Rabbit Bonding Day 1

We have just had Pipkin and Pumpkin in the garden and we were bonding them in the paddling pool (it is empty! Also the floor won't rip easily). There is some bunny behavior which I have found out that it is positive in this video. I have been told that when they have their heads under each other it means that they are asking to be groomed and seeing who the alpha buck is.

If your bunnies start to groom each other, I think this is also a good sign. Pipkin and Pumpkin began to do this a bit today but not that much. Pumpkin was behind Pipkin and just randomly decided to start grooming it a bit! Too bad that we didn't get that bit on video!

I think they get on quite well its just that I sometimes get a bit worried when I have them out because I think that they are going to start to fight. I will have them off of their leads in the future seeing as they get on alright and we accidentally left Pipkin's harness on him and he has chewed it so it is ALMOST wrecked.

I will be posting all about my rabbit bonding experiences as it may help some people who are planning on bonding their rabbits. The video below is of me recently with the Pipkin and Pumpkin to show you a bit about how they act around each other. Looking at some other peoples videos about bonding, they all seem to be a bit different.

Here are some bunny products which I thought that you may like, click on the picture for more information about them.

Rabbit Breeds

There are lots of different rabbit breeds. Some may have slightly different personalities to others because of them being a different type. If you were thinking about getting a more suitable bunny around children, Holland Lop, Dutch or Mini Rex rabbit breeds are perfect for this! These are a good size for kids to pick up and cuddle as well as less aggressive then something like a Neverland Dwarf. Below is a list of rabbit breeds:

Angora- 5+ years

Belgian Hare

British Giant

Dutch

English

Flemish

 

Fox

Himalayan

Holland Lop

Lionhead

Lop

Mini Rex

Netherland Dwarf

New Zealand

Polish

Rex

Satin

Silver

Tan

Here are some bunny products which I thought you may like, click on one of the pictures for more information about it!

To find out how long each of these rabbit breeds live, click rabbit lifespan

Homemade Rabbit Treats

Homemade rabbit treat are generally healthier then the store bought ones.When you make some at home, you will know exactly whats in them and you can choose to make them better for your bunny or more like a treat. If you make them more like a treat, I would recommend not to feed them regularly. Here is a recipe that my bunnies enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of your rabbits food (I used excel)
• 1 banana
• 2 carrots

Instructions:

• Start by putting parchment paper onto a cookie tray and preheat the oven to 180 degrees C

• Blend your bunnies food until it is really ground up like in this picture:

• Chop the banana and carrots into slices
  

 

• Place all of this into the blender and keep it in there until there is no more lumps or only a few

 

• Put the ground up food and pureed vegetables into a bowl and mix until combined 

 

• Grab a bit and roll it into a ball

• Place it onto the parchment paper on the tray and squash it in the middle to make a small biscuit thing

• Cook them for 30 minutes in the oven to harden them. When you take them out, they should have hardened and look like this:

 

That is a simple homemade rabbit treat recipe. If you are interested in cooking and baking, then click here

Fruit for Rabbits

I'm sure that your bunny would enjoy to have something sweet to eat once in a while. You can give them some fruit! they are only allowed 2 tablespoons of this a day due to the amount of the type of sugar that is in them. In the information below, their are lists for the safe and unsafe fruit for rabbits.


Safe fruit for rabbits:

      Apple

Apricot 

Blueberries

Cherries

Grapes 

Melon

Nectarines 

Oranges (not the peel)

Papaya

Pears

Pineapple 

Plums

Tomatoes 

Blackberries (and leaves)

Raspberries (and leaves)

Strawberries (and leaves)

Banana (high in potassium)

Unsafe fruit for rabbits 

Rhubarb

Peach leaves  

Plum leaves

tomato leaves 

Here are some bunny products which I thought that you may like, click the pictures below to have a look!

There may be some that I have missed out. Comment on this post if you are unsure about one.

