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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Possible Rabbit Owner

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    • RazzleRabbits
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        Hi, I’ve been wanting rabbit for awhile and I think that I can convince my mom to let me adopt one as a Christmas present. It’s a black and white Rex that’s at my local shelter.

        http://www.petango.com/sms/photos/401/3b1e93c9-d334-420d-8917-0f1596c84673.jpg

        I have a few questions though. I want to give her free run if my room, though until she’s litter box trained, I’d like to confine her to one part of my room. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to setup a temporary cage out of things that I can find at home. I was thinking a baby gate but I only have one and I need to block off two sides. I’d hate to spend money that can go towards a vet fund on something that will only last for a few weeks.

        What is some kind of waterproof layer that I came out down to protect my carpet in her area?

        Can I feed my rabbit Praire hay. I live on a farm that has some and could use that as an argument for a rabbit, as that cuts down costs some.

        I think these are all my questions for now, though I might have more later.


      • Mikey
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          If you cant afford a cage and vet funding, you cant afford to have a rabbit yet Animals should also not be gifts


        • tobyluv
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            Even if a rabbit is to be free range, it’s good to have an x-pen, a dog crate or a cage on hand in case the rabbit ever needs to be confined for some reason in the future. You will need to bunny proof certain items in your room, especially the electrical wires. There are wraps made for them (which some rabbits can chew through anyway) or they have to be put up out of the way. Rabbits will also chew on any wooden furniture, on bedding, on carpet, on curtains, on baseboards, anything that might be within their reach, and even up on a bed or low table, since they can jump.

            Rabbits are not inexpensive animals. Besides an x-pen or some kind of pen, you will need to have a carrier, plus food and water bowls, a litter box and litter, grooming tools, cleaning supplies and you may want to have some toys on hand, although not all rabbits like to play with toys a lot. Those are the starter items. Of course you will always need to be buying hay, greens and pellets and litter. Prairie hay is a grass hay, so it is fine to feed to rabbits, but many rabbits enjoy a variety of hay and can be picky, so you may also want to have timothy hay and/or orchard grass or other hays.

            The biggest expenses are the vet bills. If this rabbit or any rabbit you are considering isn’t spayed or neutered by the shelter, you will need to have that done by your own vet, and that is usually very pricey. There are also going to be the illnesses or injuries that can occur that mean a visit to the vet. You really have to be prepared when bringing home a rabbit or any animal.

            If you haven’t already done so, read over the basics of rabbit care and feeding that you will find here, in the BUNNY INFO link at the top of the page.

            One more thing to think of – rabbits can live to be 10 years old or more.  Since you are obviously a minor and may be going off to college at some point, you need to make sure that your parents would want to keep the rabbit for you when you leave.  I volunteer at a rabbit sanctuary and one of the reasons we are asked to take rabbits is because they belonged to a young person who is now going off to college and the parents don’t want the rabbit.


          • Gina.Jenny
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              I bought a couple of outdoor rabbit runs, and use the panels for indoor ‘fencing’, which is cost effective in that you can use the panels indoors when needed, and also outdoors to give a bun safe grass time, if you have a suitable garden. I have metal ‘eyes’ strategically screwed into a couple of door frames for quick attachment/detachment of the panels.

              https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M0O44R4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

              https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0064OEJGM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

              A cheap shower curtain can make a good waterproof lining, but you need to make sure bun doesn’t chew on it, and remove it if bun does
               
              We first got into rabbits as a family when my son, then aged nine, wanted one for his birthday. He willingly agreed to accept whatever rabbit the rescue had, accepted all his birthday money would go on the initial costs, and there would be none spare for other gifts or a party, and agreed that he would do his share of caring for the bunny, given his age this meant changing water and helping clean her out. I knew though, that it was me as the adult who might end up with the full care of the bun if my son lost interest, and I agreed to that.

              In fact, my son behaved very responsibly towards ‘his’ rabbit, and then as a teen, went on to volunteer at our local rescue centre, so I think getting a pet, especially if it is a rescue, not a cute fluffy baby from the pet shop, can work out, but only if mum/dad is an animal lover who will step in if needed.

              Five unwanted rescue rabbits currently call our home their home, following on from my sons birthday bunny, and the big cage bought for my sons 9th birthday has been in constant use ever since. Three of our current buns were caught early summer 2015, and were all probably bought for kids as cute babies at Easter and then set free when the kids lost interest.

              So I would say rescuing a bun for a gift if the adults are happy to take full responsibility can work just fine, but rabbits as gifts is a no-no if the adults won’t.


