I Rescued a Rabbit and Have Some Questions

[ALRyder]

Storytime first…

So, earlier this week I was driving through town, and on the opposite side of the road, there was a small rabbit sitting on the edge of the street right on the white line. People were slowing down, and even honking at it, but it WOULD. NOT. MOVE. So, I made a u-turn, parked, and went to investigate. There are A LOT of feral bunnies in our town that look like your typical domesticated bunny. What I’ve been told, is that people will buy bunnies and then just let them loose on their property. So, I wasn’t sure if this was one of those or not.

Once I got closer, it didn’t run, and it was pretty easy to catch. It just gave me a little huff and calmed down. Its skin felt a little dehydrated, but not too malnourished, maybe a little skinny, but healthy otherwise. So, if it had recently been let loose, I’m thinking it hadn’t been left out for long. It also took right to eating pellets. I’m not sure if that’s really an indicator or not, but I’m thinking it was domesticated at one point and it’s not just a feral offspring. It is a super easygoing rabbit. It lets my nine-year-old hold it, and I’ve let it run around the house a bit, and it’s literally fallen asleep in the middle of the floor half plopped on its side totally relaxed, and it’s fallen asleep in my arms. Not to mention the fact that it obviously has no survival instincts. These to me, all point to it being domestic at one point or another. I posted on Facebook that I had found a rabbit and the general area, but everyone kept saying it was probably wild, and no one has claimed it thus far.

Onto some questions…

It has been many years since I’ve owned a rabbit, let alone brought home a new one. So, I’ve been doing a lot of research as a refresher. Before I had gotten a chance to do this though, I had already fed the rabbit pellets, hay, and some veggies (all safe veggies). I actually kind of figured if it had been out on its own in the “wild”, it had probably been mostly eating fresh plants, and with it feeling dehydrated it might be good to get some extra fluids through food (I mean, I found it on a day that was close to 100 degrees for goodness sake). BUUUT, now everything I’ve read is saying to ONLY feed it hay at first, then introduce fruits and veggies slowly after like 2 weeks. If the rabbit has been pooping fine with the diet I’ve been feeding it though (not runny/no constipation), should I go back to feeding it only hay or just keep doing what I’m doing? I’ve had it now for about 5 days. And admittedly, it is nice to be able to spoil it a little with the end of summer veggies from the garden.

Along those same lines, I’m pretty sure the rabbit is young and still growing, I even think it’s grown a little since I found it. I just don’t know how young. So, should I be wary of feeding it fresh veggies because of that too? There were some mixed things I’ve read about how young you should be feeding a rabbit fresh veggies.

Thanks in advance for any advice given.

[Hazel]

Thank you for saving this bunny! 🙂

Veggies should be safe if it’s not a very young baby and since it’s pooping fine after 5 days, I think you can just keep doing what you’re doing. That’s horrible how people just dump their pet rabbits out there, most of them won’t have the instincts to survive and die. 🙁

[Louiethebunny]

Wow! Thank you for rescuing this bunny! It’s so great that he/she is doing ok, and because it is so social, I would guess it was dumped recently by someone who couldn’t care for it or didn’t want it, which sucks. It may not be possible, however I would try to get it into a vet sometime, that way you can get a general check in on it’s health, sex, age, etc.

[borya01]

Hey, I have always found this article really helpful regarding food. Someone else mentioned about veggies and the age of the rabbit; I can’t add anything there because I don’t know anything about that, so I would heed that person’s advice! But if you end up giving veggies and it’s a good idea for that, this list is helpful. There is a section at the bottom that talks about different types of leafy green veggies to give (they divide them in to two types) and what is good and not good for a rabbit. It helped me a lot. I hope it is useful to you.

 

https://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

 

I did also see this warning in there: “IMPORTANT: Before introducing any fresh foods to a rabbit it is best if he has been eating grass hay for a minimum of 2 weeks. “

[ALRyder]

Thank you so much for the replies. I’m pretty sure it’s a little boy, but its testicles haven’t dropped yet, so he’s somewhere under 4 months. And he most definitely has grown even since I’ve had him, making me a little nervous about how big he’s going to get. Lol. I’m planning on taking him into the vet within the next week if no one claims him by then. Though at this point, it seems highly unlikely that someone will. I finally broke down and let my daughter name him, Detective Snicker.

I’ve seen that warning about eating fresh foods a few times. That’s why I wanted to see what others thought, but as I said, his poops have stayed consistent with no issues. So, I’m thinking his diet has been good for him. It probably would have been easier to judge these things if I had adopted him under “normal” circumstances.

