Care Sheet for Rabbit ?

trout

Folks ... I'm looking for some advice/best practice on caring for a rabbit.

For reasons as yet unclear to me, my wife & 7 yr old daughter bought a rabbit at the weekend. Rabbit came with a hutch, bedding, sawdust and some dried food pellets. The hutch looks brand new, and has a removable litter tray. No idea as to age or sex, but it looks very small/young to me. The petshop gave no care sheets or anything like advice ... just a business transaction, here's yer rabbit where's the cash!

I want to make sure I give the rabbit the best care & attention, but I have no clue about rabbit care. I looked into the sticky on care sheets, but didn't find anything Rabbit specific.

I googled last night, and found various sites with various tips but I thought someone here could point me in the right direction for proven advice.

Specific questions I have are:
How can I tell age/sex ... I believe this is not easy.
How much and what type of food should I give the rabbit ?
How big should the hutch/pen be ?
Should the hutch/pen be indoors or outdoors ?
What bedding should I use ?
What about toys/entertainment ? Poor thing looks quite bored to me.
Should the rabbit be allowed roam the garden for any time ?
Should the rabbit be handled ? My 7 yr daughter wants to cuddle it etc, but I am hesitant in case it hurts/upsets the rabbit.

I will be thankful for any advice

mjffey

What a list of questions. Has your wife thought of those before she bought the rabbit?

I don't have them myself, but my friend has. It's also common sense thinking what you should do or not do.


How can I tell age/sex ... I believe this is not easy.
My friends turns them up side down and feels

How much and what type of food should I give the rabbit ?
There is special rabbit food in the pet shops, but they also do like fresh greenery like lettuce, carrots. Don't over feed. Just try it out and see how it goes. Fresh water of course all the time.

How big should the hutch/pen be ?
BIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!
Think yourself locked up in the bathroom for the rest of your life. Would you like that? Most of the hutches sold in petshops are way to small. Not only for rabbits but for all animals. If you are a good DIY-er, or know somebody, have one made. It doesn't have to be that expensive.

Should the hutch/pen be indoors or outdoors ?
Ideally an indoor-outdoor would be great. My friend dug out a part of the garden, put in mesh, filled it up again and created a kind of Tele Tubby land with little hills and holes, connected to the shed where the indoor run is. It looks great! The rabbits can go in and out. Only at night they are in their indoor pen because of foxes.

What bedding should I use ?
Straw is ok.

What about toys/entertainment ? Poor thing looks quite bored to me.
Another rabbit, but only after you know what sex yours is and don't forget: It's nice to neuter ALSO for rabbits. You can give him a ball to play, or other rubbery stuff. Not to small so that they can't eat it.


Should the rabbit be allowed roam the garden for any time ?
Only in an enclosed area

Should the rabbit be handled ? My 7 yr daughter wants to cuddle it etc, but I am hesitant in case it hurts/upsets the rabbit.
As long as you teach her to be carefull and under supervison of your wife and/or yourself, but that should always be the case with any animal. 98% of accidents between animals and childeren happen because the children don't know how to handle the animal.It's a living thing not a fabric cuddle toy.

I will be thankful for any advice[/QUOTE]

Hope this helps, but I'm sure you will get more reply from others.

Sigma Force

Short answer visit my link for a bit more information.
http://www.freewebs.com/guineapigcottage/ourrabbitpage.htm

How can I tell age/sex ... I believe this is not easy.
It's not easy as you say, the vet may be able to tell you but since the bunny is living alone for now it may be easier to wait until the rabbit is a little older your rabbit needs a vaccination against Myxomatosis and then VHD 2 weeks after that (even if the rabbit lives indoors or outdoors)when at the vets getting vaccinated they may be able to tell you.

How much and what type of food should I give the rabbit ?
Hay is essential, a good quality hay it shouldn't smell musty or be to dusty.
Rabbits must have an unlimited supply of hay and fresh water at all times.
Fresh water in a drip feed water bottle.
Some fruit and veg (more veg than fruit) be very careful what types you give the rabbit, introduce new foods in small amounts over time.
Wash them well and don't feed straight from the fridge.
Safe foods are apple, dark cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, carrot. Since the bunny is new to the house a little at a time at first. Never feed them iceberg lettuce in fact don't bother with lettuce at all.
As the bunny gets used to the new foods a cupful a day may be enough you will be able to tell yourself after a while, if there is too much waste give less next time.
Also a good quality dry rabbit mix like Burgess (green bag) the amount to feed should be on the bag you don't need much of it.