            • RazzleRabbits
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                What I’m really getting for Christmas is a ride, because I’m paying for the adoption fee and everything for the rabbit, which is why I need to convince my mom to take me. Plus she can take a load off trying to find me a present because the rabbit will be one. (Also, my mom will let me be anything but responsible. I have a few other pets that live outdoors that Mom makes sure I take care off at the crack of dawn no matter how cold it is outside. Plus this girl will live inside and my mom won’t let me skimp on cleaning.) Also, my mom really likes having pets in the house and will often come to our rooms to say hello to our pets. She also let us know that we need to clean earlier then planned.

                Also, this isn’t my first rabbit. I had one in April that contracted a lung infection in his previous home and died after I only had him for a month. I hadn’t done ALL of my research then and kept him in a large dog kennel that amounted to 10sq feet, which isn’t big enough. He was also free range so I know how to properly bunny-proof.

                I’ve read several websites that have said it’s okay for a rabbit to not have a cage if it’s free range as long as it has a special area to itself. I figured that I would ask several experienced rabbit owners on their opinions because if I could just fence off an area instead of putting it in my dog kennel, then it would have more room, plus it’d be adjustable.

                What if I used a baby gate that had one of those doors on them and just fasten the door open. Then it would have a large space to roam around inside the cage in out.

                Also, I know about the cost of rabbits and my parents are comfortable with paying with vet fees, though I have done research to determine how to have the healthiest rabbit possible. I plan to pay for pellets and veggies. Though no one answered my question on Praire hay.

                I guess if you disapprove my baby gate I could try and find some affordable NIC cubes around here and build a gate like that.


              • RazzleRabbits
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                  Could somebody answer my questions?

                  Could I use Praire hay and would a baby gate with a door work?

                  *Not responsible typo


                • Mikey
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                    Most baby gates might be too short. One of my bunnies can jump two feet, the other can easily clear 3 feet. Youd want something atleast 3 feet or higher. Baby gates are also super weak and easy to kick over and push around. Ive also had a rabbit chew one apart before

                    On pets, not to be rude, but are you paying for all of the animals, or is your mom?


                  • BunnyFriends
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                      Prairie hay is fine. A baby gate could possibly work – however, I’ve had one escape artist who, when the stairway was blocked off, pushed the baby gate down or squeezed through the space between it and the wall. Very determined bun, lol… eventually we let him up.

                      Anyway, what I’m saying is the baby gate COULD work, but it might not. It all depends. But if your bunny is going to be free roam, that dog crate could be fine. It would be their space, but there’d still be enough room since they’d have the rest of the room to run in.


                    • Gina.Jenny
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                        Most of my buns would easily get over a baby gate and I suspect the smaller three could push through the bars of many of them. Several of my buns seem to like having a dog crate as a bedroom, with the doors left open to a larger space to run around in, so yes a dog crate is fine, as long as bun isn’t left shut inside for any length of time, and bun can stretch out full length inside it and stand up on their back legs inside it


                      • RazzleRabbits
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                          @BunnyFriends my mom pays for the animals outside because their are a bit of a family pet, though I happen to like them the best and name and take care of them. We also have cows outside but I don’t help with anymore then anyone else and my parents pay for those. We do have barn cats and a farm dog but my little sister usually takes care of those animals, but those are all mostly the cost of food. But with the rabbit it’ll be 100% my responsiblty.

                          Also my dog crate is temporarily being loaned out to our chickens outside. We have a flock of grown chickens and some baby chicks that are to young to be put with the rest of the flock. So their are currently resident in the dog crate. So I can’t use that until they are grown enough and my mom said that if I got a rabbit at all, I’d be today because she is going to be around the rescue that is almost an hour drive away and she doesn’t like making that trip very often.

                          But the spacing on the bars seems fairly close and it goes up to almost waist height on me (I’m 5’10”). So if that doesn’t work I might have to look for another form of gate and used that until the chicks get out of the dog crate.

                          Okay, totally off topic question, do you guys think Domino or Stella is a better name for a black and white Rex.


