Found a rabbit outside- we’re keeping him! [PIC HEAVY]

[Dizzy]

And we can’t decide on a name for him! Originally called S’mores, but now that he’s home we’re considering a more apt name, like “Attila the Bun” and “El Chapo”, but we’re considering other options as well! 

 We found him around 3 weeks ago, and since whatever previous owner he had never contacted us (and my mom has a real weakness for bunnies)… He’s ours now! 

One thing: he wasn’t in the best condition when we found him- in the pictures in the car, you can see he’s covered in what must be urine stains and is pretty thin. I’m hoping the stains will come out in the spring molt, and were working on fattening him up. If you have any advice, I’d love to hear it. Right now we are just free-feeding his food and giving him lots of fresh veggies. (And unlimited hay, of course, although he eats less when he has the food available.)

       

    

3 weeks later he’s MUCH more comfortable here! He loves greens, especially broccoli and dandelion! His fur looks better (not great, but better), and he’s already binkied and flopped all over his room! I say ‘his room’, because, although we had a pen in the beginning, he proved to be quite the escape artist, so we bunny proofed the downstairs middle room and gave it to him- and he’s constantly on the lookout for more places to conquer! He’s still on pet store rabbit food – (Wild Harvest- a mix- and no good.) but we’ve got Sherwood Forest on the way. He has GREAT litter habits and tolerates being picked up well enough. Adorable!

    

[tobyluv]

Welcome to Binky Bunny!  Thank you for taking in this poor rabbit who probably wouldn’t have lasted much longer outside. It’s wonderful that he now has a loving home with plenty of food and care. You didn’t mention if he had seen a vet yet. It might be a good idea to have him checked over.

He looks very comfy and happy!

[Q8bunny]

Oh my goodness he’s a looker! He instantly reminded me of Hidalgo (the horse) because of his markings.

I’m so happy that you found him… talk about a real conquest! lol

[Moothebun]

Attila the bun lol whenever i think of attila i just think of the band! Hes very cute!

[Dizzy]

@tobyluv – I’m trying to convince my Mom, but she doesn’t see anything wrong, so she doesn’t see a point. I’ve bought up the possibility of worms and getting him in the vet’s system, but she’s not quite in yet. I’m close, though.

@ everyone else – Thanks! He is even cuter in real life! <3 He'll follow me up the stairs in the morning to see if he can sneak up there, and wherever else there's a door open! Naughty bun!

[Fiver's Mom]

What a sweetie !
Love the pic where he’s flopped on the floor… showing everyone “The Bunny Butt” !

[Gina.Jenny]

I rescued two feral little girl buns last summer, and used barley rings as a diet supplement, which are meant for helping horses gain weight. The girls really loved crunching them up. They started on one a day and gradually went up to three a day, plus good quality rabbit pellets, grasstime, unlimited hay and plenty of green leafy veg. They took around five months to reach a nice healthy weight. Jenny took longer to find and catch, and there is still a noticeable difference in the coarseness of her fur compared to Gina, who we caught sooner, or Pippi, who we had from a baby, although nowhere near as noticeable as it was when we first had her.

[Brandon]

He’s cute! Always sad to see what was obviously a pet abandoned in the wild. Good on you for taking him in… he looks happy!

[Dizzy]

Thanks everyone! I’ll look into those barley rings. I live in a fairly rural area so I’ll see if I can check around farm stores and the like.

He was almost scarily easy to catch, and the people that worked in the building next to where we found him said he’d been there for a couple days. Poor guy was probably dumped in that field. Right nest to a road!  It’s nice to hear that the weight gain happened slowly- that really puts my mind at ease.

Also- we don’t plan on neutering him unless its really necessary. He doesn’t display any hormonal behavior (yet?) aside from occasional honking, and I don’t want to go through surgery if its not necessary. 

