Cheapest way to look after a rabbit?

Raksha

Re Hay from farms - great stuff, but, the fleas that transmit Myximatosis (sp?) can be tranported (so I was told by my vet years ago) in the hay, so make sure it comes from an area with no wild rabbits, or that the farmer is 100% sure any rabbits in the area are Mxy free.......

Crazychik

We have 2 bunnies, and they live in the shed (whilst its winter), & outside in the summer

We use shredded newspaper for their bedding, and in winter months - we add a little hay.

I only buy hay from a pet shop, as the hay from the local farmers has not been treated and not free from parasites. Mind you years ago when I was a nipper, I used to get hay from the local farm, and wood shavings from the local woodyard. But have been told by the vet, cos neither of these have been treated, they can cause all kind of infections. (never had a problem with my rabbits when I was younger), Im only going by the advise from the vet!
Anyway, shredded newspaper - 4 bedding, hay from Pets at Home and a big sack of Rabbit meusli for about £8.99 from Pets at Home. (the large sack usually lasts around 2months for 2 rabbits) Plus I give my rabbits fresh fruit/veg - so they have best of both worlds.

Brush often, this will help reduce the fur ball (just like a cat gets) plus they love the fuss.

I have also joined the Pets at Home Club, where each month we receive money off voucher's - It helps us as we have 1 dog, 3 cats, 2 rabbits & 2 hamsters. Thats worth joining.

When the weather is dry, I let the rabbits out in the garden (not together) as they are boy n girl. Had too many little bunnies before to go down that road again. It keeps them fit with the exercise, keeps the claws trimmed also, but watch out for your plants!"!!! there are certain greens in the garden which are poisonous to the bun. (my garden is all fenced off, so I know they are safe.) Im not a plant person - So we're ok on that score

Make sure they are cleaned regular, and do check their bums - as Rabbits do sometimes get maggots (mainly caused by neglect of cleaning) due to fly's laying eggs etc. If caught early on it can be treated. If not - it can be deadly. (never happened to me (touch wood) but I no someone who has) the rabbit - not them.

karendb

Thanks everyone for all your wonderful advice. The cage "Pumpkin" is in is just about big enough for him but I'd like to get him a bigger one - Freecycle is a great idea! And so is buying a bale of hay from a farmer - I have taken on board the advice about it possibly not being treated for mites.

We'll definitely build him a run - meanwhile, he's had the run of our sitting room as well as being in the garden with a harness on (garden's not secure enough without). His previous owner gave him dried food and he seems to like it so I've carried on with that as well as giving him some pellets and fresh veg.

I have got a litter tray in the corner of his hutch but he doesn't seem to want to use it - any advice here would be helpful! I have put some of his droppings into the tray with the wood shavings to try and encourage him but it hasn't worked yet.

I did have a brainwave this morning. What about buying a collapsable child's play pen for him to play in either indoors or out? I could put stuff in there to keep him amused as well as food and the kids could play with him inside the pen as well! What do you think?

Thanks again for the tips!

Karen - Lazy Woman (in my dreams!)

houndour

IMO keeping a rabbit is far from cheap.

We've got 2 rabbits and have pet insurance for them both. This is £15 a month for both bunnies. It also has a £60 excess. At present we are treating one of our buns for a middle ear infection and have so far racked up a £200 bill. Thank God for the pet insurance...

Also think about getting one that allows you to claim year after year if the condition is continuous.

It's all very well buying cheap hay - but your bun might be fussy and not eat it! On the other hand you might get lucky. Ours love (god knows why) the £1.50 hay from SAinsburys. We only bought it once cos we'd run out and our pet shop was closed.

We give them Timothy hay which they love £3 a bag from pets at home.

For their litter trays we line with (free) newspaper and hay. Bunnies love to munch hay and poop at the same time. We clean this daily.

Food, we buy the huge bag £12 or something of Excel, and this has lasted ages and ages. If you do decide to change the food, do so gradually.

We probably spend £5 - 10 a week just buying veg. But like people have said you can get freebie "offcuts" from farm shops if they're nice.

Jabs...Myxi twice a year £20 a time. VHD once a year - £20 a time.

Is your neutered? That's another cost to think about.

Toys - they LOVE boxes, so they are free. Also toilet roll tubes stuffed with hay with maybe a bit of carrot in the middle.

