potential new rabbit slave has questions…

[HereBeBunnies]

Hello, all! I’ve been enjoying reading this forum over the past couple of weeks (went through all 61 pages of topics) and I have some questions.
I’ve been looking into adopting a pair of one-year-old Dwarf Hotot/Mini Lop sisters from a local rescue. Nothing is final yet, but I am very interested in this pair.

1. Should I worry about seeing some regression in their bonding after I bring them home? They’ve been together all of their lives and have been in foster care together for about 8 months. They were both spayed at 6 months of age.

2. How long should I confine them to their cage at the beginning while they adjust to the new household? I’ve seen everything from 2 days to a week recommended. I’ve been gathering the materials to build them a nice NIC cage, so cage size isn’t an issue.

3. What is the best way to change their food? They’re being fed the kind of food that has little fruit and veggie shapes in it (which I know is bad for them), and I would like to transition them to Oxbow pellets. Do you gradually increase the amount of desired food mixed with the old food, until the desired food is all that is left?

4. If I choose to buy hay from a local supplier, what questions should I ask to ensure that it is safe for bunnies? If I can’t find any good local hay, I’ll give them Oxbow hay.

5. Do I need to transition their litter as well, or can I just start using my preferred kind? I was planning on using woodstove pellets, but if they won’t use it, I’ll have to find something else.

Edit: 6. What kind of fleece should I look for? Will any kind work or do I need to look for 100% cotton?

That’s all I can think of for now.

Thanks!

[jerseygirl]

Seriously, 61 pages?! Wow! Well you are off to a great start preparing for having rabbits. That is to be commended. (I did things backwards. Got rabbit – then educated self).

I’ll attempt to answer some of your questions.

1. Sounds as if there is a good bond. Try get as much info from the foster carer as possible regarding previous issues, dominance displays etc. “Worry” is part and parcel of having these creature in your life!

2. I think a week is a good period. They can slowly adjust to new environment, smells, sounds sights etc. Also being in close quarters with one another will assist in maintaining their bond. Also allows you to observe their habits, reinforce litter habits. Creates sense that the condo is their primary home and safe place.

3. Mix two together then gradually reduce former feed. Observe changes in droppings.

4. Not sure – sorry.

5. Probably not though it’s good idea to keep things the same in the beginning – help them adjust to new environment. The more they have of their former surrounds the better in my opinion. Boxes, litter, bedding, toys…

6. Is the fleece for bedding?

So that’s me done – hope I helped some. Welcome here, looking forward to when you get your girls if all goes according to plan!
 

[HereBeBunnies]

The fleece is to be used for bedding. I was wondering because I can get some cheap from a local store and wanted to know what to look for.

[jerseygirl]

Ok. I’m not certain on this – I think synthetic is ok. I would do a pull test to see how easily the fibre pulls away from the backing. On the wood pellets, you can alway mix the old & new litter too. Main thing to watch for is if they take to eating the wood pellets!

[Beka27]

Welcome here! Along the lines of what Jersey said:

1) It does sound as if their bond is strong. The fact that they’ve been together continuously and they are living in a foster home together is great. That makes me think that the transition from foster home to forever home should go rather smoothly. If you can, definitely pick the fosterer’s brain, what do they like, how do they interact with each other. This is a wonderful opportunity to get info on a more personal level than you might be able to from a shelter directly.

2) How long you confine them will depend on how they adjust, how they are with litter habits. When arriving in new territory, bunnies can mark the area with poop. As the marking decreases and the litter box habits improve, you can begin to expand their run space. Some buns will mark quite a bit, others will mark for a day or two and then take right to the box. This is another great question to ask the fosterer… how were they when they first got to your home? Make sure to bunny-proof the area they will be allowed in too!

3) Yes, for the food you want to gradually transition. For a few days you can do the old food, then mix 90% old, 10% new for a few days. 80% old, 20% new…. etc. Work your way down until they are completely eating the new food. The Oxbow is great stuff. Some petstores have begun carrying it, also it’s now available on BinkyBunny!

