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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 DIET & CARE Baby bunny diet….and just about everything else

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    • Little
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        So my little darling, Tulip, is brand to new to me and my home. I did loads of ressarch (including this site before I got her, but now I feel totally unprepared!!!! So I have some questions about her, and was wondering if you guys could help! Thank you!!!!

         

        1) Her diet: Is unlimited alfalfa hay (in her litterbox), unlimited water, and a small handful of pellets morning and night + some spinach is that  an ok diet for her? I am unsure of her age, but know she is pretty young!

         

        2) Litterbox: Tulip has 2 litterboxes, a cat one and a bunny one. She seems to be catching on to the peeing thing, but not the pooping idea. Any suggestions?

         

        3) Exersize: Tulip lives in basically a big wooden box that I converted into a bunny hutch. She has lots of room to play, and when I am in the room I open up her door so that she can come and go as she pleases. She wont. She prefers to stay in her home, and I am worried she is not getting enough exersize…..help?

         

        4) Grooming: Tulip is a lionhead, so I brush her everyday. She is calm when I brush her back and sides, but HATES having her underbelly groomed. Anyone know how to help her relax?

         

        5) Bonding: With me I want her to love me….so yea any ideas are greatly appreciated

         

        6)Outside: Is it ok for her to have some outside time? I have taken her out twice, and he really loves it, but I am cautious because of her age :/.

         

        So here are some pictures of Tulip as a thank you lol

         She is hard to photograph<3

         My favorite pic

         Playtime!!!

         

         


      • Usagi5
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          For the pellets if you think she is younger then 6-7 months of age she should have unlimited pellets. If too much spinich is given it can be toxic, but if you are just giving her a little bit she should be okay. You could try and start introducing parsley, little amounts of carrot, and romaine lettuce slowly.
          For the litterbox…she may not completely start pooping in the litter box until she is spayed.
          If you want to take her outside make sure it’s best to make sure that the grass isn’t sprayed with any pesticides. If you are concerned that she may run away, you can put her in an x-pen so she still gets to be outside, but she is contained for safety.
          I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that you don’t have to brush under their bellies because they do it themselves.


        • Little
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            Thank you


          • bun-crazy
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              Well, first of all….SHE’S ADORABLE!!!!!!! I love the pics of her! I agree with Usagi’s comments and I wanted to add, regarding bonding with you: it will just take time. Some buns are more affectionate than others, and its just a matter of different personalities. If you don’t bond her with another bunny, she will most likely bond more with you (so I’ve heard). But, try not to rush her too much. She’ll come around on her own. Do you ever try just laying on the floor with her and letting her come check you out and climb on you? It’s so cute when they do that!

              There is some controversy over the subject of taking indoor buns outside. I personally don’t do it, but many people do. If you do, just be absolutely certain that she is contained in a pen and that she is protected from predators. Dogs, cats, birds (esp. hawks or owls), and other predators can very quickly turn a fun time into tragedy. So, be very careful. But if you decide to just keep her indoors, she’ll be perfectly happy and safe, too.

              I think if she prefers her pen right now, rather than running around the house, she may just be a little uncomfortable with all the freedom, and feels safer in her own pen. That will probably change, too, as she gets used to you and her surroundings a little more. Its best to give her more freedom in smaller increments so that she isn’t overwhelmed with it all.

              If she isn’t already spayed, will you be having that done? It’s best for her overall health, since unspayed buns are at a higher risk of cancer. Plus it will help with her pooing outside her box. She may be marking her territory with her poos right now and once she’s sure that no one is taking over her space, that should decrease. My buns rarely poo outside their boxes now, since I had them neutered. Have you picked out or seen a good rabbit savvy vet yet? It’s important to establish a relationship with one ASAP so that if an emergency
              arises, you’ll be ready.

              All in all, it sounds like she’s in great hands and I applaud you for doing your homework on buns before getting her!! This is such a great site and it’s been a huge help to me! Welcome to the wonderful world of buns and good luck! Let us know how things go in the future!


            • Little
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                Thank you very much bun -crazy :-)….let me see….yes I play ‘ignore the bun’ quite often. Its so adorable!!! I took her outside today on a harness thingy ….it went ok. I’m not assure if we will repeat :/. Thank you for your insight on pen behaviors…that makes a lot of sense! She is not slayer yet, but I have been in contact with a rabbit vet so yea Thank you very much for helping out a nervous new bunny mom


              • peppypoo
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                  Congrats on your new bunny!

