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Anyone familiar with bunnies?

Posted: Aug 22, 2013

My husband found a loose dwarf Siamese bunny that we, of course, took in.

Neither are of us are very familiar with the care of bunnies. This one appears to be full-grown and only weighs maybe a pound or so, longish hair, and just adorable to watch hopping around investigating.

We have 2 little dogs and not sure how they'll take to the bunny, so for the time being we have the bunny separated from them.

Has anyone here owned bunnies and familiar with their likes/dislikes and any tips for caring for them? My dad is building us a bunny hutch (we have a big outside patio/yard area or we could put her in our extra room).

We've been feeding her leafy greens and carrots and are going later today to pick up some rabbit pellets.

She's (I think it's a girl...I don't see any "hardware" in the back) really sweet and apparently has spent a lot of time being held. We suspect someone moved and just left her to her own devices. No response to a CL ad and no posters out for any missing bunnies.

If anybody has any ideas about how to care for bunnies, I'd love to read them.

Thanks!

;

My sister had - bunnies...

[ In Reply To ..]
The main thing is to keep them away from anything you don't want gnawed, cords, corners of walls, etc. My sister's rabbits ruined the wallpaper and molding on corners. Also I don't think they train well to do their business like a cat or dog, so best kept in a separate pen. Personally I don't think rabbits make great pets like cats or dogs, but I suppose if I found a pretty one I would keep it but in some sort of spacious pen.

You might want to get - sorry, this was meant to respond to the OP

[ In Reply To ..]
a good book on caring for a bunny. I used to take care of a friend's sweet bunny when she traveled and learned there is a lot to know about caring for a bunny. None of it is particularly difficult or expensive, you just need to make sure they get all the nutrients they need (for example, some dried alfalfa in addition to their food pellets). The bunny I cared for recognized her person's voice and became very excited as soon as she heard her person's voice after she had been away for awhile. The advice about protecting things you don't want the bunny to chew is quite accurate. Their teeth grow constantly, so the will gnaw on anything. Something else they don't tell you about bunnies--they eat some types of their own poop. It's normal and apparently provides some nutritional advantage. They like to get out of their pens and hop around, but you do need to keep an eye on them to make sure they're not chewing on the furniture or cords.

rabbits - NK

[ In Reply To ..]
I know more about rabbits now than I did a couple of days ago since I was researching rabbit rescue organizations so someone would come and rescue a neighbor's rabbit. They leave it in a cage on their patio no matter how hot it is. I'm sure they got it for their 2 very young boys, who obviously have no interest in it so they stuck it outside.

If you go to rabbit.org, there's a wealth of information. Rabbits can be litter trained. Who knew. :)

I also read that they shouldn't be left out in a cage overnight because of predators, especially raccoons, who can open a cage door and get a rabbit.

Page after page of info on that site, particularly if you click on FAQs, where there are numerous articles on basic care, diet, etc.

Thanks for saving the bunny.

Bunnies - OP here - SAM

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks so much for all of the info. I'm definitely going to check out rabbits.org when I get off work.

I'm just kind of in awe of how friendly this little bunny is. I don't know if all bunnies are like this or if it's the dwarf variety. She's almost like a kitten or puppy. When she sees someone, she hops right up to them and actually leans up on her back legs to put her front paws on the person so they'll pick her up. I've been carrying her around the house and even briefly had her in my lap while I was working. I was afraid she might hop down and hurt herself, so I didn't keep her in my lap for long, but wow...I'd have never guessed bunnies could be this domesticated.

Does anyone know if bunnies are gender identified by the back equipment or lack thereof? I hate to keep referring to her as a girl if I'm missing something, LOL!

Thanks again for all of the help. She'll be a nice addition to the 2 dogs we have...And the 3 "throw-away" kittens someone abandoned a couple of months ago who now have a supply of cat food and water in our backyard for whenever they drop by.

My husband says if the misfits keep scouting us out, we'll have to move to the country and start a rescue organization, LOL!

I think it's difficult to tell - xx

[ In Reply To ..]
whether a bunny is a girl bunny or a boy bunny. I don't think you can just turn them upside down and tell right away. You might have to have a vet figure that out for you.