4) I don’t buy bulk hay from a local supplier b/c I really don’t have a space to store it in. So I can’t really help with you there. I think as long as it’s horse quality, it should be fine for bunnies. There are different cuts that I’m not really versed in… Someone else can help with that… I use the big bags of Oxbow hay, either orchard or timothy.

5) You should be able to transition litter without a problem. Most bunnies take to changes in that area fairly easily. Of course, you’ll have the bunnies that freak out with anything different… but I’d recommend using the new litter from the very first day. Maybe they’ll think “Hmmm… new house, new litter… lots of changes, but we can deal with this.” Again, ask the fosterer how they reacted if she ever had to change to a different litter. Woodstove pellets are AMAZING… super absorbent, great on odor control, CHEAP, CHEAP & CHEAP! Depending on if you can still find them now, you may want to stock up for a full year. They tend to go away over the warmer months…

6) Get cheap blankets. They will get lil bites in them, so you don’t want to spend a lot on bunny bedding. But like Jersey said, cheap but STURDY. If it pulls away easily, that’s not good. Another option are those multi-colored rag rugs that you can get for a couple bucks at wal-mart or other discount stores. They are inexpensive and can be thrown in the wash. Grass mats are edible mats that bunnies love to lay on and chew up. Some buns prefer a cool surface below their bellies.

What other sites have you visited? House Rabbit Society is a must read site, tons of informative articles about care. Also House Rabbit Network and Language of Lagomorphs to name just a few…

[Sarita]

Well, I think that you might have a challenge transitioning them from that junk food to the good food. I think since the Oxbow is higher quality and the right food you should really try to put this out without the bad food – I’m afraid they are just going to eat around the good food and eat only the bad food and that is not going to wean them off the bad stuff which isn’t really food anyway – it’s basically junk food.

How are they with fresh vegetables and hay? I think if they eat plenty of fresh vegetables and hay then you are better off just completely trying as best you can to totally eliminate this junk food all together. You may want to get more information on their diet from their foster family – I’m surprised they are getting this type of food.

[MooBunnay]

Since others have elaborated on the other questions – I’ll elaborate a bit on #4.

I purchase my hay from a local feed store because I have 8 rabbits and so I need a lot What I look for is something called “horse-quality” hay. The lower quality hay is used for cattle, and often has sticks/weeds/stones other items in it that you don’t want. Unless you are on the west coast it is kind of hard to find timothy or oat hay, so I’d recommend calling around until you find a place that trucks in the timothy or oat hay. I have not experimented with any other kinds of hay, and usually Timothy is the #1 recommended hay. Once you find a place that actually has the timothy, I recommend going to check the hay out. Usually the good hay is a really nice green color (kind of a light green) but occasionally its a little more brown-ish, and my bunnies don’t usually care either way. Things you DON”T want to see in the hay are wet/moldy spots, or things like sticks, stones, weeds, or other non-hay items.

I don’t know if you have any storage plans for the hay, but we use this large rubbermaid storage bench thing that we got from Target which nicely fits a square bale. When you start using the hay, pick through it a bit before giving it to the bunnies just to check it out for any of those non-hay items I mentioned. The occasional stick is ok, but if your getting a whole bunch of other sticks, rocks etc., you may want to try out another hay supplier, or call the person you bought it from and see if they will give you another better bale.

[kralspace]

I ditto MooBunny about the hay. Timothy is hard to find around here, but another horse quality hay is coastal bermuda. It’s fine stemmed and fairly soft. It has long strands that my buns will eat like spagetthi. A good feed store will have it stored inside where it’s been dry and had a chance to dryout a bit.

If you get a really green bale, make sure you store it where air can circulate around it a bit. As it dries it can create heat and if it’s in a pretty airtight container it can get moldy from the condensation it creates. Sniff hay when ever you can, you’ll soon be able to tell how fresh it is. Moldy hay has a distinct yuck smell and you’ll see the grey/black stuff on or inside the bale.

I feed the buns Oxbow timothy hay, but in the litter boxes I put a thin layer of paper or woodpellets and a nice layer of coastal hay to nibble and play in. At 5-10 dollars for a 50lb bale, it’s cheap entertainment and will last us 6 months.

