Anybody keep rabbits ?

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Guyb93

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Iv have recently bought a rabbit for my daughters birthday and I have to admit Iā€™m in love with the little chap so much so iv convinced my wife thatā€™s itā€™s a house rabbit now , nobody in my house has any experience with rabbits and taking such a strong liking to him would like to know if thereā€™s any rabbit keepers with tips and hints for a happy rabbit ? , this is wadge a mini lop Iā€™m guessing rabbits can live alone baring in mind I have kids that do nothing but cuddle the little chap
 

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@corylover5 is our resident bunny specialist. She won Pet of the Month with her bunny.
Donā€™t think this will win competitions lol but itā€™s hard to be an adult and not keep taking it off my kids .... my rabbit lol
 
Hereā€™s the winning POTM entry for July 2020
 
You should enter it in our next POTM contest in mid January.
 
You should enter it in our next POTM contest in mid January.
Il keep an eye out for it , I might have 6 or 7 by then though lmao Iā€™m such a child
 
Lop rabbits simply have the floppy ears.

We had angora rabbits when we were kids. Lots of hair meant lots of brushing and combing to keep the rabbits free of matts. They breed like rabbits, one batch after another. Unfortunately they all got Myxomatosis when it was released and our neighbour rang their necks when they were dying. It was pretty horrible watching them die from the virus :(

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Keep them in a hutch with a wire floor so their poop and pee goes down below the cage and they aren't standing in it. Rabbits will use a litter tray in a house and you have some kitty litter, clean sand or sawdust in a plastic tray, add a bit of bunny poop and encourage the rabbit to use the tray. Once it starts using the tray, keep the tray there.

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Keep their cage covered in flywire to stop mozzies and flies getting to them. Mozzies spread Myxomatosis and flies spread Calicivirus, both have a 100% kill rate on domestic rabbits and there is no cure and no vaccine to protect them.

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Keep the rabbits cool in summer and warm in winter. If the temperature is nice for you, it's nice for the rabbit.

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If you have a male rabbit, get it sterilised to reduce aggression. Male dwarf rabbits in particular have way too much testosterone and regularly bite and attack their owners when the rabbit matures. Sterilising them makes them much nicer pets and less likely to cause problems. Females don't need to be sterilised. I always found female rabbits to be nicer natured.

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Feed them a dry rabbit pellet and rabbit mix, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. Apple, pear, plums, carrots, etc are all good for them. They need the hard dry pellets and carrots to help wear their teeth down because their teeth grow continuously. If they don't get enough hard food or some wood to chew on, their teeth can grow too long and you will need a vet to fix the teeth.

Do not give them citrus, onions or onion relatives (leeks, spring onions, shallots, garlic) and no potatoe.

Avoid lettuce and give them dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, silverbeet, kale, etc. If the animals have been on a dry food diet and not had any fruit or veg for more than 2 weeks, only offer them a small amount of green leafy vegetable to start with otherwise they can get an upset stomach and end up with diarrhea. Once they are eating fruit and veg and been on it for a few weeks, they can be given more. They will also eat grass but make sure it is free of chemicals and dogs, cats and other animals haven't peed or pooped on it.

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You can deworm the rabbits once or twice a year but domestic animals are usually pretty clean. If your rabbit is eating and acting normally but losing weight, it probably has intestinal worms and you can get dewormers for small animals from most pet shops, or talk to the vet.
 
Lop rabbits simply have the floppy ears.

We had angora rabbits when we were kids. Lots of hair meant lots of brushing and combing to keep the rabbits free of matts. They breed like rabbits, one batch after another. Unfortunately they all got Myxomatosis when it was released and our neighbour rang their necks when they were dying. It was pretty horrible watching them die from the virus :(

--------------------
Keep them in a hutch with a wire floor so their poop and pee goes down below the cage and they aren't standing in it. Rabbits will use a litter tray in a house and you have some kitty litter, clean sand or sawdust in a plastic tray, add a bit of bunny poop and encourage the rabbit to use the tray. Once it starts using the tray, keep the tray there.

--------------------
Keep their cage covered in flywire to stop mozzies and flies getting to them. Mozzies spread Myxomatosis and flies spread Calicivirus, both have a 100% kill rate on domestic rabbits and there is no cure and no vaccine to protect them.

--------------------
Keep the rabbits cool in summer and warm in winter. If the temperature is nice for you, it's nice for the rabbit.

--------------------
If you have a male rabbit, get it sterilised to reduce aggression. Male dwarf rabbits in particular have way too much testosterone and regularly bite and attack their owners when the rabbit matures. Sterilising them makes them much nicer pets and less likely to cause problems. Females don't need to be sterilised. I always found female rabbits to be nicer natured.

--------------------
Feed them a dry rabbit pellet and rabbit mix, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. Apple, pear, plums, carrots, etc are all good for them. They need the hard dry pellets and carrots to help wear their teeth down because their teeth grow continuously. If they don't get enough hard food or some wood to chew on, their teeth can grow too long and you will need a vet to fix the teeth.

Do not give them citrus, onions or onion relatives (leeks, spring onions, shallots, garlic) and no potatoe.

