Jodie1975 Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 Hi there, I'm new on here but have been reading lots of the posts with interest over the past week. I am hopefully picking up two baby bunnies (dwarf lops) either this or next weekend (when they are ready). I have 2 rabbit Eglus ready, although they will both share one for a while. I don't have any shades yet, so wondered if anyone could advise me if I should order a big winter shade to keep them dry if they decide to sit out all night (hope they don't, but have read on here that some naughty bunnies do this!!) or should I get a summer shade so they can enjoy a bit of sunshine and keep warm in the sun on sunny (hope we get some) days? I guess I'm worried about them getting cold and wet, especially as they are so young. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoriabunny Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 You can get the same effect as the winter shade by using a shower curtain, and it's a lot cheaper. They will very probably stay outside all night - bunnies don't "put themselves to bed" as chickens and guinea-pigs do. They are very hardy creatures and are fine outside all night as long as they are protected against damp and draughts. So I'd get the summer shade and an Ikea curtain. Can I ask why you are planning on separating them? Buns are very social animals and they don't like to live alone - your two will be much happier staying together. If they are of the opposite sex but the same age, the boy will reach sexual maturity earlier - look for his testicles appearing, any time after about 13 weeks of age. When this happens he can be neutered and returned to his girlfriend the same day. There will be no risk of pregnancy as he will not produce mature sperm as long as you neuter him as soon as his testicles appear, and his girlfriend won't reach sexual maturity for another few weeks. If you wait until they're older, you would have to leave it a month after castration before reuniting them as he will have started to produce sperm and some could be hanging about in his tubes for some time after his op. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodie1975 Posted May 5, 2010 Author Share Posted May 5, 2010 Hi, thank you for all your advice. Do you think the shower curtain will stop the draughts? Is it best to just put this on at night and rainy/cold days? What do you fix it on with? I noticed someone on eBay selling tarpaulin for Eglus, is that better or the same as a shower curtain? Do baby rabbits need more warmth than older rabbits? I'm wondering if I should get them a heat pad. I know I'm probably worrying too much but I just hate the thought of them being cold and wet. I expect I'll get up in the night and shine a torch in the garden too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franklyrabbit Posted May 7, 2010 Share Posted May 7, 2010 Hi and welcome to the forum We keep an Omlet cover on at all times, which can be rolled back or moved around if and when needed according to the weather, e.g. if the wind is blowing from one direction, we will move the cover to block it out. We also put a large sheet of slate against the door to the run at night, again as wind protection. You'll kinda get the hang of it as you see how your bunnies use their run. They should always have somewhere to shelter from the sun or rain so it's best to keep a cover on. When we had the very very cold winter this year, we heaped blankets and tarpaulins over the run too, for extra protection and in an attempt to stop their water freezing. I use a heated pad for the rabbits if it is going to be below say 6 degrees at night. I give it to them at about 10pm and the rabbits, even if they don't use it, like the visit because I bring them a few green beans. Enjoy your new bunnies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodie1975 Posted May 8, 2010 Author Share Posted May 8, 2010 Hi Franklyrabbit, Thank you for your advice. I have a summer shade but will order a winter shade ASAP. I also like the thought of a heat pad, can I ask where you got yours from? I have actually shut the bunnies in the Eglu for tonight as it is so cold and I only just picked them up today, so they are still babies and used to livng in a shed at the breeders. The seem to love the Eglu though I put them in with their dinner, which I think helped. They were quite scared to go on the grass for a while but when they did (after about half an hour of poking their heads out) they looked so happy and ran up and down the run! I don't think they'd been on grass before. I will let them out as soon as I get up in the morning and give them their breakfast. The thing is, they were just sitting on the grass, one of them trying to sleep but she was so cold and shaking. I know they are meant to be allowed out at night too but as they haven't had their jabs yet (next week) and we get visited by a cat daily, not to mention possibly foxes (they've been seen on our road and we back onto a field) I'm worried about Mixy. They have lots of straw in there, am I doing the right thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franklyrabbit Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Huge apologies for taking months to reply to you! I suddenly became main carer for my neighbour (who went into a nursing home on Monday) and so I am just catching up with my life! I even managed to study and sit an exam in the middle of it! I got my Snugglesafe heat pads from the vets but I've seen them on websites and it pet shops so I hope you've had some luck in tracking them down. It sounds like you're doing the right thing. To be absolutely certain that the eglu and run are fox proof we have moved ours from the lawn to the terrace - the foxes cannot burrow through brick! If you're not able to do that, you might consider putting the eglu/run on slabs. Our run has a layer of thick plywood on the ground to help with the cold and wet and on top of that we put a dog bed and pet blankets as ours like to sleep in the run mostly. On top of the run for the winter we pile tarpaulins and blankets on top and weatherproof it. Hope yours are enjoying you, and you them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodie1975 Posted November 28, 2010 Author Share Posted November 28, 2010 Hi thanks for the reply. Well done for sitting an exam whilst being so busy, hope you passed! Good idea to use a dog bed, I might get some. Mine like to sit in the the run with blankets too but I've been using cardboard boxes which they eventually poo in or chew up! Not had any problem with foxes but have recently had the neighbours cat return every morning (grrrr) to just sit and watch the baby bunnies. I have to open the window and bark to get rid of it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franklyrabbit Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 Oh, that's funny! Do you really think that the cat thinks you're a dog As long as it works (and hopefully the cat will get bored and go away). We have four cats, two of which totally ignore the 3 rabbits. The other 2 though have worked out how to bink and they have great fun with the rabbits. Our ginger male even touches noses with one of our rabbits in greeting. That said, you can never assume that cats and rabbits are a safe mix and we always keep an eye on them. I won't get the results of my exam for about another 3 weeks but I THINK I've passed. It was an end of year philosophy exam for a psychology/philosophy I'm doing with the OU - VERY challenging at my age ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
