New bunny, new owner

[beezille]

I am picking up my new baby bunny tomorrow

his mom was 2lbs, his dad almost 3lbs…how big will he be?

he is eating kaytee food, what should i feed him. is there something better?

what size cage does a holland lop need

how old before nuetering?

what kind of toys would be good for him

[Beka27]

Welcome!

He’ll probably be about the size of his parents, maybe more, maybe less, unless there is a large breed somewhere in his background.

Kaytee food is okay, but it’s not the best. Oxbow food is very good and it’s sold at PetSmart or you can order it online on this site or other places. If he is a baby bunny, then he’ll need alfalfa food until he’s about 7 months old, and then he needs to be switched to timothy pellets. He is going to need hay everyday, and once he gets settled, you can start to introduce greens to his diet. Eventually he will need at least 2 cups of veggies per day.

The smallest cage he can be in is 2 x 4 feet. Larger is better. I’d recommend you skip the cage and get a puppy exercise pen which is 4 x 4 feet.

Boys can be neutered at about 3-4 months, this is when their testicles descend.

Willow toys are my buns’ favorites. They are available on this site and they are very inexpensive. Petstore toys are not very good for bunnies and they tend to be ignored. You can also do cardboard boxes for hidey houses and phonebooks (with glossy covers ripped off) for shredding and digging.

This is just the very brief rundown… For more specific info, check out the House Rabbit Society http://www.rabbit.org/

And there are info pages at the top of this site under “Bunny Info”

[beezille]

what about manna pro baby bunny food? thats alfalfa based then i can switch to oxbow

how do i start litter training?

do i need a brush?

ive read not to do vitamin drops and that the yogurt drops are more candy and not healthy so i shouldnt get them is that right

ive read about the nic cage, can i make levels or will he hurt himself?

thank you, im trying to read around and learn as much as i can so i can be a good bunmom

[Beka27]

I’m not familiar with Manna Pro food. Oxbow does have an alfalfa-based pellet… it’s the 15/23 kind.

Provide him with a medium size cat box (not a corner litterbox) and put some litter and hay in there. Don’t put litter anywhere else else in his cage. Keep the cage clean, pick any any poops and throw them in the litterbox, clean any pee accidents immediately with a vinegar/water solution. He should start to pick up on where he needs to go. Once he is neutered, it will be easier to train him and there will probably be less marking.

You can use a soft bristle cat brush or one of those slicker brushes, just make sure it’s not too stiff…

Vitamins are not necessary when a rabbit gets a varied diet of hay, veggies and pellets. Yogurt drops are not good treats (most of the stuff at the petstore is not good for bunnies). Better treats would be fresh herbs or raisins.

You can provide levels if you make a NIC condo. You’ll have to be sure to build it correctly and stabilize the levels.

If you have more questions, please ask. Also, spend time on this forum and read some of the other posts. Many of the same questions come up again and again.

[bunnytowne]

Manna pro is more for breeding bucks and does (adult rabbits)    The young are fed it for show or to fatten them up to well eat (eeeew)

Oxbow is the best.   There is the one for baby buns  with alfalfa in the pellets and the one for adults  called Basic T for adults it has timmy pellets.

Most of the store bought toys mine mostly ignore them .   Hey I didnt’ know to tear the cover off the phone book and I have had housebun for almost 3 years now.   Still learning. 

If the Oxbow basic t for adult bunny is too expensive there is Zupreem and Kaytee Timmy pellets.  There are also charts to show how much you should feed an adult bun going by it’s weight.

When you start switching bunny over to the adult diet somebuns are stubborn and insist on alfalfa hay or pellets.  Not to worry keep up with the timmy and bunny will eat it once bun realizes he isnt’ getting the alfalfa anymore he will eat the timmy food.

Oxbow is the best pellets for buns   

Welcome any questions you have just ask.     OH and we want pics pics pics too.    lol… Hopefully we will get to see your new bun when you post a pic to 2.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I think you’ve already had your questions answered-I will ditto the responses though-and Kudo’s on doing your research before hand

Congrats on your new addition-we hope to see pictures when you get him home

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