Sudan hay is more of a cow hay, very coarse, thick stems and leaves and not something I would use with the bunnies. What state are you in?

[HereBeBunnies]

How are they with fresh vegetables and hay? I think if they eat plenty of fresh vegetables and hay then you are better off just completely trying as best you can to totally eliminate this junk food all together. You may want to get more information on their diet from their foster family – I’m surprised they are getting this type of food.

I’ll have to ask their foster mom about this, but when I visited them at a Petco (they were there for an adoption event), they had some good lettuce that they were nibbling on and the junk food. I don’t know if the food was provided by the fosterer or the pet store, but the fact that they were eating it makes me think that it was their normal food.

I think since the Oxbow is higher quality and the right food you should really try to put this out without the bad food – I’m afraid they are just going to eat around the good food and eat only the bad food and that is not going to wean them off the bad stuff which isn’t really food anyway – it’s basically junk food.

Should I still try to give them the junk food for a few days until I know they are eating the good stuff? I’m going to try leaving the good pellets out for a while, but still give them a small bit of the bad food until they will eat the good stuff.

What other sites have you visited? House Rabbit Society is a must read site, tons of informative articles about care. Also House Rabbit Network and Language of Lagomorphs to name just a few…

Yes, I’ve visited all of those. I visited quite a few sites until I stumbled upon this one. I think it was a guinea pig site that directed me to BinkyBunny, actually.

It sounds like I’m going to have to stick with the Oxbow hay. The area I live in has a lot of cattle, so I was hoping to get some hay from the area. It sounds like that hay isn’t as good for bunnies, though.

[Balefulregards]

As far as the transition of food, I weaned coco over 4 weeks – first week I mixed a 1/4 to 3/4ths of oxbow to crap old food. 2nd week went 1/2 to 1/2 and so on. My vet recommended the portion switch in this way.

Like any self respecting bun, she boycotted the Oxbow – actually eating around the good pellets and looking pitifully at me: “I’m a sad starving bunny! Feed me mean Human”

When it became clear that I WASN”T giving her more, she ate the oxbow as it was Oxbow pellets or Hay ( which she also hated).
Coco had never had salads OR hay, so the transition was a shock for her, but she did well. She now digs into her Hay like a Mad Rabbit…where I have sprinkled a tiny amount of OxBow pellets for her to forage. She gets Two Massive Salads a day. One is to be delivered by 7:30 am – no later of I hear about it something fierce – the other at 5 – with Hay, Hay and More Hay for the rest of the day.

The other thing I found was that I had to give her a variety of hay – I finally hooked her with the Brome….then the Orchard. Now she will happily eat any of the Oxbow Hays I offer. But for her Timothy was the Last hay to be accepted.

I have found that rabbits are quite picky eaters- contrary to what I always thought. It took her ages to accept Mint ( but now it is one of her faves) and nearly every other thing I have found she loves was ROUNDLY rejected a couple of times. Alot of times I just had to LEAVE it in there until she would make sure I wasn’t watching and nibble it.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Hi and welcome. It’s so great to see people doing research and asking questions before getting a rabbit!

Well since most of your questions have been answered I guess I will just add that I successfully weaned a bunny from junky pellets to healthy Timothy pellets. I used the same method as Baleful. Although when mixing the food I would pick out any big chunks of “junk” like fruit or nuts so they don’t just get full on that stuff. I couldn’t believe how much weight my bunny lost and how much more active she was after weaning her off the junk food.

[HereBeBunnies]

Adoption Update: I just set up an appointment to meet the bunnies later this week. Hopefully we’ll get along okay and I can take them home sometime in the next couple of weeks! I’m so excited!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Good luck!

[Sarita]

That’s great! I hope it all works out for you.

[HereBeBunnies]

I just found out that the food I saw the rabbits eating in the pet store had indeed been supplied by the pet store, NOT the foster. They eat Oxbow pellets normally, but the store decided to give them their crappy food instead for some reason. So that’s one less thing to worry about.

[skunklionshow]

Good Luck!  We will need pictures once the adoption goes through….

