New to Rabbits and have lots of questions

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Rabbit Talk Forum

Help Support Rabbit Talk Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
M

Mainiac Matt

Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2014
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Location
The Dark Side of the Moon
Greatings all,

We live in an isolated wooded setting in northern New England and have three (mature) school age daughters, a Golden Retriever and two cats, one of which goes outside and hunts mice all day long.

We were just given 3 bunnies that were the offspring of rescue bunnies. They have the classic Dutch markings and appear to be in good health, though have not been to a vet. Two are from the same litter and we got them at 9 weeks old, the third is a sibling/cousin and is ~14 weeks old. We believe all three are males, but are mentally prepared for a surprise. The rabbits were frequently handled by former owners children and are quite docile.

We acquired them as family pets, intending to them in a secure hutch outdoors and frequently brought into the house for handling.

I'm on a steep learning curve and would appreciate positive advice.

I'll start by admitting that we didn't know quite what we were getting into, and am a little concerned that some rabbit lovers might not approve of our motives and standards.

The rabbits are currently indoors in a large dog crate waiting for me to complete the hutch.
 
Mainiac Matt":drly6cjh said:
I'll start by admitting that we didn't know quite what we were getting into, and am a little concerned that some rabbit lovers might not approve of our motives and standards.

The rabbits are currently indoors in a large dog crate waiting for me to complete the hutch.
Click to expand...

Trust me, you will not find that at RT.

:welcome:

Anyways, since your rabbits are bucks (knock on wood) they might start getting hormonal and fighting. Of course, right now, I have a large hutch/run that holds 3 junior bucks, so they might be okay for now. Just be aware.
 
:welcome: Mainiac Matt!

It sounds like your new rabbits have a good new home :)
The only thing I would suggest though, is that you keep a very close eye on them for fighting as it sounds like you are keeping them in the same hutch?
Other than that, enjoy your new bunnies! :D
 
Welcome to RabbitTalk, Mainiac Matt! :welcome:

I'll start by admitting that we didn't know quite what we were getting into, and am a little concerned that some rabbit lovers might not approve of our motives and standards.
Click to expand...

There are almost as many reasons for raising rabbits and good ways of caring for them as there are rabbit raisers, so don't worry too much about that as long as you are giving them good care. RabbitTalk is one of the few places where people with rabbits for pets and people who raise rabbits for meat can meet and share their information with respect and goodwill. Hence our slogan: Rabbits for profit... Rabbits for fun... Rabbits for just about everyone...
 
I would place my bets on the rabbits needing their own space sooner or later. 3 bucks will most likely end up fighting and IF one or two happen to become does - you will have babies and does tend to get territorial. Some people have been successful with keeping rabbits together but it's in a colony or large cage setting (that's another topic and not one I'm familiar with)

Rabbits can be kept outside and be perfectly happy and healthy - many people do just as you are thinking and bring them in to hangout or build playpens/exercise yards.

if you are putting a wire floor in their hutch - 14 gauge 1" x1.5" wire is recommended - nice and sturdy with holes that allow droppings to pass through. the side with the narrower spacing goes up. :)
 
Thanks for the kind words of welcome...

My hutch is ~2/3 done... it encloses 66" x 30", including an 18" x 12" enclosed "house".

I got the 1/2" x 1/2" galvanized wire, as that's all that was available. After reading up on the Dutch breed and talking to a co-worker, I made the door a 5.5" dia. circle. I can enlarge this later if need be.

We take good care of our animals and are committed to do so for the long haul. That said, we are not budgeting a lot of $ for vet bills.

Q1 I'd like to put a tray under the wire floor of the cage in one corner to catch droppings and keep the cage tidy. Is this a good idea? Any recommendations for training them to do their business in that corner?

Q2 For the first 24 hours, we had a litter box with clumping cat litter in their temporary digs. One immediately went pee in it. But soon after, they all decided to make it their lounging area. We dumped the litter when we saw that it was clumped in their paws and they were licking it out. Should we be concerned that they may have already eaten enough to give them a blockage? How will we know if they have?

We intended to get two, so they would have a companion, but took the third out of pity and to prevent our girls from arguing over who gets to hold the bunny. As it is, they have each claimed one and we're hoping that will motivate them to take care of them.

Q3... what is a typical cost in USD to get them fixed?

__________ Thu Jan 16, 2014 3:20 pm __________

PS. I registered here, rather than the "home rabbit" web sites, as I didn't want to get lectured about the cruelty of keeping a rabbit outside.
 
