Still Confused. Baby bunnies driving me crazy!

[Sadie]

OK, so the bunnies have been home since Saturday and I am confused about a few things:

A. You guys frequently suggest keeping new bunnies contained and then slowly expanding territory to help with litter training, does this apply to babies as well? Also, does this mean all the time or do I let them out of their cages to hop around for a while?

B. Is it possible that my babies are just too little to start litter box training them, they’re only 5 weeks old and they don’t seem to have a favorite corner in their cage. I think it just isn’t physically possible, kind of like potty training a toddler (human) they don’t even seem to know when they are going – they just go without changing posture, position etc.

C. Here is the “rabitat” we’ve got set up: A bunny hutch with a wire bottom on one side and a solid wooden sleeping area on the other. I covered the wire with cardboard which I periodically pick up and shake out into the tray underneath. I also keep a little poo in the litter box (not that they ever go in there.) I have a litter box in one corner, a water dish in another and two food bins in the other corners. I’m not sure if this is the optimal arrangement. They are still so tiny, I don’t really feel bad keeping them in the hutch, should I?

Bunnies! What was I thinking! Oh yeah, I was thinking “these are the cutest things ever I must have 20!” I’m glad I started with two…

[Monkeybun]

I’d suggest putting the food bowls and hay in the litter box, bunnies like to eat and go at the same time. Make sure its a decent sized litter box, and not one of those dinky corner ones pet stores sell, cat boxes work much better for my 2.

[Sarita]

Yes, they are way too young to start thinking about litter training. I think at this point, go ahead and put in a litter box…I’ve never potty trained a child but I think you are correct about that. Baby bunnies especially at this age aren’t able to focus on anything but eating and pooping at this age. I think you should keep them caged at this point only because it is safer for them – they are so tiny, they will find each and every little place to squirm through and you just cannot take a chance on their safety.

You probably do want to wait until they are a little older at least 8 weeks to start seriously trying to train them but still don’t expect alot at this age either.

[Sarita]

Basically at this age, they just don’t have the same capacity for learning and being trained.

[Sadie]

We do have a dinky litter box from the pet store, but both of my dinky bunnies fit in it at the same time. I thought I’d upgrade when the rabbits upgraded themselves (i.e. got bigger.) I have a pile of hay in the corner – a larger litter box wouldn’t fit in the cage.

Do you have a cage for your bunnies or do they hop around all day, if you have a cage, does the litter box go inside? I thought the cage would be where they would sleep/eat/use the litter box and then when they wanted to come out, eventually they’d have the run of the playroom/kitchen area of the house.

maybe I should just have a bunny expert come over and tell me what I’m doing wrong. Is their a cesar millan rabbit equivalent?

[Sarita]

A bigger litter box is always better! I only have one free roaming rabbit. I have 3 in puppy pens and a pair of Dutches in a 3 story Leith Condo. But my rabbits are all over 7 years old. If I had babies then I would not let them free roam until they were older and they were altered.

[Monkeybun]

Ideally, a cage should be big enough for a decent sized litter box, and still have plenty of room to hop, especially with 2 bunnies in the cage. I built a 2x3x2 NIC cage for Moose, and once Monkey moves in, I’ll be expanding it.Plus, they have the pens right now. After they are bonded, they’ll be able to free roam during the day.

Moose’s box is in his cage, Monkey’s is in the pen, as her current cage is a temporary store bought one until they are bonded. I don’t lock either of them in the cages, they always have the pens as well.

[Sadie]

ok, but by “free roam” you mean all the time, right? It’s ok to let them hop around in a small area while I’m with them, isn’t it?

This is my hutch (the large version 46″x24″x34″)

[Monkeybun]

yeah, with the babies i’d suggest just a small area to play in with you, rather than free roaming. baby buns can get themselves into the strangest places… a small play pen would be great, you can hop in it with them and have them climb all over you.. Monkey used to do that when she was a baby You can give them more space as they get older

[Sarita]

You have determine whether or not your rabbits are well behaved enough to free roam at all times – some rabbits may be too curious or too destructive to free roam. You don’t know much about your babies at this point. I think you should not think that far ahead yet – your babies are way to young and you are still learning. Take baby steps for now and when you have your house rabbit proofed and your babies are more mature then you can consider free roaming.

