anyone have a bunny?? Need info!

Originally Posted by kittiesx2

Bunnies that have been handled from day 1 seem to do well with being held in my experience. We have a holland Lop and he LOVES being held and scratches on his hindquarter's

He will sit really still and lean into the scratches and then start licking at...well..at nothing really! His little pink tongue just licks and licks.
He is the sweetest thing and he's never bit or scratched anyone.

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I had one like that, called Ginger. He was the sweetest thing ever and a real licker. He was also quite a bold and inquisitive rabbit, I am sure he wouldn't have lasted long in the wild! I have mentioned before about having one that enjoyed watching fireworks - that was Ginger

The feed store that we buy his food at sells mini bales of timothy and alfalfa. I think that they sell it in mini bales at petsmart though

I just read back through the thread and thought of a few things to add. As a teenager I bred both Netherland Dwarf and Holland Lop bunnies. The Hollands are much friendlier than the Dwarfs and my Males were less skittish than my females. I don't have much experience with other breeds but the Lionheads seem really sweet. I held one yesterday and it was very relaxed and snuggly

ok well i like the "look" of the netherland dwarfs better but there is also a holland lop available. She did say he was really sweet and 1 year old.
Decisions!

Holland lops are such loving little bunnies if handled properly from a young age.
My last bunny was a holland lop, she was 3.5 pounds full grown.
She was loose in the apartment as long as someone was home to keep an eye on her.
After playing with (baby) Spaz an hour or two, she come snuggle up on the couch with you.

I knew I had a couple pics, sorry for bad quality they are scans of polaroids.

Here's Buttons playing with Spaz


And this is Buttons on the back of the couch.

Maybe you could spend some time with both of them, possibly with your Daughter, and see how they react to handling and being petted? Just because I've had sweet Hollands and nippy Dwarfs doesn't mean that they are all that way I am partial to Hollands though. They are so fluffy and have the softest fur If my DH would let me I would have ten of them running all over the house!

i am also thinking we need to visit.

I'll email her later, i have already emailed a few times....lol

Going to scope out prices of food etc.

What kind of litter (is that what you call it for bunnies) is best?

Oh and neutering is 130$ at my vets : )

We use pine shavings.

Pine is not good
The oils and phenols in it are bad for respiratory systems.
Use natural aspen or carefresh.

I didn't know that! Poor bunny, I'll get new litter for him

A lot of people don't know and I blame petstores for it.
For something as large as a bunny, it takes a while to start causing problems, but think of all the poor little rodents that are on pine and cedar because the petstores tell new owners that it's the best.
Petstores really anger me sometimes

At least my early teen years in 4-H paid off in some ways

We use Feline Pine as litter in our bunnies boxes and I have been very impressed with the odor control, absorbency and easy clean up. (We totally dump it when we change it instead of adding more like it says on the bag) I have been told that wood stove pellets are the same thing and fairly inexpensive if they are available in your area. They are not supposed to have the dangers of the pine shavings because the way they are manufactured.

Yes, I believe the pellets have been proven phenol free.
I know they are safe for cats which are very sensitive to phenols.

IMO if you guys have not read up first on rabbit care, please do not get one on the spur of the moment. Read about how to care for them, what you will need, and THEN go get everything.

Just give her a card with a bunny picture and a promise to check things out.

There are many different types of rabbits - from the drawfs to the giants - decide what breed you want first. Then go online and locate a breeder of the type you want. Do NOT be buying them from a pet store - those are poor quality rabbits and it would be the same as if you bought a cat or dog from the pet stores.

I raised full size dutch rabbits - love them My son had a rex rabbit for awhile.

Its better to have the rabbit in a hutch with more room and space then to keep them in an aquarium - they are NOT fish or hamsters. We had a portable pen my dad put together for the rabbits to graze on the lawn in good weather. My dad built a very nice hutch - solid and strong with left over shingles on top. The rabbits stayed outside by the house and we enclosed it for winter. I would bring them in for a few hours to play in the house under supervision.

You also need rabbit pellets, hay, greens, and a salt block. Plus you need something for them to chew on (like a piece of wood or branches) because rabbits teeth keep growing.

We never took our rabbits to the vet - they never got sick. I think you can get them shots now for distemper - I don't know for sure. Also you need to trim their nails like a cat.

A rabbit can live a good 10-15 yrs if properly taken care of. BTW they were not spaying/neutering rabbits when I had them as a teen - and no problems

Spay/Neuter is quite necessary, especially if this is to be a child's pet.
More often than not, bunnies will get quite territorial and agressive if not fixed, regardless of gender.
There are a few exceptions for some breeds, and of course, like cats, individuals vary as well, typically, the dwarf breeds are the worst if unfixed.
Traditional hutches are bad as most have wire floors, although I do love that they have nice room hide boxes on them.
Solid floors are best, but they must be kept immaculate as bunny feet suffer urine burns very easily.
I prefer getting the very large 2-3 story ferret townhouses for them and litter training them to use a corner box (females are usually easier to litter train).
Bunnies will also not stray far from their burrows
If you have a safe, fenced yard, you can let them explore on their own.
You have to be sure that they are the ones who make the trip on their own from cage to outdoors though, so that they know how to get back.
Watch them the first few times and never allow a baby bunny outdoors alone.

Yes our hutch had the wire flooring - was a lot easier to keep clean and dry! BunBun also had a wooden house she could lay in hay or lay on top - she never had any feet problems with the wire cages. I feel they are far more sanitary then a solid flooring. She had solid ground to run on in the pen.

Yeah, my 4-H rabbits had wire floor hutches as well, but part of the 4-H rabbit husbandry program involved foot care, so I was always very aware of the shape my bunnies' feet were in.
It also helps that they were shown during fair season, helps a kid stay on top of things that's for sure

This is the cage that we use. It's very comfortable and I like the fact that it is off the ground It has pull out tray's and can be taken apart completely for thorough cleaning. It also has a plastic floor with holes for the droppings.


http://www.ferretstore.com/ma-34451.html

That's a very nice cage - similar to what my dad did - but ours was wood with the plastic tray underneath. We had a wooden door in front that opened for a single or double side (the cage was big enough to splt in two sections if needed).

It was more like a hutch like this - a little larger and we could put a nice wooden box in there for her to sleep in/on.

http://www.epetpals.com/cgi-bin/comm...y=715764291020