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Rabbits angora rabbit considerations

HeatherFeather

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I've been keeping piggies for years, usually longer haired ones and have 2 hairy ones right now.

Someone in my area is looking to re-home a 1 yo english angora rabbit as they feel they aren't able to provide the level of grooming and care it requires. I'm really interested in the rabbit, and I do have the time and skill for the grooming AND coincidentally I also enjoy handspinning yarn and fibre arts as a hobby...so me and this bun could potentially be a really good match.

what I am concerned about is how to house the rabbit, bedding specifically.

Our piggies are on fleece, which is fine, but it is difficult enough to get enough hair off the fleece so as not to cause plumbing problems with the washer.

I think our washing machine would draw its line somewhere before angora rabbit. I know many angora keepers keep them in a wire bottomed cage, something I don't particularly like. I know woodshavings aren't an option for angoras as they'll cause matting.

I'm curious as to what other rabbit keepers think about litter training in conjunction with a wire bottomed cage, and then placing a piece of coroplast to cover most of the floor, with the wire exposed only at the edges, so that any extra poos roll off. Would this work out ok? I also don't want to end up with the bun sitting in her pee at all, as I would really like to try my hand at spinning her wool when she blows her coat off 4 times a year.

Is it correct to think that if she did pee outside the litter box, she would do it in the corner, so under this system, she'd be hanging her butt onto the part of the cage that was wire all around the edge? If this actually works...I could even cover the coro with something soft....

Plz lmk what you folks think of this :)

thanks

Heather=^..^=
 

VoodooJoint

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Your best bet is litter training, Rabbits are active and curious creatures and are unhappy living in cages. The rabbit needs to have a large area to roam and play with perhaps only a cage for night time to keep her out of trouble. For cage ideas please look at the gallery here.

The flooring should never be wire and coroplast flooring is too slick for rabbits. The "cage" for my house rabbits does have a coroplast pan but I have industrial, rubber backed, carpeting covering.

A house rabbit will never sit in their own pee unless they are seriously ill. They will normally pee and poop in their litterbox. To improve litter box habits and to preserve health the rabbit will need to be spayed. Unspayed rabbits suffer from hormone fluctuations which are severely upsetting to them, they have a habit of now always using their litterbox and they have a high risk of uterine and breast cancers and other maladies.

Please read over this site House Rabbit Society Rabbit Care Guide
 

HeatherFeather

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Yes, of course she'll be allowed to range for much of her day, especially in the evening and morning when rabbits are active. For safety reasons though, I believe in confining animals when I am not home, or while I am pre-occupied, such as in the shower or cooking dinner. So its that part of her habitat I'm trying to plan out.

I hadn't thought of the coro of being slippery, good point. I respect that carpeting may be a really great choice for you, but for a number of reasons, I choose to not bring any carpet into my home, so that won't really work for me...

Perhaps a wooden floor over wire, with the wire exposed just around the edge margin of an inch or so? And a snuggly bed in one of the hides of course too. We have a lot of unfinished hardwood left over from a flooring project this summer. The reason that I'm interested in having that gap around the edge is because I know that rabbits aren't always 100% with their poos in the litter, and hope that some of the extras will roll off underneath. This is an angora rabbit, and I don't want her to get matted by walking on her poop. I'm even concerned about the litter, though to a lesser degree as its a necessary evil.

I'm interested in experiences that others have with angoras, and housing them without keeping them on wire.

Thanks,
Heather=^..^=
 
leyley904
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HeatherFeather

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I don't know about the fleece...I really don't want to risk it. I just got a new machine, and I secretly think the demise of the last machine had too much to do with pet hair. What about using a grass door mat? The bun could chew/eat it if she felt like it too.....
 

Peggysu

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As for hair in a washing machine, if it's a new machine there really shouldn't be that much of a problem. I know mine collects the hair and then disposes of it after the wash.
 

VoodooJoint

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I choose to not bring any carpet into my home, so that won't really work for me...

What about using a grass door mat? The bun could chew/eat it if she felt like it too.....

That is exactly what I was going to recommend. Grass, sea grass, wicker, bamboo or sisal are all excellent choices for flooring.
 

Kareen

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I also have two bunnies. They are free range in the evenings and nighttime but in their large C&C cage during the day (when the dogs are out and about and not always supervised by us). I have used linoleum for flooring. It has somewhat of a "texture" so is not completely slippery and the bunnies do have traction - if that makes any sense. Some bunnies will chew and swallow linoleum but not all do. Mine seem to be fine with it. I just sweep the pieces of hay that have come out of their litter box (they eat and poop at the same time so placing the hay in the litter box is a great way to train them) and then vacuum whatever fur and small bits are left.

When we travel to my parents house we lay down bed sheets to protect my parents floor and cleaning up and shaking them off before we leave is a nightmare. Also, I've heard of some people trying out blankets and such in their bunny cages and then having trouble with "potty training". Bunnies will often "go" on a soft, absorbent surface so this type of flooring sometimes makes litter training more of a challenge. Most spayed/neutered bunnies are very easy to litter train so no bedding is needed - just a little traction.

Bunnies are awesome! I hope things work out with this little girl!
 

HeatherFeather

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Yay! I think my problem is solved then, and I'll use a grass mat in the cage area bottom. I'm going to try pelletized wood for the litter box, the outside seems fairly smooth so hopefully not too many fur issues. I'll be able to vacuum the floor of the room she's in if she poops outside the box, so no bed sheets necessary there.

Thanks so much everyone for being such great help! I hope we work out for each other too!

Heather=^..^=
 
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