[Sarita]

For now that size is okay but it will become way too small very soon. That’s usually the case with store bought cages.

[Sadie]

Thanks guys. I feel better. I am still wondering what the heck I got myself into. I was always planning on building a better bunny hutch when I needed to, but we found this cage for a great deal on craig’s list. Those bunny condos look great, but my goodness, the price! I’m sure I’ll be able to fashion a new one that will be good for everyone involved.
I’m so glad I found you!

[jerseygirl]

Posted By Sadie on 03/15/2010 05:57 PM
Thanks guys. I feel better. I am still wondering what the heck I got myself into.

hehe! We all get suckered in by the bunny cuteness!  It can be a bit of work for a while and LOTS of learning, but they make such great companions.  Having play time with them now and getting them used to being handled will work in your favour.  But allowing too much space all the time whilst they’re this young may spell trouble.  When their hormones arrive you may have to keep them penned up more for a time. If it were me and I’d allowed them lots of freedom then had to start penning them up, I’d be feeling guilty.  So if they don’t know that freedom just yet, they won’t know what they’re missing.   Besides, it helps define their space and make them feel safe and secure, which is vital to these prey animals.

[Deleted User]

Posted By Sarita on 03/15/2010 05:42 PM
  a pair of Dutches in a 3 story Leith Condo.

what is a Leith condo?

[Sadie]

I googled it http://www.leithpetwerks.com/

I think this is what we were was talking about…

Looks awesome, doesn’t it?

[Monkeybun]

Its alot cheaper to just build your own, by buying the grids and zip ties from a store nearby.. I got mine from my local Fred Meyer’s lol. They’re just ypur typical wire storage cubes that you put together, and they are great for bunny condos And much cheaper! They are usually on sale for about $14 around here for a pack of 16 or so grids.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I’d definitely recommend building your own AND you can disassemble and rebuild if you move or change what you want in the condo All you need are clippers and more zip ties to rebuild it

[LoveChaCha]

Posted By Sadie on 03/15/2010 06:32 PM

I googled it http://www.leithpetwerks.com/

I think this is what we were was talking about…

Looks awesome, doesn’t it?

 

IF you want to buy, I recommend Leith.

I bought the huge kennel and ramp for my bunny and she loves it

[TARM]

Wow, even that $400 tripple level condo seems really small to me…but my “small” cage is 70 inches wide…

[Sarita]

Actually these cages are very very nice. It’s 4 feet long and 2 feet wide and the Dutches are small and the triple works great for them. They have served their purpose well for me.

I’m not inclined to build a neat ideas condo and I bought these a long time ago. They are not appropriate for large rabbits though. I was able at that time as well to get a small foster discount since I was a fosterer with HRS.

So if you have a smaller rabbit and limited space, these are great. Yes, they are pricey but they are built well and far surpass anything you will find premade in a pet store since they are built by rabbit lovers and the lady who owns this is a chapter manager for HRS.

[Sadie]

I really like the NIC cages (now that I know what NIC means My husband has an engineer’s brain, I can’t wait to get him started on our bunny condo. I’ll be cruising wal-mart for cheap wire shelves from now on.

The babies are still doing great, I just shoveled out their cage again. (I wonder how long it takes for them to create their own weight in poo, am I the only one who thinks that way? sorry) They seem to like their cage, even when I open the door they don’t come out unless I encourage them to.

Is it going to be harder to bond with the bunnies since I have two? They like us so far, but they’re still so tiny…

[Sarita]

If you garden, you can put those poo’s straight in your garden. Babies poop alot – I guess because they are so small what goes in comes right out :~)

Your lucky your husband will help you with a cage.

[Deleted User]

I like the Leith site… lots of nice things. I bet I can’t get it in Canada. I like the fact that the Leith condo has the ramps, for older rabbits the 14″ jumps in the NIC condos would be too hard. Of course you can build your own ramps but I like how solid and neat the Leith thing looks.

[Author]

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