post from lil piggie about new bunny

[Gravehearted]

lil piggie    Posts: 2

06/01/2008 3:12 PM [script removed]Alert  Hello All, I am on Safari and unable to post new topic, so I thought that this was the most relevant place to get my questions answered. Sorry. Ok so…. I just got a rabbit a few days ago, i’ve had some experience with rabbits before, but never one this young. The people at the pet shop said she/he was about 6-7 weeks old (which I now realize is kinda of young to be away from mom) and that she (we’ll just call it she) was a netherland dwarf. She is very small fits in the palm of my hand. I named her Piglet since she eats like a little piggie. She seems to be doing just fine. She is drinking (from a dish, her tongue isn’t strong enough for the water bottle), eating pellets made for young rabbits and a mixture of timothy and alfalfa hay, and using the restroom regularly with solid poops. She doesn’t seem to be excessively fearful. I have a lot of questions: Is she too young to litter train? How should I bond with her? I’ve read not to feed them veggies until they are about 12 weeks, is this correct? How soon will I be able to tell the gender? I’m sure I’ll have more later. Any advice or tips will be greatly appreciated! Nikki

[Gravehearted]

welcome to binkybunny Nikki~! Congrats on your new bunny, she sounds like a very cute lil piggie.
You can start to work with her on her litterbox habits – but many bunnies don’t get the hang of it until after they’ve been spayed or neutered. if you look on the site under bunny info there are a lot of helpful hints on litterbox training. bunnies often respond well to people laying on the floor with them or hand feeding them. you could even hand feed her hay or pellets. i’d wait unitl the 12 weeks to start veggies.
gender can be tough to tell in some bunnies! you can always take her to the vet to have them confirm it.

this might help you: http://www.debmark.com/rabbits/sexing.htm

[Beka27]

i’m sorry, i misread your post before when i suggested you start a new thread. thank you gravehearted for catching that (since i can’t read apparently… lol!)

welcome here Nikki! that’s so exciting, bunnies are a lot of fun! 6 weeks is early to be away from mom, but many petstores do it with very little problem, so i wouldn’t be too worried about that. it sounds like you have her on a great diet. the pellets are just plain timothy pellets, right? no seeds or cereal pieces?

check out the bunny info section at the top of the page (in the green bar). there you will find tips on littertraining, diet, bunny-proofing, etc. also rabbit.org has excellent articles. i would start looking for an experienced rabbit vet now, and then within the next couple of weeks make an appt to have a full exam and to have him/her sexed. an exam is very important b/c it’s not uncommon for petstore rabbits to be sick due to the less than ideal conditions they are raised in.

[Nikki]

Thank You Gravehearted for posting this for me. I’ll have to figure something out about my Safari. No worries Beka. The food that she is on has the occasion dried carrot and green fruit loop looking thing(i pick those out) with a little alfalfa in it and the rest is pellets. This is what she was fed at the pet store so I’ll try weening her on to a complete timothy pellet diet slowly so I don’t upset her tummy. I am looking for a vet for her now, and planning on getting insurance for her as soon as I’ve had her for 60 days (required). The people at the store said they’d only had her for a day so hopefully she doesn’t have anything too serious. I’ll still take her in. I’m so excited. She seems really content, she eats a lot and when I let her out she runs around and jumps in the air (so cute!) and grooms herself. Is it possible to feed her too much? I’ve read a lot about adult bunnies, but its hard to find information specific to younger buns unless it applies for younger buns as well. Here’s a picture of her….

http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a285/justacloudinthesky/?action=view&current=DSC01954.jpg

[RabbitPam]

Hi, lilpiggie,
Your bunny is beautiful!
I only have experience from one bunny, but I started him in much the same way as you are. Same cage, water dish preference, only 9 weeks old (so they said). I put a small corner litter pan in the cage immediately and he taught himself to use it right away. He seemed to prefer it. I think if you give her the option she’ll get it soon enough. Put a bit of hay in one corner to encourage her.
Not being sure of the sex is a mystery, but unless you get a second rabbit it’s not a concern until she’s old enough to be neutered/spayed (several months from now) so once you find a good vet for her health, you’ll find out for sure at her first check-up.
Sounds like your food selection is excellent. As for bonding, definitely get on the floor with her and let her come to you. When you clean her cage you might do it after you’ve let her out so she doesn’t see your big hands reaching in to “get” her. That could feel like a predator invading her turf. Her cage is actually her safe space. You can get a litter pan for outside the cage where she plays, as well as a little cardboard box with openings cut out (turn it upside down) for her to hide in, like a tissue box. Get her some toys – a phone book is safe, some tied up strands of hay she can fling and munch. Basically, if she’s already doing binkies (jumping in the air) she’s very happy. My bunny bonded with me easily – it may be at that age she will do so because you’re like her mommy. As long as you care for her and play with her too you’ll be close.
Have fun!

[Beka27]

if the food is alfalfa based i would start switching her over to a timothy based pellet. when you look on the back nutrition label timothy is listed at the very beginning. it is recommended (like you’re doing) that they get alfalfa hay along with the timothy hay until 7 months. here’s the link to the diet FAQ on House Rabbit Society. it gives info on feeding at the different ages.

http://rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#babies

[Nikki]

Thanks. She is definitely beginning to feel more comfortable. This morning when I let her out to play she made the saddest face when I put her back in her cage and put her little paws on the door. SO CUTE! I have little cat toys with bells, and a toilet paper roll. There’s a tiny little litter box in there, but I don’t think she realizes that’s what it’s for..lol.. i put some of her poops in there. I will go and buy some timothy pellets and start the transition right away. This is so encouraging! thank you all for your suggestions.

[Beka27]

put some hay in the litterbox too. since she’s so small you might just pick her up and place her in there near the hay and maybe she will start munching. they will usually poo when they eat. also when you clean up pee, place the paper towel in the litterbox so she gets the smell. just to clarify, you don’t have bedding in the entire cage right? just the litterbox. if you put litter in the cage and the box it is too confusing for them.

[Nikki]

I have carefresh in the entire cage, and then aspen in her litter box. I’m making fleece liners for her cage and then she’ll just have ‘bedding’ in her litter box.

[BinkyBunny]

lil piggie – can you download mozilla or internet explorer? those will work with the forum.

Regarding the pellets, just an added note – that if you find a healthy alfalfa based pellet – like Oxbow Bunny Basics 15/23 for young bunnies, then that’s okay. Alfalfa is not bad in a pellet for very young bunnies unless you start to see a messy bottom. Either way though, whether you use a Timothy based or Alfalfa based (or a mix of the two) Beka is right to advise you you to stay away from pellets with a bunch of junk cereal, nuts and dried fruit. Too much sugar and carbs. If you do use Alfalfa based pellets, you will have to wean him off of those to Timothy as he grows.

[Nikki]

Ok thanks, I will do that. Thanks Beka and Binkybunny.

[Author]

Messages