Another thing I was curious about is what everyone’s opinion on different types of hay is. I was thinking of getting him some alfalfa to mix in with the orchard grass hay that I got since he’s still young. Has anyone done this in the past and had any issues transitioning once they’re an adult? Any opinions on what the best kind of hay to feed your rabbit in general is? I’ve mostly just seen the options Timothy, Orchard Grass, and Alfalfa. Or does most everyone just mix their hays?

[pinkiemarie]

Can we get a picture of this bun just to confirm your thoughts that it’s domesticated (also because bunnies are cute and I want to see what he looks like)? It’s also very hard to tell a male from a female unless there are visible testicles so it could be a girl. A vet visit is definitely in order as well since your guess on age could be off and if it’s a female she could be ready for her spay. Thank you so much for helping this bunny!

[ALRyder]

Sorry, I’ve been super busy and haven’t had much of a chance to get online.

I am not totally lost to the way of rabbits, though it has been a while since I’ve owned one. I used to work at a veterinary clinic where we would occasionally sex rabbits and check on their health and such. This little guy wasn’t too hard to sex, because his privates are definitely more stem like, rather than like a flower petal. At least that seems the mildest way to describe it. Lol.

It seems odd, but there are so sorts of things you forget though, and it seems best to ask other rabbit owners. Like, I can’t remember how long it took to litter box train my previous rabbit.

Also, some things seem to have changed. For instance, it seems more popular to only feed unlimited hay, and some fresh greens every morning. We used to feed ours unlimited pellets as well. I’m wondering what other people’s experience with this has been, and opinions.

As an update, my daughter and I have already started teaching Detective Snicker some tricks. He can now come, stand up, and spin on command. He’s a pretty cool rabbit. But it’s not letting me upload photos on here. I tried a few different ones, but I’m on my phone. Is there a trick I just don’t know?

[ALRyder]

Ah! I figured out the pictures on my computer. Here are a few.

 

[caption id="attachment_1936565" align="alignnone" width="320"] This one is when we first found him and I only had a box at work to put him in.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1936563" align="alignnone" width="320"] Now he’s gotten more comfortable and hops into my lap.[/caption]

 

[Bam]

Hi! Thank you for rescuing this rabbit! He is adorable!

With baby buns (under 6 months), the House Rabbit Society still recommendes unlimited pellets and alfalfa hay as well as grass hay. They set the appropriate age for intro of greens to 12 weeks.  Unlimited pellets can be a bit too much for some baby buns to handle, meaning they’ll gorge themselves, so its safest to give smallish portions and refill the bowl when its been emptied. A good way to make sure a bun doesn’t eat too fast is to scatter the pellets around the bunny area. That is also a more natural way for a bun to eat, they are genetically adapted to foraging for their food.

For a healthy, adult bun who isn’t pregnant or lactating, the bulk of the food should be grass hay. But your young Detective is growing rapidly right now, and needs a lot more protein and calcium than an adult bun does.

As for how long it takes to litter train a rabbit, it varies a lot between individuals. I had one young bun who littertrained himself in like a day or so, another one who took sth like 6 weeks (but he was fully adult and had probably never seen a litterbox before). When your boy hits puberty he will likely start to pee and poop mark, and good litterbox habits will be difficult to maintain until he is neutered.

 

[ALRyder]

Thank you for this advice on the pellets. I’ve been back and forth on what to do about the pellets. He’s been getting unlimited grass hay with a mix of alfalfa, and we made some paper towel roll toys stuffed with alfalfa (which he usually finishes by the end of the day). He gets his greens in the morning with a handful of pellets, and the occasional slice of random fruit or veggie (cherry tomatoes, pear, this morning we just tried a slice of cucumber, etc…). We’ve been doling out more pellets slowly as treats for tricks at night (along with the occasional carrot shred, parsley, or oregano.). He’s gotten to the point where he runs to us and does a trick at random in hopes of getting a treat, or just stands on your leg and begs. My husband says it’s because we spoil him too much. So far, he’s just been growing at a good pace, and no signs of chubbiness or issues with his stool.

[Bam]

It really sounds like you are doing a great job with him! If he’s growing at a good pace I don’t think you need to free feed him pellets. The alfalfa has extra protein and calcium and it also has lots of good fiber for the tummy and teeth.

It sounds like he’s getting a great diet and a stimulating environment! He certainly won the lottery with you 😊

[Hazel]

He sounds like a fun little guy! Don’t worry about spoiling him, there’s no way to have a rabbit and not spoil it. 😉  He’s adorable, I love his markings!

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