House rabbits

[WhyDidIEatThat]

Please tell me e v e r y t h i n g !

We’ve emergency fostered two very young crossbreed bunnies (one around 8 weeks, one 12 weeks) and are obviously going to keep them forever. I’m a (highly professional 😀) pet sitter with plenty of experience but don’t know much about raising house bunnies from scratch - have set up some temporary accommodation which is adequate for now but I think they’ll quickly outgrow it. Plus they have no toys yet :( Pic hopefully attached.

Please help me with a shopping and a To Do list? They’re settling in nicely so early next week we’ll get a vet to microchip and vaccinate and talk about neutering. What else do I need to do, what things do they need? Thanks 🐰 🐇

[bunnygeek]

Do you know the sexes first up? You've maybe got 2-4 weeks before they hit "teenager" and if you have opposite sexes...well that

Space wise for now, it's ok to keep them confined and it will need to wait until they're both neutered before they can free range.

Do LOADS of bunny proofing, get down to their level and if it's exposed, they'll potentially chew it. Especially wires (they look like delicious branches) and skirting boards. FYI they can mellow as they age and chew less but it can take years. Mine are free range but mainly stick to their bedroom and at 11 years old, haven't really chewed anything at all!

It's a good idea to provide them with several litter trays, large ones, and a digging box. This is a fancy indoor digging box:
www.manorpethousing.co.uk/digging-box

[IHaveAToiletBrush]

3 weeks ago we got 2 8 week old bunnies both boys. Their cage is in out shed with a thermal cover on, they come into the house for around 1 1/2 hours in the morning and 1 1/2 before the kids go to bed. They have become quite friendly and come up to be petted. What toys do rabbits need? We don't have any didn't know we needed any.

[IHaveAToiletBrush]

In the warmer drier weather they will be able to go in the garden but it is a bit to cold at the moment.

[Thisnamechanger]

I'm sure others will come up with the goods re. what to buy but here's my top bunny tip that I wish I'd know. If bun is ever refusing food and pressing tummy into the floor head to the vets straight away.

Make sure they always have more hay than you think they can eat too! They've got quite delicate guts.

[WhyDidIEatThat]

Thanks 😊 that digging box looks incredible!

We had a house rabbit years ago who free ranged but she was quite old when she came to live with us and already knew not to chew certain things and was also skilled in the litter tray arts. It’s only day 3 so have started putting their house on the floor with a puppy playpen around it, I’m thinking of just extending the pen rather than complete free range 🤔

Pic didn’t attach first time but this is the current set up when not supervised (there’s a cage cover for that stealthy feel 😀) but looking forward something bigger with access to an enclosed play area?

I bought special uneconomical bunny hay but we have horses - can rabbits eat the same hay? It’s hugely variable but free, or haylage?

[AlwaysaNortherner]

Once they're neutered litter training will be much easier, so don't panic if that doesn't work out straight away. We have two adults and it's very rare now for ours to have accidents.

Toy wise, sod's law they will prefer cardboard boxes or homemade toys to anything you spend money on You can also get a plastic treat ball they roll around to get the food out, that goes down very well with ours! Try putting out a few things and then swapping them round, they'll be more interested that way than if the same toys are left out all the time.

Decide now if there are any areas you don't want them to go in and stick to it - they have surprisingly long memories! We had ours in our bedroom for a few days when we were having some building work done and now they're obsessed with trying to sneak in. They have all their things downstairs, they just have this memory of a mythical amazing upstairs room!

Good luck with them - I think they're wonderful pets (as you can probably tell!)

[AlwaysaNortherner]

Cross posted - gorgeous bunnies Ours are free range but there are lots of pictures of different set ups if you have a google. Restricting their space certainly while litter training is a good idea.

[WhyDidIEatThat]

Not totally 100% sure the fluffy one is a rabbit 😀 - both female as far as we could tell but vet will verify next week and let us know how soon they can be spayed.

[bunnygeek]

At that age, the boy's plums won't have dropped yet so you COULD get a "surprise, a boy!"

Mine love toys they can destroy - so willow balls or just branches of bunny-friendly trees like hazel or apple, leaves included. Mine get their dinner of pellets in rolling balls so they have to run around to get their dinner out (they wouldn't move around much otherwise, elderly!).

Yes a pen around the cage will work too - make sure that any bars on those lids are covered with something solid though, have heard of rabbits to jump on top of cages with bars, legs go through the bars and they've ended up with broken legs.

[bunnygeek]

And they can have horse hay, as long as it's good quality. Although be aware that from some hays they can get fur mites transferred over and they have sensitive respiratory systems - some hay bales will be quite dusty, dust extracted is best!

[WhyDidIEatThat]

Thank you! All very good to know 😊😊😊 I love the idea of those polycarb panels in a link above (manor pet something) they seem like a great way to bunny proof. And in case summer ever comes again I’m 😍😍😍 with the runaround tunnels and runs www.runaround.co.uk endless fun! Anyone have them? Would you recommend?

[bunnygeek]

I don't have Runaround tunnels but have seen them and they seem great! The panels are a brilliant option for indoor pens.

[MissMoneyPlant]

In terms of toys, mine love water hyacinth woven balls and mats (I think the mats are called "chill and chew mats"). They abandon even the most tempting wallpaper/rugs in favour of them. They also love destroying cardboard boxes but only under superivison as they tend to eat the cardboard...
Also bear in mind they can jump surprisingly high and love to climb...