                        • MrBun&Daisy
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                            From the sounds of it- your only real issue here is the housing. it seems you are prepared on the hay, pricing, and responsibility aspect. yes it is okay for a rabbit to be free roam all the time with a personal area but being able to fully contain it is very important. if you plan to use baby gates keep these things in mind- if its plastic the rabbit can chew a new door for himself (mine discovered that quickly) and you’ll need a way to cover the top if it decides to learn how to jump out. the dog crate would be great once its not in use. there will always be times when they are ill, behaving rudely, or something is going on that would not be safe for them and this is when you will need to have somewhere to put your bun that they cannot escape. figuring this out will be the biggest part of bringing them home. How long until the chicks are out of the crate? We had our buns in a baby gate set up which did not last very long. aside from them chewing their way through the gate we were constantly readjusting and dealing with the net over top since they are jumpers. Of course all buns are different, you may end up with an angel who has no desire to do anything naughty or you could end up with one like my little destructive girl. She cannot be trusted to be alone free roaming as she will find the worst things to get into. i think all of us agree and strongly advise you have the cage situation sorted before bringing them home.


                          • RazzleRabbits
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                              I don’t know as far as the chicks, we’d like to do it soon so they’d be able to be with the adults over the winter for warmth and extra protection. Tuesday when the do move out I want to take apart the dog kennel and rearrange it so that it will basically be a gate with a roof. The last bunny I had only chewed on shoes or my charger, so I just had to worry about those being out of the way. Of course this one I don’t know though.

                              If she does chew a door, could I put a piece of wood over it to stop her?

                              I also have a rabbit travel cage that I don’t really need. I’ll see if I can dismantle it and create a gate high enough for her.

                              And I have decided on the name Penelope or penny for short.


                            • MrBun&Daisy
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                                yes untreated wood would work. or I’ve seen some people use plastic. there are special corner strips made to go over walls that tack in with nails but I don’t know how available they would be to you or their price. Mr.Bun is really good about listening and all I need is a sharp “NO” and he stops. Daisy needs to be physically moved. we have tried no with her, a spray bottle, loud noises. Only time will tell with your bun. As for the gate- when we used baby gates and discovered bun could jump out we then put a fish pond net over the top. we chose one with very small holes so no little bunnies could get stuck. again- it all depends on what is available for you. we ordered it online and it was around 6 or 7 US dollars.

                                Penelope is cute! We started off calling MrBun “snowball” because he was all white. well we starting just calling him bun, bunnyboy, baby, and on top of that he developed his Himalayan coloring and is no longer all white! When we got him neutered I wrote MrBun on his chart so now we tell people that’s his name! But his daddy likes to call him “bunjamin” (like Benjamin). Penny is a great nickname!


                              • tobyluv
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                                  Penelope is a cute name. I had a black and white Rex named Isabel (Izzie).  We found her on the street, after someone had obviously thrown her out.

                                  You mentioned dismantling the rabbit travel cage. Are you talking about a carrier? You will need a carrier whenever you transport your rabbit to the vet or if you happened to take it anywhere else.

                                  I actually had answered your question about the prairie grass. It was in the second paragraph of my post. I said that prairie grass is fine to use, since it is a grass hay, but that rabbits can be picky about their hay, so if yours doesn’t seem to like the prairie hay very much, you may need to buy some timothy or orchard grass or oat hay or any of the grass hay available. Sometimes we have to try different varieties and different brands to find ones that our rabbits really like. Since hay is so important to them, we have to make sure that they are eating plenty of it.

                                  I got my NIC cube pieces at Walmart, actually walmart.com, and also some at Amazon.com. I had looked at Target, but they only had the grids with the larger openings, which you aren’t supposed to use.


                                • Vienna Blue in France
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                                    Hi Razzle – welcome and how exciting about Penny !

                                    I see you’ve fielded perfectly all the questions from the other members. Well done.
                                    It seems you’re ready and able – physically (you) and financially (bank of Mum and Dad )!

                                    Re the door – yes, if she starts chewing it’s a case of putting something there she ‘is’ allowed to chew rather than stopping her (unless you can with a barrier or line of nic cubes as some do) I have a plank of wood in front of the wires so she does not bother and I protect ‘outty’ wall-papered corners of walls with a wooden corner guard. It saves a lot of stress (me) and she’s only doing what come naturally to her!

                                    I had a baby gate for my dog but the buns would be able to fit through the bars…. and they’d certainly be over it in an effortless boing !

                                    You have to protect what needs protecting when you can and then ‘play it by ear’ when she arrives. i’ve had my 2nd bun Henry for only 2 weeks and I have to change his barrier set-up almost every day – because he is cleverer than I am !!!

                                    Looking forward to the photo !


                                  • RazzleRabbits
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                                      Thanks for all the replies and sorry @tobyluv I must have missed that part of your post. Also Isabel is a super cute name, one that was actually on my list to consider. The bunny that I want to adopt has been taken of of the for adoption page, so I’m hoping that means my mom has picked her up.

                                      I have everything set up that I can and complied a shopping list for my mom to pick up for me tomorrow on her way home from work.

