|
Egad! posted:Are there any hay alternatives? No, there are no alternatives. Long stem hay - not the little compressed cubes - is essential to proper digestion. I've posted medical references to back this up, elsewhere in this thread.  Have you tried orchard grass or bluegrass? Some people aren't as allergic to those as to timothy.
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2009 02:33
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 04:08 |
|
|
scholzie posted:He's also eating the litter in the box (it's tree-pulp based litter, and it doesn't look like he's eating the wet stuff). They do that, they like loving with you. As long as it isn't a ton he should be fine. Egad! posted:Are there any hay alternatives? My roommate is having troubles breathing just with having the stuff in his room and in the rabbit cage. We both know he needs to eat it for digestive purposes but is there something else that will do the same thing that isn't actually hay? Your roommate sounded doomed from the start; you really can't substitute for hay. Maybe some type of medication would help? Egad! posted:He has no interest in chewing furniture or cords They strike when you least expect it! Baitu fucked around with this message at 02:44 on Jan 29, 2009 |
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2009 02:36
|
|
|
Crap. And I realized he is using orchard hay. Maybe we'll get Timothy and see how that works. He got a rabbit because he is allergic to cats.
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2009 02:42
|
|
|
Windy posted:Sorry to hear DS. I feel your pain on the force feedings The stuff I have to give him looks and smells like camel diarrhoea, I don't blame him for rather not wanting to eat it. Oh well at least now I know the best way of doing it, after having had to do the same thing last year. And he's already eating pellets and crapping all over the place so I don't think he'll be sick for long. Hope your bunny feels better soon... Egad! posted:I was a bunny jungle gym and he stood on my head once. Both mine and my friend's bunny like to jump on my shoulder and hang out there. They all like to jump on top of things and humans will suffice just as well. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2009 08:22
|
|
|
DS at Night posted:The stuff I have to give him looks and smells like camel diarrhoea, I don't blame him for rather not wanting to eat it. Yeah, I don't know why it took so long to come up with the idea of adding a fruit aroma/flavor to it. Now I'm just worried that Murphy will turn up his nose at regular food! So far he has been showing interest in his pellets, but hasn't(from what I can tell) started eating hay again yet. Tonight I'm going to try and introduce the veggies to see if he'll eat them. Hopefully he'll get that appetite back. He was down to 3.74 at the visit (was 3.8 last summer) so somehow I have to get him to bulk up a little.
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2009 21:12
|
|
|
Is it normal for my rabbit to eat so much god damned hay? I fill his hopper about twice a day. A lot of it winds up on his cage floor but I can tell he's eating at least 2/3 to 3/4 of it. He's 8 weeks, for what it's worth.
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2009 22:23
|
|
|
scholzie posted:Is it normal for my rabbit to eat so much god damned hay? Yes. Buy in large quantities and it will be significantly cheaper. We procrastinated on ordering a 50lb box and had to go buy several 40oz bags to tide us over. My wallet is crying now. It's kind of like setting your money on fire, only much cuter. I have some toy making supplies coming in the mail tomorrow! Nothing fancy, just wood shapes and untreated sisal rope, but sometimes it doesn't take much.
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2009 22:37
|
|
|
Baitu posted:Yes. Buy in large quantities and it will be significantly cheaper. We procrastinated on ordering a 50lb box and had to go buy several 40oz bags to tide us over. My wallet is crying now. It's kind of like setting your money on fire, only much cuter. I don't have anywhere to PUT a 50lb box of hay. I suppose I could put it in the basement. Do you know the dimensions of such a box?
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2009 23:09
|
|
|
scholzie posted:I don't have anywhere to PUT a 50lb box of hay. I suppose I could put it in the basement. Do you know the dimensions of such a box? About 2'x2'x2'. It'll fit drat near anywhere. Edit: Baitu posted:It's kind of like setting your money on fire, only much cuter. I love this. alucinor fucked around with this message at 23:38 on Jan 29, 2009 |
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2009 23:24
|
|
|
Where do you Canadian goons buy bulk timothy hay? I've looked online but the shipping rates on top of the exchange rate just isn't worth it. There's a pet shop nearby that carries Oxbow but for some reason they can't/won't order the larger bags. Maybe if I ask again really nicely...
