Advise needed

So we will be taking delivery of a freshly weaned baby bunny here in the near future. My wife's Aunt raises them and is giving us one from her newest litter. I have a hutch that I got from a friend that needs to be refurbished (the plywood is warped and nasty). Its probably a medium sized hutch and would probably be fine while the bunny is still young. But it has no run or anything. I'm definitely going to build a Hutch/run next spring.

Should we just plan on keeping the bunny in the house this winter as our winters here can go from mild to nasty in no time?? Or will the bunny be able to manage well enough on its own with some straw/insulation??
We have a large back yard, so there is plenty of room for a nice sized hutch and run. So eventually that is where it will go. just not sure where to keep it with winter approaching and it being so young.

Thanks and sorry if this isnt the proper place for this.

Joe

Personally, I would keep him indoors this winter. I think he's too young to be out in until the spring. He's very young, and although rabbits prefer cold to warmth, they are susceptable to Gut stasis and respiratory problems in extremes of temperature. Buns need time to aclimatise, and his coat may not be able to give him the protection he needs, what temperature are you talking?

As for the hutch (or cage if he's indoors) you will save a lot of money starting big, rather than replacing. I don't know what breed he is, but any rabbit needs enough room to make at least 3 hops, and strecth out inall directions. Without this they are prone to spinal issues, amongst other things. The recommended minimum size is 6' x 2' x 2', with attatched run, or pen for exercise.

Keeping him indoors is not without it's problems, but have a look over these and you'll get the picture!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3-4qakCYUQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf7zSf_aYBs

I agree with Jay, I would be keeping her/him in this winter.

You don't want the little toot being cold

I just got off the phone with my wife's aunt, she thinks they are mini- rex's but not 100% about it. They bought the parents at a local auction. She said they are a medium size. Now my next Question is this....

Should we go ahead and get two?? sister/sister, or Bro/ Bro. or get a different bunny from a different Bunny family later. Not looking to breed, just thinking about the social aspect for the lil bunny.

Oh an Jay, I' talking easily -23 C before windchill, and every now and again even -30 C

Although having 2 buns of the same sex can work it is not guaranteed. If you are going down this road 2 girls from the same litter are less likely to fall out when going through puberty. A neutered male and a neutered female are the best mix. Whatever you decide to go with neutering is essential. It stops the spraying of males and the territorial behaviour of the females. Also it stops uterine cancer in young females.

As for housing - I agree with Jay. Inside for the first winter at least. Also that you should go straight for the biggest set up you can provide. The buns will reward you by displaying all the natural behaviour that most people don't know they do.

Ooooh definately indoors if it gets that cold, brrrrrrrr

2 buns are lovely to watch interacting together, long as they neutered/spayed

hi There,

The first thing I would say is to keep the bun inside at first, he sounds like he will be very young and therefore not really able to cope with temperatures like that.

the lovely thing about keeping the bun inside is that you will also get to know his / her personality, and once you do - buns are an absolute joy.

On the question of getting two - normally it is recommended that buns need the company of another bun.

This is correct but does in itself create a problem. 2 boys will definitely fight when they reach puberty, a boy and a girl will lead to the obvious problem, and two girls will possibly fight when they reach puberty.

This leaves you with two options.....

Either 2 girls which are both spayed as soon as they are old enough so preserve their bond, of get one now and once he is older and neutered, get him a spayed female and bond them.

In all cases neutering is ESSENTIAL. This makes for much happier healthier and friendlier buns, who can live happily with another bun, which really, is the way thats best for them.

For housing, our animal welfare charities over here recommend a minimum of a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft hutch with a permanent run attached. Smaller spaces than this can cause behavioural and medical problems. If the bun is inside, you may be able to get away with something slightly smaller provided the bun is able to free-range for long periods of time.

A little tip - if your bun is a house bun, be careful to bunny proof first!!

Good luck x x

Thanks for all the advise, much appreciated. We are going to keep the bunny in the corner of the kitchen for this winter for sure, now. I will build a hutch & run in the spring.

I am taking the hutch (used) that we got and destroy it, its nasty inside and its way too small. It was 45 inch long and 20 wide. I didnt like the amount of room that it would of provided a bunny even before I found this site.

I'm going to talk more with my wife and decide whether to go with one for now or go ahead and get two.

The hard part is going to be getting our kids (7, 4, and 2) to understand that they cant play with bunnies like they do grandma's dog. lol

Thanks again.

My next ?? is if in the event that we do go with two bunnies, do I need to double the size of the hutch or is it ok to make it like say 6ft long x 30 inch wide x 2 ft high. or ???? It will have a nice size run as well.



I want to insure that the hutch will have ample room for both bunnies. without going overboard and as least expensive as possible.

cheryl'n'bruce'flo wrote:Although having 2 buns of the same sex can work it is not guaranteed. If you are going down this road 2 girls from the same litter are less likely to fall out when going through puberty. A neutered male and a neutered female are the best mix. Whatever you decide to go with neutering is essential. It stops the spraying of males and the territorial behaviour of the females. Also it stops uterine cancer in young females.

As for housing - I agree with Jay. Inside for the first winter at least. Also that you should go straight for the biggest set up you can provide. The buns will reward you by displaying all the natural behaviour that most people don't know they do.

Tutally agree with this

The recommendation that you have at least the same sized run as hutch. If you are building you own you can double wall the hutch and insulate it to help with the winter weather. It might sound like an expense but if you do it properly you should only have to do it once. The other benefit to double walling is that you tend to end up with a smooth inner wall that is harder for the buns to chew and damage.

As for the little ones - I have found that children are quite understanding once they have been properly told about buns. Buns like people to get down to their level and children are great at that. Get the children to feed food via hand and they will soon get the hang of each other. Just make sure you explain about the buns being prey animals and so not enjoy being picked up or being approached from above. My friends children helped to house and bun sit several times when they were quite young and they enjoyed spending hours just sitting in the run with the rabbits and made no attempt to pick them up at all.

Mini rexes are lovely natured buns, generally
The temperature extremes are quite severe aren't they, crikey
Two is better, but you've had lots of good advice about that, but will add that they will keep each other warm, I wouldn't put any single bun out in those temps alone.

As for the kitchen, your bun(s) will need a home still. Housing isn't just something to keep your place tidy, it's recreating a warren, as much as we can! Rabbits are prey animals that live underground, so that they can escape if frightened, so a htch or cage indoors offers something similar, and it will need to be big too, and have a box for the rabbit to hide and/or sleep in, as well as its food bowl, water, litter tray and toys, so there's quite a lot to accommodate, and still provide ample room for hopping, stretching etc. I'd recommend you have a look at this video:

An attached pen indoors will give it ample exercise room, and you can let him out, with supervision (and bunny proofing) to have some free house space, but it's up to you how much space/how many rooms you let them into.

joe3125 wrote:My next ?? is if in the event that we do go with two bunnies, do I need to double the size of the hutch or is it ok to make it like say 6ft long x 30 inch wide x 2 ft high. or ???? It will have a nice size run as well. I want to insure that the hutch will have ample room for both bunnies. without going overboard and as least expensive as possible.

The 6' x 2' x 2' minimum recommended size (and run) is for a pair of small - medium rabbits, so your proposed size is fine It is better to spend out initially that to replace

those are the really cold temps, it can and does get that cold thanks to the jet streams coming from Canada. But I would say the average winter is between 10 f and -5 f. The cold snaps can get brutal, especially when your trying to fight a house fire. But that's a whole different topic.