My Rescue Haul – Did I Do Well?

[Flint]

I picked up my rescue bunny, Remy yesterday afternoon.  She is still settling in but has perfect litter box habbits which really surprised me seeing as she was kept in an outdoor, mesh-bottom cage.  She was intended to be a meat rabbit (being a Californian) and the “breeder” was not ethical at all, even in his pet breeding.  There’s more about that in my Welcome post, however.

Before I picked her up, I bought a like-new XL Super Pet Dog Crate that measures 48″ long, 29″ wide and 30″ tall.  This will be her permanent home but being a stay-at-home mom, she has unlimited free-time while my husband is at work (7-6) but is a little limited on the weekends, only getting a few hours here and there.  

In her enclosure she has a hooded cat litter box (which she uses no problems), two smaller ceramic bowls for pellets and greens, a large ceramic bowl for water, a treat-filled edible log (I know this is bad for her but I wanted her to have a special treat for the transition), a stuffed bunny, a cardboard toilet paper roll, a willow ball with smaller willow balls inside of it and two hanging willow bird toys.  Her litter is Feline Pine.  

I give her a mixture of green leaf lettuce, kale greens, collard greens, parsley and oregano.  I give her 1 cup of greens twice a day.  She has a steady supply of timothy hay in her litterbox and a steady supply of pellets in her food dish right now.  She’s only about two months old so the pellets will change with age.

Here is a list containing links of the main things I purchased –

Crate
Willow Ball
Hanging Toy #1
Hanging Toy #2
Treat Log
Stuffed Bunny

Did I do my baby girl well?  I want to give her the best life possible.  I will be getting her spayed as soon as I find someone around here that doesn’t answer spay calls as “Uhhh, we neuter but we lose spays a lot so it’s at your own risk.”  I just contacted a rescue agency that’s 4 hours away (too far of a commute for us due to gas) to see if there is anywhere they know of that can help.  I wish we could go there, their vet charges $80 and fixes all their bunnies.  Cheapest around here was a $280 neuter.  

I also have a question – she is shedding but not molting, is this normal?  It’s like cat shedding where there is hair everywhere but none missing from the animal.

If this is in the wrong section, feel free to move it.  
We thank you so much!
Tim&Remy

[MK]

Congrats on your bunny The only thing I would say is that 2 cups of greens a day is a little much, I think 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups in sufficient. Easier on the budget too

[Flint]

I read on either the feeding guidelines here or on rabbit.org she needed two cups a day?  I can only buy packs and bundles so small, so I have three freezer bags full in the freezer and about 8 cups in the fridge right now, lol.

[Sarita]

I think for a large rabbit like a Californian that 2 cups is just right – love the Californians – thank you for adopting her.

Sounds perfect and she will be spoiled rotten as she should be!

[CooperLop]

Sounds like a lucky girl!

[Flint]

She may not be pure. Her ears have white mottled in and there is a white spot on her nose but she does have a good bit of Cali in her. I’m glad I’m doing her well.

[mossling]

The good thing about using a wire dog kennel is, it’s easy to add a shelf or some such to give her more room. Congrats on your new baby!

[MoveDiagonally]

I agree with Sarita on veggie amounts. The recommended leafy green amount is 2 cups per 6lbs of body weight. A Californian can weigh 7-10lbs.

Congrats on the new bunny!

[Flint]

I have a question for you all – She is filling up on veggies rather than hay and pellets. Do I need to cut back so she eats more of her important foods?

[Sarita]

I think that is fine – hay really needs to be the most that she fills up on…how much pellets are you giving her?

Also, it’s only been a few days so her habits could change eventually.

[Flint]

She has unlimited pellets at the moment due to her age but has eaten about 1/4 cup the last two days. Her hay has hardly been touched as well.

[Sarita]

I think she is just enjoying the veggies if she never had them before – I might though try at this point to decrease the veggies to see if that encourages more hay eating. I think she’s pretty young isn’t she? So maybe at this age you could reduce the veggies until she grows a bit more. Maybe just for now give her the one cup and then as she gets larger you can increase it up to the 2 cups. I didn’t really realize she was a youngster initially.

[MoveDiagonally]

What’s your feeding schedule like?

When I had baby rabbits I would feed pellets in the morning, let them run out in the afternoon and they would eat hay, feed pellets and veggies again in the evening they would run out overnight and eat their hay. Unlimited doesn’t have to mean that their bowl is never empty.

[Flint]

She hasn’t gotten a refill on pellets and I changed her hay simply because she changed litter boxes and she peed on it in the first one. She gets 1 cup of greens in the morning and one at night simply because her bowl only holds one cup. Should I start doing half a cup in the morning and half at night? It looks as if she’s eaten a handful of hay today but she may have just stomped it down, lol.

[Sarita]

I think trying that is a good idea to see if it will encourage her hay consumption.

[Flint]

She is stubborn and doesn’t eat and poop so I’ll keep an eye on her. Thanks everyone!

[LongEaredLions]

Definitely keep an eye on her. Lack of poop or decrease in appetite could signal a problem.
Congrats on your new girl!

[Flint]

Since I was on last she has eaten about 3/4 cup of pellets and almost all her hay (a couple handfulls). I will just start giving her a cup a day until she starts to really dig into her pellets and hay then I will feel comfortable moving her up and limiting her pellets as I should do with age anyways. (: Thanks everyone!

[Meatloaf N Bunnito]

Ahh! I give my buns that same treat log! They adore it! I give it them an hour or two here n there. never all at once. i like how it gives them something to nibble at as well as grinds their teeth down. i think you did well for your new furry pal, though i noticed in another post, you removed the lid on the litter box cause she didn’t seem to like it.

[Flint]

Meatload N Bunnito, those logs are bad for your bunnies. Remy only got it because she came from a bad situation and she isn’t eating it anyways. Seeds are not good to give your bunny and these are packed full of them. I would encourage you to stop buying them.

[Meatloaf N Bunnito]

Not to sound rude, but you can say all treats are bad for rabbits. I don’t give them the logs all the time and seeds are only considered bad because of the fat and oil content. Moderation. My vet said that my buns are very healthy and can tell they are well taken care of. I watch what they eat and give them lil treats. They also get unlimited hay and i feed em some pellets when they run around. I should give them more greens but the produce where i live is sketchy and they aren’t at my house at the moment. But, the log can just be considered a type of treat. why i give it to them over the span of a few weeks. i like how it does double duty to satisfy their urge to chew and snack.

sorry if i came off a bit defensive, but i pride myself in taking excellent care of my buns. =x

[MK]

I think I missed something, but I agree meatloafnbunnito. I think people sometimes assume many of the treats sold at pet stores are bad, and most of them are for sure, but giving them a pet store treat like a log (Which isn’t that bad) to help them settle in, or once every few months can be OK. (Except for yogurt drops. bunnies just aren’t supposed to drink dairy! )

[MMK]

I had the same problem with my rabbit. He has never been given veggies/greens, so he really didn’t want to touch his hay. I reduced his veggies/greens a bit and he has started eating more hay. He still wastes a lot, by peeing all over it, but he is getting more in him now. He almost always eats all his hay over night, but wastes the hay during the day….so I started buying large bales from a farmer as its SO much cheaper and than I don’t mind him making a mess of it. Lovely hay too!

[Author]

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