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2009 23:35
|
|
|
alucinor posted:About 2'x2'x2'. It'll fit drat near anywhere. Maybe in your mansion. You've apparently never seen my apartment. My rabbit's taking up all my free space. I can probably put it in my house's basement, but the entrance is on the outside of the house and it's the dead of winter in Rochester, NY. scholzie fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Jan 30, 2009 |
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 00:33
|
|
|
scholzie posted:Maybe in your mansion. You've apparently never seen my apartment. My rabbit's taking up all my free space. I can probably put it in my house's basement, but the entrance is on the outside of the house and it's the dead of winter in Rochester, NY. Do you have any closet space, or room under a table? I'm in an apartment, and we keep all of my bun's stuff under a coffee table. We keep it hidden and looking nice though by covering said table with a tablecloth.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 01:38
|
|
|
Bobblehead Biddy posted:Do you have any closet space, or room under a table? I'm in an apartment, and we keep all of my bun's stuff under a coffee table. We keep it hidden and looking nice though by covering said table with a tablecloth. Both of my coffee tables have shelves underneath. I'm keeping the food/litter/hay under the table that the bun's cage is sitting on, but there's no room there for a 2x2x2 cube of hay. Don't have any extra closet space... Actually, I just realized that there's an unused cabinet without shelves in the bathroom. This is a new apartment (sort of, 2 months) and it's pretty low on extra storage space. I had to rent this place sight unseen and the landlord lied about the size of the place. She said the 9x9 rooms were 12x12, and that we "had closets" - well we only have 1 closet. The living room is a nice size, but it's filled with boxes we didn't have rooms for. I am going to have to put a lot of stuff in the basement, but I'm procrastinating because of my winter complaint above.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 01:50
|
|
|
Hmm... 2' x 2' x 2'? I might actually be able to do that. All this time I thought you guys were talking about these behemoths of boxes, and my NYC apartment can't fit anything. Maybe I'll start looking into a box of hay now. Where does one get this 50 lb box of hay? And wow, I guess I'll have to deal with the semantics of getting it to my apartment (no doorman in my buildint).
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 01:53
|
|
|
I agree with what was said earlier about Oxbow hay, the current box I'm on is only about 50% good hay, its quite lower quality than the last 3 boxes I've had. It's really leafy and my buns love the stems =/. I think I'm going to try a 35lb half and half bluegrass/timothy from Kleenmama's. It works out to about the same and I don't have to drive 20 minutes. I don't really like posting links, but how many of you want to go to school at this college: http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2009/01/bun-mom-on-camp.html That is so ridiculously cute. I would always study outside.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 02:13
|
|
|
angelicism posted:Hmm... 2' x 2' x 2'? I might actually be able to do that. All this time I thought you guys were talking about these behemoths of boxes, and my NYC apartment can't fit anything. Maybe I'll start looking into a box of hay now. There are a ton of pet stories online. Just search for "western timothy hay" or something. There's one site I found that has good prices and Oxbow lists them as a preferred retailer, so I'm sure they're good to go. I'm wondering what company to buy if not Oxbow. I know there's an answer in this thread somewhere but I can't search. Edit: here's the site. They have better prices on Oxbow than I've seen anywhere else, so I'm assuming the other prices are good too. Well, everything except their $400 bunny cages. http://www.leithpetwerks.com/ How's American Pet Diner? ZuPreem? scholzie fucked around with this message at 03:45 on Jan 30, 2009 |
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 03:28
|
|
|
scholzie posted:Edit: here's the site. They have better prices on Oxbow than I've seen anywhere else, so I'm assuming the other prices are good too. Well, everything except their $400 bunny cages. http://www.leithpetwerks.com/ Careful, their hay price is the lowest, but the shipping is really, really high. At least for me. We just went through a couple of 8lb boxes of Zupreem and thought they were possibly even dustier than Oxbow.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 04:27
|
|
|
Baitu posted:Careful, their hay price is the lowest, but the shipping is really, really high. At least for me. So what hay am I supposed to get? I am tempted to just stick with the Oxbow I have for my next batch, but everyone is hating on it without offering up suggestions. Also, how can I get my bunny to come out of his cage to get some exercise? I am not supposed to give him veggies yet according to rabbit.org so I can't use them to tempt him out. I'm not supposed to pick him up according to rabbit.org, and I'm not supposed to let him stay in his cage all day according to rabbit.org. Apparently my rabbit hasn't read rabbit.org. Edit: I took all of his food and hay and put it just outside the open cage door. He poked his head out 2 or 3 times but just went and ate the little hay bits that are in his litter box. I don't know how to get him out without picking him up. scholzie fucked around with this message at 05:20 on Jan 30, 2009 |
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 04:30
|
|
|
