New Rabbit:

Oh brother... I really don't like it when parents give rabbits to their kids for Easter or any other event. Rabbits are NOT toys! They require a lot of work and commitment. At least this rabbit sounds like it has ended up in good hands instead of dead or abandoned like many will be.

Many rabbits do like to have a friend to keep them company but both must be spayed/neutered to prevent breeding, fighting, and excessive humping. Rabbits can be picky about who they get along with so it is best to let them pick out their own friend.

You can definitely make a C & C cage but it should be at least two grids high and rabbits enjoy having upper levels to jump onto. Some rabbits chew coroplast so it is best to have it on the outside of the cage.

They can have fleece as long as they do not eat it. Some do, some don't.

Around 3-4 months I would STRONGLY reccomend spaying/neutering as this will prevent lots of future problems.

Seven weeks is very young , I would be very careful feeding veggies - at seven weeks they are barely weaned. I would stick with the pellets and unlimited timothy hay and clean water until he/she is older and more mature. keep an eye out for loose stools and quit the veggies if you notice diarhea. I don't know why people insist on selling them so Young - its just plain nuts.

ONe of my sons clients gave it to him thinking the kids would like it. The kids are 6 and 2, too young for a rabbit. That is why it is at my house, with visitation rights. It is suppose to be a male. It loves the hay, parsely, and cilantro. I have been giving small amounts. Like I said I've been reading up as I don't know a whole lot about rabbits.

I forgot to add that young rabbits should have lots of alfalfa hay also.

Is timithy hay ok. I just bought a new bale for my GP's. The little guy loves the hay. I will get some alfalfa if the other (having trouble spelling timithy, it doesn't look right to me) is not ok. He loves cilantro, parsley and apples. Thank you bunnyluv17.

He should have timothy hay and alfalfa pellets, along with alfalfa hay.

The pellets are a good alfafa pellet. I will pick up some alfafa and I will miix it. Is he like the pigs and needs it up to 6 months old?

He'll need alfalfa pellets until he's done growing, which will depend on the breed. 6 months for dwarfs, 1 year+ for giants. One year is a safe bet.

If you are feeding a good alfalfa pellet, you don't really need alfalfa hay. It's okay to feed, but really the pellets should take care of the majority of protein and calcium needs. That's what they're designed for. Cut back on the alfalfa hay if the rabbit has a lot of leftover cecals, though. My baby girl Mocha was sensitive to protein even as a baby and left lots of excess cecals with just alfalfa pellets and timothy hay. It stopped when I switched her to timothy pellets after she stopped growing.

There's lots of opinions of feeding and they all work for different bunnies.

On his papers ( I didn't even know a rabbit could have papers!?) he is a Broken chesnet Holland Lop. He was born Feb 2, so he is 2 months old today. I guess he is not suppose to get very big. He is so cute and my grand-daughter adores him. She named him SoSo.
When I came on here I was not educated about GP's now I have to get educated about rabbits.
Excuse my ignorance, what is cecals?

Cecals are a form of waste that the rabbit eats, looks like little grape clusters , they need to eat them to maintain proper bacteria balance in the gut to help them digest. A high quality pellet should take care of all his nutrional needs, I would keep Timothy hay available for him at all times, its absolutely just fine for him and no worries about the excess calcium of the Alfalfa. A holland will grow to average around 3-6lbs depending on wether or not he has the Dwarf gene. some do some don't. Pelleted feed while he is growing should have 16% or better protien. when mature 16% or less is better as he won't need the added protien for growth.

I didn't see any links in tyhis thread to Http://rabbit.org It's a must read for rabbit care.

The rabbit needs limited high quality pellets and unlimited grass hay (like Timothy. Young rabbits can have Alfalfa). https://rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#babies

Twice a week the rabbit needs a "hay day" no pellets at all and just lots of fresh hay to encourage proper teeth maintainance and gut health.

I would not reccomend having "hay days" for a young growing rabbit. He/she will need all the calories and nutrients from the pellets, they should have unlimited access to pellets when young. The poster said the rabbit loves the hay, so I don't think you have to worry about the rabbit not eating enough hay.

I agree with bunnyluv , a growing bunny needs all the nutrients that a quality pelleted feed will provide, most rabbits will eat enough hay when its readily available.

bunnyluv17 said:

I would not reccomend having "hay days" for a young growing rabbit.

Click to expand...

True. I should have been clearer.

Young rabbits like young GPs should have unlimited Pellets and hay but no hay days unless they absolutely refuse to eat enough hay. Then maybe a 1/2 to full hay day a week.

Adult Rabbits should have at least one hay day a week though. On that day no pellets but do give their veggies, and a little more at that.

I have had rabbits that prefered their hay or ate enough of it without hay days but I have one now that is a pellet addict. He must have limited pellets and forced hay days. He will eat some hay by himself but simply not enough usually.

I guess since I haven't had a baby bun in years (mostly rescued adults) I have forgotten some of my baby bunny basics.

This little guy loves hay. I make sure he is never out of hay. He eats pellets but not alot. He is doing better with veggies. I read you can feed him fruit branches. My son has a fig tree and an orange tree. He has put fertilizer at the base but has not sprayed the leaves with any bug spray. Can the bunny have these for his teeth? He was 8 wks yesterday.

What kind of fertilizer was it? If it is the kind that is packed full of chemicals, then I would caution against it to be on the safe side. But if it's a more natural kind, I think it will be fine.

If your bunny has good teeth(no malclusion) just the simple act of chewing his food will keep his teeth worn as the front incisors wear against one another. Rabbits inherently and naturally love to chew and I give mine blocks of wood scraps from our local lumber yard. I would err on the side of caution with a baby bunny and fresh branches - when things go bad they go bad very very fast with a bunny.