Hey All
I think I've mentioned before that I moved in with C last October, since moving in I've really wanted a pet, C was as convinced but I finally persuaded him to allow me to get a rabbit on one condition. I read a book he bought me on looking after rabbits and we didn't rush into it. To be honest I'm glad he was like that as it meant we really thought things through before jumping into it. I thought I'd share a few of the tips for first getting a rabbit on here in case anyone is considering it!
I'd had rabbits as a child but don't remember a lot about caring for them (pretty sure mum did that) and what they ate etc. C bought me Rabbit and Me by Emi Lau from amazon (link here) and made me read it before we got one. It was actually a really good book and if you're considering getting a rabbit I'd fully recommend it. It includes information on indoor and outdoor, how to get rabbits, adoption, feeding, bonding and more and has definitely helped us with them.
After reading the book we decided if we were getting one we may as well get two as our landlady said they needed to be outdoor rabbits but could be in with us in an evening. We've heard a lot rabbits can be lonely so we wanted to get them a buddy and we opted for two bonded boys so we wouldn't have to go through bonding them and not have baby rabbits. We are going to get our boys neutered. We decided that if they'll be happier for it we should and with boys it can help prevent them fighting.
So here are Dumbledore and Harry Hopper, Dumbledore is a lionhead rabbit and Harry is a crossbread.
So here are our boys in there new home on the first day. After a few hours in there we covered the whole bottom with hay for them now too. We got them the feelgoodUK bunny ark hutch as it has an extension you can add on to it which we loved the idea of for when they get bigger. We also liked that the upstairs is totally sheltered and a hideaway for them in the winter. We've raised them on palettes now as well so they are totally off the ground.
One thing we were glad we had the book for was bonding with the rabbits and there first few days. We decided to leave our rabbits for 3 days in there hutch so they could get used to there new surroundings and chill out. We plan to train ours to use a litter train so they can freely have the run of the downstairs but it's all about baby steps. As our hutch is quite large it came in a big box which we kept and used for their first indoor introduction. We put there toys in it and some food and let them enjoy the space. We then left them for another two days in the hutch and put them back in the box to play as before. The third time we decided to let one side down. We both thought they'd hop right out but them didn't. We could tempt them out with food but not very fair. We since think they don't like our floor tiles. The fourth time we built a fort of boxes in our lounge and covered the floor with towels but still used the big box they were used to as it feels like a safe place to them. After a while they were hopping all over the place and have come to explore us now. One thing we took from the book was not to push rabbits. They will come to you when interested. We pick ours up to let them in the house but then let them come to us.
We feed our boys timothy hay, pellets and fresh veg. They get 25g per kg of weight of pellets in the morning and a selection of fresh veg in the evening and fresh hay added morning and night. The book mentioned above has a great list of foods they can and can't have. Ours love broccoli!
Here's dumbldore debating if that piece of broccoli is worth leaving the box for. Something we didn't reaslise they'd go through so quickly is toys. We buy them lots of wooden and willow toys (I refuse to buy them animal treat stick sweet things as they aren't good for them, we opt for carrot as a treat) as they are great for them to chew on and help keep there teeth in shape and prevent boredom.
The last thing we got for them was an animal heatpad. You pop it in the microwave and it can stay warm upto 10 hours. As it's awful weather at the moment we wanted to give them something extra. They're also only £14.99 on amazon.
They run around like crazy, binky all over the place (this is scary to see for the first time as they run around like a lunatic then bounce up and down but apparently it means they're happy!!) then collapse down to chill.
We are loving having them and they have been health checked, vaccinated and insured. (all part of the deal in me getting them, C hasn't had a pet before and wants all things covered which I agree with!). We have had some issues with humping (dumbledore once humped harry's face!! poor boy!) but we've been assured it's normal and they are establishing dominance. They don't fight so it should also all calm down a bit once neutered too!
So there's a quick introduction to my little guys! Do you have any pets?
Love M
xxx