A little off topic given the current conversation, but Houdini was actually posing for pictures tonight so I had to share...  Gotta love the demon eyes.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 04:36
|
|
|
scholzie posted:So what hay am I supposed to get? I am tempted to just stick with the Oxbow I have for my next batch, but everyone is hating on it without offering up suggestions. http://www.kmshayloft.com/catalog/index.php this site seems to have good prices, Putting it at about $35-36 for a 35lber of half/half or $42 for a 45lb pure timothy after shipping for me. As far as your bun coming out of the cage, I recommend leaving the cage door open at all times and then either leave the room or turn your back. Bunnies don't really like to be watched when they're exploring and it'll make them feel mischievous (which they love) if you aren't watching. Once fully comfortable with the new surrounding he'll feel more like coming out with you watching but right now outside is scary new place.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 05:38
|
|
|
My cage is on a table next to one of our couches. I've been setting up pillows to reach the height of the rim of the cage so he doesn't have a big jump down. There's sort of a pillow staircase leading down to the couch proper, and then I've covered all of that in an old sheet. So, if I do leave the room, am I going to have to worry about him jumping off the couch should he decide to actually leave the cage? Are they that dumb to jump from a 1.5ft height onto hard floors? And if so, should I set up a fence along the edges of the couch to keep him up there? And before anyone asks, no, I don't care if the couch gets ruined. It was here before me and it's a piece of crap with holes in it already. Unfortunately there's no floor space for the bunny to live on. I'm trying to get the landlord to remove that old couch and then we can put the cage on the floor. Until then, I'm stuck with it. Would he be more inclined to leave if I built him a little bunny ramp to get over the side of the cage? It's one of those plastic bottomed deals.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 06:39
|
|
|
scholzie posted:Are they that dumb to jump from a 1.5ft height onto hard floors? Yes. Yes they so are.  Do you have a good pet store for bunny items? I think I've seen a product made specifically for rabbits that might work; it's like a ramp made out of wood with grips for traction. (Anyone know what I'm talking about? I can't remember the name. ) He might be tempted to jump off the table because the pillows are pretty unstable-feeling to him, I'd bet. A solid ramp would make him feel more comfortable, and you could fence the rest of the table off so he wouldn't be tempted to take 'shortcuts'.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 07:20
|
|
|
I actually just spent the last hour rearranging the living room so the couch (not table!) is on the other side of the room. The bun is now on the floor. Actually there's so much space now where the couch used to be that I'm tempted to go to home depot and build him a bunny amusement park. There's a good 8-9' of empty space about 3' wide. Once I figure out a decent fencing situation I'll start leaving the door open when I'm home. Edit: By the way, Deceptor01, I've been to kleenmama's before, and I'm as far away from them as I can get. The shipping is extortion ($30 on a 35lb bale). I'd get better prices from retail stores. I have half a mind to just buy the 40oz or 9lb bags from the pet store, or have them special order the 25 pounder for me). My bunny is going through about 1 lb a week it seems, maybe a little more, so I think 9 pounds is enough to last almost 2 months at this rate. I'm not sure I need to buy 50lbs worth of hay (or 45, or 35), especially since the only place I can put it is in the bathroom, which is just about the worst place to store hay. scholzie fucked around with this message at 08:16 on Jan 30, 2009 |
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 07:35
|
|
|
Even if shipping is $35 it might still be cheaper/lb. Locally a 40oz bag is ~$10 - so $4/lb. I just ordered a 50lb box from Drs. Foster and Smith for $59.99+$9.99 shipping = $69.98 which is $1.40/lb. Back in the good ol'days when Oxbow loved me I could buy a box from them for $31.50+$25.46 shipping = $56.96 for $1.14/lb. I'm not saying Drs. Foster and Smith is the best place for Oxbow for everyone, but of the 4 or so places I went to and pretended to check out (so you can get accurate shipping) it was the cheapest. I don't really care about how the product cost and shipping cost is split, I'm getting the same thing, it's the total I care about. You could also ask your local pet store if they could order larger boxes for you. Maybe the 9lb would fit better in your apartment.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 13:40
|
|
|
scholzie posted:There's a good 8-9' of empty space about 3' wide. The wide open space itself is a delight. Throw an old cardboard box in there and that's all he needs. scholzie posted:Once I figure out a decent fencing situation I'll start leaving the door open when I'm home. Grids are where it's at. Buy some zip ties instead of using the plastic connectors, and you can fold it up accordion style for storage when you aren't using it. For now you can probably contain him with a 1-high, but eventually he'll probably start leaping over it. scholzie posted:I have half a mind to just buy the 40oz or 9lb bags from the pet store, or have them special order the 25 pounder for me). Even the 9lb will show a huge savings over the 40oz, and IIRC the box is shallow enough to stuff under a bed/behind a couch. scholzie posted:Maybe in your mansion. I wish. I'm just really, really good at tetris. Of course, I go through 50# every 2 weeks, so the problem of finding storage for one box instead of 10 at a time seems like the easiest ever.  For all: contact your local rabbit rescue and ask where they get their hay, or if you can buy direct from them. Oxbow still sells direct to rescues. I'll happily place orders for anyone in SE WI. With shipping it works out to just about $1 per pound.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 15:35