                  Everybody has made really good points so far about how to bond with your bunny, litter training tips, and the importance of spaying. Like bun-crazy said, there’s some controversy about whether or not bunnies should go outside, but it is the opinion of the forum leaders and many members here that taking your bunny outside on a harness is more dangerous than fun. If you’d like to know more, feel free to ask.

                  What kind of pellets are you feeding? Do you know the brand/product name? Unlimited alfalfa hay is definitely a good idea since she is still young. I would advise against feeding spinach as it is quite high in calcium and can cause stones. I don’t think you mentioned how old Tulip is, but the House Rabbit Society recommends against introducing vegetables to a bunny’s diet until 12 weeks. If you need some ideas on what veggies to feed, here’s a good list: http://rabbit.org/care/veggies.html. Just make sure to introduce the veggies slowly, and one at a time.


                • Little
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                    We are not sure of her age yet – she has a vet appt. On Friday. I feed her vita vittles pet rabbit pellets. Thank you


                  • tanlover14
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                      First off, she’s such a sweetie!

                      1) I would def feed her unlimited pellets until you figure out her age — she’s such a tiny little thing! I did a lot of research and the best stuff I found was Oxbow Bunny Basics. It’s made for babies. I’m not sure if those pellets that you’re feeding now are made of alfalfa or timothy but I’ve noticed that almost all the baby rabbit pellets have alfalfa (not sure if it really matters though).

                      2) Our buns also have the problem with pooping outside the litter box but doing good with the peeing. Ours just got spayed and neutered so if it helps I’ll let you know. Without them being spayed and neutered though we just kept up constantly with putting them in the box when we saw it happening and cleaning up any messes as soon as we saw them… even without being neutered/spayed they still seemed to catch on pretty quickly but always seem to have a few mistakes with the poops! Just to be sure, you have lots of hay in her litter box right? That’s especially helpful, thought I’d make sure!

                      3) We had trouble with our doe when we brought her home.. she never wanted to come out of her cage, EVER. After two days we decided to move her by hand because she’s a runner breed and needs exercise. After 3-4 times of being brought out and given a ton of veggies to chomp on and lots of toys to play with she eventually started coming out slowly for short sessions on her own (even just a few minutes) and eventually started coming out for longer and longer. The biggest thing for her seemed to be having a small space she could have where she knew she wouldn’t be bothered or touched unless she wanted to be. Now she will bang on her cage until someone lets her out for playtime. Another important thing seemed to be having her have an easy way to reach her cage if she got scared outside too.

                      4) I have also heard that grooming their underbelly isn’t a big deal and they usually do it themselves. I know our buns HATE their bellys messed with.

                      5) With bonding, just give her time and lots of love! I used to sit with my skittish bun for hours and let her come up to me or put a trail of veggies from her to me so she’d follow the trail to me! Worked pretty well and when she gets close DON’T REACH FOR HER. My BF always used to try and pet her and she’d just run away again. Now after lots of time when she feels comfortable she’ll come up and climb on our legs or hands with her front paws herself. She’s slowly coming around now that she knows she won’t be pet if she doesn’t want to be.

                      6) I also don’t take my buns outside. First of all, it would be hard since I live in the city — but also because of all the dangers that are outside.


                    • tanlover14
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                        Let us know her age when you find out — she’s SOOO adorable and SOOO FREAKING TINY.


                      • Elrohwen
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                          She looks very very young, less than 8 weeks, so just make sure you introduce new veggies very slowly (maybe hold off until she’s a few weeks older) so you don’t upset her tummy.

                          Otherwise, great advice from everyone else.


                        • Little
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                            Ok thanks


                          • Little
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                              Thank you for the great advice tanlover


                            • peppypoo
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                                I looked up the pellets that you mentioned…it seems like a mix of pellets and dried fruits/seeds, is that right? We generally don’t recommend feeding pellets that have other “goodies” mixed in…think of it as adding candy to your salad. Try to look for a pellet that has at least 18% crude fiber content in it. Younger rabbits (up to about 6 months or so) can have alfalfa-based pellets, though timothy-based pellets are fine too. The favorite around here seems to be Oxbow products, though if you look around, other brands that might be easier to find also have product lines that meet these nutritional suggestions.


                              • Little
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                                  Yea there are little ‘colorful’ bits in her pellets…..thanks

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                              Forum DIET & CARE Baby bunny diet….and just about everything else