[BinkyBunny]

You’ve received some great advice, but I just wanted to say thank you for researching all of this first. I can tell already you are going to be a great bunny slave! Keep us updated with the adoption!

[GrammyB]

Welcome, this is one of the best sites for rabbit slaves.
Thank you for doing your homework, your buns will be a lot better off because of it, & you will save money. I didn’t find this site till 3 months after we got our first rabbit.

I would like to add to the great advice you’ve been given. Your rabbits may break their bond ( ours have 3 times ) but it can easly be mended. With our pair it all comes down to smell. If someone has held one of them that has a lot of perfume, has been holding another rabbit, or if ones been to the vet then they don’t smell right & get rejected. We found that cleaning out the scent glands, then rubbing the Qtips on the fur made the rebonding process go much faster. It makes the bunny smell like themselves again. If you haven’t already read up on bonding just in case.

You can start to let them out after a couple of days, but limit their space with an xpen ( I make mine out of shelving grids ). Increase the space each day as they show good litter box habits. Also, put some litter boxes out around the house so they don’t have to run back to the condo.
NIC condos are wonderful. Are you using coroplast? Get the double lock cable ties & put them on in an alternating kitty-corner fashion. This way it’s strong & doesn’t slip. If I’m not making sense I can send a pic. I can help with doors, hinges, locks, anything. If you have any trouble just ask, we are here to help.

We get our fleece from a thrift store usually for $1 & secure it to the grids with binder clips or clothes pins.

Keep us posted, this is an exciting time.

[HereBeBunnies]

Sorry I haven’t kept you guys updated, but I’ve been moving and haven’t had much free time until today.

The adoption went through! The bunnies were very friendly when I went to see them, bumping their noses on my hand and even sitting in my lap for awhile. I’m going to pick them up this afternoon and finalize the adoption. I will be posting pictures sometime this week, so look out for those.

I built them a NIC condo, but I couldn’t find anyone willing to sell me single sheets of coroplast. I had to use linoleum flooring for the base of the levels. I covered it in a nice golden fleece and binder clipped it down. I need to run by the hardware store one more time to try to get some kind of bunny-proof clasp for the door.

I was going to confine them to their cage for a couple of days and see how they adjust, make sure they know where the litterbox is, and adjust to living in a cube (they’ve been living in an x-pen enclosure). They are really cute though, so I don’t know how I’m going to resist letting them out!

[Beka27]

That’s great! Congrats!

For the door, you can use a dog clip. Those work quite well. If you can, when you take pics of the buns, snap a few of the whole NIC condo. I love seeing how people set up their bunny houses!

BinkyBunny is doing updates currently, so I’m not sure if you’ll be able to post pics for a few days…

[KitD]

I actually use binder clips for the doors of the NIC condos too. Cheaper than using dog clips as they come many to a box.

[HereBeBunnies]

Is a “dog clip” the lobster claw-like thing on the end of dog leashes? Where could I get some of those? I need 5 or so to keep the door shut (it goes all the way up to the 3rd floor).
I was thinking about buying some of those carabiner things some people use as keychains since I know where to find those.

[Beka27]

Oh yeah, binder clips would work as well. Dog clips you should be able to get at any discount store in the hardware section (walmart, kmart) or a hardware store should sell them. My concern about the carabiner clips would be that they may be more difficult to twist them off b/c of the shape… or they may just be too large for that purpose.

[MooBunnay]

I get my dog clips from Big Lots, but I’ve definitely seen them at Target as well – I think you should be able to find them pretty easy. I’m so excited for pictures!

[skunklionshow]

I’m VERY low tech….I use a double knot!  Leo can easily undo single knots.  However, at this point, their door is ALWAYS open so not a prob anymore.  Can’t wait for the pics.

[HereBeBunnies]

Well, I picked up the bunnies Tuesday afternoon. They almost immediately began to poop everywhere but their litterbox. I had to restrict them to just the bottom level of the cage. They were not very happy about that, they love sitting on the top level watching everything. Their litter habits have greatly improved since then, but I’m going to wait another day before giving them access to the next level. I’m worried that they aren’t drinking enough water; they have a crock and a water bottle, but seem to be drinking only out of the crock, and not much out of that. The fresh greens were greatly appreciated, however, and I even got a partial binky out of that!