|
|
|
alucinor posted:
Sounds great but I still can't get out of my driveway Snow is a foot high. I'll work on shoveling today and see if I can make it out to Walmart or something.I finally got him to come out of his cage. I took the top off his cage so that I could get ready to clean it, and he jumped out after about 20 minutes. I used the top of his cage to keep him in place while I scrubbed out his abode, and when I was done I took the cage off of him and let him run around for about 20 minutes. I couldn't keep him from going places I didn't want him to be without running back and forth so I called it a day. He'll love having all that space when I get some grids. Bunny seems a lot less nervous in his environment, and of me, now that he's been here for almost a week. He's wrecking his cage more though. scholzie fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Jan 30, 2009 |
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 20:21
|
|
|
Bobblehead Biddy posted:A little off topic given the current conversation, but Houdini was actually posing for pictures tonight so I had to share... Awesome rabbit pictures are never off topic.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2009 20:39
|
|
|
Rocco (the rabbit) made a pee in the new litterbox  I spotted it and got so happy because he just sorta figured it out I guess xD
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2009 02:17
|
|
|
Anyone have any tips for bonding two female rabbits that go into insta-kill mode the second they see each other. right now their cages are side by side somewhat (one cage is higher up), so they can smell / she each other.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2009 07:59
|
|
|
A year ago, since we moved back home, Cowslip had never been comfy with the limited supervised free-roam of my room, and seems to prefer his cage. I do take them outside in the grassy backyard (cinder block fenced in) and Cowslip does enjoy that, as does Mo. But recently Mo hasn't wanted to come out of the cage either. I know he has some poop mats from a recent overfeeding of veges, and I need to clean those out, but I can barely get to him; he bolts around, and I don't want to hurt him in trying to catch him in this four tier cage. He does sometimes come when called, but if he realizes I don't have a goody, he hightails it away. Also, am I the only person who never sees her buns devour hay? I have timothy hay and a variety of others, and have it around their cage, but I never see them sit down and munch away. Should I cut out their small supply of pellets (the KayTee timothy ones) until more hay goes missing?
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2009 14:50
|
|
|
Cowslips Warren posted:Also, am I the only person who never sees her buns devour hay? I have timothy hay and a variety of others, and have it around their cage, but I never see them sit down and munch away. Should I cut out their small supply of pellets (the KayTee timothy ones) until more hay goes missing? I've seen Debbie chow down on hay. She practically attacks my hand every time I put a fresh bunch in for her. Murphy, not so much. Once or twice I've caught him in his hay box eating because I was able to sneak in the room. He's a friendly rabbit, but so skittish. He never wants to come out of the cage and almost never approaches the side unless he sees me with treats :/ It's so sad because he gets less attention than Debbie because he's always cowering or sulking out of reach. If I crawl into his cage(well, it's a large pen) he'll stick out his nose and lay down for skritches. I tried limiting his pellets to no avail. It may work for you, but Murphy didn't eat any more or less hay. It did work for Debbie though, but like I said, she was never shy about her love for eating hay.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2009 18:00
|
|
|
Cowslips Warren posted:Also, am I the only person who never sees her buns devour hay? I have timothy hay and a variety of others, and have it around their cage, but I never see them sit down and munch away. Should I cut out their small supply of pellets (the KayTee timothy ones) until more hay goes missing? Nobbers rarely eats hay in front of me, unless it's a special treat blend that I can get for a ridiculously high price at my pet store (Got dried parsley, carrot, tomato, and I think dandelion in it) which he loves but I can't afford very often, heh. He doesn't eat very much when I'm not around, either, but his poops are the right size... he's just skittish and rather inactive compared to the other two, who will rip food out of my hand.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2009 18:29
|
|
|
Windy posted:I've seen Debbie chow down on hay. She practically attacks my hand every time I put a fresh bunch in for her. Murphy, not so much. Once or twice I've caught him in his hay box eating because I was able to sneak in the room. He's a friendly rabbit, but so skittish. He never wants to come out of the cage and almost never approaches the side unless he sees me with treats :/ It's so sad because he gets less attention than Debbie because he's always cowering or sulking out of reach. If I crawl into his cage(well, it's a large pen) he'll stick out his nose and lay down for skritches. SpaceMonkey posted:Anyone have any tips for bonding two female rabbits that go into insta-kill mode the second they see each other.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2009 18:45
