# New to Rabbits



## Finnie (Jun 16, 2020)

These are my first “herd” animals. I only learned a little bit before getting them, so now I’m working on a crash course in bunny care. 

One thing I learned belatedly is that getting a bunny too young and changing its diet (and home) too suddenly can cause digestive issues and possibly diarrhea. 

My first bunny was 7 weeks old when I got her  She had been weaned from her mother for a couple of weeks and separated from her littermates for one week. The breeder was going to send me home with a small amount of her pellets so I could transition her gradually, but when I met her, she said her bin of feed had gotten moldy so she had none to give me. The kind she feeds is not possible for me to acquire, so she said I would be fine picking up something at Tractor Supply. 

I got some Manna Pro, and everything went fine, which is good, because I didn’t even know it might not. Now I’ve got a second bunny from a different breeder. He’s been breeding rabbits for 20 years or so, and seems like a really great guy. He was very happy to spend time talking to me on the phone. So I did not question any of his practices or policies.

But now that I’m learning more, I think my little guy has several strikes against him. Hopefully his first couple of weeks will go well, but I already noticed some soft stools stuck to his feet. 

So his story is that he was weaned at 5 weeks old and sold to me at 6 weeks. He had never been away from his littermates before, so I think he’s a little sad at being in a cage by himself. I can put him with my female since they are both very young, but I don’t want to do that until he is settled, since maybe she will be mean to him or otherwise stress him out. At least he knows she is there in the cage near him. 

His breeder also forgot to bring me the transition pellets when we met. He said it should be fine for me to just feed the same as my other bunny is getting. This breeder also made a point to stress that his bunnies all have a 30 day guarantee in case they die. I would get a replacement bunny. He said sometimes these things happen, and he will make sure I get a bunny that lives. 

Now that I am learning more, I kind of think that if he didn’t wean so early and send them off after only one week, he might not have to have a replacement policy. (Well, I think that’s a good policy, regardless.) I just hope my little guy will not be one of the ones needing replacement. I have had him 3 days now. Since I noticed the soft poops stuck to his legs this morning, I came in to google about that. Apparently I should not be giving him free choice pellets. I should just be feeding him hay, and gradually introduce the pellets. After I post this, I am going to run out there and take away his pellet dish. 

Well, I’ve been on BYH for a few years, and I would rather get my rabbit advice from you people than from the Plethora of rabbit websites out there. 

If you’ve read this far, thank you! Now for photos.  Oh, and they are Silver Foxes!


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## promiseacres (Jun 16, 2020)

hello! welcome to byh!


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## Finnie (Jun 16, 2020)

promiseacres said:


> hello! welcome to byh!


Thank you!

I’ve been around a little while. I was one of the BYC people who came over in 2017 when they did their conversion. I liked it here better, so I’ve been using this site as my favorite reading material since then. 

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen your rabbit ad on Hoobly.


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch (Jun 17, 2020)

Congratulations on the bunnies! I hope the soft stool situation clears up.

There's a lot of opinions out there regarding rabbit feeding practices. Some feed pellets only, some hay plus pellets, some create their own feed and don't feed store bought pellets. The important thing is that the rabbit gets the nutrition and fiber needed for their particular stage of growth/life. Keep reading and researching and you will find what works best for you and your bunnies.

I personally free feed orchard grass hay to all my rabbits, and grown adults get a set amount of pellets. Growing rabbits and nursing moms get free fed pellets. Treats are limited so the rabbits don't get overweight.

In my state, it's illegal to sell a rabbit prior to 8 weeks old, you may want to check your state rules. The reasoning is that the young rabbits are still working out their gut situation after weaning and transitioning to solid foods, and adding stress of sale/transport/new home can cause the rabbits to have issues and potentially die. Plus they have a smaller "cute" factor at an older age so would be less likely to become an impulse purchase that would be abandoned or maltreated once it grew a little older.


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