Question about new rescued bunny…

[Iris]

Hello everyone,

I am new here and looking for some help with a bunny I’ve recently adopted…
I discovered this rabbit some time ago, sitting in a pigeon cage by a horse paddock. I went there regularly to visit the animals with my children, and I noticed that there never seemed to be any rabbit food in the cage. I asked around, and it turned out that nobody there actually knew who put the rabbit in there, not even the owner of the pigeon cage

It seems she has been in there for at least 6 months or so, and as nobody seemed to ever feed her I have no idea how she survived! I assume she ate the bird food and drank the birds’ water… I started visiting every day to bring her hay and grass and ice, as it started getting very hot in that cage. I wanted to get her out of there, and as nobody managed to find out who the rabbit actually belong to, they let me take her

So now here I am with a new bunny! I haven’t got a clue how old she is, what her history is, I don’t even know for sure if she is a girl, but I assumed so as she has a dewlap. She seems very sweet but is very scared, it took me some time to get her out of the pigeon cage, she ran all over the place as soon as I approached. She was afraid of us but as soon as we left her cage (she has a big outside cage/run) she cheered right up and seemed very pleased with her new living quarters. Today, I have been sitting in the run for a while and after about 20 minutes, she hopped up to me and started eating the piece of cucumber I had left out next to me. Then she started washing her face, so cute!

She seems scared but not aggressive, so I have good hope that we can be friends eventually. I am just wondering if anyone has any idea what her health state could be after living off bird food for at least 6 months? Should I still be giving her some seeds to transition her, or should she be switched immediately to a healthier diet? She doesn’t seem skinny or unhealthy, to my surprise… I’d be happy with any advice anyone could give me!

[Roberta]

Bless you for saving this baby…
First I would cut the seeds out all together, if you have been taking her hay she will be OK to be taken off the seed immediately as it is really bad for her… Introduce greens slowly… One type at a time and slowly build it up. Coriander, basil, parsley, fennel, nasturtiums are all favourites… Check out the diet guide under bunny care on the home page… It will take some time for her to come around after the situation she has lived in but it sounds like you are doing really well… What I would suggest is a vet check to make sure she doesn’t have any problems that could be addressed now and save you a lot of money down the track if left untreated… A vet check is always the best start for any new bunny especially one that has come from bad circumstances.

[Iris]

Thank you Roberta! Yes I suppose that would be the best way to go, take her to the vet soonish! We will do that, and get her a lot of hay and a little bit of greens. Now we just need a name for her

[Iris]

Yes I suppose that would be the best way to go, to take her to the vet! We will do that, and keep giving her hay and a bit of greens. Thank you!
I wonder what eating seeds for such a long time actually does to a rabbit..?

[Roberta]

I hate to think what a diet of seeds has done to her tummy and teeth…. I think bringing the hay probably saved her life.

[Iris]

(I didn’t mean to post twice, by the way! )

Wow… people can be so stupid when it comes to small animals. It took quite some effort to convince the people of the horse place that the pigeon cage was not a good place for her. Their first reaction was: she’s fine, isn’t she? she is alive! why not just leave her where she is?
She was only sitting in one corner of the cage – the bottom was so dirty with bird droppings. She would hardly move from that spot. I don’t think anyone ever cleaned out the bottom of that cage. The birds were fine, they had nests high up and they could fly in and out as they chose. The poor bunny was stuck there in her corner. I’m surprised she’s so lively now!

[Iris]

She looks just like the first picture in your signature by the way, only with black spots what type of rabbit is that?

[Roberta]

That’s my Starsky, He’s an English Spot cross… and a sweet heart. I took him in as a foster from the pound and he is staying furrever.

[Author]

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