I rented a couple bunnies for Easter and after having them for 6 days we have fallen in love and have decided to keep one of them. The owner does not know the breed and I just wanted to see if anyone can help me figure it out. They are babies and I'm not sure how old they are. I know they were only taken away from mom a couple weeks ago when mom had a new litter.
New rabbit owner and new rabbit.
- Thread starter hermiony
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cmfarm
Well-known member
Do you have any pictures?
Susie570
Well-known member
Hi! Congrats on your new bunnies!!
First of all... PLEASE do not give them CELERY!
Sorry, not trying to be harsh, but it's important that you understand, right away, what your bunnies should and should not eat. It's not possible to tell their exact age from the pictures, but they seem quite young, possibly less than 8 weeks old (which is the youngest a baby rabbit should be taken from its mother).
There are several VERY important things to remember when keeping baby bunnies alive and well.
The first is that they need a VERY BLAND diet!! Please find out what type of pellets the previous owner was feeding them and feed them those pellets and timothy hay ONLY. They are far too young to have 'treats' such as carrots. If you want to give them an occasional fresh treat, a sprig of Cilantro would be fine, but baby rabbits have very delicate digestions and it is soooo easy to cause them serious problems from their diet.
Rabbits should never be given iceberg lettuce or celery. It can cause diarrhea, which can cause death in just a few hours.
Your bunnies should have all the hay they can eat, and pellets they are used to eating, plus constant access to fresh water.
The other big concern is heat... bunnies can get heat stroke much over 80 degrees (depending on the rabbit). Please be sure you are keeping them in a temperature controlled area. With summer coming in, you will need to be prepared for keeping your bunnies cool on the hottest days.
It's difficult to tell what breed of rabbits they are, likely mixed-breed rabbits. They have fluffy coats so they may have some angora? If the breeder doesn't know that makes it even harder to figure out.
Best of luck with your babies and please don't hesitate to ask any questions.
First of all... PLEASE do not give them CELERY!
Sorry, not trying to be harsh, but it's important that you understand, right away, what your bunnies should and should not eat. It's not possible to tell their exact age from the pictures, but they seem quite young, possibly less than 8 weeks old (which is the youngest a baby rabbit should be taken from its mother).
There are several VERY important things to remember when keeping baby bunnies alive and well.
The first is that they need a VERY BLAND diet!! Please find out what type of pellets the previous owner was feeding them and feed them those pellets and timothy hay ONLY. They are far too young to have 'treats' such as carrots. If you want to give them an occasional fresh treat, a sprig of Cilantro would be fine, but baby rabbits have very delicate digestions and it is soooo easy to cause them serious problems from their diet.
Rabbits should never be given iceberg lettuce or celery. It can cause diarrhea, which can cause death in just a few hours.
Your bunnies should have all the hay they can eat, and pellets they are used to eating, plus constant access to fresh water.
The other big concern is heat... bunnies can get heat stroke much over 80 degrees (depending on the rabbit). Please be sure you are keeping them in a temperature controlled area. With summer coming in, you will need to be prepared for keeping your bunnies cool on the hottest days.
It's difficult to tell what breed of rabbits they are, likely mixed-breed rabbits. They have fluffy coats so they may have some angora? If the breeder doesn't know that makes it even harder to figure out.
Best of luck with your babies and please don't hesitate to ask any questions.
I didn't know that baby bunnies should not have veggies. I have been feeding them carrots and celery along with pellets the breeder gave me. She told me that she keeps her rabbits outside in the backyard all year long. I have them in a cage in my front room. I looked on rabbit.org and it had celery listed as one of the veggies you can give rabbits. Here is the site I looked at http://rabbit.org/what-to-feed-your-rabbit/ I did read that they need hay just haven't made it to the pet store yet. I was just renting them up until today when we decided we wanted to keep them. The owner just gave me pellets to feed them while we had them.
Susie570
Well-known member
Ok, find out what brand of pellets she gave you and be sure to get those, or (if you have enough left over) buy some PLAIN pellets (not the kind with dried fruit and such mixed in) and start gradually mixing the new pellets in with what they are used to, to switch them over.
