LilacGal
Well-known member
Okay we went and picked up my son's two Lilacs on Saturday. It was an 11 hour round trip but it went pretty well. Got them home and put them both in the does cage. They will be 12 weeks on next Sunday (the 23rd) and the breeder still had them together so I wasn't worried about an accidental breeding. We gave them a cup of pellets that night and hay. Left a water bottle and bowl in the cage because the breeder only had bowls but we want to use bottles.
Sunday morning the buck was out and about sniffing (they have a shelf that they can hide under) and just about bomb proof. Towards the afternoon the doe was out. They had a full hay manger all day and water bottle/bowl. Sunday night another cup of pellets. This morning I put the buck in his cage. Both have been out and about nibbling hay or lounging on top of their shelves. The buck is drinking out of a bottle so we removed his bowl. Haven't seen the doe drink out of a bottle yet but it might just be I haven't caught her at it. They are both inside in largish cages. The doe has a 4x2 and the buck a 3x2. I know the size is more then adequate for a medium sized rabbit.
They did get a few carrots by hand from my son on Sunday to make friends. They were the baby carrots and well washed. I know veggies aren't needed but we want these guys to be as tame and easy to handle as possible because these will be his first 4H rabbits.
Now my main question is do they need more pellets because they are so young? A good 1/2 cup is just about 3 oz of feed according to the food scale. The pellets were provided by the breeder so I'm assuming they are good quality. We'll be going half and half with our's in about a week and then making the switch completely to our brand.
Next question is what type of hay should young bunnies get? I'm currently feeding alfalfa which I have read in numerous books is correct. But the breeder says she only uses timothy or orchard. The hay is a nice summer smelling green hay so I'm guessing good quality.
Please excuse my paranoia, its just that its been over a decade since I had rabbits and my Dad did the hay buying at that time. I just want them to be happy healthy rabbits for my son...
So far they have been outstanding. Very easy going and the male especially bomb proof. We have two dogs, and a toddler on top of my oldest who is six. :explode:<br /><br />__________ Mon Jun 17, 2013 4:59 pm __________<br /><br />Forgot to add that the breeder has already been feeding them carrot pieces and apple pieces as treats. So no worries about giving them items their stomach isn't used to. We'll wait a bit longer and introduce them to greens and other plant matter.
Sunday morning the buck was out and about sniffing (they have a shelf that they can hide under) and just about bomb proof. Towards the afternoon the doe was out. They had a full hay manger all day and water bottle/bowl. Sunday night another cup of pellets. This morning I put the buck in his cage. Both have been out and about nibbling hay or lounging on top of their shelves. The buck is drinking out of a bottle so we removed his bowl. Haven't seen the doe drink out of a bottle yet but it might just be I haven't caught her at it. They are both inside in largish cages. The doe has a 4x2 and the buck a 3x2. I know the size is more then adequate for a medium sized rabbit.
They did get a few carrots by hand from my son on Sunday to make friends. They were the baby carrots and well washed. I know veggies aren't needed but we want these guys to be as tame and easy to handle as possible because these will be his first 4H rabbits.
Now my main question is do they need more pellets because they are so young? A good 1/2 cup is just about 3 oz of feed according to the food scale. The pellets were provided by the breeder so I'm assuming they are good quality. We'll be going half and half with our's in about a week and then making the switch completely to our brand.
Next question is what type of hay should young bunnies get? I'm currently feeding alfalfa which I have read in numerous books is correct. But the breeder says she only uses timothy or orchard. The hay is a nice summer smelling green hay so I'm guessing good quality.
Please excuse my paranoia, its just that its been over a decade since I had rabbits and my Dad did the hay buying at that time. I just want them to be happy healthy rabbits for my son...
So far they have been outstanding. Very easy going and the male especially bomb proof. We have two dogs, and a toddler on top of my oldest who is six. :explode:<br /><br />__________ Mon Jun 17, 2013 4:59 pm __________<br /><br />Forgot to add that the breeder has already been feeding them carrot pieces and apple pieces as treats. So no worries about giving them items their stomach isn't used to. We'll wait a bit longer and introduce them to greens and other plant matter.
