Finally got a bun for the pen!!!

[mattman0182]

I ended up going to the pet store to get a dwarf. I called the pound, but they did not have any dwarves. I  can, perhaps, say it is still a rescue as the person who would have gotten him may not have done any research on care and things like that.

Its a little black dwarf with one white paw. He is too young to sex so for now his name is Martin. If he turns out to be a she, it will be Martina. I will get up with the pet store tomorrow to find a more accurate estimate of his age. This leads me to a couple questions:

How old should a bunny be before he/she is neutered?

I have pellets and orchard grass in the pen, but should I go and get  some alphalpha instead? When is the proper time to introduce fruits and veggies? I read the guidlines here, but im not sure if the youngster should be introduced so fast. (The pet store gave them pellets only). I do have some parsley that I went and got him at the store, have not given it to him yet.

Why I picked him: There was another in the cage with him that was slightly older, but I picked little Martin because he seemed a little warmer. I mean he came right to me and did not act afraid. He was very calm and was sleeping when we got to the store. He seemed to happy to be in my pen. He started exploring and hopping around. Now he is sitting on the towels I put there for him. He ate pelllets and orchard grass and drank water. He even left some of his own pellets. I got them up and put them in his litter box to try to teach him.  Sorry about the long read but thanks for reading!!!

Side note: The service from the BinkyBunny store was outstanding. I did not have to wait long for my supplies. They were welll packed as if a lot of care had been given. So I will be ordering more things as funds become available.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi Mattman! What a great addition!

Males can be neutered as soon as the testicles descend at about 3 1/2 to 4 months old and females, vets ten to wait longer as it is an invasive surgery and opt for 5-7 months to spay. Talk to your local rabbit-savvy vet about what they recommend or are comfortable with.

Usually the younger rabbits get either alfalfa hay or alfalfa-based pellets. What kind of pellets is he being fed? I am disappointed to hear he was not getting any hay. Hay, as I am sure you know since you’ve been doing so much research, is an essential part of their diet.

Do you have any idea how old he is?

So glad to hear about the Binky Bunny store service! I’ve had the same experience as well and she does care very much and it shows. : )

[mattman0182]

Thanks…Well my local walmart has Timothy hay..i figured he may be a little young for that. The pet store has alfalfa but that is 40 mins away. My gf well go get me some alfalfa on her way to visit me tomorrow. It should be in Martin’s pen by 8 pm.

[Deleted User]

Happy to hear you have yourself a bunny now lol.  🙂

Oh thats good to hear … lotsa hay is a must and unlimited supply.

Don’t introduce greens too quickly … the pellets and hay is ample for now … not sure on the age to commence the greens but I think it is about 3 months old.

Dawn xx

[mattman0182]

One more thing I noticed. I left a little bowl of pellets with him in the pen but he wont stop eating. Should I let him finish the bowl? Should I take the food away? I just dont want the little thing to become obese. I know my dog and cat wont stop eating until all of the food is gone. Bunnies must be the same way.

[kimberleyanddarren]

ow ow we want piccies! hehe
lovely adition to your family, hope it all goes well!
and i wonder if BB has an update on the international shipping?

[2buns2luv]

When we first bought home our Holland Lop, Luna. She ate like she’d been starved. She still does and she is now approximately 4 months old. She has always enjoyed her food and has never turned her nose away at anything we’ve introduced her too. During her visit to the vet only about 3 weeks ago, she weighed 1.52kgs (sorry, not sure on lbs) vet said that she was “perfect” weight. if she is active, producing firm but not hard ‘bunny balls” and drinking plenty of water I don’t think you should be too worried about her weight just now.

I could be wrong, since I’m also fairly new to being a bunny slave

[Deleted User]

Hi Mattman, congratulations on joining the ranks of Bunny Slaves. I would not worry about obesity now. As they get older, you cut out the high calorie alfalfa grass and pellets and go to a timothy based hay and pellets diet. The pellets are by weight of the bun, hay would be unlimited.

And Binky Bunny does do a great job with there mail order service. I was in the business for many years and really appreciate the speed and the quality of the packaging

[Beka27]

HRS recommends you feed unlimited pellets until 7 months.  i wouldn’t go too overboard tho.  don’t give him 2 cups a day or anything.  you can start introducing veggies at 12 weeks, one at a time.  i’d suggest doing one veggie per week, same veggie each day.  the next week add a new one.  you need to make sure his system is handling it okay.  oftentimes with pet store buns they are weaned form mama waaaaaaay too young.  wait until bunny sees a vet and you get an approx. age.  you can’t go on what the pet store says.  i would set up an appt with a rabbit savvy vet within the next couple of weeks to have him checked over.  pet stores are infamous for selling less-than-healthy bunnies (and other pets).