Celery (cut into 1" pieces) is safe for rabbits over 6 months of age. Here's a snippet from a website regarding baby rabbits digestion: "Baby rabbits may start receiving greens very gradually at the age of about two months. Add one item at a time, in small amounts, and if you see no intestinal upset, add another. Carrots, romaine lettuce and kale are good starters. A five pound adult rabbit should receive at least four heaping cups of fresh, varied (at least three different kinds each day) vegetables per day. Be sure to wash everything thoroughly to remove pesticide and fertilizer residues as much as possible. Even organic produce should be washed well to remove potentially harmful bacteria, such as E. coli."
I don't give my adult rabbits as much fresh greens as they are suggesting as I've learned to be very cautious with rabbit digestion.
Hay is VERY important and they should have hay and water at all times.
You can also mix in some old fashioned oats (not the 'quick oats' kind) with their pellets to help keep their little bellies in good shape.
Some breeders are irresponsible and send their babies to the pet store way before they are ready (which is NO YOUNGER than 8 weeks). It's pretty common actually, and it's also very common to lose babies that young.
Celery (cut into 1" pieces) is safe for rabbits over 6 months of age. Here's a snippet from a website regarding baby rabbits digestion: "Baby rabbits may start receiving greens very gradually at the age of about two months. Add one item at a time, in small amounts, and if you see no intestinal upset, add another. Carrots, romaine lettuce and kale are good starters. A five pound adult rabbit should receive at least four heaping cups of fresh, varied (at least three different kinds each day) vegetables per day. Be sure to wash everything thoroughly to remove pesticide and fertilizer residues as much as possible. Even organic produce should be washed well to remove potentially harmful bacteria, such as E. coli."
I don't give my adult rabbits as much fresh greens as they are suggesting as I've learned to be very cautious with rabbit digestion.
Hay is VERY important and they should have hay and water at all times.
You can also mix in some old fashioned oats (not the 'quick oats' kind) with their pellets to help keep their little bellies in good shape.
Some breeders are irresponsible and send their babies to the pet store way before they are ready (which is NO YOUNGER than 8 weeks). It's pretty common actually, and it's also very common to lose babies that young.
Thank you for the info on baby bunnies. I have never owned a rabbit before so websites, and forums are my only resources and any help is appreciated. I will stop giving them veggies for now and wait for them to get a bit older. I will find out what kind of pellets they are eating and try to get more of that kind or do the mixture thing you said. I will also be going to the pet store to get some hay for them today.
Susie570
Well-known member
It's definitely the safest route to not give them veggies yet, sounds like you have a good plan in place.
This forum is VERY helpful, I'm surprised a bunch of other people haven't jumped in to say 'hi' and offer advice yet.
I'm still pretty new to rabbits myself, but I've been learning a lot on here. It's a great forum. Best of luck with your babies!
This forum is VERY helpful, I'm surprised a bunch of other people haven't jumped in to say 'hi' and offer advice yet.
I'm still pretty new to rabbits myself, but I've been learning a lot on here. It's a great forum. Best of luck with your babies!
katiebear
Well-known member
Hi Herimony, :welcome: to rabbit talk..this site is a wealth of information..take some time to read the boards..the search function is very good and easy to use...stick around the folks here are friendly and helpful..many have several years experience..some have vet skills. Most of us have and still are learning from each other.. enjoy your new bunny adventure.. if taken care of your bunnies will live a long time.. :hi: :good-luck:
enjoy your new bunny adventure.. if taken care of your bunnies will live a long time.. :hi: :good-luck:
I agree with Syberchick. The kits are likely mix-breed rabbits, and they look very young. Not all rabbits or all kits will have a bad reaction to fresh produce, but when it does happen it can kill them very quickly.
Most long term rabbit owners have learned to be very cautious with kits and only feed them the foods that the mother ate while pregnant and the kits started eating. It's because their ability to digest food comes from delicately balanced GI bacteria which is inherited from their mother.
Without their mother's acclimated digestive bacteria, the kits will have to slowly develop their own. Consequently, survival rates are much higher when people wait until later to introduce unaccustomed kits to new foods.
I feed de-stringed celery to my adult rabbits, but the only greens I feed to kits are in the "ultra safe" category, plants that are more likely to cure diahrea than to cause it.
