New bunny owner help

[Annalise_Jay]

Hiya last week I got two neverland dwarf babies , they are currently 9 weeks old. I’ve never had bunnies before and although I’ve done a ton of research I just want some reassurance to be honest. I’m petrified my babies are going to get ill if i do something wrong :/ so at the moment they’re getting a mix of the dry food the rescue centre gave me (what they’ve been eating already) and a small amount of the much better quality nuggets I got them. The women informed me that she’d already got them on small amounts of greens from birth so they are adjusted so I’m also giving them some kale and rocket every day and occasionally some carrot or Apple. They have constant fresh water and hay. I pick them up a lot and they come out of the hutch every day for most of the day. How sensitive are they to heat!? They’re kept inside and my house tends to get hot in the day and cold at night, I’m trying my hardest to maintain a constant temperature but the house is very temperamental! But it’s not extreme extreme tempretures ? They are still obviously adjusting and a bit nervous but I’m trying to handle them regularly and they get checked and groomed everyday. Basically is everything I’m doing okay !?!? They sometimes sit with their ears flat back or really stretched out on their bellies- is this them being relaxed or belly problems !? Ijust want to do everything perfectly and them to be the happiest and healthiest bunnies possible ???any light anyone could shed would be so so so appreciated thanks!!!!! Ps. They’re due to get vaccinations on Friday and microchipped and they’ll get neutered at 4 months

[jerseygirl]

Welcome Annalise_Jay

I’d love to see some photos if you can upload any. 9week old nethies sound adorable.
It sounds as if you are doing everything fine. Mixing the old and new feed is certainly the way to go. What sort of hay are they eating? Young rabbits do fine on alfalfa (lucerne) hay but you can mix other grass hay in to get them used to that. If they are already on just grass hay, that is fine.

How sensitive are they to heat!? They’re kept inside and my house tends to get hot in the day and cold at night, I’m trying my hardest to maintain a constant temperature but the house is very temperamental!

Rabbits do much better in the cool temp then the heat. How warm would you say it is getting in the house? You can always put frozen water bottles in with them. If they get too warm, they can sit by those.

They sometimes sit with their ears flat back or really stretched out on their bellies- is this them being relaxed or belly problems !?

Id say fairly relaxed if lying stretched out on the tummy. If they keep re-adjusting and pressing the tummy downwards, then there may be some discomfort. But it all sounds good to me.
This is a good site to become familiar with rabbit body language: http://language.rabbitspeak.com/

They’re due to get vaccinations on Friday and microchipped and they’ll get neutered at 4 months

If you don’t mind saying, where do you live? There are a few vaccines now available in the UK and some European countries. Only one available here in Australia where Im from.

[Annalise_Jay]

Ah thank you for replying !!! They’re getting the Myxomatosis and VHD vaccine which was highly recommended here in the UK. The house doesn’t get too hot I’m probably mainly paranoid ! But the water bottle is a shout !! They’re just on Timothy hay and also a mixed one with dried flower and dandelions in It sounds stupid I’m just scared they’re going to suddenly die?!!! 7 days in and they are already the loves of my life and I just can’t imagine anything happening to them ❤️

[Mikey]

My Nethie over heats very easily. They have a ton of fur and used to be bred to live outdoors in 30belowF+ weather. My Nethie overheats around 73F. I know he is overheating because he will lay stretched out as close to their water bowl as possible while breathing very fast, and if you try to move him, he will stay pretty limp/wont fight very much which is very abnormal for him. He is fine at 70F but strives in the mid 60Fs. As a rule for buns you should not keep it at or over 80F as buns are prone to problems in the heat

[jerseygirl]

Its easy to fall for bunnies!

The combined vaccine is the most commonly used one there. When you take them in, enquire if the clinic is getting the new vaccine to protect against the newer strain of RVHD. The vaccine that is available in the UK now for that is called Filavac. You have to wait a period of time between getting the normal combi vacc and this new one.

[MimiMoo]

this post is basically how me and my bf have been for like a week with our 2 month old netherland dwarf!!

[Author]

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