BUNNY CARE

The most important part of caring for your new bunny is knowing how to give your bun a proper diet, a regular daily supply of lots of good quality fresh hay is vital, bunnys digestive systems are very delicate and they require a constant supply of digestible and indigestible fibre, they get this mostly from hay and grass which is also very important to keep a buns teeth in good shape and to help prevent boredom as they like to chew.

your bunny will need a variety of fresh veg and herbs etc.... and you should also feed your bunny on a small amount of dry bunny food, lots of people feed far too much dry food and not enough of the all important hay and grass resulting in a very sad bun and most likely a very sick one as well !!

There is a variety of dry bunny foods available, either in pellet or muesli form, pellets are good for many reasons, they tend to be much better in quality than muesli type mixes and contain much more fibre, also lots of buns when given muesli mix will pick out the bits that they like the best and leave the rest, missing out on vital nutrition.

You will also need to decide how you will house your bunny, will he be a house bun or will he live outside in a hutch? for 1 single small bunny 4x2x2 ( no smaller ) and 6x3x2 for 2 small buns should be fine but of course the more space you can give your bunny the better, giant rabbits will require mutch bigger hutches 6x3x3 MINIMUM for 1 single giant bun although i like my hutches for my giants to be bigger than this and house them in 8x3x3 hutches.

Rabbits also make excellent house pets, they are very easy to litter train as they are naturally very clean animals and will pick one particular spot for their toilet, if you are thinking of keeping your bunny in the house you may want to think about setting up a spare room or sectioning off part of a room, you can still let your bunny have free roam of the house when you are around to fully supervise, a house bun will still need time every day outside to run about and eat grass!!, please make sure you completely bunny proof your home before bringing a rabbit in to the house, you'd be suprised at the small spaces they can squeeze themselves into, they love to have a chew on cables so you will need to take special care to make sure that your house bunny is safe in your home!!!

Please see below for some outdoor bunny housing ideas.

There are lots of different bedding materials you can use , i like to use shavings and straw as it is the easiest, cleanest and comfiest for my bunnies, whatever you choose to use you will need to clean out toilet areas daily and do a complete clean out once a week.

Your bunny will also need lots of excercise and play time a run about 6x3 for a small bunny will be ok for when your bun is out in the garden without you,

but should also have regular access to the whole garden preferably every day, obviously you should never leave your bunny out in the garden on his own unsupervised.

bunnies love to play and you can provide them with toys to keep them happy, things such as logs, tubes they can run and hide in, cardboard boxes, natural rattan baskets, toilet roll tubes, newspaper, balls, baby toys such as key ring toys and metal treat balls that you can fill with yummy treats will all keep your bun amused and happy. remember bunnies need lots of play, excercise and roomy living space, you should never leave your bunny locked up in a tiny hutch with hardly any or no play and excercise time.

  a bunny needs just as much love care and attention as a dog or cat does

  SEASONAL BUNNY CARE

It is especially important that you keep your Rabbit cool in the summer, they do not handle the heat well at all and can very quickly overheat and die, in the summer always keep your bunnies in the shade and if it is especially hot and you cant take him indoors you can place bottles of cold or frozen water, replaced regularly in to the hutch to help keep bunny cool, i also keep a cool water spray handy to lightly mist with, they really seem to appreciate this.

Unlike the heat bunnies handle the cold very well, as long as the hutch is kept covered from rain & wind and extra straw is added for warmth rabbits will do well outside in the winter.

I am forever defrosting and refilling water bottles in the winter which hopefully wont be so bad when all the buns are in the new shed, so remember to always check on water bottles throughout the winter.

using a hutch cover is important in the winter if you dont have a shed you can move the hutch in to, mostly to keep out the wet rather than the cold, make sure that the cover is lose and allows for good ventilation.

  BUNNY HEALTH

you may want to think about getting your pet bunny spayed or neutered, many can develop some unwanted behaviour when they reach around 5 months, this is due to your bun becoming sexually mature and spaying/neutering will put a stop to this behaviour, also spaying/neutering will prevent against uterine cancer lengthening your buns life by years.

if you are worried at all that your bunny may be unwell please see a GOOD EXPERIENCED RABBIT VET asap, some vets are not very good at treating rabbits as they are considered exotic pets and you may have to look around to find a good one.

please see a vet IMMEDIATELY if you bun develops any of the following.

BUNNY IS CONSTIPATED OR HAS DIAROHEA ( true diarohea will be be runny, dont mistake cecotrophes for diarohea as these are normal, they look like a small bunch of soft grapes and the bunny eats them as they provide beneficial good bacteria for the buns digestive system) your bun may have mucoid enteritis or stasis, this is life threatening and requires immediate veterinary treatment.

(the regular feeding of fibre will greatly protect against life threatening illness such as stasis, which is why hay is so important)

BUNNY NOT EATING this could be caused by a number of things possibly mallaclusion ( teeth problems) or digestive problems, there are various things that could cause a bunny to stop eating, a vet will need to see the bunny asap to establish the cause, a bun can die very quickly if it stops eating as their digestive system should be constantly moving and if the bun does not eat the digestive system will shut down. A BUNNY THAT IS IN PAIN WILL NOT EAT!!

SHOCK if your bun goes in to shock wrap him in a towel and take him to a quiet place, encourage him to eat and drink and seek veterinary advice as soon as possible.

SWOLLEN EYES AND OR GENITALS, DISCHARGE FROM NOSE/EYES AND OR LUMPS/BUMPS ON EARS AND OR FACE

possible myxomatosis see a vet as soon as you can, dont put off having your bun vaccinated against myxi. or vhd ( viral heamohargic disease)

you should also see a vet if your bun gets lice, mites or fleas, starts sneezing alot and has runny nose or if you suspect he may be ill in any other way.

I have to add if your bun does get fleas, mites etc..... and you decide to use an over the counter treatment MAKE SURE you use one especially for rabbits, flea treatments such as frontline for dogs are lethal to bunnies!!!!!!!!!!

 

If you look after and feed your bunny properly he should get through life with very few problems, you should check your bun every day to make sure he is healthy, eyes should be bright and eyes and nose free from any discharge, check your buns coat for mites/lice and fleas,

you should also check your bunnys ears for any signs of ear mites ( canker) and you should check your bunnys teeth regularly for any signs of irregular growth or uneven wear. ( mallaclusion )

you should also groom your rabbit regularly, longer haired rabbits will require more grooming than short hair rabbits, grooming is a good time to check your rabbit over for general health, your bunny may need his nails cut occasionally but you could let your bun run about on concrete or a patio and you may get away with not doing this, you will still need to check his nails regularly.

 

Thankyou to the members of golden bunnies who let me use their great rabbit set up pictures. THANKS!!