we have a rabbit!

[jpgood]

So I teach Kindergarten and our class got a bunny over the summer ( I teach at a child care center  open all year round).  The bunny needed to come home over Thanksgiving break because we didn’t want to leave the bunny alone for 4 days!  Anyway  my hubby has really taken to the bunny  bought her a new cage, a new littler box (not like she uses it )  and toys.  NO we don’t have any kids yet !   So we think we are going to keep it in our house.     Can anyone give me some really good information on rabbits?   We let her out  2x a day for about 1/2 hour each time .  I know its not  enough time but I get nervous .  

Thanks in Advance

[LittlePuffyTail]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Bunny ownership (meaning there the bunny and they own you)

A lot of bunnies don’t even get that much time out of the cage. Most buns love as much time out as possible but as long as your giving as much time as you can. This site is a great source for rabbit info. I would also suggest you take some time and visit The House Rabbit Society’s webpage. There is a ton of info on nutrition, care and bunnyproofing an area for your bun to be out safely.

If you have any questions, we are all here to help

[jpgood]

AHHH  Yes  we have been there many times (rabbit.org).   Our bunny  ranges from extremely quiet and then extremely  um  silly  running around her cage and  moving things around in her cage .  She has a little ramp which she likes to flip up with her nose.  THis is all okay right?  The quietness and the  sillyness?

[LittlePuffyTail]

Yes. Especially if she’s a young rabbit. It’s normal for my buns to go from a dead sleep to binkying and running all over the room and vice versa. You’ll soon learn what’s “normal” behaviour for her just by watching her rest and play.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Welcome! I am so glad that you are going to keep the rabbit in your house! If you do ever plan on keeping a rabbit in the classroom I would recommend reading this article by the House Rabbit Society (HRS) Classroom Rabbits. Binky Bunny has some great places to start for info on House Rabbits under the BUNNY INFO heading at the top of this page or just click the links.  I think those are the best places to start and http://www.rabbit.org is really good too as well as the House Rabbit Network, the Rabbit Haven, The Bunny Bunch and others you can use a search engine using the key words: House Rabbits and look for rescue organizations.  I also like Hopper Home and Charky and Ash’s Web Site. You are more than welcome to ask any questions but I think I would start with diet and litter training your bun.  You can start by placing some bunny poo and a urine soaked paper towel in the box to encourage your bun to use it.  What kind of litter are you using and what are you feeding him/her?

[jpgood]

I knew that it wasn’t looked on too fondly that we had a classroom  bunny  one of the reasons I said to my co worker "hey why don’t I take her home for the weekend"  We plan to keep her hubby LOVES HER  .  We use  yesterdays news for her litter and then for her diet we use lots and lots of hay (she eats very loudly)  and some pellets once everyother day we give her a baby carrot.  I wish I had some pictures to upload of SHADOW  thats what our bunny is named.    The cage has a top part that opens  we leave that open  while we are home so she can stand up and sniff outside .  

[jpgood]

ONE more question

We have wood floors in our house  ( might I say  NEW house  )  and when we let her come out of the cage  she someimes slips on the floor, which  i laugh sometimes but I don’t let her see  :o) .  Any tips on making the time of out her cage a little more comfortable and a little less comical for hubby and I ?  Or is it okay that sometimes she slids across the floor?  It really is quite cute to watch but I don’t want her to get hurt either.

[Scarlet_Rose]

jpgood, it is just info for your general reading.  It can be good as well to teach kids and they learn a lot too. That is so cute your hubby adores Shadow!  I too would love to see pictures as well. As for the wood floors, over time they can make a rabbits feet spread eagle a little more and it is recommended that you provide them with some traction like a sea grass rug here & there or rag rugs (Big Lots has them cheap).  You probably won’t want to spend too much on "landing areas" off the slip and slide floor as they may be chewed on, so something bunny-safe is good (sea grass, 100% cotton). Some bunnies actually enjoy and intentionally slide accross the floor and use a piece of paper as their sled. My cat and rabbit used to do this when I had an apartment in Boston.  They really cracked me up! I am so glad you chuckle behind her back, you definately don’t want want "the butt of disapproval." Language of the Lagomorphs is a very neat place to check out for bunny language.  As you have Shadow longer, you’ll see her own little personality come out.

 

[osprey]

Welcome to BinkyBunny, jpgood!

We have hardwood floors in our house too.  When I let the bunnies out, I usually given them a clean tarp or dropcloth to run around on, or a cheap rug.

[BinkyBunny]

Welcome jpgood!  I’m so glad to hear Shadow has found a home in your home. How is Shadow doing with litterbox habits in your home? 

You’ve been given some great advice already, so I’ll just add some some tips regarding the hardwood floors.   Two of my three bunnies cannot walk well or at all on hardwood floor.   Rucy has zero problems walking or running, but she can’t do binkies on it.  

We have area rugs and runners already – hardwood is really hard on our backs and feet, so we have to have rugs, but to help the bunnies in the areas between the rugs, we bought  complimentary colored thin rugs that have a thin rubber backing (otherwise I have found that small area rugs or runners can slide around and curl up)  

The last two pictures show the cheaper lightweight thin rugs that I use to help the bunnies get from one main rug to the next.  They are easy to roll up and stick in the closet when we’re not using them.  But since my bunnies are always out (at least one of the three) then they are usually out.