Since the bunny is so tiny, you are wise to be keeping it separate from the other pets in the house until they get used to it and you can gauge their reactions. They probably need to get used to it and to learn to recognize it as part of their family. It sounds like the bunny knew just who to go to to find the right family to love it. I hope it works out well for all of you.

You are right, takes at least 8 weeks or so - sm - XXX

[ In Reply To ..]
before you can sex them by flipping them over...lol, or longer. My DH came home about 2 years ago with 2 rabbits and proceeded to put them in our hutch (we have had rabbits before). I was like, um, "what are they?" He was like "I don't know"...I was asking since one was jumping on top of the other (there were siblings too but obviously don't care about such things themselves, lol). Our neighbor raises/breed rabbits for show, etc. So took them up to him to sex, sure enough we had a boy and a girl. Luckily had 2 hutches so separated them fast and luckily the girl was not quite as ready as her brother to make babies yet, they were about 8 weeks old but he was ready to go. We still have the boy but the girl died unexpectantly one day (about 10 months old or so), we have no idea why so that was quite sad. The boy is still going strong though.

Bunnies - OP here again - SAM

[ In Reply To ..]
My dad has decided he would love to have Miss Trixie (what we named the bunny), and is going to build a hutch for her at his place tomorrow. He lives in the country and loves all animals. My mom passed about 1-1/2 years ago and he's been lonely, so adding Trixie to his brood will be good for him (and for Trixie).

Thanks again, everyone, for the posts. :-)

Are you sure? - HouseRabbit

[ In Reply To ..]
I don't think that kind of bunny is supposed to be kept in outside hutches. They are indoor pets.

If she is so friendly, that tells me she was a house bunny. Putting her outside will be the same as solitary confinement.

Not to mention the terror she will experience from predators! Coyotes are everywhere now, along with raccoons, and they have no problem getting into bunny hutches, chicken houses, and everything else. They are relentless. Bunnies can die from fright.

Another resource

We have a full size rabbit - sm - XXX

[ In Reply To ..]
My DH is the "expert" though. Our bunny is outside but I would not keep a dwarf outside, think they are more of an inside rabbit. We bring ours in when it is very cold and very hot though. If your dogs like to kill things then no keep away from bunny, they may just kill it by instinct though. We use both a small animal cage or a dog crate when we bring ours in, our one dog tries to get to it but the rabbit knows he is safe and just lets the dog lick it thru the cage, kind of funny. (we keep the other 2 from it though as I know our 1 dog would really try to kill it). We feed him rabbit pellets, lettuce, strawberry leaves, Timothy grass (think that helps keep their teeth down). He has a salt lick and mineral block too. Maybe call your local vet, I am sure they can give you good info though.

I have a New Zealand Giant and here's some - info for you :)

[ In Reply To ..]
First, carrots are bad for rabbits - high in sugar, give them sparingly as a treat. Who woulda thought? Roger (my bunny) was litter box trained in a day! They are smarter than you think. I buy a product called Yesterday's News for the litter - it's recycled newspaper and is totally safe for them to eat, and they love to eat paper/cardboard LOL. Romaine lettuce, parsley, cilantro, greens like that are good for them. NO YOGURT treats! That is the worst for them! Alfalfa hay they say is only good for the first year, but Roger is 2 and I still give it to him. He will not eat Timothy hay no matter what.

Roger is an 18-pound albino who stands over 3 feet high on his back feet - just an awesome pet! I have a 5-foot cage for him and he runs the house during the day with my 90-pound American Bulldog. Do watch cords and wall corners/baseboards - especially carpet! They love to dig and will chew/dig a hole in the carpet faster than you can say a few select words LOL.

Also, take care in picking the bunny up. Their spines are very fragile and if you don't support their back legs when you pick them up, you can break their back - no joke. Be very social with your bunny and you will not have a biter. Brushing is a good thing to keep down the hairballs they may develop. Mine never did, luckily.

They like to play! Petsmart and those types of places have a great selection of toys - it's hard to say what your bunny will like, so you'll have to try a few out. Mine loved to play tug of war with a shoelace or hoodie string lol. He likes to nose a ball around back and forth with us, too.

New Zealand Giant - OP

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks for all the info and your bunny sounds AMAZING! Any chance you can post a picture of him here or email me one? I'd love to see him!

They are really good - breaded and fried

[ In Reply To ..]
or baked

That's about the extent of my rabbit knowledge too! - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

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