5 week old bunny

[pupsicle]

Thanks everyone

[Tuckerbunnies]

Hi & Welcome

That is a very young bunny, I would make sure he has plenty of unlimited hay and good quality pellets, plenty of water and no fruit or veg yet as he's to young and make sure he is nice and warm you could pop a soft safe rabbit toy in with him to cuddle up to.

[pupsicle]

Thank you, she feels quite underweight to me, I'm hoping she makes it.

[KatieB]

Oh goodness she does seem very young, how sad she lost her mummy.

I agree with Maysie, unlimited good quality nuggs and unlimited hay and lots of love.

Sending her some nose rubs bless her.

Well done you for taking her.

One of our members has recently hand reared some babies from a few days old - hopefully she will be along soon x
Katie x

Ps welcome too HH

[Sparky]

Hello

If she's survived a week without her Mum, she might be ok. Coming off Mum's milk and onto solid food can be a delicate time for young bunnies.

Did you check what food she was on? It would be best to keep her on the same food if possible and change over very slowly to a good quality pellet food - you can get ones for young rabbits, usually called 'Junior' foods. She can also have alfalfa hay which should help her to put on weight. With any food you give her (except hay) only offer small amounts at first and keep an eye on her poops. Make sure they are nice, plump pellets and not sticky or runny.

Best of luck with her - do keep us informed how she is doing

[Vince the bunny]

Hello and welcome to the forum I have two buns who's mum was sold when they were 5 weeks old They were very little. Luckily they had each other. They have been absolutley fine, their tummies were a bit iffy if I gave them any greens or herbs, infact it is only now that they can tolerate them, and only in small quantaties. (they are 10 months now) I understand from some research I did at the time that weaning so young can affect the gut fauna for life, however with my two I felt that it did affect them in the short term, ie the greens causing them to leave their edible poos uneaten, but it has resolved itself now.

On a postive note, they are huge hay eaters as I made sure they always had plenty of hay and they are very friendly as all they have really known is me.

I wish people would give these baby rabbits more time to grow before selling them on.

We would love to see some pictures of your liitle boy

[Thumper2001]

Hello

Welcome to HH!!!

I don't have anything to add to what has already been said, but I wanted to say hi!

[pupsicle]

Thank you for such a nice welcome, I will follow all your advice. Here's a couple of pictures of her, they show her size too, still trying to think of a name for her

[Tuckerbunnies]

Oh Bless him he is even smaller than I thought he would be but he is an absolute cutee

Good Luck with him

[Guest]

As the others have said hay and nuggets is the best plan. You will probably want to start to change slowly from whatever he is on to a junior pellet to give her the best nutrients for growing. In the wild kits are weaned from about 4 weeks so there is no reason for her not to do well with the right start. And company is going to be important as well whether this comes from you or another bun. She has been through a stressful time losing first her mum and then her siblings so he warmth of contact with another living being is important.

[Velvet.Tears]

oh my goodness what a little cutie <3 Lots of luck and welcome to HH

[gentl]

Cuteness alert! Welcome! What a truly adorable baby bun. She needs alfalfa hay and pellets right now because of her high need for calcium to build strong bones. House Rabbit Society recommends the following:

What quantities of food should I feed babies and "teenagers"?

Birth to 3 weeks--mother's milk
3 to 4 weeks--mother's milk, nibbles of alfalfa and pellets
4 to 7 weeks--mother's milk, access to alfalfa and pellets
7 weeks to 7 months--unlimited pellets, unlimited hay (plus see 12 weeks below)
12 weeks--introduce vegetables (one at a time, quantities under 1/2 oz.)
What quantities of food should I feed young adults? (7 months to 1 year)

introduce timothy hay, grass hay, and oat hays, decrease alfalfa
decrease pellets to 1/2 cup per 6 lbs. body weight
increase daily vegetables gradually
fruit daily ration no more than 1 oz. to 2 oz. per 6 lbs. body weight (because of calories)
What quantities of food should I feed mature adults? (1 to 5 years)

Unlimited timothy, grass hay, oat hay, straw
1/4 to 1/2 cup pellets per 6 lbs. body weight (depending on metabolism and/or proportionate to veggies)
Minimum 2 cups chopped vegetables per 6 lbs. body weight
fruit daily ration no more than 2 oz. (2 TBL) per 6 lbs. body weight.
What quantities of food should I feed senior rabbits? (Over 6 years)

If sufficient weight is maintained, continue adult diet
Frail, older rabbits may need unrestricted pellets to keep weight up. Alfalfa can be given to underweight rabbits, only if calcium levels are normal. Annual blood workups are highly recommended for geriatric rabbits.
If I feed fewer pellets, how do I compensate?

When you feed a lower quantity of pellets, you must replace the nutritional value without the calories, which is done by increasing the vegetables. Also, a variety of hay and straw must be encouraged all day long, we do this by offering fresh hay a couple of times a day.
Primary Author(s): Marinell Harriman
Sources: HRH, various articles from the HRJ, RHN

I've got a question. Are you sure that is a Holland mini lop? I have had two at that age and they looked much different and their ears were already starting to flop. But I'm in the USA and we call some things different over here so that is probably it. On the weight charts I've seen the US Holland mini lop weighs a bit more.

She is so adorable! I'll bet you just want to carry her around everywhere. I did that with our second one. Lady(of the Lake...my son named her) loved people and loved to go in the car. She thought out 1500 mile move was FUN. People thought she was so cute and she charmed everyone she met. I know you will enjoy her. She looks like a Zoey to me or an Ava.

[pupsicle]

I was told she was a miniature lop but not sure what the equivalent is in US, her ears have just started to flop over this morning
Just found this on wikipedia "The Miniature Lop, is often called the Mini Lop in the UK, however, it is a different breed from US Mini Lop. The Miniature Lop is the equivalent of the US Holland Lops, however it can be smaller than the US Holland Lops"

[fall3n-ang3l]

awwwwww s/he is sooooooooooo cute,we need more pics

and welcome to HH

[Rachel&Nibbler]

Hello and welcome I cannot stop looking at that gorgeous bundle of fluff!!

[Sparky]

Oh my She is gorgeous

And so tiny

[KatieB]

How is she holding up?

[gentl]

I was told she was a miniature lop but not sure what the equivalent is in US, her ears have just started to flop over this morning
Just found this on wikipedia "The Miniature Lop, is often called the Mini Lop in the UK, however, it is a different breed from US Mini Lop. The Miniature Lop is the equivalent of the US Holland Lops, however it can be smaller than the US Holland Lops"

Thanks for finding that for me. I know I had read it along time ago in
a galaxy far, far away. She is so incredibly cute! She'll have to
have a short name or it would be longer than she is! How I'd love to
get one of those...but Thumper is 10 lbs and might step on her!

[icedancer]

Awww she's adorable! And welcome to the forum.

Hope she's doing ok

[pupsicle]

Thanks everyone, she seems to be doing good, she's very friendly, I have her running on our bed in the evening and she comes over often for a fuss. She is eating and drinking fine but spends most of the time cuddled up to the fluffy blanket

[paullp]

so sweet! welcome to happy hoppers!

[NickieM]

Aww she is just gorgeous.

[pupsicle]

She's getting a lot more energetic now, she's hopping around instead of just laying in one spot. I'm still a little worried about how thin she feels, you can feel her spine and her ribs really easily, is there anything I can do to ensure she puts on weight? She's eating fine, so will it just take time for her to put it on?

[Guest]

You should be able to feel her spine and ribs easily, if you can't you would have a seriously overweight bun.

[Guest]

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/ROSpring10-Bodyconditionscore.pdf

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