Unsprayed rose, blackberry, raspberry, or strawberry leaves and plantains (greater and english or lance leaf) are among the safest. Willow and apple twigs are also very good and unlikely to cause a GI imbalance. Anything high in sugars or starches should be avoided.
Welcome to the world of rabbit raising
Those cute little guys can be deceptively complicated
Most long term rabbit owners have learned to be very cautious with kits and only feed them the foods that the mother ate while pregnant and the kits started eating. It's because their ability to digest food comes from delicately balanced GI bacteria which is inherited from their mother.
Without their mother's acclimated digestive bacteria, the kits will have to slowly develop their own. Consequently, survival rates are much higher when people wait until later to introduce unaccustomed kits to new foods.
I feed de-stringed celery to my adult rabbits, but the only greens I feed to kits are in the "ultra safe" category, plants that are more likely to cure diahrea than to cause it.
Unsprayed rose, blackberry, raspberry, or strawberry leaves and plantains (greater and english or lance leaf) are among the safest. Willow and apple twigs are also very good and unlikely to cause a GI imbalance. Anything high in sugars or starches should be avoided.
Welcome to the world of rabbit raising
Those cute little guys can be deceptively complicated
Susie570
Well-known member
Whew!! Glad someone else jumped in!!!
There are lots of great members here, like Zass, with tons of rabbit keeping experience and advice.
BTW - regarding celery - I had read somewhere (in the past) to never give rabbits celery because they could choke on the strings. Cutting it up into smaller pieces and/or de-stringing it seems to solve that problem, but as we said, still shouldn't give it to young kits just because you never know how it will affect their digestion.
There are lots of great members here, like Zass, with tons of rabbit keeping experience and advice.
BTW - regarding celery - I had read somewhere (in the past) to never give rabbits celery because they could choke on the strings. Cutting it up into smaller pieces and/or de-stringing it seems to solve that problem, but as we said, still shouldn't give it to young kits just because you never know how it will affect their digestion.
ottersatin
Well-known member
Hello Herimony,
you have been given some very good advise.
I will add that the only thing a Rabbit requires is:
A good quality pelleted rabbit feed Grass-hay [for the roughage]
and drinkable water available 24/7. If a rabbit can't drink it will not eat.
young kits will do well with the addition of Rolled oats. old fashioned oatmeal. [uncooked]
Grass-hay is needed to keep their hindgut working properly. The Fiber provided in the feed
is often ground too finely to be of much benefit. Feeding treats of any kind should be few and not often. Treats tend to offset the balance of the nutritionally balanced pelleted Rabbit feed.
Everything in moderation, moderation is the key! I hope this is a help to you.
Ottersatin.ldtimer:
you have been given some very good advise.
I will add that the only thing a Rabbit requires is:
A good quality pelleted rabbit feed Grass-hay [for the roughage]
and drinkable water available 24/7. If a rabbit can't drink it will not eat.
young kits will do well with the addition of Rolled oats. old fashioned oatmeal. [uncooked]
Grass-hay is needed to keep their hindgut working properly. The Fiber provided in the feed
is often ground too finely to be of much benefit. Feeding treats of any kind should be few and not often. Treats tend to offset the balance of the nutritionally balanced pelleted Rabbit feed.
Everything in moderation, moderation is the key! I hope this is a help to you.
Ottersatin.
ldtimer:
They do look like Lionhead crosses but her ears look a bit long and her features too delicate to say for certain she carries the dwarf gene
Your can gradually get your bunnies use to fresh foods but all that water and simple carbohydrates can quickly cause digestive upset do start with less than 1 teaspoon a day and work your way up. If she does have runny poops then stop the veg and just feed Timothy or grass hay to help settle her digestive tract
If you stop giving fresh foods for more than a week you need to gradually introduce them again
but her ears look a bit long and her features too delicate to say for certain she carries the dwarf gene Your can gradually get your bunnies use to fresh foods but all that water and simple carbohydrates can quickly cause digestive upset do start with less than 1 teaspoon a day and work your way up. If she does have runny poops then stop the veg and just feed Timothy or grass hay to help settle her digestive tract
If you stop giving fresh foods for more than a week you need to gradually introduce them again
Susie570
Well-known member
hermiony":2zbqdsmf said:
Glad to hear she is doing well!