Heat Stress in Rabbits

Heat stress in rabbits can end up being deadly. Make sure in the hot summer days you provide them with something to cool them down and keep their hutches in the shade. Their are many ways to prevent it and for what to do t make sure that they stay a bit cooler around this time of year. For information about the symptoms, treatment and prevention, read the information below.

Cause

The cause is quite obvious, it is when a bunny becomes to warm and may have a stroke or just heat stress. This would usually happen in the summer time when the weather  is generally warmer.


Symptoms

The symptoms for heat stress in rabbits are:

stretched out and panting

flaring nostrils as they breathe

and

moister around their face and/or drooling

When their body is unable to cool down, their body temperature rises a lot and could become heat stroke.The symptoms for that is:

heavy panting

salivating

they may become confused

and

inability to move around. This can lead to death of your bunny.


Treatment

If their body temperature reaches 104 degrees F it is recommended to seek a vet as soon as you can. If their body temperature is really high, a full recovery is poor. Once your bunny becomes overheated, quick action can determine life or death, but bring the temperature down too quickly can be dangerous. Put them immediately into some room temperature water without getting their head in their.

You have to keep their stress down and you could have a wet towel round them. Then gently rub some water into their fur to get to the skin to cool them down. You have to make sure you keep them cool until the vet sees them.  

Prevention

If they are kept outside in a hutch, make sure you have it in a shaded area. Even if it is a shaded area, it can still get warm.

make sure they have lots of fresh water everyday and if you want, put some ice cubes in it as well if you want to keep the water colder for longer.

Make sure you groom them on a daily basis in the summer so they don't have any loose fur left on them. This will keep them cooler because the loose fur can give them some heat so it does help by doing this.

Here are some bunny products which you may be interested in, if you are, click on the picture below!

Comment on this post if you have anything to say about heat stress in rabbits.

Hairballs in Rabbits

Hairballs in rabbits can lead to a very sad ending. To find out more about hairballs in rabbits, read the information below.

Cause

Usually during molting times (which is every 3 months) your bunny may loose quite a bit of fur. Some of that fur they may end up digesting which can't be very good. If they don't have a healthy diet or are suffering impaired digestion system, all of the fur that they are swallowing will collect up in their stomachs. When they have quite a bit of fur in their stomachs, it will be blocked up and lead to death.

Symptoms

Here is a list of symptoms for hairballs in rabbits:

Eat less and will soon stop eating

Their waste droppings will look smaller and soon won't poo at all

After they stop eating, they will look very bright and alert

and

They will look  very depressed

Treatment

Rehydrate- If they have only been partly affected, they can have fresh greens but make sure that they are at least have something to drink.

Analgesia- This is a medication that can improve appetite and reduce stress (this will speed up recovery)

Diet- A good healthy diet will help your bunny improve and good for their health anyway

If they have stopped eating altogether, take them to an emergency vet  very fast.

Prevention

Here is a list for how to keep hairballs in rabbits away:

Good diet

Ample exercise

Clean and calm environment

and

make sure to brush your bunny lots

Here are some bunny products which you may be interested in, have a look if you are!

Rabbit Urine

Rabbit urine is usually yellow, but can be different colours from a condition called red urine which can be from plant pigment. This can be in healthy bunnies as well as ill.To find out more about rabbit urine, read the information below.

Cause

Some causes of different coloured rabbit urine is from:

1) plant pigment- A diet with large amounts of plants, high in beta-carotene (which is things like carrots and spinach) can cause this. Also your bunny eating pine or fur needles can change the colour of their wee. This will only last 2-3 days.

2) A kidney or bladder infection

3) kidney or bladder stone

4) kidney or bladder cancer

5) bladder polyps

Symptoms

The main symptom is the different coloured rabbit urine. If it is from plant pigment, the colours are red, pink, brown, or orange. If it looks like there is blood in your rabbits urine, then there is probably something wrong in their kidney or bladder.

Treatment

There is antibiotics for your bunny but if there is blood in their wee, it is advisable to visit the vets as soon as possible.

Here are some bunny products which you may be interested in, have a look if you are!

If you have any questions or concerns, comment on this post.