                                      Super excited! Can’t wait for my mom to get home.


                                    • RazzleRabbits
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                                        So, apparently the was adopted before my mom got there. I’ve actually since discovered a rabbit rescue that is actually closer. I’ve gotten in contact with the owner and we have an appointment for 2:00 on Saturday to meet 2 rabbits.

                                        According the the rescue owner, the 2 rabbits that I want to meet get along very well, but she hasn’t bonded them because then the chances of adoption go down. Does anyone have any advice of bonding rabbits? I’ve been researching it but I like the options of several people.

                                        But, I might not get both of them. I want the older girl and the other is a younger male. Their both neutered and spayed. The male comes with a cage so I’ll keep him in that and the girl in the cage that I’ve prepared.


                                      • Vienna Blue in France
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                                          Oh what a shame they think the chances of adoption go down – I would think the opposite, but then if people only want one bun…

                                          If you are allowed both, maybe you could ask the rabbit rescue to bond them before they come home. That’s a win-win situation for everyone !!
                                          ‘Getting on well’ separate sides of a cage is not the same as getting on well together….!

                                          Can’t wait to see you photos


                                        • RazzleRabbits
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                                            My mom has decided that I’ll start with one, and work my way up from there. I’ve been working on assembling the cage for the 3 year old female lion head. I have shelves and hidey houses installed and plan to build my own diy rabbit litter box and hay rack combo. It feels like there is some much to do before Saturday.

                                            Getting really excited!


                                          • BunnyFriends
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                                              Yay!


                                            • BunnyFriends
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                                                Yay!


                                              • Odette
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                                                  That’s awesome! I love Lionhead bunnies.


                                                • RazzleRabbits
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                                                    Thanks! I’ll post pictures when she’s settled in. Her setup is so cute and matching. That probably won’t last long though.


                                                  • Gina.Jenny
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                                                      Yay one of my rescues is part lion head, can’t wait to see pics of yr new bun


                                                    • VivaLaBunz
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                                                        That’s so exciting, my first bunny was a female lionhead. Super adorable =) Looks like all your questions were answered so good luck!


                                                      • RazzleRabbits
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                                                          So Thelma came home today. She’s in her cage, in her hidey-house and won’t come out. She hasn’t eaten anything or used the litter box and according to the rescue owner, she always used her litter box. So either she’s not going or is going inside the hidey house.

                                                          My last rabbit wasn’t like this when we brought him home. He was eager a very curios. I feel it may be because apparently she was adopted at one point and brought back the next day because their son was allergic. She was really heartbroken and very timid to leave with us.

                                                          But I’m just concerned about her not eating or going. I’m not sure about the water because she could slip out and take sips when I’m not there. Is this normal? Should I be concerned. And we showed up at the rescue at 2 and it’s 7:30 right now. That 5 and a half hours.


                                                        • Azerane
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                                                            She’s probably just overwhelmed and scared. I would put some hay inside her hidey house with her that way she can eat if she wants to, which she may be too scared to come out and do. Also, drape a towel or fleece blanket over 1/2 – 3/4 of her cage to help her feel more secure, it may encourage her to come out of the hidey box if she feels safely enclosed in the whole cage.


                                                          • RazzleRabbits
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                                                              She’s been coming out and munching on some hay. I did put the pellets at the entrance to her hidey. She’s been eating both of them just not as much as what you’d usually suspect. But I did leave for a long period of time and came back to find a nice pile of dropping in her litter box. I’ve never been more happy to see poop.


                                                            • RazzleRabbits
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                                                                She’s been coming out and munching on some hay. I did put the pellets at the entrance to her hidey. She’s been eating both of them just not as much as what you’d usually suspect. But I did leave for a long period of time and came back to find a nice pile of dropping in her litter box. I’ve never been more happy to see poop.


                                                              • RazzleRabbits
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                                                                  She’s been coming out and munching on some hay. I did put the pellets at the entrance to her hidey. She’s been eating both of them just not as much as what you’d usually suspect. But I did leave for a long period of time and came back to find a nice pile of dropping in her litter box. I’ve never been more happy to see poop.


                                                                • Azerane
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                                                                    That’s good to hear, it sounds like she’s just taking a bit of time to settle in.


                                                                  • Vienna Blue in France
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                                                                      Yay ! Give her time to settle. Don’t overwhelm her (shes likely to dispapear more frequently). You can just sit by her hidey hole either on laptop speaking quietly (to yourself) or read a book outloud….. Completely ignoring her…. She’ll come out and trust you in time….

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                                                                  Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Possible Rabbit Owner