# rabbit advice



## MissusMayhem (Aug 14, 2010)

i made my rabbit hutch myself which is huge! for my two wabbits a boy and a girl which are both kept VERY separate haha!
i would like some advice on the litter trays ive seen around lately.... do they work? good idea? waste of money?

and also my rabbits are gettin rather bored.... they have a few toys but i dont really know what to look for any suggestions?
cheers guys!

ooooo and leaky water bottles.... any advice?


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## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

I use litter trays for my rabbits, basically because if you don't put one in a corner, they'll wee there and it is very difficult to clean out all the corners. So I have 1 litter tray in the hutch (and they toilet in their bedroom as well ), and they have 3 litter trays in the run to cover 3 corners and their water bowl is in the other corner. And surprise, surprise, they toilet next to the water bowl so have litter around the water bowl too. 

Do you have a run for them? You could get various toys, such as willow baskets which rabbits love to chew, hay cubes, cardboard boxes to hide in or chew. Rabbits usually sleep during the day anyway (well, cat nap really) and are most active at dawn and dusk.

I have a leaky water bottle. Putting litter underneath the bottle will save your wooden hutch but some bottles just leak. You could try another brand or it could be a faulty bottle.

Are you thinking about neutering them? if you neuter them, you could bond them together and then they'll have someone to play with and groom.


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## MissusMayhem (Aug 14, 2010)

So a yes on the litter tray? I think I will give them a go they both have one corner to toilet in  neither go anywhere but there aside from the girl who sometime but not very often cant be bothered to get out of bed for a wee 
I dont have a run as yet but I do plan to build one! Not sure on the neutering not looked into how much it is or anything to be honest I never thought of it!

They have wood blocks and hay carrots theyve had hay houses before too ill give the cardboard boxes a try!

And as for the bottles im not sure but they drive me mad! Soggy wood! Eugh! We keep having to replace the floor!


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## MissusMayhem (Aug 14, 2010)

ooooo also .... i have considered getting two piggies to go with them! one with each .... if i was to any idea how that would go down? i mean what sex should go with which and what not


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## srhdufe (Feb 11, 2009)

MissusMayhem said:


> ooooo also .... i have considered getting two piggies to go with them! one with each .... if i was to any idea how that would go down? i mean what sex should go with which and what not


:scared: Thats not a good idea. Rabbits and guinea pigs cannot live together. Their diets are very different and rabbits can kill piggies when they binky. Not to mention that they carry Bordetella, which is lethal to guineas

Your best bet is to get them neutered, and then introduce them to one another slowly when their hormones die down (usually after 6 weeks)


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## MissusMayhem (Aug 14, 2010)

oh ok .... i didnt know that... i had a rabby n a guinea in the same hutch when i was young... =/


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## Nonnie (Apr 15, 2009)

If they are stuck in a hutch all day, its no wonder they are bored. Rabbits need a minimum of 4 hours daily exercise all year around. They are highly sociable, active, intelligent animals. 

What are the rough dimensions each rabbit is living in?

You need to sort a run asap. A 6' x 6' one should be sufficient.


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## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

I'd suggest getting them neutered and bonding them together. 

The run should be minimum 6ft x 4ft or 5ft x 5ft but the bigger, the better. Also, make sure you have a lid. You can either attach it to the hutch or keep it separate but you have to move them to and from the hutch twice a day, which means handling them, so if you aren't too confident with picking them up or they aren't very friendly, you may want to attach it to the hutch. My rabbits get a minimum of 8 hours in their run during the winter, and around 12 hours in the summer.


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## MissusMayhem (Aug 14, 2010)

their living areas are 2 foot by 4foot 
they are very very tame and are handles every day 
i let them out on the grass separately ...
its just a matter of time until i built the run! =]


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## Kammie (Apr 4, 2009)

MissusMayhem said:


> their living areas are 2 foot by 4foot
> they are very very tame and are handles every day
> i let them out on the grass separately ...
> its just a matter of time until i built the run! =]


I'm sorry but 2ft by 4ft is in no way huge as you said in your first post. That size is actually smaller than the RSPCA minimum recommended size of 6ft by 2ft.

If I were you I'd be buying a new hutch for them tomorrow, no wonder they're bored. I would also get them neutered (female especially to prevent uterine cancer) and bond them together. As Nonnie said rabbits are intelligent and social, they get bored very easily if kept alone in tiny housing.

Oh and about leaky bottles! Bottles leak because of pressure from temperature changes (sun being on them at one point in the day and shaded later on for example). Its difficult to avoid leaky bottles unless you keep them at a constant temperature all the time. I prefer using bowls as theres nothing to leak and for me it seem more natural for a rabbit to drink from a bowl rather than a bottle.


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## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

As said by above poster, 4ft x 2ft is too small. I would suggest buying a two-tiered 6ft x 4ft ASAP.

Something similar to this:
6ft 5" W X 4ft 3" T Giant Double Decker Rabbit Hutch on eBay (end time 25-Aug-10 19:40:35 BST)

It may seem expensive, but keeping rabbits is not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. Vaccinations alone for two rabbits can be up to £100 per year. Neutering for two rabbits can be up to £200.

I would get them neutered and then bond them 6 weeks after their operations. If you bond them, that means they get both levels, which will be a great space for them.


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## MissusMayhem (Aug 14, 2010)

apologies for my measurements as i actually guessed and apparently im useless ... haha
hubby says its 4 foot 3 by 8 foot 4 :S
my my i was drastically wrong ... oops


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## Maxyboo (Aug 20, 2010)

That definitely sounds better! Is that for each bun? I agree with the others. Rabbits love company and having them neutered then introducing them to each other is your best bet. Are they side by side at the moment so they can see each other? If you do have them neutered, try introducing them on neutral territory. If you just put one into the other's hutch they will probably fight. Rabbits do love companionship but are fiercely territorial.

A drinking bowl may be better for you but get a heavy one that can't be thrown around.


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## MissusMayhem (Aug 14, 2010)

they are above one and other 
and yea hubby laughed at me apparently my guessing skills on the whole measurements thing arent so great lol
does anyone know how much neutering is?
and how long will it take for them to recover? 
no likes the idea of it to be honest ive not had my dog done either


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## srhdufe (Feb 11, 2009)

MissusMayhem said:


> they are above one and other
> and yea hubby laughed at me apparently my guessing skills on the whole measurements thing arent so great lol
> does anyone know how much neutering is?
> and how long will it take for them to recover?
> no likes the idea of it to be honest ive not had my dog done either


I pay £36 for boys and £45 for girls. It depends ont he vets, the area, and how experienced they are

They will recover quite quickly, just a few days. However, their hormones take 6 weeks to die down, so you cant start bonding until then.

Neutering is best all round as it can stop certain cancers in females and will stop males spraying. It will stop them both humping too


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## MissusMayhem (Aug 14, 2010)

thanks for that i will look into it! xxx


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