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

OHH Pictures PUHHHH-LEASE!!

Congrats on your new bunny!! Woohoo!!

[kimberleyanddarren]

yes pics pics pics!

[kimberleyanddarren]

yes pics pics pics!

[Lisa_43]

We love bunny pictures, never can get enough of them.

[BinkyBunny]

mattman, thanks for the compliments! You’ve been given some great advice already.  Beka was right on about diet, and Scarlet about the spay/neuter. An extremely important part to this though is finding a rabbit savvy vet. Not all vets are rabbit savvy. Do you already have a vet that you trust? If not here are some great tips on how to find a rabbit savvy vet.  http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/vet.html

Congrats on your new bunny! S/he sounds adorable.  Can’t wait to see pictures.

[mattman0182]

Finally some pics of Martin/Martina!!

[Beka27]

oh, s/he is adorable… even for a girl “Marti” would be a sweet name too…

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Oh wow great ‘Pad’ she has!! SOO cute!!

[RabbitPam]

So cute! I love the little white paw – looks like a French manicure.

I’m not one of the experts, but here’s my 2 cents: if you get him/her some hay right away to get it a fixed part of the diet immediately, then you can order some very good quality hays with different flavors and contents on line. They should arrive by the time you want to try something new. I’m sure good local Timothy to start is better than anything the pet store was providing. Others here have raved about the Bunny Blend (from this site’s store, right?) for bunnies that are finicky. Doesn’t sound like you have that problem.

I agree, don’t worry about obesity. S/he’s still growing, so like children, have huge appetites followed by growth spurts. Also, the energy of a baby bunny’s playtime (zooming around running, jumping, binkies) is the equivalent of exercise. Like humans, eat, burn it off. If you want to start slowly, get or build an x-pen for a good play space and workout without spoiling it with the total run of your home. The other rooms can be introduced gradually as well. And they love toys!
Congrats!!!

[MooBunnay]

What an adorable little bun bun!! That teeny white paw is sooo cute I have a Martin as well, he is all black with a white nose. As has already been mentioned – its OK for the bun to have more pellets as a baby than they would as an adult because they are still in the growing stage, but you do want to also encourage eating hay as well for their teeth and digestive tract.

Also – I’d really recommend looking into that rabbit-savvy vet link that BinkyBunny posted – sometimes pet store bunnies can get sick quite easily as babies, since they are so young to be away from their mother’s, so having a vet that you can call is essential.

Give Martin a “welcome home” head pet for me!

[bunnytowne]

cute so little Martin with his tip toe ahaa. white tip toe.  I love your set up too. wow great idea. Mine is eating all the time she is a baby too. I just let her eat. I didn’t knwo I had to wait til about 12 weeks to introduce vegies I have been giving her a little bit of them a real small amount and she is handling it good. and lots n lots of hay

[skunklionshow]

So cute!  I love the dainty white toes.  W/ younger animals, overfeeding is not really a huge concern, as long as you are not going overboard w/ food.  Babies do go through growth spurts, hi caloric intake, and hi activity.  If your vet feels he/ she is getting chunky, they’ll let you know.

I believe for Kgs & Lbs.  There are 2.2 lbs for every Kilograms.  Knowing that I can usually figure out the overall weights.  Don’t ask me to give the formula b/c I’ve never been able to explain how to do, I just can.  Boy that sound awful having been a teacher!

[mattman0182]

Martin/a has access to plenty of alfalfa at all times…..the only two trouble spots at the moment are eeing,not pooping in the litter box. And S/HE is very shy. I will have to hold him and sit around him so he warms up to me. Thanks for the replies and compliments. I am off on Monday so I will calla vet then.   I talked to some people at work and they suggested me a vet that is very good with rab’s. Its 20 mins away. I will take him for a check-up in 1 to 2 weeks and to be properly sexed. What age is a good time to tell the sex of the animal? Im told the bun is 3 months old, but I believe he must be a little younger.

I really want to take good care of him because we have grown attached to the little creature very fast. We also love the white paw lol. I actually have the pen 2 feet away from my bed lol.  Its just that whenever he hears me walk into the room he hides in his Bun Run/Home.He comes out, but usually does not let me touch him. Guess I should hang around him so he gets used to me.

[katieh]

No advice to give, but I had to comment on how absolutely adorable Martin is. Congratulations!!!

[BinkyBunny]

cute cute cute!!!! What a wonderful pen too! Lucky bunny to have you. I noticed that s/he is sitting on the wood floor. Rabbit urine can burn a wood floor in no time, so you may want to put down some sheet vinyl or tarp, but whatever waterproof thing you use, you want to make sure the edges are out passed the pen, not within the pen because bunny urine could roll over the edges and get trapped underneath. Also the edges can be enticing for a bunny to chew.

[Author]

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