Many Question About My First Pair of Bunnies

[Azalearia]

   I just adopt two 5 month old bunnies from shelter, but they are on timothy hay/pellet and veggies already…

From the information that I gather online, 5month old Dutch Bunnies are still babies that they should transition baby to adult diet at about 7month old.  Shelter people told me that they feed Oreo and Flurry timothy+oat hay, unlimited timothy pellets becuse they are young, various veggies including romaine lettuce, bok choy, cilantro, kale, parsley, and carrots.

I am keeping the food plan as they had it for now, because I am unsure if introducing alfafa pellets or hay would cause problem, but I am afraid that by missing out on alfafa they might not get enough nutrient.  What should I do?

Other then that, I give them 2 hand-full of hay everyday, but they only eat about half of the amount.  Should I give less veggies (shelter people give them a big plate of at least three kind of veggies) to encourage them to eat more hay and drink more water?

I have a water bowl and a water bottle in their pen, but they dont seem to understand how to use water bottle.  How do I teach them that?

Oreo is a shy and less out going bunny but he would run into my lap just to get veggies and then back away with the piece.  Flurry is the more curious and playful bunny but he would come sniffing but doesnt eat the veggies in my lap, he just takes them from his brother’s mouth.  I am in the process of bonding with them so I just stay there and watch it happened, but the action of take the reward from the couragous bunny is somewhat bugging me.  Is this a tolerable action?

Both of them are very hand shy. I havent properly pet them on the head yet, just random soft touch here and there on the back.  I want to get them properly check out by vet soon, but getting them both in the carrier at the same time proves to be a problem.  Please help me.

[bpash89]

I wouldn’t introduce alfalfa to their diet if they aren’t already on it. It’s not necessary and you would just be switching them back to their original diet in a matter of weeks. The diet the shelter has established sounds great to me and I wouldn’t change anything. Make sure they have access to hay and water at all times and don’t cut back on their veggies either. My dwarf bunny eats a plate of veggies that is bigger than her so I doubt your two have anything to worry about. Also, be sure to wash their veggies right before feeding it to them and leave them very wet. The bunnies will take in more water than way.
Drinking from a bowl is much more natural for bunnies (and makes them drink more) so if they have both options available they will most likely ignore the bottle. It’s generally pretty intuitive for animals though so if you really want them to use the bottle just take out the bowl and watch them to make sure they have figured it out and are using the bottle.
I wouldn’t worry about them sharing the treat either. Everything is still very new for them so it is expected that they are rather cautious of you. Just take things slow and let them approach you in their own time. Some bunnies just take longer than others.
I usually just bribe my bunny with treats to get her into her carrier. If that’s not working you might just have to be a meanie and force them inside.

[tanlover14]

I have a bun named Fleury (spelled differently) also! How cute! Welcome to bunny parenthood and welcome to BB!

First off, your buns are fine on the timothy. Many people don’t ever feed alfalfa pellets or hay. What’s important is that he’s on unlimited of both. My buns were actually switched off alfalfa hay at 3 months (my vet told us it was perfectly fine). And we began switching them from alfalfa to timothy pellets around 5 months so they were off completely at 6 months and on to timothy so by the time you got them switched over (takes 4 weeks) you’d just be switching them right back!

How much veggies are you feeding? The usual amount is 1 cup per 2 lbs. of bodyweight. In all honesty, my buns probably get about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups apiece and they are perfectly healthy and happy bunnies. I would try limiting the amount a bit and seeing if it does encourage them to eat more hay. My guess is it probably won’t and they’ll just go for more pellets if anything but my buns became hay mongers when I began limiting their pellets at 6 months. So that may help also. You could also try spicing up their hay a bit – instead of just normal timothy try Orchard Grass or Oat Hay. Giving them some alfalfa definitely won’t hurt them yet (you don’t need to slowly switch hays so they can have it right away) so doing half-and-half of something new may encourage them to eat more! They also sell dried herbs and flowers (I think you can use just normal dried herbs also – but don’t take my word until someone confirms) that you can sprinkle over the hay to help encourage them to eat more. Just some thoughts since hay is such a vital part of their diets.

I used water bottles for my first three buns and it turned out to be quite the pain to really clean them (you have to get down into the spout and clean the rolly ball on the end also) so I reverted to using one of those large dog bowls so they couldn’t flip it over. The ones where you fill it, flip it over, and the large amount of water kind of anchors it to the floor. I can post a picture when I get home from work if you’re interested but don’t understand what kind I mean!

Do you have an x pen? Or anything that could be similiar – I had three crazy baby Tans and I used to get them in the carrier when they were little rascals by looping the x pen around until it circled them and then making it smaller and smaller while setting the carrier inside so the carrier was the only place to go – then I kind of just scootched them into it. You may find that once one goes – it will be easier to get the other in.

[Azalearia]

Glad to know timothy is okay.
I feed them 1.5~2cups veggies (I just toss them a little after I wash them so its fairly wet) in morning and evening, but I really want them to eat more hay and drink more water.
My water bowl is small and I fill it 2 times a day, but every time I check there are about half bowl of water left.
They seem to set their priority like this :
cilantro > bok choy > lettuce > newest batch of hay > pellets > older hay
I use a x pen, and leave the gate open when im home. I gave them a cardboard box as hidey house since day one and that’s their place to go when I get too close. Oreo never goes 3 feet pass the gate. Flurry tried to explore the living room when he didnt notice i was on the couch, but dash right back into the box when he saw me move. I kind of dont want to bust their safe spot, but if veggies and treat doesnt work then i will herd them using your (tanlover14) move.

[MoveDiagonally]

I wouldn’t cut back on their veggies. Feeding less veggies will make them drink more but only because you’ve taken away the water they get from them. I really wouldn’t worry about water consumption unless they’re not peeing, pooping, being active, or eating.

If your bunny prefers fresh hay to the old stuff you can take the older hay and mix it in with the fresh. This can “trick” them into thinking it’s ALL fresh. Do they have constant access to pellets? Unlimited doesn’t mean always having a full bowl so it’s okay for them to run out or to take them a way at certain times. This might increase hay consumption as well.

[Azalearia]

Thanks everyone for helping me!
I went to a friend’s friend who has two dwarf bunnies to get some of the different hay she has. She gave me some of her orchard, and alfafa. My babies love the stash of timothy mix with a pinch of alfafa!
I was very surprise because the alfafa that she gave me was bottom of the bag twigs and powders. Today I gave them more veggies in the morning, and new hand-full of timothy tossed with older timothy and pinch of alfafa in the evening.
They took a lot longer to finish the veggies and ate some pellets. Then in the evening, they took a dive into my newly tossed variety hay and snuggle on the bedding on top of the hidey box instead of in it. I even get to put my hands under Flurry to move him out of the way when I was doing my daily cleaning!
Today is a wonderful day. My challenge tomorrow is to get them into carrier and to the vet.

[Author]

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