I had better luck keeping small breed bucks together than does. The only problem I ever had was an american sable buck who was highly aggressive. Killed 2 junior bucks and injured 2 does with one eventually dying from infection. Most of the time my bucks got along fine. Without does around and being a fairly small, laid back breed they will probably do ok but you should check for bite marks frequently. They will just be little bumps on the skin under the fur usually around the back half from the victim trying to run away. Bitten rabbits need separated immediately and it's best to go ahead and treat them with an antibiotic from the feed store.

Neutering is usually quite expensive. We used to have a farm vet who would do it for $40 but they no longer see rabbits. The exotics vets trained specifically in rabbits charge over $100 each. You can try calling around but neutering 3 of them would probably be too expensive. A few people have banded rabbits but due to their anatomy it's riskier than other animals and controversial on any animal. Some livestock raisers do it all the time as a cheap alternative for neutering males but the pet crowd and rescues will be up in arms for just thinking about it.
 
We'll have to watch for signs of aggression.... We had read that they liked company and didn't do well alone... but I can imagine the older one will become dominant and may push the others around.

One big Q I forgot to ask.... how much should we be feeding them? Is there any preferred time ro frequency for feeding?
 
Baby's should always have a full bowl, especially if they are getting a lot if exercise outside of the cage. Once they are 4 months you can start cutting them back, a general guideline is 1 ounce of food per pound of weight but it really depends on your rabbits metabolism do they may need more if they seem thin, or less if they are getting tubby.

One of the first areas male rabbits bite when they fight is the scrotum and above the tail so keep an eye out for missing fur or scabs in these zones. If you see any chunks of fur about the cage it is a good indication that they are fighting.
 
Feeding schedules vary. Some feed once a day some twice. You might want to build a second cage in case aggression starts. Most on here are not taking rabbits to the vet unless it's a beloved extra special pet. I raise meat rabbits and my kids have personal pet rabbits. If one of mine get sick I isolate and treat on my own. If there is a chance of contagious illness I cull so not to risk others. Welcome to the most accepting and diverse forum ever.
 
thanks for the replies Dood and Demamma,

Does anyone think we're going to have a problem with the 1/2" x 1/2" wire?

We've had all sorts of prediters on the property, but since getting the dog, most no longer come around. Raccoons at night are my chief concern. I think the neighbor dispatched all the foxes for visiting his hen house.
 
You might want to throw up a hot wire or chain link fence around the rabbit area. Raccoons will use their front feet to pull on body parts through the wire. Lost toes and tails are common. If the wire is not fastened down well or sturdy enough gauge they will even rip the wire loose.

The wire may be a little small but you have a small breed so you'll just have to see if it works. If you have too much poop getting stuck you can order wire online from stores like bass equipment and klubbertanz.

Hay can both provide something to nibble on all day which is more natural than meals for a rabbit's digestive tract and make better formed less sticky poop so it goes through the wire better. Many don't feed it though because of the mess and waste. There are a few solutions posted around the forum that lessen the spilled hay.
 
Greetings Maniac Matt!
you may not agree with what I say and it is you're
opinion to do so. I have always housed my Rabbits in their own cage/territory.
Rabbit can [and will] become very territorial and will fight, often to the Death
of one or both combatants. This is why I find it in the best interest of not only
your rabbits, but of yourself. No one wants to come home, go out to feed their rabbits
only to find that a bloody massacre has taken place. If you house your rabbits together
in the same cage I suggest that you keep a watchful eye and remove each to their own
cage at the first sign that anything may be amiss. The best of luck with whatever choice
you make. A word to the wise is sufficient.
Ottersatin.
 
We picked up a 25# bag of food pellets and a bail of Timothy hay.

We plan on keeping thick bed of hay in the hutch, except in the corner I'm attempting to designate as the the toilet.

We don't currently have a garden, but I was surprised to see that several of my wife's FB freinds have already requested that we save the poops for theirs.<br /><br />__________ Thu Jan 16, 2014 4:27 pm __________<br /><br />Thanks for the warning Ottersatin, Looks like I may be building add'l hutches. Good think I enjoy woodworking.
 
Haha, I think your mistake is trying to decide their toilet for them. :D I use straw for my litter, because it keeps the buns very clean and it's safe to nibble.

My suggestion is to add multiple litter boxes (kitty litter shouldn't be used!!!)
and just remove the ones they aren't using. Once they get used to the box where they like it you can start moving it, a bit per day to the corner you want them to use.