[Spacehopper]

Why am i finding the flop on the rug pic so hilarious?!!!!! In your last pic BB bun seems to be trying so hard to get past the camera “undetected” “if i belly down she wont notice me, her and blasted camera. I’ll show her”. jpgood WHOOOOHOOOOO!!! Welcome to the joys of rabbit parenthood, you’ll LOVE it! We too have slippy floors throughout our place, but have runners up the length of the hallway, and a mahoosive rug and little ‘stepping stone’ rugs everywhere else, so they can access all areas. My sister also has a house bun over in Sweden and her Kev LOVES scooting about on the wooden polished floor, he seems to have twigged that if he runs and skids he gets to where he’s going far quicker!

Have fun with your bun!!!!!!

[wendyzski]

I have all hardwood or tile floors and Pepper does just fine.  She slipped around a lot at first, so I got some runners at Dollar General so there is traction when she wants to do the zoomz, but she also goes pretty much everywhere.  She actually prefers to sleep and/or stretch out on the plain wood anyway.

[Floppy]

I love that last picture BB! That face just has so much character!
as far as the bunny living in the home, like the others, I am glad you
choose to bring the bunny home! Looks like you got some great
advice from the others already! Welcome!

[BinkyBunny]

Spacehopper – for some reason he just likes lying there. He won’t even budge when we walk towards him. He gets a bit worried as we step over him, but then he brushes the anxiety right off and continues lounging.

Jack is one of the most expressive bunnies I’ve ever had, or seen. That’s why I love doing his blogs. Can really get a story. The last picture is actually of the first time he was coming out into the living room, when we first moved in. He wouldn’t come out of his area for over a month. I tried everything, so finally I brought him out to the hallway and he then began to explore but with the burdon of great worry. Soon after he relaxed and was sooo happy to have a bigger playground.

[Deleted User]

Hi Jpgood! We have wood floors and linolium (sp?). My first bun Fu, could run like crazy but could not stop. All day you would hear scamper, scamper…thud, scamper scamper thud. She finally learned when to hit the brakes. Walking was no problem. The only time it was a near crisis, was when my arthritic Lab was lying across the doorway in her path. They saw each other, she scrambled to stop, he scrambled to get up and out of the way. Neither one of them made it and he almost squashed her. Luckily her momentum carried her just out from under him before he went down.

My current bun baby is also named Shadow. He has the opposite problem. He can stop on a dime but can’t get started. He looks like he is running in place until he gets traction. That does not bother him as his favorite mode of locomotion is binkies and gravity defying leaps and jumps. And you can laugh at him, but if you make cartoon noises as he is scrambling you get the stink eye and kiss any shoe laces in his path goodbye.

Every rabbit is different but it seems the one constant is….if they are allowed to have it, they don’t want it…but if they can’t have it they will make it their life’s work to have it. As Spacehopper said in another post little bu**ers….you gotta love them.

[MooBunnay]

Welcome jpgood! It is so exciting that you are a new rabbit parent! It is very normal to get a bit nervous in the beginning. When I got my first bunny I was afraid to leave her alone (even in her cage) for longer than a few hours. Now I’ve got 7 buns and they are in charge of the house Generally, when you first get a rabbit, you will discover a fewbehaviors that need a bit of training, such as litterbox training or them chewing on things, so just remember this is very normal and we are here to help you if you need it!

[Frostyleo8]

Hi!  It’s great that you have taken her home, as she will be much happier living with you.  My two rabbits have the run of the downstairs, and I’ve had to do a lot of bunny-proofing and making sure certain things aren’t lying around, waiting to be chewed.  I have carpet, and bunnies love to chew and dig up carpet in the corners, so I placed wooden cutting boards in each corner which keeps them from digging there.  I also put some old magazines down behind certain areas against the wall so they can dig and rip them up.  They have chewed on shoes and jackets that happen to be on or near the floor so I just have to make sure I pick those kinds of things up.  I also put three separate litter boxes (with some hay included) around, as bunnies like to have more than one place to go and to graze.  I’m sure you already know about covering electrical cords, keeping certain house plants out of reach, etc.  I have lots of toys all around for them as well to help keep their interest up…a bored rabbit is a mischievous rabbit!  So, it’s good that you’re spending regular time with her.  Congratulations!  With knowledge and understanding of bunnies, you’ll see that they make awesome pets!!

[Frostyleo8]

Oh, and most importantly, if she isn’t spayed you should have her spayed by a vet who is experienced with rabbits.  Most bad behavior will disappear afterward.  Good luck!

[MooBunnay]

Frostyleo – your bun is so cute!! I just love the bunnies with the spots over their eyes – I have a couple myself and I just love how their face looks. Is your other bunny the same kind as well?

[Frostyleo8]

Thank you!  Yes, I agree that Hudwyn is very handsome.  His mate, Gwynny, looks very different.  She’s solid peach with white front legs, a white nose and a light grey patch on her back.  Her eyes are very odd.  The iris is blue/grey near the bottom and brown near the top!  Also, her back feet turn outward instead of straight ahead.  Very interesting!!

[Beka27]

she is a beautiful bun!

[Frostyleo8]

Thank you.  Then again, aren’t they all!

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