[jerseygirl]

Oh yay! Don’t make us wait too long for piccies! If they are getting greens, they’re likely getting enough fluids from that. Take care not to give too many greens if they are young. Intorduce slowly. The water intake can vary from time to time with bunnies and many favour the crock aswell.

[Beka27]

Water consumption can definitely vary with the seasons, also what their diet consists of (for example: more hay = more water). I don’t recall if you said they are neutered or spayed yet? If not, litter habits may get better once that is done. If they are already altered, it’s likely just marking due to being in a new place.

[skunklionshow]

Litterbox habits can be bad when going into a new home.  They need to poop to show everyone that it’s their house now!  I think when we intro bunnies, we don’t necessarily limit them to levels in their cage, but more areas of your home?  Am I right?  Anyone….I’m dying to see their pics!

[GrammyB]

Yes, you are right, SLS They will mark any new area & any area that another animal has been. I wouldn’t keep them from the other levels. They will poop mark them too as soon as they have a chance. Let them have at it, the marking will die down as soon as they know this is their home. I don’t sweat the poops, it’s the pee that needs to get in the box.

Glad they are home & doing well.

How much water is not much? You should make sure their veggies are very wet.

The dog leash clips are the best door closer, they can be opened with one hand & are secure. A determond bunny can push & open a binder clip. Carabiners leave too much of a gap, I’ve seen a rabbit get its head through, not good.

We would all love to see them, pleeeease. 🙂

[HereBeBunnies]

I can’t get the pictures to my computer today, but I’ll try to later tomorrow. Every time I go to take their picture, they stop what they are doing and sit on their bed. Silly bunnies.
They are out right now binkying around my room, playing their favorite game of “Run around the outside of the cage as fast as I can.”

Here’s an old picture of them their foster mom sent me:

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/photoView.cgi

 

Edit: They are drinking a lot more water now. I have both a crock and a water bottle out, and that may have confused them at first, but they’ve got it worked out.

They need names if anyone has any suggestions! I was thinking “Freya” for the white one, but I don’t know about the black-eared one.

[jerseygirl]

How sweet those 2 are!   I looked up Freya thinking it was that Latino Artist but that’s Frida Kahlo it turns out. Saw Freya is Norman goddess. Anyways, she has a sister named Frigg…. maybe it’s pronounced with and ‘e’ sound to it. Just thought I’d throw that in there……haha.

[HereBeBunnies]

Yeah, I’m aware that goddess Freya has a sister, but I don’t want to name my bunny Frigg because, well…”Stop doing that, you Friggin’ bunny!”
My boyfriend wants to name her Khan so he can shout “Khhaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnn!” if she pees on the carpet. I vetoed that one as well.

[jerseygirl]

Hehe! Yeah, I thought it’d be an ‘interesting’ bunny name! I’m sure their personalities will provide some inspiration before too long. Oh, and glad your holding the power of veto!

[MooBunnay]

What cuties! Have their litterbox habits been getting much better now? It seemed like everytime I brought a new bunny to my house they would make a GIANT pee right in the corner of their cage to establish that it was THEIRS. It was pretty funny – well, funny in retrospect that is

[HereBeBunnies]

I’ve decided that their bad litter habits come from liking a very clean litter box. They were doing fine for the day after I completely cleaned their litterbox, then stopped using it in favor of the bottom level of their cage. It looks like I’m going to have to scoop out their poop 2 or 3 times a day if I want them to continue using it. Oh well, at least rabbit poop isn’t all that bad to clean compared to some animals. *cough*ferret*cough*
I can just imagine what they are thinking:
“What?! It appears our slave has not properly prepared our toilette!” *poops all over cage* “There, that will teach that insolent girl to ignore our needs!”

[Sage Cat]

Hey there,
Congrats on the new bunnies!

I adopted my first 2 just over a year ago. I also asked loads of questions here before getting them – it helped me feel much more prepared.
I hope your first year with yours goes as well as mine has!

[Author]

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