Last week we added a little furry family member to our house hold, We did a a baby rabbit on hold from my sister but sadly that little one died. We already had the hutch and it needed filling! I headed to my local pets at home with five year old Bodhi, I knew as soon as i saw the rabbit that it was the one ( and i told Bodhi so ) We found out that rabbit was a girl and 12 weeks old. After a few questions and some advice we paid for Rabbit and took her home. We called her Reese ( due to her fur colour looking like a peanut butter cup )
Tips on keeping your Rabbit calm once brought home
1) Nothing to eat but hay & water for the 1st 24hours after coming home ( rabbit stress eat and this can make them very poorly )
2) leave them alone in hutch/run for 1st 24hours , Moving house is a big thing and they need some time to adjust
3) Don't pick them up, bunny's love fuss and strokes but few will like to be picked up off the ground, They are prey and will think you are going to hurt them.
4) let them come to you, sit in the run with them , or let them come into the house to run around they will come to you to sniff and check you out.
5) reward with healthy treats but don't over feed or your bunny will get fat and lazy
What to feed your Rabbit
While your rabbit is young they should be fed on JR nuggets and 80% of their daily food intake should be from Hay , Hay is very important for keeping your rabbit healthy and it helps with keeping teeth ground down, Do not be tempted to over feed with the nuggets a small handful per rabbit is more then enough. We was very kindly send a bag of selective JR from the brand supreme pet food, this along side hay will be Reese's Breakfast , lunch and dinner. When she is older she can move onto adult food and for this she can try out Natures feast Rabbit food mix with nuggets/grass and veg. these can both be brought online via supremepetfoods & naturesfeast or from all good pet stores / supermarkets and homeware stores.
Natures feast also very kindly sent us a bale of hay for Reese and she really liked this, its full of dried flowers , perfect for these winter months when not much is growing in the garden for her ( she has been enjoying eating the fallen leaves tho ) Garden forage RRP is £5 and something i will be buying again, you could even mix it in with plain hay to make it last longer.
Treats
Like i said before you don't want to over fed your rabbit with treats same as you wouldn't over eat treats yourself, 1-2 small treat items a few times a week is more then enough for a young rabbit. Ive been giving Reese a treat after she has been out in her run , or when she comes to give me cuddles. Hand feeding treats is a great way to bond with your new pet. They will trust you and see you as a giver of food.
Reese seems to really enjoy these treats from supreme pet food, the garden sticks are RRP of £2.99 and the crunchers are £2.49 RRP these are both slightly larger treats and she will take them from out of my hand to fed.
Snack selection from Nature's feast are smaller items so these have been given once she is back inside of her hutch into her food bowl , These RRP at £5 you can also treat your rabbit with a small amount of rest fruit and veg, but so fair Reese hasn't wanted to try ! But i will keep trying with her.
Housing & exercise
A rabbit needs a safe warm and dry place to call home, Reese is an outside rabbit she has a double height hutch with her bedroom in the higher level , I clean her hutch out everyday and give her fresh water morning and night. Rabbits also need to run around and to get exciersize, She is out in her run in the day time and them out in the garden with myself or Bodhi. (we are mindful of next doors cats!)
In her bedroom we use a mix of hay/straw and she makes herself a little nest out of Kaytee clean and cozy forage & fun bedding , this stuff is amazing and also comes with chew treats to hide within the bedding , The bedding is by the brand kaytee was also sent to us to try out with Reese. its 99.9% dust free with odor control. Its perfect for using within the bedding area of your rabbits hutch. The forage and fun encourages foraging behaviour and comes in apple orchard or vegetable garden. Can be brought online via amazon.
over view
Rabbits are a lot of work and can live anything from 8-12 years, They are not a pet to buy without giving it real thought and planning. They also need trips to the vets for injections to keep them safe from sickness ( Reese has her's booked in for next week ) They need feeding and cleaning daily and to be let out to play and run around. They are very rewarding as a pet when treated right, I see Reese as a family pet but really while Bodhi is a little younger and in the winter months the day to day care of her will come down to me, This is fine by me as i am very much looking forward to bonding with her over the next few months.
Thank you to Supreme pet foods / Natures feast & Kaytee for sending items for us to test out with Reese they are items received in exchange for my feedback and blog post.
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