|
|
|
I finally got paid this week and decided to go out and get the stuff to make a cube cage for my buns. I think it's a good effort for a first try. I had enough cubes to make two floors, so I tried putting some stuff on the second floor to get them to go up and play, only one hopped up yet though and only that once. The thing is, after I put them in there the buns are super mad at me! They won't let me pet them or anything. Ungrateful jerks!  I will post pics once I clean my room up and it looks less like a garage sale exploded.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2009 19:57
|
|
|
I think they're just mad that you've disrupted their habitat. When I made the large double pen for mine, Debbie just hid and Murphy freaked the hell out. He loved his cage, which was a moderate size, but the pen was just too much open space for his liking(even when He had free roam time, he spent 90% of it chilling in his cage). The first night I didn't get any sleep because both spent all night thumping. All night. As the week progressed they got used to it. But that was a long week. Just give it a few days and you'll soon see some happy buns bouncing around and doing binkies.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2009 06:12
|
|
|
There is a local rabbit shelter that has almost 80 bunnies between several houses, and we're looking at them for another rabbit to hopefully give ours some companionship and company to be less bored when we're away at work. The method they have is for us to bring our rabbit (Sprout) in for a session to see if she immediately gets along with any rabbits, to test if she is dominant or submissive, and pair her with one that should compliment her. Is this a normal procedure, and if not are there any problems with it? Sprout was just at the vet recently after she had GI stasis we caught quick and the vet said she's perfectly healthy in every way, I'd just hate to have her catch something at the foster house. Also, the rabbit we'd be getting is already spayed/neutered, but Sprout is not due to cost (and we at first only planned on one rabbit). Would we NEED to get he spayed before getting another rabbit, or will her attitude be just fine? Also I'm wondering if bonding different breeds is okay as long as they are a similar age and size (she's a mini rex that will be 11 months when we hopefully will get another).
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2009 06:30
|
|
|
Fenarisk posted:There is a local rabbit shelter that has almost 80 bunnies between several houses, and we're looking at them for another rabbit to hopefully give ours some companionship and company to be less bored when we're away at work. That's basically what my shelter did with Zen. There were only two neutered boys available at the time, but Frith totally fell in love with her at sight and Zen is kind of bitchy anyway so the handler said I'd probably have the best luck with him. (Still working on bonding them,  .)And age, breed, and size don't matter for true love. Frith was about 7 or 8 months to Zen's year and change, he's a New Zealand white and she's a half dwarf, he's twice her size. She's not in love with him yet, but it's going to happen!
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2009 08:10
|
|
|
So I just had an interesting incident. I was working at the computer and I hear a little more hubbub than usual coming from the cage and initially it looks like Annie and Ben are just chasing each other around and playing; but then I realize they're actually fighting and squaring off, Annie's kinda doing binkies to dodge Ben then biting at him while he lunges at her. Obviously i throw my hands in there, pin Annie to the ground after she gets a small bite off on me, push Ben into the cage and then pick Annie up to check for damage. No damage, but she's beating her heart really fast and doesn't squirm in my arms until her breating/pulse slow a lot. Ben is the same way. Was this just a fluke? Will bonded couples have spats every now and then? They've been so perfect for months I don't even have a second cage setup available. Just earlier today I was watching Ben groom Annie and remaking on how cute and in love they looked . I'm watching them very carefully right now.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2009 09:01
|
|
|
Fenarisk posted:Would we NEED to get he spayed before getting another rabbit, or will her attitude be just fine? I'm probably just the first of several people who are going to point this out to you, but you need to get her spayed anyway especially if it's a female. Unspayed female rabbits have a very high chance of getting cancer and a reasonably high chance of dying horribly from it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2009 14:01
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 04:08 |
|
|
DS at Night posted:I'm probably just the first of several people who are going to point this out to you, but you need to get her spayed anyway especially if it's a female. Unspayed female rabbits have a very high chance of getting cancer and a reasonably high chance of dying horribly from it. Holy cow thank you for that info, we might look into it soon then and have her all healed up from it before may with any luck. Edit: She has been super snuggly and been running laps around my feet or around me when I'm on the ground like crazy, she's been doing this for a few days and is even more hyper than normal, could this be a result of her being 8 months old and...uh...horny? Fenarisk fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Feb 1, 2009 |
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2009 19:27
|
|