. She was so tiny, and I just couldn’t help it. We actually had to nurse her for a week and a half on kitten replacer milk. Then she took off growing, and she’s slightly oversized for a Mini Rex, so I think she’s a false dwarf. But I love her dearly. We had to separate Cookie and Marshmallow as Marshmallow wouldn’t stop humping her in a dominance display. She always forced the younger Cookie to stay in the litter box as she didn’t want the waste all over her cage… Yeah, Marshmallow is a bundle of dynamite that way ^^. (That was my first mistake, as Marshy was too old to introduce a cage mate safely. They went through a phase were they fought now they give each other kisses through their rabbitat bars.
This is Cookie, who’s approximately 5-6 mos old. Give or take.
Again, this photo is from Oct. 2015
My mother absolutely loved having the rabbits come over and play at her house. Her Grandbunnies, lol. So my partner and I decided to get her one of her own. Thumper is a lop mix, best we can tell, Holland and mini lop. He’s 6lbs and again 5-6 mos old best estimate. We thought he was a female also, turns out he wasn’t. Well, my mom while loving rabbits visisting, wasn’t up for the challenge of caring for one.
I really need current Photos… This is 10/2015
So we are now up to rabbit number three. So yeah, there’s my lagomorph family members. I really, really need to update their pictures.
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Welcome to the forums! Your bunnies are adorable!
Just to let you know, here on BB ongoing discussions of accidental or intentional breeding are not allowed. You can read the rule here:
https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/10084/Default.aspx . We would be happy to discuss other aspects of your rabbits and their care.
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Sorry about that,I must have missed it in the ToS/Rules. Edited accordingly. Although I’m curious why accidental breeding isn’t allowed to be discussed.
That’s neither here nor there, so apologies again. Thank you for the link, I will go over it thoroughly. Edit 1, found out why accidental breeding isn’t allowed to be discussed. I wasn’t meaning to discuss it directly, more like an “oh because we thought they were both girls and we were wrong…,this is how we got to rabbit 4 and 5” way
. I have fallen in love with rabbits as companions, I’d always heard rabbits weren’t friendly, or playful, and very messy (which can happen if you don’t supervise them closely or have designated play areas), wild, and hard to keep, they have to be outside, and blah blah blah… If I’d known what a rabbit as a companion was earlier in life. I would encourage someone curious about rabbits to befriend a rabbit owner and hang out with their companions, see what’s involved in their care and keeping. I found there are HUGE misconceptions about rabbits among the general populace unless they’ve owned rabbits.
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Okay, Then I can ask, What is the BEST diet for non meat/fur and Non Showing rabbits? There seems to be a lot of debate about what to feed what, and I’m not raising rabbits for show or profit. It’s not like there’s a Science Diet or Blue Buffalo of feed for Rabbits as they are still “new” as a companion animal where I live. Trying to find Rabbit Experienced vet has been challenging enough. Some things say lots of greens, other object as it can lead to wet tail so grass and pellets are best. Grass is essential, but timothy is better than alfalfa, but some say no alfalfa at all vs not after 6 mos vs not after 8 mos….
It’s intimidating guess/testing diets that work best. -
Your buns are adorable
Where are you from (so someone living in your country/state might be able to suggest where to get food)? I can only tell you what I feed. It may not be optimal (maybe it is), but I’ve found it worked for Milly and I’m moving Roza to it slowly. I feed 1/8 cup pellets per day. I started on Oxbow for pellets and hay (there is indeed brands like Blue Buffalo and Purina for rabbits!) and have a bag of smallpetselect that I’m going to try next. Timothy hay available at all times, which I also am using smallpetselect for that, but I am thinking about trying out Tractor Supply for their hay. I like to give greens day and night and I like to give a variety (Milly kind of forced this one even more as she got bored of the same greens more than a few days at a time). Right now, because Roza is so new to being indoors and eating greens, I am just giving her one or two romaine lettuce leaves and a bit of fennel. For Milly, she used to get fennel(her favorite) romaine, bok choy, tatsoi, cucumber, collard greens(really anything that was in season at my Co-op) and sparingly: kale, banana, carrots, apples, dried papaya, and dried pineapple(I only give tiny slices of the dried fruit once a week), etc. Roza’s former owner sent her with some seed balls (I think they came from Walmart). I have been feeding them to her as a treat until they are gone, but I’m not sure if I will repurchase as I’m not sure if she should really be eating them. I hope this helps.
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