Avoid lettuce and give them dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, silverbeet, kale, etc. If the animals have been on a dry food diet and not had any fruit or veg for more than 2 weeks, only offer them a small amount of green leafy vegetable to start with otherwise they can get an upset stomach and end up with diarrhea. Once they are eating fruit and veg and been on it for a few weeks, they can be given more. They will also eat grass but make sure it is free of chemicals and dogs, cats and other animals haven't peed or pooped on it.

--------------------
You can deworm the rabbits once or twice a year but domestic animals are usually pretty clean. If your rabbit is eating and acting normally but losing weight, it probably has intestinal worms and you can get dewormers for small animals from most pet shops, or talk to the vet.
At the moment it has run of the house through the day and then from around 6-6 it has a pantry with concrete floor iv made a covered area out of plywood with a dog bed in there as I donā€™t want to use hay as may attract mice , we are going to wait a few months before we decide on the castration because as silent as my wife is about her enjoyments I think as long as the kids donā€™t loose interest and such she wants to get him a lady friend , and for some reason rabbits are selling very well in my area , the breeder we had him off gave us some food and we have been mixing it with cucumber tomatoes carrots and cabbage, didnā€™t think something so small could eat that much to be honest , thanks for the tip with the litter tray , might give the vacuum cleaner a break lol
 
I agree with the idea of a litter tray. It's an excellent way to avoid messes :)

Rabbits should have access to unlimited fresh hay at all times and fresh water at all times. Timothy hay and Orchard Grass hay are 2 good types. Next up in their diet is fresh veggies. Here is some good info on that https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/greens--veggies.html They can be fed a small portion of pelleted food as well. A brand I recommend is Oxbow.

Rabbits teeth never stop growing so they should have chew toys as well.

In my opinion it is a good idea to get rabbits fixed unless you plan on breeding the rabbit. It helps make litter training easier, it lowers the risk of cancer as they get older, and it calms them down a good bit when their hormones kick in.

Honestly, I would not recommend a wire bottom cage, because the rabbit can get sore hocks and it can harm the bottoms of their feet.

This link will explain a lot about nail clipping :) (moderators I'm very sorry if I'm not supposed to link other forums) https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/nail-trimming-101.99564/

If you have any questions I will try my best to help :)
 
I agree with the idea of a litter tray. It's an excellent way to avoid messes :)

Rabbits should have access to unlimited fresh hay at all times and fresh water at all times. Timothy hay and Orchard Grass hay are 2 good types. Next up in their diet is fresh veggies. Here is some good info on that https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/greens--veggies.html They can be fed a small portion of pelleted food as well. A brand I recommend is Oxbow.

Rabbits teeth never stop growing so they should have chew toys as well.

In my opinion it is a good idea to get rabbits fixed unless you plan on breeding the rabbit. It helps make litter training easier, it lowers the risk of cancer as they get older, and it calms them down a good bit when their hormones kick in.

Honestly, I would not recommend a wire bottom cage, because the rabbit can get sore hocks and it can harm the bottoms of their feet.

This link will explain a lot about nail clipping :) (moderators I'm very sorry if I'm not supposed to link other forums) https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/nail-trimming-101.99564/

If you have any questions I will try my best to help :)
At the moment heā€™s getting a good hand ful of media hay a day eats it right up with his pellets and then when all else is gone he eat his fruit and veg heā€™s only 10 weeks old and my house is loud with young children but he seems very comfortable in his pantry Iā€™m pretty sure we will be getting a female in the next few months as everyone has fell for him , question being is as a house rabbit will he need injections ? And will a in heated pantry be ok for him to sleep in , my logic is itā€™s warmer than outside but heā€™s so small and cute just makes you wanna baby him lol
 
Also not castrating the rabbit will breeding avoid the whole cancer thing or will it still shorten there lives , as a male I always get up taught about the old snip thing lol
 
heā€™s only 10 weeks old and my hIā€™m pretty sure we will be getting a female in the next few months as everyone has fell for him , question being is as a house rabbit will he need injections ? And will a in heated pantry be ok for him to sleep in , my logic is itā€™s warmer than outside but heā€™s so small and cute just makes you wanna baby him lol
I'm not aware of any injections for rabbits in the US although it may be different in other places.

I'm not 100% sure what a heated pantry is, but if it has enough room for him and the temperature is comfortable for you then it should be good for the bunny.

Also not castrating the rabbit will breeding avoid the whole cancer thing or will it still shorten there lives , as a male I always get up taught about the old snip thing lol

Even if you did choose to breed the rabbit, it would still have the same chance to getting cancer and having a shorter life span. If you chose to have your rabbit fixed you can talk to your veterinarian and you can get the rabbit fixed at about 6 months old.

Helix says hi to your rabbit :)
20201004_125339_HDR~2.jpg
 
I'm not aware of any injections for rabbits in the US although it may be different in other places.

I'm not 100% sure what a heated pantry is, but if it has enough room for him and the temperature is comfortable for you then it should be good for the bunny.



Even if you did choose to breed the rabbit, it would still have the same chance to getting cancer and having a shorter life span. If you chose to have your rabbit fixed you can talk to your veterinarian and you can get the rabbit fixed at about 6 months old.

Helix says hi to your rabbit :) View attachment 123775
A pantry is like a big walk in food cupboard mines about 8ft by 3ft he has a big dog bed lol and yes in the uk you can vaccinate your rabbits like yiur dog or cat Iā€™m not sure what they prevent , and sooo cute I think I will get a white female in the end
 

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