[Gina.Jenny]

Slow steady weight gain is the best. Anywhere that sells horse food should sell them, I only needed 1kg for both girls, which cost £1.50 sterling, so not expensive at all. Any diet changes should also be slow and steady, so my girls only got one barley ring a day for the first week, then two for the second week, then three a day till the weight was nearly high enough, at which point I gradually reduced them, down to two and then one a day til they were all gone. I didn’t want to end up with overweight bunnies either!

You can see today’s pics of my girls in the bonding forum thread with their names, Gina is the rust coloured one, and Jenny the dark grey one.

[Q8bunny]

Oats are also great for a bit of weight gain – sprinkled over his food, for instance.

[Hopper]

He looks so happy! Maybe alfaalfa hay will help? Its rich in protein… Does anyone know if it would help?

[cinnybun2015]

Adorable!! And so floppy! So good that you decided to take in an animal in need.

[Niamian]

Adorable little guy, I’m so happy you found each other.
I really love the picture on the couch, he looks so happy!

[Dizzy]

Thank you guys so much for your help! Barley rings seem to be more of a UK thing, from my research, but I’ll keep an eye out! (I’m in the US) I can definitely feed oats, though, and will start ASAP, since they’re in my house. The Wild Harvest mix food he’s on now is mostly alfalfa pellets and oily seeds(which is the composition of the barley rings, I read), so if that helps, I can sift through it keep feeding those in addition to Sherwood Forest, once I get it. Anything that could help!

I was lurking here for a little while before I found him (Coincidence? Fate?) just to satisfy curiosity, so I’m a little familiar with some of you guy’s rabbits! They are all adorable! I love reading about them!

[SirHopsALot]

Now that you mention it, I see it it!! Hidalgo was my favorite film growing up!

He’s a beauty

[SirHopsALot]

Call him Hidalgo…. they’re both strong survivors.

[Azerane]

How did I miss this thread?!?! He is absolutely gorgeous. I just love his markings and colours. It’s so wonderful that you’ve given him a good home and are restoring him to good health. What a gorgeous, charming bunn he is.

[Bunbun]

He is absolutely ADORABLE! I’m so happy for you and the little bun! I wish I could see happy things like this everyday!!!

[Dizzy]

Thanks!! The new food finally came in the mail the other day! Transitioning to a new food is more difficult than I thought! Since he’s free fed (for now, at least) he’ll only eat the new pellets last.  What a diva. But he’s doing great otherwise! Steady weight gain, and generally having a fun time. He loves greens! We took him to my Dad’s for spring break, and he loved sharing a room with us! Though, I think he just liked all the attention he got! I have a couple new pictures, too:

    

[Bam]

He’s adorable! What a beautiful face!
It can be a bit tricky to switch a bun over to healthier food, but if you do it slowly and relentlessly you’ll get there =)

[Azerane]

He is just the cutest, I love his markings. So glad to hear that things are going well

[Q8bunny]

Have you picked a name for Hidalgo yet?

Seriously… he’s darling and I’m so glad he’s doing well.

[Dizzy]

@Q8bunny – LOL! No, I can’t get my whole family to agree on one! I’ll keep looking for the perfect one, though!

[Flanyb]

Ohh so cute !!! he looks so photogenic, it’s a real star that you’ve got here
I have to be honest, Attila the bun was such a good idea for the name I loved it, but I guess it didn’t get the vote from everyone…

[Love4Bunny]

Dizzy, it warms my bunny-lovin’ heart to see you take him in and give him a better life. He is precious. With the name thing, sometimes one ends up giving their bunny 2 or 3 names, so it may start out as a name you are “meh” about, and then you can sneak in Attila the Bun 😉 😉 I wished I’d named my rabbit, “General Zod”. He already has a few nicknames, but I think I could create a villain alter-ego, and then yours and mine could rule the universe, haha.

[Sparky04]

Welcome! That’s how we got Mordecai, we found him outside and ended up keeping him.

[GabbyW]

That is such a cute bunny! He’s so lucky to have found a loving home with you. =]

[Luna's Bunny Mama]

Oh my, what a handsome fella! He just looks like he’s got a great personality. My favorite picture is the side profile you used as your avatar. Hope raising your new bun is a wonderful adventure!

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