Harper my new flemmie!!

[flemish giant]

 so we brought home Harper yesterday! Here she is in her carrier.

she i believe is either a light grey or steel grey cant decide which. her dad was black and her mom was light grey. shes also the first rabbit i have heard of being scared to jump into a litter box. my others did it right away. she also hasnt eatin much hay yet so that will have to be fixed. she has a vet appointment next friday just to make sure shes healthy and to cut her nails. i dont want to do it the first time until im more comfortable picking her fat butt up. any opinions on what her color may be? also is alfalfa pellets until a year ok? i read either on this forum or another that a moderator did this for his flemmies bc of how long they grow. heres another pic, tell me what you think on color.

[manic_muncher]

When I was researching the different breeds, Flems were one type I was considering. I also read that they mature fully around a year old and that many people continued with unlimited alfalfa pellets until then. Perhaps someone else can give more input on this. As for her color, from all the pics I’ve looked at, I’d guess light grey. I hope she will get used to the litterbox soon. Maybe she’d be more willing with a lower-sided one, or maybe cutout an opening on the side for her to easily step into it. She’s beautiful! Congrats and good luck!

[CheriB603]

Yay! Always nice to have another Flemmie on BB!!  Here is my almost 5 month old Flemmie, Jo-Jo. She is a light gray and looks very similar to Harper! 

[flemish giant]

I will see if she gets more used to the litter box. If not what could I cut it with?

I love jo-jo! Where’d you get that castle box from?

[CheriB603]

That is the “Planet Petco Cat Castle” from Petco. You’ll find a lot of accessories you’ll need for your Flemmie will come from the cat section rather than the bunny section!

[flemish giant]

I will have to see if I can find that. My rabbits would love it!

[manic_muncher]

Is that her litter box in the second pic, behind the water bowl? It looks like the sides might be around 6″ tall. I’m re-thinking the cutting of one side, it would be a pain unless you have access to power tools, a hand saw, or maybe a hand-held propane torch to heat up something metal to cut it like butter. It also appears to be a really nice storage container. Maybe pick up one of those really cheap cat litter pans (about $4), the sides on those are only about 4″. That way you wouldn’t have to trim anything and would be able to use the storage container with the higher sides later, once she accepts hopping into a box.

[CheriB603]

I use an under-bed storage box for Jo’s litterbox. Sides are maybe 3 inches high. She never pees over the side, so it works for her. I think it is 24 x 16. I hang her food bowl over it cuz she poops where she eats. :-/

[LittlePuffyTail]

She’s beautiful! Congrats!

[flemish giant]

She not peeing over the side she just pees wherever she wants. I will measure the sides in a min. She never got in a regular cat litter box either but I figured it was too small.

[flemish giant]

I need some tips on potty training. She’s just not learning. She’s peeing wherever.

[jerseygirl]

Beautiful!! I love the name you’ve given her also.

What kind of litter are you using? Maybe she’s unsure about it.
You could try just newspaper to start off to see if she likes it underfoot better.

[flemish giant]

I have pine pellets but I put hay on top for footing. Would just newspaper and hay be better?

[CheriB603]

If she didn’t use a litter box w/ the breeder, then just being near one for the past few days won’t give her the idea. Where is her food dish in relation to her box? I had to actually put Jo’s dish IN her box because she likes to poo while she eats. And don’t forget – she really won’t be reliably trainable until after she’s spayed. Good luck!

[flemish giant]

Its outside of it. I’m not really concerned with poop its the pee. She can poop as much as she wants outside of it but I draw the line at pee.

[jerseygirl]

I think it’s probably because she in a new space and she’s marking a bit.

Newspaper won’t be better at absorbing the pee but it might show you whether is the wood pellets she’s unsure about. Try copy what she had where she was before.

Soak up the pee in paper towel and put that in the box so the smell goes there.

[flemish giant]

I’ll continue putting the paper towels in there. Hopefully she will catch on. Now that I put the water above she gets in it more.,

[flemish giant]

So for hay I’m going to put hay in some cardboard tubes. If she still doesn’t eat any should I reduce pellets?

[MoveDiagonally]

Congrats on the new bunny!

I would just let her run out of pellets from time to time. With unlimited pellets I would fill their bowls in the morning and again in the evening. They would run out in the afternoon and middle of the night and munch on hay instead. Another option would be to let her have pellets all day and then take them away at night. “Unlimited Pellets” doesn’t always have to mean constant access to pellets.

What kind of hay are you feeding? Orchard Hay is usually a favorite for picky bunnies. You could also mix in some alfalfa hay with some timothy or orchard.

[flemish giant]

Bermuda with a little timothy and alfalfa.

[flemish giant]

Still no hay being eating as far as I can see

[jerseygirl]

“Unlimited Pellets” doesn’t always have to mean constant access to pellets.

MD, that is such a good point!

[Beka27]

Was she in a wire bottom cage before? Is she young or is she an adult? I know you were looking at a couple different buns.

It may take awhile for her to become used to the litter box if before her pee just “disappeared”.

What kind of cage is she in? You might consider putting litter everywhere for a week or so. This way she’ll get used to peeing on the litter… And then she may associate the litter in the box with where she needs to pee.

This is backwards from the usual recommendation, but it may help.

[flemish giant]

She was on wire bottom and she’s 5 months. I think she has the peeing down so that’s good. She didn’t pee on the floor today. I still haven’t gotten her to eat hay. I’ve mixed it with her food she moves it out I’ve gave her toys she doesn’t use them I’ve added 3 different hays and she’s just not interested.

[Tessie]

What a beautiful bunny!

[flemish giant]

Thanks!

[flemish giant]

Still no hay that I can see.

[Tate]

Give her alfalfa

[flemish giant]

I’ve given alfalfa

[Tate]

Oat hay? If you can find it….

[Tate]

My rabbits also love APD Timothy Gold. Trust me, that one is well worth shipping to your house (unless you can find it in a store!).

[flemish giant]

I think its that she’s never had it before and never seen it eatin so she doesn’t know what it is. Maybe after I take her to the vet I could let her observe peeta and Polly? Would that help? I just think she needs to learn its food.

[flemish giant]

So vet said she has ear mites so I have to give the second dose in 2 weeks and then a week after that she can be near other rabbits. He also suggested that I let her observe peeta and Polly and hopefully she will learn.

[Timberlee Fields]

I use puppy pads for my Flemmie. His pellets, water and hay are all in the corner on the pad so he has to be on it to eat or drink. (:

[MissDashie]

That bun is SO cute! Congrats

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