Post by dim on Nov 10, 2016 7:14:12 GMT 10
Hi everyone,
Our family of 5 has just recently added 3 adorable little mini lops to the family, honey,boo boo and speedy. They are absolutely amazing and we love them to bits already.
Because we love them so much (and because we have never owned bunnies before) we want to ensure that we give them the absolutely best life we can, but that leaves us with so many questions. The internet has so much conflicted information that im really hoping this forum will help.
1.Our bunnies are very small. We were told they were 8 weeks old but they look more like 5 weeks. When we first brought them home, their eyes still had a blue tint but they were eating pellets at their old home. Does this mean we need to do things a little differently?
2. Because they are so small, can we have them vaccinated? If not, what sort of precautions should we take? Can u tell the sex at this age?
3.They currently live in a 2 storey hutch outside (on a paved area) during the day and sleep inside of an evening. We will look at adding a bigger run once they have settled in. They have no access to live grass as yet because my husband used product on it before we got the bunnies). Is this bad? How long do i need to wait before its safe to put them on the grass?
4. Whilst they were eating pellets when we bought them, i understand they are not terribly good for rabbits. Obviously i dont want to change their diet too drastically straight away so much to my distaste, we have been giving them small amounts (roughly 2 tbls twice a day). Again, is this wrong?
5.i havr been trying to introduce some greens at least once or twice a day. Because this is new to them, wr have only introduced a new green every 24 hours. Again, is this ok? So far we have tried broccoli (their favourite), basil, mint (they hated it) corriander, baby spinach, and carrot peelings and small bits of fresh apple as a treat every couple of days. Are these foods ok? What other fresh greens are safe?
6.They also have oaten hay to eat every day, a good 2 handfuls twice a day, plus a few handsfuls that are in there supposedly for bedding but they dont seem to like it. I tried only giving them fresh foods at night with nothing but hay (and maybe a couple of pellets) to eat for most of the day and they did eat a little, but not as much as i expected them to. How can i encourage them to eat the hay without making them go hungry?
7. I have noticed that one rabbit in particular rules the roost so to speak. Honey is now the biggest one and has teamed up with the runt boo boo. But it looks like poor lil speedy gets left out alot. How can i fix this? Should i be feeding them seperately? How can i (and should i) make them all be equal?
Im so sorry for making this such a long question, but we really do love them and want to do the right thing. Any other advice would be truly appreciated.
Our family of 5 has just recently added 3 adorable little mini lops to the family, honey,boo boo and speedy. They are absolutely amazing and we love them to bits already.
Because we love them so much (and because we have never owned bunnies before) we want to ensure that we give them the absolutely best life we can, but that leaves us with so many questions. The internet has so much conflicted information that im really hoping this forum will help.
1.Our bunnies are very small. We were told they were 8 weeks old but they look more like 5 weeks. When we first brought them home, their eyes still had a blue tint but they were eating pellets at their old home. Does this mean we need to do things a little differently?
2. Because they are so small, can we have them vaccinated? If not, what sort of precautions should we take? Can u tell the sex at this age?
3.They currently live in a 2 storey hutch outside (on a paved area) during the day and sleep inside of an evening. We will look at adding a bigger run once they have settled in. They have no access to live grass as yet because my husband used product on it before we got the bunnies). Is this bad? How long do i need to wait before its safe to put them on the grass?
4. Whilst they were eating pellets when we bought them, i understand they are not terribly good for rabbits. Obviously i dont want to change their diet too drastically straight away so much to my distaste, we have been giving them small amounts (roughly 2 tbls twice a day). Again, is this wrong?
5.i havr been trying to introduce some greens at least once or twice a day. Because this is new to them, wr have only introduced a new green every 24 hours. Again, is this ok? So far we have tried broccoli (their favourite), basil, mint (they hated it) corriander, baby spinach, and carrot peelings and small bits of fresh apple as a treat every couple of days. Are these foods ok? What other fresh greens are safe?
6.They also have oaten hay to eat every day, a good 2 handfuls twice a day, plus a few handsfuls that are in there supposedly for bedding but they dont seem to like it. I tried only giving them fresh foods at night with nothing but hay (and maybe a couple of pellets) to eat for most of the day and they did eat a little, but not as much as i expected them to. How can i encourage them to eat the hay without making them go hungry?
7. I have noticed that one rabbit in particular rules the roost so to speak. Honey is now the biggest one and has teamed up with the runt boo boo. But it looks like poor lil speedy gets left out alot. How can i fix this? Should i be feeding them seperately? How can i (and should i) make them all be equal?
Im so sorry for making this such a long question, but we really do love them and want to do the right thing. Any other advice would be truly appreciated.