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Welcome to Hidden Jules Rabbitry

RABBIT CARE

GETTING BUNNY HOME
When you get home with your new bunny give him/her some space to take in all their new surrounds. Limit holding your bunny for the first few days so that he/she can adjust to their new home. When you do start to interact and hold your bunny start off slowly, and quietly. You want your new bunny to be able to trust you.

INTRODUCTIONS
Keep other pets away from your new bunny for the first week or two. After that introduce them slowly, make sure you introduce them in a neutral area, like the bathroom, bathtub, or garage. Somewhere neither of them have been and can smell each other.
When introducing 2 rabbits, you NEVER want to put 2 unfixed males together EVER! They will fight! Period. There is no way of getting around it.
2 fixed males could possibly get along. You also NEVER want to introduce unfixed male & female rabbits because they will mate.
You could introduce a male & female rabbit IF one or both of them are fixed. Introducing 2 fixed or unfixed females would work as well. When introducing rabbits it is common for them to mount or hump each other, which is one way they express dominance. It’s also common for them to tussle or fight a little and hair will fly. If they get too rough, separate them and try again another time. Just make sure you are there with them at all times, do not leave them unattended. After a few meetings they should calm down to each other. Always introduce them in neutral territory, like a bathroom, bathtub, garage.

PICKING UP & HOLDING BUNNY
Pick up your bunny by the scruff of his/her neck and place your other hand under their bottom to support them. The more practice you get, the more confident you are about picking up your bunny. When you are confident about picking your bunny up, your bunny can sense it and will trust you. Always hold your bunny facing you so that they feel safe. They like having their feet up against you so they can hold on. If your bunny gets scared and starts squirming while you are holding them place your hand over their eyes and hold them tight and secure against you until they calm down.

FOOD & TREATS
Always make sure your bunny has fresh water and food.
I will provide you with a baggie of transitional food, that you will use to transition your new bunny off of my food and on to your food. For the first week mix half of my food with half of your food, after a week slowly use less and less of mine.  I recommend going to the feed store, they usually have fresher and cheaper food because they sell in bulk. If you only have one bunny make sure to keep your food is an air tight container to keep it fresh. If you don’t want to buy in bulk that’s fine, just make sure when picking out a good food- make sure its green, the brighter the better. Always get the same brand & kind of food. If you switch a lot it can upset your bunny’s tummy. NEVER buy rabbit food with treats in it. They will go for the treats & not for the actual food. That is very unhealthy.

Your bunny needs some kind of hay as well for their digestion. I use orchard grass, it is like hay but softer and my bunnies seem to really like it. Other options are timothy hay, grass hay, and straw. NEVER give your bunny straight alfalfa, it is too rich and can make your bunny sick. Your bunny’s food contains alfalfa and giving bunny straight alfalfa would be overwhelming his/her little tummy. Make sure to read the label or ask someone who works at the pet/feed store if you are unsure about something.
If you can, make sure that your bunny has access to all the grass hay it wants to eat. Eating grass hay isn't just good for the bunny's physical health, it also helps the rabbit's mental health by giving it something to do. Chewing is very soothing for rabbits, and most rabbits love nothing more than to sit and chew away at their hay. This chewing also helps grind down their teeth, which keep growing and growing, and can get painfully long if not ground down by lots of chewing.

NEVER give your BABY bunny Fruits or Veggies.
You have to wait until he/she is at least 6 months old. When you do start giving your bunny Fruit & Veggie Treats start off slowly, you don’t want to overwhelm them. Start by giving them a little piece of treat 1-2 times a week.

Bunnies (Especially Dwarf Bunnies) have very sensitive stomachs. Which means if you give them too much of something they can get sick. They can get diarrhea and in rabbits that can be fatal. 

When they do get diarrhea you want to give them oats, plain uncooked oats. I use Quaker Oats (or generic brand) from the grocery store. You can also give them some hay with the oats, but make sure they have fresh water and monitor them to make sure they are drinking and eating what you have given them. If they do not eat the oats or hay contact your veterinarian.
If you have any questions no matter how small you think they may be, please feel free to call, text or email me! I am always happy to help.

RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL
If in any event you can no longer keep your bunny you purchased from me at Hidden Jules Rabbitry, I ask that you contact me first. I care about each & every bunny and want to make sure they get the best forever home possible. I will take back any rabbit for any reason, no questions asked. You agree to surrender said rabbit above to me in the event you no longer can or do not want to keep it. You agree to this when you buy a bunny from me.

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DO YOUR RESEARCH! Make sure that you have thoroughly researched which breed of rabbit you are interested in BEFORE you purchase or adopt it. 

