4 week old lionhead Help please!

[Dakotakelm]

I have a 4 week old lionhead rabbit I just got this Friday. He was born March 4th. The person I got him from said he was ready but as I was doing some research on food for him I found that they need to stay with mom till 6-8 weeks old. What should I be feeding him? Will he be OK? My brother-in-law also got a female lionhead from them too it's my bunnies sister.

Not sure if this post is in the right place could not figure out where to put it.

 

[jimmywalt]

Yes you are right. They should stay with the doe until AT LEAST 6 weeks!!! Most people will say 8 weeks.

Is he eating pellet food, hay and drinking water? Watch the water bottle to make sure it's going down and keep your eye on if he's peeing and pooing. I suspect that he has been this past weekend, but it's really important to know every day going forward.

There are MANY experts on this website that have raised bunnies for a long time. I'm sure they will give you good information.

Good luck!!!

PS. How did you find this breeder that you got the bunny from?

 

[Dakotakelm]

Yes he is eating good he's eating alfalfa hay and the DuMor brand pellets. He is pooping and peeing very often. I've been trying to catch him drinking but no luck but his water bottle is going down. As I've been reading it's telling me to change his pellets to something with at least 17-18% protein should I try that or not?

It's was not a breeder it was an add in the paper. Never again will I do that.

I've fallen in love with my little Theo and he is very active and loving he's also been doing bunny flops where is on his back.

 

[EnglishSpot]

Welcome Dakotakelm!!!

Keep Theo and his sister on the food they were sold to you with. You can always add old fashioned oatmeal flakes to his food. Free feed the rabbits pellets til they are six months old. Definitely keep an eye on their body functions, and as long as they are eating and drinking and peeing and pooping, keep up the good work. The ages of 4-8 weeks are when babies can die due to food change sensitivities or just general failure to thrive. It happens. But it seems like you've got Theo well in hand! Do lots of reading here on Rabbit Talk on the care and keeping of the rabbits!!

 

[Zass]

Hay and old fashioned oatmeal are my go-tos for smoothing out digestive issues before they become a problem. The combination is easy on a weanlings digestive tract and provides plenty of both soluble and long stem fiber.
Kits can survive and thrive weaned that early. I honestly feel it's better for them to have the company of their litter mates until at least 8 weeks, but it's not necessarily life threatening.
It is, however, illegal to sell them that age in many states. Even breeders who wean as early as 4 weeks do not typically sell them until 8.


Try to keep his life as stress free as possible, and do not make any sudden feed changes until he's closer to 12 weeks (unless it's to add very safe foods, like the ones suggested.)

 

[Dakotakelm]

Thank you guys so much! Tomorrow his sister with be with him to keep him company and so I can keep an eye on her aswell. I will also get some oatmeal for them. I've taken out his carefresh bedding to keep watch on his poops and pees. I've also put two water sources in a water bottle and a bowl he preferred the bowl the most.

question what brand of oatmeal to use? And how often do they pee?

Thanks again some of my worry has gone down now.

 

[alforddm]

Any brand of oatmeal will be fine just make sure it is the "old fashioned" type oats and not the quick oats.

 

[BlueHaven]

I would only give a tiny bit of oats. If you give to much oats it may be all he will eat and that would not be good. He needs his pellets to be the mainstay of his diet.

 

[Dakotakelm]

I just cleaned up some of his pee it's a dark yellow color is that OK?
I did look up ways to get him to drink a little more and I came up with a icecube he licked and nibbled on it a bit.

 

[macksmom98]

Pee can be all kinds of colors, that's very normal for rabbits. In fact,
It can be a dark orange that even almost resembles blood,
If you don't know what you are looking for...

 

[Miss M]

I moved this to "Pet Rabbits".

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Hi Dakotakelm!

I was going to suggest that you keep both of the baby bunnies together and also suggest giving a water bowl since some rabbits are a bit lazy when it comes to water bottles and will drink barely enough to keep them hydrated.

It seems that you are a "natural" when it comes to knowing what to do for the little guys.

For now continue feeding them the pellet brand and protein percentage that they were raised on as their main diet.

Hay and old fashioned oatmeal are my go-tos for smoothing out digestive issues before they become a problem. The combination is easy on a weanlings digestive tract and provides plenty of both soluble and long stem fiber.

As Zass said, these are safe and beneficial for the little ones and may even help to prevent digestive issues.

 

[FourRingCircus]

I would only give a tiny bit of oats. If you give to much oats it may be all he will eat and that would not be good. He needs his pellets to be the mainstay of his diet.

In some ways it depends. As young as he is, he might need something a bit milder on the GI system for now vs. the richer pellets. Zass and MSD can correct me if I am wrong, but he should be OK with more oats than pellets for a little while.

 

[Dakotakelm]

He is doing good he eats his pellets like s pig sometime he everyso often takes sips of his water bowl poo regular little pellets pees good too.

Only question I have right now is when hes in his cage he just likes to lay in his little bed I made him a lot is that ok? He seems fine when I bring him out to play hes running and jumping like a happy little bunny. I just worry about him while hes Layin down sometimes or Im I just a worried momma.
Thanks again!

 

[Preitler]

Seems ok, they do a lot of lounging around . Rabbits are not active all day, I would say at least 3/4 of it is spent resting.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I agree with Preitler that they don't do much during the day. Rabbits are crepuscular, so are most active at dawn and dusk.

I have an 80 hole rabbitry and when I go out during the day most of the rabbits are just lounging around. In early morning or in the evening it is pandemonium, with bunnies jumping around, chewing on their toys, etc. At least until I fill their feed, that is- then they all just eat. :lol:

 

[jimmywalt]

I agree with Preitler that they don't do much during the day. Rabbits are crepuscular, so are most active at dawn and dusk.

I have an 80 hole rabbitry and when I go out during the day most of the rabbits are just lounging around. In early morning or in the evening it is pandemonium, with bunnies jumping around, chewing on their toys, etc. At least until I fill their feed, that is- then they all just eat. :lol:

80??? Wow! Now that's a lot of garden fertilizer!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Post pics (of the 80 holes)!!!

 

[LittleFluffyBunnies]

Hello!

Everyone here has given great advice, so I, as a noob really, don't have much to add, except a story that I hope will be helpful.

When I got my first rabbit, I chose him from a pet shop, and he was four weeks old. I also got my doe from the pet shop. Please don't judge me, this is the only place I could get small breed rabbits. Anyway, I knew it was young, but like I said, it was the only place to get small breed rabbits. What I did was for the first day, I gave them hay only. The next day, I gave them a tiny bit of pellets, with lots of hay. and so it went on where I would add a little bit of pellets until they got the full amount needed. I tried not to stress them too much either. And, they both did very well, never had any problems, and have grown into adorable rabbits who I use for breeding pet rabbits. Also, if they showed any sign of an upset stomach, they got unlimited hay for the day and I built up pellets over a few days again. I hope this helps!

 

[Dakotakelm]

Thank you LittleFluffyBunnies it helped me greatly knowing others bunnys are doing great. My little Theo and his sister Princess are doing awesome this morning was a a lot of poo and pee clean up and food fillin the oats were a big hit they love them.

Theo is a ham he's laid back kind of bunny and he gives kisses

 

[MaggieJ]

Sounds like your bunnies will do fine, Dakotakelm. :goodjob:

Just be vigilant and if you notice anything that looks "off" let us know so we can help you troubleshoot before it becomes a big problem. I once had to hand-raise a kit that was only 17 days old and he did fine. Hay and oats go a long way to helping bunnies weaned early.