Is my baby buns too young for a condo??

[NuBunnyMom]

First I would like to say this website has been the most helpful website I have found for all my new bunny information!  I am completely new to owning rabbits, but have decided to bring two new babies into our home.  I have reading everything that I can get my hands on for the last few months.  The new buns will not be here for another month, but I am already planning their future NIC Condo.  However, I am concerned that I am getting ahead of myself on building the condo.   When my babies get here will they be too young for something so big with the option of a second story?  Any opinions and advice will be greatly appreciated.  

[Usagi5]

When they first come into your home I would start them in a smaller cage, but then upgrade to the NIC Condo. Your bunnies will be overwhelmed when they enter the new environment so to keep them confined to a smaller space may help keep their stress level down. Within a week or so when ever your bunnies seem to have gotten used to the environment you could upgrade to the NIC Condo to allow them to have more space.

Hope this helped!

[BunnyDuck]

My bun had babies so originally I changed my NIC condo into just ground level, and blocked all around the edges so they couldn’t escape through the gaps. My bun needed to escape from the babies sometimes, so I made a little shelf for her to jump up to with NIC cubes and it was about 14 inches off the ground. By the time the babies were 5 or 6 weeks old they could jump up to the shelf and by 6 or 7 weeks they couldn’t fit through the gapes in the cage anymore…

So jumping up to higher levels shouldn’t be too difficult for them, it just takes them time to figure out it’s there and have the confidence to jump up and down. Also, if you’re worried about them jumping up and down, you could always put ramps in.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

I’d start big, they can grow into it. Keep a box or something inside it that they can retreat to if over-stimulated, but no bun will be mad that it has too much space

A couple things though, even if you plan on getting siblings, you will need to plan on keeping them separate because once the hormones kick in, they will fight. You’ll also need to make sure you have an exotic vet, and ideally an initial appt to check health and confirm the sex of the rabbit, as baby bunnies are extremely difficult to tell and often aren’t what you thought they were hah. Boy and girl siblings can and will mate as early as 8 weeks, which means they will need to be in separate pens as soon as you get them, with no “play time” together unless/until you get them spayed or neutered.

Welcome and ask away!

[KytKattin]

If at all possible, try going to your local HRS or shelter and see if they have any already bonded bunnies available for adoption. Not only would you avoid the stress of having two hormonal rabbits, and then the stress (and expense!) of having them go through major surgery, and then the stress of trying to bond them, but you would also be doing a wonderful thing for two rabbits that do already care for each other that might not be adopted together otherwise. And then you can just put the adult bunnies in the condo you already build instead of worrying about size! Not that adult has to be that old. Many bunnies are less than a year old in the shelter system.

[Monkeybun]

The problem with NIC cages for babies is sometimes babies can fit their heads through the little squares. I would not use a NIC cage until they are bigger.

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