Preparing For Your Bunny
A while ago I asked in one of my stories on Instagram, if people would be interested if I blogged about bunnies, since Tom and I became Bunny Parents back in June last year when we adopted our gorgeous Mini-Lop, Blossom, into our lives. Those who voted opted for 'Yes', so here's the first post (of hopefully many!) on one of the cutest creatures to be created (in my humble opinion!).
Although maybe many would consider a rabbit as a very easy pet to keep that doesn't need much fuss or time like a dog, nothing could be further from the truth! And in this blog post, I would like to mention a few steps about what to consider if you're thinking about bringing a bunny home to join your family. Rabbits make great pets, and if you are willing to truly invest in them, they are very rewarding and offer lots of fun, affection and joy and make a truly wonderful addition to your home.
Indoors or Outdoors?
Our little Blossom is a house bunny. I don't actually agree in keeping rabbits outside in a hutch. It's such a confined space for animals that were made to run and hop around, and totally unfair and cruel on the rabbit, especially if they're kept on their own and are not given daily time and attention.
Blossom is not free-roaming the whole time in our house, although some people do give their bunnies the whole house to roam at all times. Blossom's current set-up, is a double-decker hutch, with a little slope leading from downstairs to upstairs. We set up the hutch in one of the spare rooms, which acts as my office, so when I'm working from home four days a week, she has me as company during that whole eight-hour shift. I talk to her from time to time, and she hears my voice as I talk on the phone to customers, and occasionally I have even lifted her out to sit on my lap whilst I work (although I don't do that now, as curiosity has got the better of her and last time she kept hopping off my lap and onto my desk and PC keyboard!). We haven't filled the hutch with sawdust, as when we first brought Blossom home and put her in the indoor cage with sawdust, she just weed and pooed everywhere, and we knew from the beginning that we wanted to potty train her. She has a nice wooden floor in the hutch to hop around on and we have even laid down old towels in there as well for her to sleep on.
In the evenings, after dinner, we sometimes bring Blossom down into the living room so she can free-roam there, or we just leave her cage door open and let her hop in and out of her hutch to her heart's content so she can free-roam upstairs, and it's lovely watching her run around doing zoomies and 'binkies' (these are little bunny jumps in the air that are adorable to see!). She has even be known in the past to jump onto the sofa next to us if we're sitting down watching a movie or TV series, just so she can be close to us! Blossom has also now learned to hop up the stairs on her own without being carried, so she'll often run upstairs and have a little explore before going back into her cage area for the night. Sometimes, if one or both of us are home at the weekends as well, Blossom will come downstairs with us for a few hours during the day, so she has plenty of company and time to run around in a much bigger space.
You might be wondering how it's possible to let a rabbit roam your house like a cat or a dog, as you might be afraid of those 'toilet accidents'! However, let me assure you it's possible to litter-train your bunny, just as you would a dog or a cat. Blossom is litter-trained, so each time we bring her downstairs with us, we bring down her little 'potty' which she uses to wee and poo in. Does she sometimes have a little poo outside of her litter tray? Yes, occasionally there might be a few small poos, but they are such small little dry pellets, it's easy to scoop those straight up and pop them right in her tray, without it leaving a mess at all on your carpet, and she hasn't had any wee accidents either on the carpet or in her little bedroom, as she does all her wees in her potty. I'll do a separate blog post on how to litter-train your bunny at a later date!
2. One or Two?
You might be thinking about whether to buy one or two bunnies. Rabbits are social creatures and live in groups, however, if you do only want one, that's fine as long as you give them daily love and attention and don't leave them on their own all-day. If your rabbit is likely to have frequent, extended periods of time on their own, then get two, as solitude is unhealthy for rabbits and they can be become very lonely. And if you plan on having two, the best way to do it is to get them from the same litter at the same time, as they will already be used to each other from birth, and will already have a bond. Buying one bunny and introducing another rabbit later on is risky, and takes time to build that bond. It's also a lengthy process, as you can't just place a new bunny immediately with the rabbit you already have. The first rabbit will have already established their territory and might see the new rabbit as a threat, and then fighting will become a problem, which could cause serious injury to one or both rabbits or even death.
