hi im a newbie

hi, my name is nicola, im 22 and from stoke on trent. iv just recently had 2 mini lops, both girls and im smitten i have never had rabbits before and im a bit unsure of what im doing with them. how often does the cage need cleaning out, is every 4 days ok with 2 of them? do i do a full cage clean every time or just change the area where they have solied? can i scoop out the poo's inbetween each cage clean?
lol i truely am clueless lol. also how often do they need feeding?

Hi Nicola,

Delighted that you have joined our forum. You will find many informative articles on your bunnies' care here https://happyhoppers.forumotion.co.uk/rabbit-care-articles-useful-links-f1/

I assume that your buns are house rabbits. Mine are outdoor buns, so I can only advise on what I do with my buns. Mine live in a big hutch outside and have two cat litter trays in the sleeping part of their hutch (which they don't sleep in, but use as a toilet - delightful animals). I line the trays with newspaper and put in hay. The buns like to eat the hay and then they do their business in the tray. In the morning I empty it out and refill it. Because they don't tend to do any poos anywhere else in their hutch, I clean the rest of the hutch out every week or so.

My buns are normally fed a half teacup of pellets in the morning (at the moment they get more because it is winter and they need more food), they have hay to eat during the day which is very important and should form the majority of their food, and they have some veggies at night - purely to bribe them to go into their hutch.

They need to be vaccinated against myximatosis every six months and against VHD once a year. These vaccinations are not very expensive but are very important.

You don't say how old your girlies are, but if they are quite young just now, they may squabble once they reach sexual maturity which is about six months. You might notice them getting a big grumpy and very territorial about where they live. Having them neutered takes a lot of the stress out of them and helps to regulate their hormone levels, it also protects them against uterine cancer which can be common in female buns over 3 - 5 years.

I suggest you go to the area that I've put the link in for and read some of the articles. Having a good bit of knowledge takes a lot of a stress out of it for you too.

Looking forward to seeing some photos of your pair

yeah ill post some pictures when i get some decent ones. we think they are between 9-10 weeks at the mo
well they will be living outside as soon as it warms up they can go outside to live as my house isnt the largest of all houses lol. i just thought that with them being so young and tiny they would do better being inside for now, and it would be easyier for us to get to know each other
so how do i go about litter training them, that sounds ace! lol.
iv noticed that the majority of the poo's are around the food bowl (kinda makes sense really ) thanks for replying x

Hi and welcome to HH

When I got my first bun, Holly, like you, I didn't know anything really about them. We built a big run for her with her hutch inside it and I would let her out in the morning and put her away at night. She started going into a particular corner of her run and pooing. It is instinctive behaviour.

When your bunnies are in their hutch or cage, you will maybe notice that they favour a particular place to poo. You can buy corner shaped litter trays to put in a corner or if they decide to use their bed area in the hutch, like mine do, you can generally fit a cat litter tray into the hutch. That way it is easy to lift out and clean and it stops their hutch getting really dirty and smelly. They need to be cleaned out every day because their urine is pretty smelly and if left too long, the ammonia in it can give them problems with their breathing, also in the summer time, the poo and urine can attract flies and leave your buns at risk of a horrible thing called fly strike. You can read about that in the care section I highlighted in the first post.

You are better to be guided by the buns rather than try to get them to do anything you want! They are pretty clean animals and don't like living in a mess.

Hello! Welcome to HH! It's a great place full of information and nice people. You and your buns with really benefit from being here!

thanks NickieM.iv just let them out the cage for a run around the living room............ how many droppings!!!!!!
im hoping its just because they are nervous

Hi and welcome to HH

hi sooz everyones being so nice and helpfull hopefully ill be able to offer some advice myself eventually

Welcome

I've just seen the piccies of your girlies - so pretty

aww thanks sixer. i dont want them to grow they are too cute at the mo being so tiny lol

Hi and welcome to the forum!

As Nickie has pointed out, there's some really good information in various sections of the forum, you should find lots of useful stuff. Hope you enjoy Happy Hoppers, it's a very friendly forum.

Hello and welcome. Also new to HH, but il welcome you anyways

My advice on your question is to keep them as clean as possible, as and when needed. obviously you cant clean out every bumble as it pops out lol, but if it looks pretty messy, clean it up.

My hoppers are free-roam house rabbits who are both well trained in useing litter boxes. I empty thoes daily with fresh sawdust and hay for then to nibble on.

hope this helps.

Hello and Welcome to HH!!!! Lovely to have you. Ask away if you are worried about anything.... no question is too daft!

Hello Nicola and welcome to Happy Hoppers.

Hi and welcome