How big should the hutch/pen be ?
Depends on the size of the rabbit. Hutches should only be used as a safe haven and shelter it must be attached to a secure run on be in a secure run/pen. Shop bought ones are too small for rabbits. The pen must be covered above and below to prevent anything diggin their way in or jumping in, rabbits can jump very high if they want to. five by five feet of a pen would be ok to start off with you can gauge then if the rabbit needs more space as he/she grows. Rabbits can also live happily in the house but you have to rabbit proof the rooms the bunny is in and be careful not to tread on him/her.

Should the hutch/pen be indoors or outdoors ?
Must better to have the rabbit indoors, in fine weather a secure pen outdoors is fine but I would take the bunny in at night. Or you could get a small potting shed and attach a run to it this works very well and is no more expensive than buying one of those larger hutches.
What would be great and handy is if there were safe electrics in the shed so you could have a fan on in summer and a heat lamp in winter plus a light for those winter nights but if you have a spare room in the house that would be a handy place as well.

What bedding should I use ?
Throw away the wood shavings, they are messy and can irritate some rabbits. Rabbits can use a litter box. fine where he/she pees and put a cat litter tray lined with newspaper down in that corner put a little or the rabbit pee in it you might need to weigh the tray down with a brick.
Newspaper and hay are the only bedding you need although once your rabbit has picked a bed area vet bed is excellent or those soft cat beds they love them.

What about toys/entertainment ? Poor thing looks quite bored to me.
Plain brown paper bags stuffed with hay and some fresh herbs (oregano, thyme and a little parsley - make sure any fresh food hasn't been sprayed with chemicals same with any grass).
You can also stuff kitchen roll inserts.
Wooden chew toys for rabbits are available in some pet shops.
Carboard boxes with holes cut in they love them to hide in.
There are also treat balls for rabbits you can fill with their dry food, avoid shop bought treats they aren't that healthy.
Click on zooplus.ie they have a selection of natural treats and some really fun rabbit cabins that your daughter will get a great kick out of.

Should the rabbit be allowed roam the garden for any time ?
If your garden is securely fenced and the bunny is supervised, check the garden daily for any holes in the ground or fencing.

Should the rabbit be handled ?
You should handle the rabbit daily esp. if he/she is young this will make vet visits a lot easier and less stressful for the rabbit.
Have the rabbit sitting on your daughters knee and give her a soft baby brush or small animal brush and the bunny can relax and get used to her and vice versa. Never leave a child unsupervised with a rabbit though.

My 7 yr daughter wants to cuddle it etc, but I am hesitant in case it hurts/upsets the rabbit. They are delicate but she should start off by petting the bunny gently, feeding the rabbit by hand, getting down on the floor and playing with the bunny eventually the rabbit should come over to her for a cuddle. Just be careful she doesn't hold him too tight. Always support the rabbits back legs they can injure their backs easily, obviously never pick them up by the ears. If you have to for some reason you can gently hold the the rabbit by the scuff of the neck and support the back legs, hold the bunny close to you to make him/her secure.

Hope this helps.

"What bedding should I use ?
Straw is ok."

Straw is not ok to use you should only use hay.

"There is special rabbit food in the pet shops, but they also do like fresh greenery like lettuce"

Avoid lettuce please Romaine lettuce is ok but iceberg is lethal stuff.

trout

mjffey wrote:

What a list of questions. Has your wife thought of those before she bought the rabbit?

There wasn't a whole lot of thought put into this decision, and none by me! but I want to do the right thing by the rabbit ... so thanks for the advice.

@Guineapigrescue ... thanks to you also, I will be sure to check out the websites you mentioned. In my innocence, I had lined the litter tray with the wood shavings, I was not going to use them as bedding.

Never thought I would say this, but the rabbit is starting to grow on me

mjffey

Guineapigrescue wrote:

"What bedding should I use ?
Straw is ok."

Straw is not ok to use you should only use hay..

I hope you don't mind that I disagree. In the Netherlands we use straw, so that would mean that they do it wrong.......?;) , but Hay would be ok also.

"There is special rabbit food in the pet shops, but they also do like fresh greenery like lettuce"

Avoid lettuce please Romaine lettuce is ok but iceberg is lethal stuff
Strange that, again in the Netherlands, Rabbits live very happily with lettuce.

Maybe different kind of rabbits:D

Nala

Hay is better cos it's softer and they can eat it too. Straw is rougher'and they won't eat it. Oh and lettuce is bad, gives them runny poo!!!

Sigma Force

I just don't bother with any lettuce it's too watery.

Straw isn't as good at insulating as hay is esp. here where most people keep their bunnies outside. Straw is more likely to cause eye injuries and isn't as soft. Some people can mistake straw for hay and think the rabbit can eat it strange but true.