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Hi everyone! I am a first time house rabbit owner and just brought my 8 week old Holland lop “Oaklin” home yesterday morning. I wanted to get some opinions on if I’m doing everything correctly for him
Originally I wanted to adopt, but saw a post for Oaklin and his siblings claiming that they were an “oops” litter and that the people selling them didn’t know what they would do with them if they didn’t get purchased. So yesterday I picked him up and was given a little baggy of the pellets they have been feeding. I gave him a 1/2 cup of his old pellets with a little of the new pellets I’ll be switching him over too (Oxbow young rabbit). I wanted to wait to switch him over until he was more settled in, but the small bag they gave me really isn’t enough to do a super gradual transition. I left him alone in his new hutch yesterday for the most part. He has access to unlimited 2nd cutting timothy hay and alfalfa. He seemed pretty stressed with the transition but after a few hours I saw him eat both types of hay and some pellets. This morning I found pee and poops in his litter box when I went to clean it. I also saw some poops under his tail and in his hair, so this morning I attempted to clean his bottom a bit. Some of the poop was dried in and I had to cut a little of it out. I didn’t want to over-stress him since I have only had him 24 hours but it seemed necessary. I assume the poopy butt existed before I got him and I just didn’t see it until now. Is it okay that I cut the dried-in poops out? I know I need to take him to the vet for his check-up but I wanted to wait until he was a little more settled in. The car ride would be almost an hour. Overall, Oaklin is curious but very timid. He seems to be itching and cleaning a lot. I’m not sure how much is normal.
I also have a question about hutch flooring. I built Oaklin’s indoor hutch/bunny condo myself. I put in linoleum squares as the flooring. They have a slight texture, but the moment I put Oaklin on it yesterday he was sliding and wouldn’t move much. I covered the whole floor in the fleece blanket I had in his carrier until I can figure out a way to make it more grippy for him. Do you think I could get some of the those shower tub stickers to work? I’m worried about him eating the fleece blanket if I keep it in there long-term.
Sorry for the long post. Thanks for reading!
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It sounds like you’re doing great and he’s having a relatively smooth transition. For the pellets, it’s fine if the transition isn’t super gradual. Just over the course of a week should be fine. It’s great that he’s eating both hays, just make sure you can successfully wean him off the alfalfa when he turns 6 months. As for the poopy butt, what kind of poopy butt? Is it cecals stuck to his butt or the normal hard poops? The normal hard ones usually fall off on their own or just require a gentle tug. I really wouldn’t use scissors because if he kicks while you’re doing it he could hurt himself. If it’s cecals, or if he has those lying around he probably hadn’t gotten a chance to eat them. If it’s actually like liquid stools on his bum, that requires a vet visit. But most buns with get the normal hard poop stuck to their bums, especially fluffy or hairy breeds.
I would still do a vet visit within the first week or two as these are the first crucial weeks away from mom.
Bunnies typically don’t like hardwood or lineoleum as it’s easy for them to slide around on, so he probably won’t be super active with the linoleum in there. I’d keep something like a blanket or bath mat in there with him, a lot of people do use fleece, but you’d have to find out if he’s a chewer first. I’m not sure about the tub stickers or if anyone has had success with that.
A bunny that cleans himself is a good sign. Bunnies are quite avid cleaners. Some buns do naturally itch a bit, especially with lops if you rub their heads too much they tend to shake their ears out after.
As for a timid bun, the best thing you can do is just leave them (like you did!) and let them come to you. You can try hand feeding him pellets and holding your hand out and seeing if he lowers himself. If he lowers, you can give a few pets.
Don’t feed greens until he’s 3 months and fruit until 6 months. Some people try doing this as soon as they get them, so this is just a friendly heads up.Hope you’re enjoying Oaklin
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