It's often recommended that you if you have two bunnies, that you buy two of the opposite sex, as they are less likely to fight. If you do that, please be aware that bunnies are usually fertile from 12 weeks, so you will need to get one or both of them neutered, so that you don't end up with more bunnies. Rabbits are extremely fertile (hence the phrase 'breed like rabbits'!), and once pregnant, they only have a gestation period of 28 - 30 days, and can get pregnant again very quickly after that as well. The vet recommended that a neutered male and a neutered female work best together.
3. Boredom Breakers
If you're getting a bunny (or two!), ensure you get plenty of interesting toys for your rabbit to play with, and make their home area as fun to explore as possible. A little wooden hut, a tunnel, nibble 'n' gnaw toys for keeping their teeth down and other little quirky knick knacks are very important for a bunny to play with and explore to keep them occupied, and a wide variety can be found at most pet shops and online, so make sure you are well-prepared with entertaining toys.
4. Bunny-Proofing
If you are having your bunnies indoors, please make sure you bunny-proof your house, and don't let them go anywhere you wouldn't want them to cause any damage. As cute as they are, bunnies can be quite destructive, and like to chew things, so watch your furniture, carpet and any wires/cables. When Blossom is with us in the living room, one of us is always around to make sure she doesn't chew the carpet or gnaw on something she shouldn't. To help with this, we bring down her chew toys and also keep a towel with a fresh supply of hay on it, to encourage her to go for these instead.
5. Garden Time
If you let your bunny have some time roaming your garden, first of all please check that you don't have any plant life around that is poisonous to rabbits that they can easily access. We have bamboo and foxgloves in our back garden, both of which are deadly to rabbits, so we don't allow Blossom to roam outside, as she could easily eat something that could harm her. Do your research, but some common poisonous plans to rabbits are daffodils, bluebells, foxgloves, buttercups, poppies and ragwort, to name a few. Here's a link to a site that goes into more details of plants that are toxic to rabbits: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/poisonous-plants/
When outside, make sure that they are in a safe place where they are not likely to become attacked or carried off by any birds of prey that might circle your area, or neighbouring cats that might trespass, or any sort of known wildlife that you are aware of that visits your garden and could attack or kill your bunny. Corner off any areas that you don't want your bunny to get to or where they could escape, and be aware that bunnies are excellent jumpers, so properly bunny-proof any area you really don't want them to get to.
6. Vaccinations
I would strongly advise to get your bunny vaccinated yearly. The vaccination your vet will offer will probably contain 3-in-1, which fights against myxomatosis (a deadly disease to rabbits), RVHD-1 and RVHD-2 (Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease). Even if your rabbit is a house bunny and doesn't go outside, you can bring these diseases home on your shoes or clothing by just going out for a walk where a wild rabbit with this disease has been, and they can also be spread by insects like fleas and mosquitos as well.
7. Neutering
If you're going to get a bunny, then make sure you factor in the cost of getting them neutered. Although they can be neutered from 13 weeks, a lot of vets prefer to wait until rabbits are 6 months old, as they are bigger then and not only better able to cope with an operation like that, but they are easier to be operated on as they won't be as tiny then. It's especially important that female bunnies get neutered, as they are more susceptible to ovarian cancer. You have a better chance of no 'accidents' as well with a neutered bunny, as once their hormones start to kick in as they get older, they are more prone to 'scent' things, which you really won't want if you are having a house bunny. We recently got Blossom neutered as her hormones had started to kick in, and she to have lost her ability to only poop in her litter tray! Since having the operation, this has solved the problem and she's back to using the litter tray again, thankfully.
Conclusion
These are just some things to really think about and consider before you decide on whether a rabbit is right for you or not. Tom and I adore our little Blossom, and because she's a house bunny and has so much love and attention, the rewards we are reaping already are plentiful. She has become so tame and affectionate; it's such a joy watching her follow me around the room or up the stairs, or when she has decided to jump up onto the sofa in-between us in the evenings if we're sitting watching TV.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask, and I will do my best to answer!
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