Lettuce...there are some lettuces that are OK. Iceberg is a big no. But I think the darker leaved ones are alright. Google for Rabbit Rehome - theres a great forum on there.

Litter training...just persist with it. The moment you see a bit of poo outside the litter tray put it back in the tray. They soon learn. They are clever little things.

I think a child pen would be fine if the bars aren't too big, but you'd have to be there to supervise. The bun could probably jump out. (I assume it wont have a top).

Buy some nail clippers and keep his nails trimmed...thsi will save you money cos you wont have to pay the vets to do it and keeping them trimmed will help prevent any torn nail problems.

As for housing...is he going to be a house bunny? Consider a dog crate. These aren't cheap though...£90 for the biggest one.

If he's going outside consider a friend for him and a playhouse or shed. We originally had our buns outside and housed them in a playhouse which we got on ebay for £102. We built a run on the side so it was easy to let them out and they had loads of space.

Hope that helps.

JR19

I used to have 13 rabbits, but now down to 5 (including 3 house bunnies). I've tried several things over the years' but my current rabbits have a diet of hay (from local farm - £2.50 per bale) and veg (mainly greens - only give 'sweet' things on occassions).

I used to use Russell Rabbit bedding for their litter trays, but now use 'Megazorb' which can be brought from local farms/equine outlets. The product works the same was as cat litter, but is dust-free and doesn't contain anything that would be harmful to rabbits. It costs about £6.00 for a large sack. I often find that my rabbits move their litter trays and if they are not being used, I move the tray to the corner they have been using as toilet and that usually solves the problem.


I'm a supporter of the Rabbit Welfare Association (formerly the House Rabbit Society)which is a great organisation to belong to. As a member, I receive four magazines per year and lots of bunny information. I have also attended seminars which have been a great help.

All the best with your new bunny.

morg_monster

Let me tell you about my lovely bunny Jack. He's 8 now, I bought him the year before I went to uni, really silly idea in hindsight but me, and surprisingly mum and dad were rather taken with the little fluffball. I bought him a reasonable sized hutch (about 4ft by 1.5ft) which went in the shed. That lasted a couple of months until I couldn't bear his sad face any longer and spent a FREEZING december weekend building a big run in the garden from treated wood and reinforced-type stiff wire sheeting. It is about 3ft high x 7ft long x 4 ft wide, so really big, and sits on the grass. I made it big enough to put the hutch in, and he lives out there all year round. The main door is left open so he can come and go but the sleeping compartment is shut. He always poos in one corner of the run (as far away from the hutch as he can get!), which is great because it means his hutch stays pee- and poo-free, needs no cleaning out. Once a year dad shovels the poo pile onto the compost heap! We eventually gave up on lining the main part of the hutch with newspaper, there seemed no need, just the sleeping part, and he gets hay in there too, lots in the winter. He LOVES it.

I'm so glad I did this - 8 years later it is still sturdy and fox-proof, (although his hutch is quite nibbled and getting a bit the worse for wear after being exposed to the elements for so long). He still dashes around it like a baby rabbit, so cute. The best thing is he has never had a problem with his health (only ever been to vets for castration and vac's), and clearly at 8 years he's doing well. I'm convinced he wouldn't have lived this long being in a hutch all day. Also I've left home now, and if he was only in a hutch I would have to have given him away, whereas even though he only gets a cuddle once a month or so from mum or I now, I don't feel too guilty because he's got so much room in there, and whenever mum's out in the garden he's so interested in whats going on. Having the grass in there means he eats less dry food, doesn't eat from boredom, and mum always gives him (fresh) veg choppings, apple cores etc which he gobbles up. Bizarrely he's quite partial to onions... Ultimately, with the run, he just takes a lot less time and attention to look after, and when I do spend time with him (siting on the grass in the run!) I can play with him and not have to spend time on the yukky jobs!!

Now I know if I have kids and they want a rabbit, I would have to go and build a run for them, now I just can't bear seeing rabbits who get left in hutches all day with little or no attention. Sounds like OP is keen on having a rabbit though too, not just the kids, so doesn't sound like that'll be a problem!

morg_monster

oh just wanted to say - doesn't lettuce make buns fall asleep? isn't that what happened to Peter rabbit in mr macgregor's vegetable patch?!