CAGE
The best kind of rabbit cage to use is one that has wire on the bottom of it so the bunny poop/urine can fall thru the cage so bunny doesn’t sit in his/her waste. There are cages that have pans underneath them to catch the dropping or a hutch style cage that lets the waste fall to the ground. If you use the kind with the droppings pan, use wood shavings and/or pellets in the pan to soak up urine and help with smell. I would recommend changing the pan once a week or as needed for smell and amount in pan.
You can use the solid bottom types, but you will have to clean it every day or every other day.  You don’t want bunny to sit in his/her waste because it can hurt their feet & belly. Their urine contains ammonia, and that can burn their skin if left to sit in it. If you use a solid bottom cage put a litter box in it, so your bunny can learn to go in it and not in the other area. For bedding with the solid bottom cage you can use any kind of wood shavings except for cedar, cedar will make your bunny sick. You can use wood pellets also, I use them in my litter boxes and under the wood shavings in the solid bottom cages. The wood pellets expand with moisture, kind of like kitty litter. You NEVER want to use kitty litter in the litter box, it can also make your bunny sick. The cleaner your rabbit’s environment, the healthier and happier your rabbit will be.
Whichever type of cage you use, you want it to be well ventilated. Your rabbit cage should be at least 2ft. X 2ft. Depending on the size of your rabbit, a dwarf rabbit would be well suited in a 2ft. X 2ft. cage as long as they get time out of the cage at least 3 times a week.

LITTER BOX TRAIN
To litter box train your rabbit- Keep an eye out to see where your rabbit has chosen in its cage to go potty. This is where you want to put your litter box. Now if your bunny doesn’t want to automatically use the litter box that’s fine you will just have to teach him/her. If they poop in another spot you will have to gather some of his/her poop and put it in the litter box. Then place your rabbit in the litter box and he/she will catch the scent of his/her poop in there and figure out I’m supposed to go in here. It might take a few weeks but if you keep with it they usually catch on pretty fast. Once your rabbit has mastered it in his/her cage then you can either leave his/her cage door open or put a litter box somewhere in the house. You need to show your bunny where the litter box is if you are going to let him/her run around. At first it’s going to be normal with housebreaking any animal to have a couple accidents. You do not want to scold your bunny, its ok to say “no” and put your bunny back in his/her cage. Also baby bunnies have small bladders so they will have more accidents when they are younger.

ACCESSORIES
Your bunny is used to a water bottle, so if you can get one that would be best for him/her.
Clean fresh water is vital for rabbits - without it, your rabbits gut can stop moving and cause acute illness that can lead to death very quickly.
To help keep down urine odor, add a small amount of real Apple Cider Vinegar to your rabbits water bottle or bowl every day or every time you refill it: 1 teaspoon for a small bottle/bowl (up to 16 oz. capacity), or 1 tablespoon for a larger bottle/bowl (up to 64 oz. capacity).

Any kind of food bowl/crock will work. If you start out with a bowl and your bunny digs his/her food out of the bowl, you are going to want to switch to a crock. A crock is a type of food bowl that attaches to the side of the cage. This way your bunny will have to sit up to eat and won’t be able to dig his/her food out. If you do this and your bunny still digs, try putting the food crock higher so that bunny can’t get his/her paws into the crock.

Bunnies love TOYS! I personally use baby toys, bird toys, and dog & cat toys. They even make toys specifically for bunnies! Bunnies also love to play with yogurt containers, toilet paper rolls, balls, bells, sticks or blocks of wood (not treated) and pine cones. Make sure there are no little pieces your bunny can choke on. If the toys get dirty, scrub what you can off with soap and hot water then throw them in a bucket of water with a cup of bleach to soak for an hour or two, or simply throw them away.

TRIMMING NAILS
When you pick out your bunny I will show you how to clip their nails. Once you get your bunny home if they are under 6 months olds you want to cut their nails every 2-3 weeks until they are 6 months old. Then cut them about once a month or more if needed. You really only need to cut the sharp tip off. Baby’s nails grow faster than adults and you want your baby bunny to get used to you clipping their nails. Rabbits like all animals have what’s called the quick in their nails. The quick is a blood vessel which you want to avoid cutting into. If your rabbit has white or light colored nails it is easier to see where the quick is, if your bunny has black or dark colored nails it’s a little harder to tell where the quick is. You really only need to cut the sharp tip off. If you do cut into the quick, which happens occasionally, it will bleed. You want to use a quick stop powder, which you should keep on hand at all times, and can find at any pet or feed store. When applied to your rabbits bleeding nail, the quick stop will stop the bleeding. I wet my fingertip a little bit, place it in the powder and then apply my finger which is now coated in quick stop powder, to the nail that is bleeding and hold it there for a minute or so to make sure the bleeding has stopped. If you do not have quick stop and need some in a hurry cornstarch will work as well and you probably have some in the kitchen!
The easiest way to clip nails is to sit down with the bunny in your lap, wrap your bunny in a towel and pull out one leg at a time. Having the bunny wrapped in a towel helps hold the bunny still and prevent stress to the bunny while clipping nails especially if you are doing this by yourself.

I CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO CLIP YOUR RABBITS NAILS. IF IGNORED, THEIR NAILS CAN START TO CURL AND CAN ACTUALLY DISFIGURE THEIR FEET, THEY CAN CURL DOWN AND START TO GROW BACK INTO THEIR TOES. THIS IS ALSO VERY PAINFUL FOR THEM AND CAN CAUSE OTHER PROBLEMS. I RECOMMEND CLIPING THEIR NAILS EVERY MONTH ON A REGULAR BASIS, AND START WHEN THEY ARE ABOUT 3-4 WEEKS OLD SO THEY GET USED TO IT WHILE THEY ARE STILL YOUNG.

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Links to good rabbit sites that have lots of information!







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