Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

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.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

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.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum DIET & CARE 5 Week Old Babies…am I Doing this Right?

Viewing 6 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • The Bunninizer
      Participant
      2 posts Send Private Message

        Um…hi…new here… Yesterday, I went to the local feed store to get chicken feed, and they also sell small animals. They had a bunch of five week old baby bunnies. Having recently lost my own rabbit (he suddenly stopped eating, and was diagnosed with lockjaw, I was told there was nothing I could do for him and he died the next morning…), I was considering getting another, and my dad supported my idea. Because they were so young, though, I ended up getting two. They’re as cute as can be, and very social, and seem to be doing okay. However, I did some research this morning and discovered that lo and behold, my two bunnies are too young to be on their own! My mom took me to the feed store after I had done some more research, and I got them alfalfa cubes (there was no alfalfa hay, and no returning them to mama), super soft paper bedding, and a new water bottle that should be small enough for them. Up until now, I’ve been feeding them from a dropper, because they seemed to have no idea how to drink from the bottle I had, but they are now drinking from their new bottle. They are chewing away at their cubes, eating their food (rabbit grower pellets from Purina), and are pooping and peeing normally. I know they aren’t supposed to have fruits, vegetables, or any other type of hay until they’re a couple of months old. Am I missing anything? Do they need any special care other than what I’m doing right now? Also, how do you, ah, tell if they’re a girl or boy…? I forgot to ask the employees. What age do they need to by neutered/spayed? Right now, I just know that they are five weeks old, are acting like normal bunnies, and that one is a black and white dwarf/lop and the other is a Holland lop mix (part of why I got it, my first bunny was a Holland lop and he was the sweetest thing in the world).


      • Kooky
        Participant
        45 posts Send Private Message

          It can be difficult to sex rabbits at such a young age, but they really shouldn’t have been sold until they were about 8 weeks old at the very least. Taking them to a vet just to make sure they are doing ok on their own at such a young age is a good idea as bunnies can hide illness and the vets may also be able to try and sex them for you. Once they get to about 12 weeks old and you don’t know the genders i would suggest separating them as boys can mate with females even at 12 weeks and having another litter of babies from your babies is not a good idea to have happen. I wouldn’t change their diet too drastically at the moment as any slight changes can have a really bad affect on baby bunnies as their digestive tracts are so sensitive, so even with pellets i would introduce very slowly. A good suggestion could be to mix alfalfa hay and timothy hay as alfalfa is good for young rabbits and timothy hay is gentle on the digestive tract and provides plenty of fiber for them. Mixing the hay is also a good idea as some baby bunnies get ‘hooked’ on alfalfa hay and will refuse to eat timothy hay as adults. Alfalfa hay isnt that good for adult rabbits to eat as it is too rich for them. try and aim for pellets that have a higher percentage of protein than others (About 16% ish i think?) as baby rabbits need this to grow. A lot of ppl say feed unlimited pellets, but from my experience having some restriction on pellets is better as they transition into adulthood and don’t become ‘used’ to a constant supply of pellets. you also want them to eat the hay and with pellets all day they may very well not. I wouldn’t suggest feeding them anything else until they are about 6 months old and introduce veggies etc one at a time and very slowly. Bunnies are very sensitive creatures. Males can be neutered at around 4 months old, and females most places wait until about 6 months old as it is a more intrusive operation and they prefer the rabbits to be more mature.

          That’s all i got at the moment, this may not all be the best information as its from experience and experience of friends but i hope it helped to an extent good luck with the young ones


        • The Bunninizer
          Participant
          2 posts Send Private Message

            Thank you so much! I’m horribly afraid I’m going to do something wrong and harm them . I’ll make sure to get them to a vet soon.


          • vanessa
            Participant
            2212 posts Send Private Message

              Agree with Kooky.
              My bunnies had 4 litters before I had them fixed. I did things slightly differently – I didn’t buy special foods. I seeded my lawn so the bunnies had good grass to eat. My kits ate just what their momma ate. Momma rabbit needed extra protein and nutrients to nurse her babies, so kits ended up getting the extra protein and nutrients they needed. They started eating her food at 2 weeks. Her food was grass grown from pasture seed mix. But like Kooky says, I didn’t expose them to dietary changes. Not everyone seeds their lawn for their bunnies… it is easiest to buy special food. I’d follow Kooky’s suggestions.
              Good luck and enjoy 🙂


            • Kooky
              Participant
              45 posts Send Private Message

                If my bunnies lived outside i would have loved to grow grass seeds for them. that’s such a good idea! hmmm maybe ill make a grass tray for them now instead

                Also, forgot to mention that bunnies personalities only really show when they are reaching adulthood. So even though your rabbits get on fine now (babies tend to flock and so appear ‘bonded’) they may end up not liking each other as time goes on. be prepared for the fact you may end up with two single rabbits instead of a bonded pair (experiencing this myself at the moment lol).


              • RabbitPam
                Moderator
                11002 posts Send Private Message

                  They are too young, I agree. The feed store shouldn’t have been allowed to sell them this early, but that’s another topic. Meanwhile, go to our Info. menu above, or the home page, for several categories describing care. Since they are really babies, you can also find detailed info. from the HRS, the House Rabbit Society website at http://www.rabbit.org. We both have detailed lists of foods that are appropriate for different ages, and they will have articles on the care of babies that are too young but were separated from the mother. Please be mindful of our rule here about not posting pix of baby bunnies.

                  I am sorry about your loss of your precious bunny. I am sure that once the babies you took in are a bit older, you will have wonderful pets for years to come. Be sure to separate them before you neuter them (separate at about 9 weeks, neuter around 5 months) because a very young bunny can get pregnant, and you won’t be able to tell their gender accurately for quite a while. They don’t care if they’re siblings – once they hit puberty they stop being “family” and won’t necessarily maintain a bond, so it’s risky after a few more weeks.


                • kirstyol
                  Participant
                  580 posts Send Private Message

                    I don’t really have any more advice to add to what has already been given but I wanted to let you know that I have had my Bramble since he was a few days short of six weeks old and I pretty much followed similar advice to what you have been given here and he is now almost two and doing great. If you have any questions feel free to message me

                Viewing 6 reply threads
                • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                Forum DIET & CARE 5 Week Old Babies…am I Doing this Right?