Bunnies - what do I need to know?

[northernmamax]

I've adopted 2 baby mini lops after much thought over the past few months

They will be 9 weeks old when they come to me. They are sisters.

They have plenty of space and I've bunny proofed the room, and I feel like I've done lots of research.

From what I've found out they will need an alfalfa diet while they are still young. Straw bedding, some soft material bedding like blankets and plushy mats and some hideaways and tunnels. (Obviously water source too)

I'm wondering what age I'll need to start buying them enrichment toys and teething/nibbling toys? I'm not sure they do much as babies?

Any info will be greatly appreciated I've got 2 weeks to prepare before they come to their forever home and before anyone questions it I promise they will be well looked after and loved immensely and have lots and lots of room for running and binkies 🤣❤️

I would recommend reading everything on the Rabbit Welfare Association website: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/

Your girls will have a "baby bond" when they arrive, but this can all change once their hormones start to kick in from 5-6 months old. It's 50/50 if they'll still get on at this point, and yes girls can be just as feisty as boys! You will still need to get both spayed, spaying is more expensive than neutering.

Is the place you're getting them from vaccinating them? Rabbits can be vaccinated from 6 weeks. This is an absolute must, even for indoor rabbits.

My lop girl was found as a stray, likely dumped because she was extremely aggressive, probably bit the kids and they dumped her 😣 turns out, all she needed was spaying, a neutered boyfriend and loads of space to play. She's a funny little girl, still knows her own mind, but definitely not aggressive. Sadly rescues are now massively struggling with an influx of unwanted rabbits, the rescue I got my pair from haven't had their intake waiting list drop below 200 all year 😔

As for bedding, I don't recommend straw. It's really only useful in the very cold winter as it's more insulating than hay. It's sharper than hay and not edible like hay. My buns have vet bed, fleece blankets and hay, in their litter trays they have newspaper pellets (like Back2Nature) with more hay on top.

While babies certainly can have alfalfa hay, I would mix it up and also introduce meadow and timothy hay too. Otherwise you're at risk of them reaching the age they can't have alfalfa anymore and refusing to eat anything else!

For toys, never too early! My guys love chew mats and water hyacinth or willow balls.

They need plenty of exercise, be really gentle touching and lifting them, and you can take their pulse on the inside of their hind legs.
Don't let them get overweight, and keep their fibre intake up so their teeth don't overgrow.
Keep them active as inactivity in rabbits can lead to osteoporosis.
Check their ears regularly for ear mites, check them for fleas too.
Rabbits cannot vomit.

My garden is really big and I've been in the process of bunny proofing it so they can have free roam out there so plenty of exercise

Can I start them on Timothy hay then or will I need to sort of wean them onto it from the alfalfa or can I just put them straight on timothy?

They will be vaccinated and both be getting spayed once they are home with me, I'm going to get insurance for them also!

Another thing about the baby bond - what happens if they don't end up getting along? Will they need separating completely? Just thinking of options for free roam if it comes to it at the time I might have to divide the garden up lol

I think if they have a lot of space they're less likely to fall out, so make sure they have that right from the start

Only advice I can offer is, if you have kids, it doesn't matter how much they tell you that they'll look after it...its gonna fall to you to clean its hutch and feed it.

Lol I do have kids but they are only 4 and 1

It's more for me. I've wanted rabbits for years. I'm a big kid myself really

Rabbits are lush pets but they are delicate. They don't like being picked up.
I have two mini rex.

You need to rad up on gut stasis it can kill them very quickly.

The diet is hay available at all times and then pellets and greens. They love fruit - mine eat bananas skin and all thrn I get told off by the vet cos my girl is too fat!

They can suffer with sore hocks and conjunctivitis. They will cost you at the vet! Mine have cost hundreds. The spaniel I have is almost cost free in comparison!

Free roam seems like a lovely idea, but unless you’re putting a roof over your garden, they can’t be left unattended free roaming. Sadly predators can turn up at any time of day, and free roaming rabbits are the ones most likely to be attacked, injured or go missing. They can get into surprisingly small dark spaces and dig tunnels under fencing very quickly.

The baby bond will entirely vary rabbit to rabbit, you will just need to monitor them carefully. Bonded pairs from rescue who are already neutered/spayed are a better option for pairs.

What is their usual housing? Hutch, shed or playhouse?

They are very easy to litter train though and that makes cleaning much much easier. Don't feck around with those bollocks corner boxes though just get a cat litter tray. You can put the wood pellets in it but mine will also tolerate shavings. They get the idea pretty quickly as long as it's next to the hay.

They like a hay rack too the pets at home fold out green one is fine.

Lastly they love kale like it's heroin it baffles me but bunnies adore it.

They also adore dandelion leaves and we bring back handfuls from dog walks. Very nutritious for bunnies and free!

They also like ryvita and weetabix I give that in the winter.

Please don’t feed them human foods like weetabix or ryvita, these are foods they are not designed to digest and may contain extra sugar, salt and other ingredients that, long term, will do them harm.

Growing your own forage is much better for them, including dandelions, ribwort plantain, brambles or blackberries, apple trees, roses, mint, willow, birch, there’s lots you can grow in pots.

Do be cautious with high calcium veggies like kale and spinach, and gassy veggies like cabbage and broccoli. Lops are known to have more fragile digest systems than other types of rabbit. My lop is on herbs and forage only, gassy veggies and spring greens result in expensive vets bills from gas and bloat, or extremely mucky bum from loose stools.

And for litter trays, I use under bed storage boxes and potting trays, the bigger the better!

dandelions, ribwort plantain, brambles or blackberries, apple trees, roses, mint, willow, birch, there’s lots you can grow in pots.

What's ribwort please? I will look for this.

My bunnies adore mint I can't grow it fast enough. They also will eat the whole twigs from apple trees. Thanks for ideas here.

I know it’s too late for you now but in general if getting a bonded pair it’s better to get an already neutered bonded pair from a rescue etc.

Babies can and do have fall outs and you can end up with 2 rabbits that won’t bond and having to separate them. The only true bond rabbits form is when both are neutered. Baby bonds can break.

Plus those rabbits then need company so you need to bond each rabbit to a new companion and either end up with 4 rabbits or have to rehome one of your loved pets.

Ribwort plantain is a type of wild plant, looks very nondescript, doesn’t have fancy flowers, if you’ve ever walked in the countryside you’ve definitely trodden on it!

For rabbits it’s also medicinal, it’s high in fibre, and anti microbial and soothes the urinary tract, so good for bunnies with UTI or gut issues. They also tell us it’s delicious! I buy it in 1kg sacks dried from Norfolk Feeds.

@bunnygeek great advice thank you! On the dog walk I saw mountains of it!!!! Amazing I will be trying them on this ❤️