Oh, and I never keep bucks together, I've seen someone's pet dutch with his nose bitten 3/4th off by a rival male. It can go WAY beyond the dominant animal just pushing the submissive ones around. They can kill each other. Rabbits are individuals and there is a chance your bucks could get along, but I second everyone's suggestion of watching close and separating at the first sign of aggression.

Were you asking about 1/2 inch wire being used for the floor, or the sides of the hutch? I prefer 1/4 in for my floors. What was I thinking when I typed this?? the 1/2 by 1 in. is what I use for my floors whenever I have the chance. Sorry!
 
Mainiac Matt":2mpkusrz said:
We picked up a 25# bag of food pellets and a bail of Timothy hay.

We plan on keeping thick bed of hay in the hutch, except in the corner I'm attempting to designate as the the toilet.

We don't currently have a garden, but I was surprised to see that several of my wife's FB freinds have already requested that we save the poops for theirs.
Click to expand...

Among gardeners, it's well known that rabbit poo is the very best animal manure: it can be added directly to the soil without needing to be composted first and it won't burn the plants. It's a slow-release fertilizer, too, so the plants don't need to be treated every time one turns around. Either dig it in when planting seeds/young seedlings or side-dress with it (assuming other animals who want to eat the poo aren't around; if they are, just dig the stuff in).

Parsley Graybuns, my one (and so far only) rabbit (AmChin, 12 lb), was originally intended to be an Angora adoptee so that I would have a Rabbit Trifecta: fiber to spin, a rabbit to help eat my overgrown garden plants (last year's garden), and a source of garden fertilizer. But what with one thing and another, no Angora happened and Parsley did, so I designated him my Garden Assistant. He has helped eat down my overgrown arugula, is helping me keep the chicory, plaintain, parsley, and other plants in bounds, loves the rose branches I cut for him, and also loves the blackberry canes and chicory stems I cut for him. He holds up his...ah..."end" :wink: of the bargain, too, and I have hopes of a spectacular spring harvest of greens.

It does seem weird and deeply wrong, though, to have to water my plants in January. I should be able to harvest dandelions from the whole neighborhood from December to March, but not this year. No rain = dormant dandelions = less forage for Parsley and more "domesticated" type food for him. He gets some rabbit "kibble" (pellets), but I like him to eat lots of green stuff and hay in addition to the "kibble." (Since we have large dogs and multiple cats, "kibble" is a normal vocabulary word.)

If you haven't taken up gardening yet, may I suggest it? That rabbit "waste" is really Rabbit Gold. You can almost set up a closed-system garden once you have rabbits eating plants and fertilizing them as well. :D
 
Hi Matt and welcome to RT!

I have Dutch rabbits myself, and the boys are sweet natured and docile. Mine are also outside animals. I do keep them separate, however, out of fear of injury. I hope yours do well and make your children very happy.

A couple of things popped out at me about your plans. First, a 5.5" circular door. Is that door to the cage, meaning your access? If so, please save yourself lots of headaches and make that thing bigger. Trust me, you're going to want it as big as you can make it. If it's the opening to the enclosed part of the hutch, it's big enough, but you might want to make sure you can remove it in case you need to. Maybe hinges or something, or a rear panel you can remove Just so you can access that part easily.

Second, the hay bedding. I would be concerned about two things with that- the waste you're going to experience as the rabbits dig through it. I don't know where you live, but hay can get costly. Second, the rabbits are going to eat that hay, and since it is going to be on the floor, they are also going to be urinating on it, despite the litter boxes. I would be concerned about it molding, and therefore becoming toxic to the buns. Most of us have some sort of hay racks attached to the sides or tops of the cages to prevent that problem and to cut down on the waste. Making them is not that hard and there are threads here about it.

Finally, there are threads about sexing rabbits, with pictures included. I would take the time to look through those and make doubly and triply sure you have three bucks. If not, you could end up with a surprise or two...or ten.

Again, welcome to RT! Know that we love pictures of rabbits and their habitats. And that there are lots of folks here to help you whenever you have questions.
 
I finally finished up the hutch...



We have it in the basement for now, as it is sub-zero at night.

The 5.5" hole is how the rabbits get into the enclosed nest section, which also has a larger access door on the back side.

__________ Tue Jan 21, 2014 7:09 pm __________

Here's two of my girls enjoying rabbit snuggle time...

 

Latest posts

Back
Top