Woooo I got a bunny

[Rain_Flower]

On Monday some friends of mine bought me a bunny as a sort of "going away present" from work.

I'm not sure how old she is, but she's fairly small. She's all black and I named her Annie. She's sooooo darn cute I have her in a large wire cage with wood shavings, a food dish, salt lick, watter bottle, some hay and a couple toys.

I'll get pics when I can.

Any advice from experienced (or anyone really) bunny owners is welcome

Thanks guys!
Courtney

 

[Mushroom Spore]

The House Rabbit Society is generally considered the best around, I believe: http://www.rabbit.org/

 

[Mina]

Are you sure she is female? Either way you MUST spay or neuter a rabbit. Most males get aggressive if not neutered and unspayed females have up to an 80% chance of getting uterine cancer by the age of 2.
Your rabbit will need hay on a regular basis, and digestive enzymes tablets are a very good idea as well, they help prevent hair blockages in the intestines. Cats can vomit up hair balls, bunnies can't.
A bunny can be a great pet as long as you keep in mind it is nothing like having a dog or cat. Dogs and cats are predators, bunnies are prey. The best way to interact with a bunny is let it come to you. It will, they are very curious.
And you will need to bunny proof your house, get down on your hands and knees and pretend you are a bunny, if you see something you want to chew on, move it.
I agree, the House Rabbit Society rocks. They can help with everything, from litter box training to bunny proofing.
Congratulations and enjoy the new baby!!

 

[thedude]

And you will need to bunny proof your house, get down on your hands and knees and pretend you are a bunny, if you see something you want to chew on, move it.

rofl! thats funny

 

[Rain_Flower]

Yep, I'm sure she is female, they had her sexed before they gave her to me. Thanks for the site by the way And I'll make sure I get her fixed too, I wouldn't anything to happen to her, she's my new favorite!

 

[halfwaynowhere]

On Monday some friends of mine bought me a bunny as a sort of "going away present" from work.

I'm not sure how old she is, but she's fairly small. She's all black and I named her Annie. She's sooooo darn cute I have her in a large wire cage with wood shavings, a food dish, salt lick, watter bottle, some hay and a couple toys.

I'll get pics when I can.

Any advice from experienced (or anyone really) bunny owners is welcome

Thanks guys!
Courtney

what type of wood shavings do you have her on? Avoid aromatic woods like pine and cedar. Aspen is better if you must use shavings. Honestly, rabbits do just fine with something like carpet if they are litter box trained, which isn't as hard to do as you might think.
You can pretty much lose the salt lick, they don't need them. the mineral blocks are better, but still unnecessary.
Make sure she gets plenty of hay. If she's a baby (under 6 months), she should have alfalfa hay. If she's an adult (over 6 months), she should have timothy hay. Hay should be the main part of her diet. Pellets are more of a supplement.
Other than that, enjoy your new pal!

 

[Harrod]

Are you sure she is female? Either way you MUST spay or neuter a rabbit. Most males get aggressive if not neutered and unspayed females have up to an 80% chance of getting uterine cancer by the age of 2.
Your rabbit will need hay on a regular basis, and digestive enzymes tablets are a very good idea as well, they help prevent hair blockages in the intestines. Cats can vomit up hair balls, bunnies can't.
A bunny can be a great pet as long as you keep in mind it is nothing like having a dog or cat. Dogs and cats are predators, bunnies are prey. The best way to interact with a bunny is let it come to you. It will, they are very curious.
And you will need to bunny proof your house, get down on your hands and knees and pretend you are a bunny, if you see something you want to chew on, move it.
I agree, the House Rabbit Society rocks. They can help with everything, from litter box training to bunny proofing.
Congratulations and enjoy the new baby!!

I agree 100%. My ex-wife raised rabbits and I have some experience with them. Bunny proofing is a must. I had a male flop eat through 3 computer cords in seconds. On the other side they become very loyal (for lack of a better word) pets. The rabbits hated me but would run up to cuddle my ex-wife whenever she entered the room and even snuggle and sleep with her. It was realy amazing. I hope she works out for you.

Nick

 

[RoachGirlRen]

I just want to stress to please make sure you specifically seek out a vet proficient in rabbit medicine. Many dog and cat vets are willing to spay/neuter rabbits but to not have the knowledge or resources to prevent exponential surgical risks. Rabbits are sensitive to anesthesia and are much more delicate during recovery; the person performing the surgery must be experienced, knowledgeable, and have access to the appropriate anesthetics. Good luck with your new little friend; I am with all of those who have suggested HRS. They are tops for ideal rabbit care.

 

[Rain_Flower]

I looked through the provided website and I learned alot, so thanks And thank you everyone else for providing good advice!

 

[Aunt Ant]

You've received some great advice!

What I'll add is this: Once you have your bunnyproofed area, let your bunny stay out as long as possible (under supervision of course), let it hang out with you, play with it, give it attention. I have to say it because throughout my life I've seen other people's bunnies that were kept in cages too long and they seemed so bored and boring!
At first mine was kind of aloof, but they can really warm up to you like Harrod said. Mine likes to play "tag", she tries to get me or a cat to chase her (Poppy the cat will play and only sometimes, lol) She loves being stroked on the head. See where yours likes being stroked best. You'll be able to tell when it gets all relaxed.. lol, you'll know. It'll look really happy
They're generally pretty good about litterbox training; just place a few litterboxes around in corners, off to the side, and in the cage of course. Mine will run for the closest litterbox when she decides she needs to.
It used to be a pain getting her into her cage at night. We trained her with Fig Newmans (the Paul Newman brand :} ) by luring her and rewarding her when she got in the cage. Now all you have to do is show her you have it and she'll head for bedtime like a good girl. I give her half, I eat the other
The HRS site should have a list of rabbit vets in your state, I'd recommend seeing if any are close-by to you.
Both the site and vets say you shouldn't buy the pellets with lots of colors, or nuts and seeds. Just plain pellets are best, preferably made from timothy hay, not alfalfa. Alfalfa hay and products are higher caloric content. Like halfwaynowhere said, pellets should be a supplement. I offer just a small handful a day.
They need hay for digestion, but the veggies are critical for nutrients. I think the amount is one cup of veggies for every 5 pounds it weighs. There's a terrific list on HRS site!
What a going away present though! They knew you love animals, were you surprised?

My Bun and crew say yo! to Annie

 

[LeilaNami]

There is a great bunny food that Petco sells called Timothy Complete. There's also this litter called Critter Litter that they sell that is supposed to attract them to the litter box. As for bedding I don't really recommend shavings since they tend to get dusty and with that many times comes respiratory infections. (In my experience anyway) I always used Carefresh which is compressed paper. If you do want to continue with shavings what I had some friends do was put aspen on the bottom to help with odor and then layer Carefresh on top to make it softer for the little bunbun

 

[Ewok]

Well I don't have much advice on making rabbit stew, but I hear it tastes good.

haha just joking, enjoy the rabbit rainflower.

 

[Rain_Flower]

Well I don't have much advice on making rabbit stew, but I hear it tastes good.

haha just joking, enjoy the rabbit rainflower.

My roommates wont stop talking about eating my bunny cause it's the first "real" cute and fuzzy animal I've got. Makes me sad
But I aaam enjoying her very much, so thanks She has so much personality it's ridiculous. She is easily my new favorite

Edit: Oh yeah and thank you Leila for the info, very helpful indeed