Info On Rabbits

[Glenbo1981]

Hi I recentley bought 2 Lion Head rabbits for my kids and was after a bit of information.

We had a Grey one and a white one and the white one died inside a week for no reason that i'm aware of other than maybe my cats spooked it or something.

So we got another a larger brown lion head.

Anyway they live in a 4ft x 1ft x 1ft hutch witch is built ontop of a 4ft x 4ft x 1ft run (with a ladder going into it)

I make sure their food bowl is full up daily and check there water constantly,I change there hay once a week.

We also lock the cats out and bring them inside a couple of times a week and let them run around/sit on peopls laps (they are very friendly and come to you when you call them)

Is this enough?

My friends say they are to small....but i believe they are dwarf rabbits and they are meant to be small

Also other friends have told me they need a 'ice pack' in there cage to keep them cool and vitamins added to there water because they are from 'inbred stock'.

Do we need to cover the hutch up at night time? they have a compartment they can both go in which is completley private so the cats dont bother them (we have 3 cats that spend most of the day harassing their hutch)

Is there anything we are doing wrong? There is so much conflicting advice on teh internet and people also give you a ton of conflicting...sometimes over dramatic advice,I ask because I'm concerend we might suddenly lose one again.

Heres the one that died

To show you how small they are...that is my five year olds hand next to the rabbit (they are about 7 weeks old)

 

[chesterscot]

i have to ask where your based my rabbits have never needed ice packs and ive kept and breed alot of them
as long as your feeding them a good dry rabbit mix with some veg and grass they should be fine i would say use straw as bedding its cheaper and then just use the hay as a feed as they will eat it this keeps their teeth in good nick as well
with regards to salt licks you can use them but its like us takeing multivitimins if you have a balanced diet you shouldnt need them if you need any more help pm me
regards scot

that pic should be in potm so heres my nomination

 

[Glenbo1981]

Cheers scot,must of been just one of those freak things...that or she was just badly bred (bad genetics,internal problems)

I live in Somerset,has been stupidly hot here the last few weeks!

BTW,whats the potm?

Cheers
-Glen

 

[chesterscot]

potm is pet of the month its a compatition on the forum you just need two nominations and youve got mine
you wont need ice packs in the uk i was just checking you didnt live in egypt or something lol in really hot sunny weather just keep them shaded if you can and they will be fine your also right their a smallish breed so wont grow to 23llb like a new zealand white can lol
scot

 

[Glenbo1981]

Thank you

Does the hutch ever need to be covered?

 

[chesterscot]

i only ever cover my hutches to keep out driveing rain draughts and excessive heat oh and bomfire night
scot

 

[guppy fan]

Hi,
It sounds like you are taking good care of them to me. Your little bunny was very cute. Do you have any pics of the others? The cage does not need to be covered, but your bunnies should have a shelter covered on all sides, except for the door, inside their cage that they can retreat to when scared. If you are using wood chips for bedding avoid aspen or pine chips. These contain aromatic oils that can cause respiratory infections in rabbits. Aspen wood chips work well. About the salt and mineral licks, I kept one for my rabbit because it helped her keep her teeth mowed down. I also gave her hay. She got one cup of veggies a day (she was three lbs) along with her feed. Here is a list of vegetables that rabbits can have; beet greens, bok choy, broccoli (mostly leaves and stems), brussels sprouts, carrots and carrot tops, celery, cilantro, clover, dandelion greens, green peppers, Kale, mint, sugar snap peas, raspberry leaves, romaine lettuce (not ice burg), parsley, radish tops, alfalfa, Peppermint leaves, radicchio, basil, watercress, and wheat grass. This list can be found in (the simple guide to RABBITS by Bobbye Land pp.119). Have fun with your bunnies, they are such great pets!

 

[Glenbo1981]

Thanks,Our Rabbits have been fine ever since,growing up now will take a few pics when the sun comes back out.

The hutch is covered liek you said on all sides except where there food is,they have a retreat and they have a 4ftx4ft run attached to there 4ftx2ft hutch so lots of space.

We use hay only as bedding (probably why they poo so much! lol)

 

[RATTIE2007]

The rabbit is very cute. I have a small mix breed rabbit. This helped me a lot when I got my boy.

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article....mp;category=252

 

[pirate monkey]

I'm sorry to hear about your bunny glad the other one is doing great!

Just to let you know, care should be taken feeding hay to young bunnies, as they can easily suffer from bloat, which often leads to death. You can get a junior rabbit food for young bunnies to be on the safe side, but they should be ok with adult food. Limit the amount of fresh grass they eat, and never give freshly cut grass.

I also would advise against using straw for any animal smaller than a horse, as it can easily scratch their eyes, many people do use it, but it is best not to The best bedding you can get although rather expensive, is a cat litter called Bio-Catolet, made from recycled paper. Rabbits usually urinate in just one corner of their house and can easily be trained to use a litter tray. this corner should be cleaned more regularly than the rest of the hutch, and along with removing the poop regularly, you won't need to clean out the whole hutch so often. this helps get around the cost of expensive bedding! Hay is fine to use in their bed, but do provide some elsewhere for them to eat.

Another thing, if you do use newspaper, it should be from a broadsheet paper rather than a tabloid like the Sun, as the inks they use are different, the tabloid ink is toxic to bunnies!

If it is particularly hot, you can freeze a bottle of water, and just lay it in their hutch, they love to lie against it to cool down!

HTH

 

[LiveYourLife]

Have you had your bunnies vaccinated against mxymatosis and Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD).
Also, rabbits gorge on food, so only let your rabbit feed for twenty minutes a day, then take the rest away.
This may seem cruel but they just will just eat and eat.
Hay is essential to rabbits as it grinds down their teeth.
do ou know what sex your rabbits are? as if you have two of the same sex, or one of each..you are most likely going to have to get them snipped.
Males become competive and territorail, even if the have been together since birth.. Females will be worse. They get extremely broody!
And if you have male female..you know what will happen!
In some cases people dont need to have them neutered, but its always better to be safe than sorry.
You can buy a specificall designed slab you can buy for about £5 that is designed to stay cold even in hot weather to prevent them getting sunstroke.
Oh and you mentioned that because your rabbits are 'dwarfs' they will be small.
This is untrue.
The smallest breed of rabbit you can get is called a mini lop. The only type of dwarf that will stay small..is a netherland dwarf.
So im afraid whoever told you that was tellin porkies!!
your rabbits will be fairly big, chunky rabbits when fully grown.