BethanyRose Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 Hi there, I am new to rabbits. I collect 2 8 week old Netherland Dwarves next month. I have a few questions. As they are so tiny at this age, do you take them in at night? We bought the Eglu go hutch and 2 metre run with skirt. I bought the full length rain cover (half green, half clear), but the rain I notice still makes the run wet? How do you stop this? Do you add an extra cover? Also, we are undecided whether to put the run onto grass, or concrete or artificial grass as it is easily hosed down? The bunnies will be allowed out with close supervision in a play pen on the grass once a day. Any advice appreciated. Thanks Jo and Baby bunnies Beatrix and Rocky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 Depends on the weather and where they were kept before, if you need to keep them in. Hot weather can be just as bad as cold in this case. I would ask your breeder this. Are they normal short haired? If so, the run doesn’t need to be perfectly dry. They will wee there anyway. Personally I would keep them on concrete. Much easier to clean. Grass would need a lot of rotating. Not so much because of the munching, but more the wee. I really wouldn’t do artificial grass. They will try anything and chewing on it, can’t be good. Show us some pictures when you get your fluff babies! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 On 8/24/2021 at 3:04 PM, Cat tails said: Depends on the weather and where they were kept before, if you need to keep them in. Hot weather can be just as bad as cold in this case. I would ask your breeder this. Are they normal short haired? If so, the run doesn’t need to be perfectly dry. They will wee there anyway. Personally I would keep them on concrete. Much easier to clean. Grass would need a lot of rotating. Not so much because of the munching, but more the wee. I really wouldn’t do artificial grass. They will try anything and chewing on it, can’t be good. Show us some pictures when you get your fluff babies! I would agree with @Cat tails and please, please show us some pictures. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethanyRose Posted August 25, 2021 Author Share Posted August 25, 2021 (edited) That's really helpful thank you. The babies are from two well loved pets. The owner allowed them to have one litter before neutering/spaying, so they are not a breeder as such. Yes normal short haired. The run I find is dry for a strip down the middle but the edges are wet. The hutch and run is in a lovely shady spot which gets natural light in the garden, but not direct sunlight, so they should be comfy in the heat. But I have read about all the precautions to take in heat, very wise. Thank you. So in love with the little buns. Will attach some pictures. Think we will definitely slab the area. Then should I put abit of hay or straw down in some areas? or is the softness of their hutch enough? Also should the slabs be smooth, so they aren't too rough, or is slightly rougher better so the bunnies don't slip? Also we have the two hay troughs to eat from. Should softness in the run be created by straw? Or no need? Edited August 25, 2021 by BethanyRose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 They will munch on straw too, but they don’t need it in the run, unless you give them a poop tray. No particular requirements to slabs, not too slippery when wet, but too rough might be hard to clean. Don’t take anything too fancy as their pee might corrode natural stone. Rabbits diets should be 80% hay, so provide plenty of that, but young ones do need special feed when growing. The bunny rescue I volunteer at uses Science Selective Junior. Are they brother/sister or both brothers or sisters? Although some people claim you can keep two brothers or two sisters, this won’t work in most cases, even when neutered. Best to get opposite sex bunnies and at least neuter the male. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethanyRose Posted September 8, 2021 Author Share Posted September 8, 2021 Thanks so much. They are brother and sister, although this is to be confirmed by the vet next week. I will be getting the male neutered. Do you all vaccinate your bunnies? I have booked their vaccination for next week. We have laid slabs with abit of natural texture. I.e not silky smooth like our patio. They were free from a family member redoing their garden so I'm not precious about them. They are litter trained already but does litter trained mean just poop or wee too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nichh Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 Just be mindful of patio/concrete in heatwaves because their feet will get burnt. We’ve got the walk in run. We keep ours really dry with tarpaulin but it’s alway a bit wet with morning dew, soon dries off my guinea pigs are in artificial grass, the tiny chew it but I think rabbits are better munchers! I find it really easy to sweep clean. My sister has her bunnies on patio, again they use tarpaulin to cover the run Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 It’s important to vaccinate bunnies, so well done there! Litter trained technically is poop and wee, but not all bunnies agree on that… 😅 You’ll just have to see I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethanyRose Posted September 9, 2021 Author Share Posted September 9, 2021 Fingers crossed. We'll see 😃 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
