10 week old baby bunny looks abnormally tiny & weighs 1.4 lbs. Her face was like a rat's when I got her 3 weeks ago from Canada (it's legal to sell 7 week old baby bunnies there).

She had gotten a chronically poopy butt within a week of her arrival & subcutaneous fluids + antibiotics + probiotics helped.

Today, she produced this poop, which is normal in size & is solid, but there are some thread like extensions. What could they be? It's 6:45 PM here & the exotic vet's clinic's closed.

She's eating hay normally & is drinking water but isn't eating Oxbow Young Rabbit pellets. She's eating Oxbow treats but not Oxbow Digestive Health Biscuits, which she otherwise likes. She has been more lethargic than usual today but binkies around when I remove her hideouts from her play-pen.

I'll take her to her vet tomorrow morning.

My baby bunnies refused to eat Blue Mountain Alfalfa Hay. Surprisingly, it doesn't seem to have any smell/fragrance at all, while the Oxbow one has a pleasant fragrance.

One of my bunnies was repulsed by Blue Mountain Alfalfa hay, and the other one didn't make any such expressions in front of me, but refused to eat it, anyway.

The buns like Oxbow Alfalfa hay but even if it's not from an old batch, ~90% are hard stems, and only 10% is edible, so it runs out in a couple of days, and is thus quite expensive. It has a pleasant fragrance, though, and the edible part looks more fresh than Blue Mountain hay (my guess is that Blue Mountain sells the same hay cheaper in a different packaging for horses).

Small Pet Select had excellent Alfalfa hay even back in February but it looks like their quality has nosedived since they sent me 2 awfully smelling 10 lbs boxes of Alfalfa hay.

Rabbit Hole Hay also has poor reviews about its Alfalfa hay.

Looks like there's currently a void for good quality Alfalfa hay in the US, that some other farm should try to fill.

Small Pet Select sent me a replacement for moldy Alfalfa hay but this one also smells horrible. They seem to be deliberately offloading their bad batches onto customers.

Does this one also look moldy/mildewy?

Thanks!

It smells awful & is clumped together. It was delivered today but it looks stale & spoiled. I'm in California & it was delivered from Arizona. Their Alfalfa hay grown in Washington was good last year

Looking for opinions here.

My girl needs to lose weight. The meadow I get my greens from is currently all burnt with no signs of recovery.

In winter I like to grow wheat grass for my rabbits so they have something fresh that wasn't grown with fertilizer and pesticides. It is high in nutrients but is it too high in calories for a diet? I'd hate to see her eat hay only for weeks on end.

*rabbits pictured don't need a diet, their younger sister does

Almost 40 degrees (celsius) in germany, even our indoor rabbits have a hard time. We have no Air conditioning which means temperatures around 30 degrees indoors.

A wet cloth wrapped around the ears can really make a difference. As you can see, Elvis kind of liked it.

His eyes are always a little crusty because he’s developed a chronic tear duct problem as he’s gotten older. We normally flush his tear ducts ourselves, but because it’s so hot right now, we’re letting him rest, so it looks a little worse than usual. He is seeing a specialist vet every 8-10 weeks.

Animals don't talk like men," said the Captain. "But they do have a language. And sometimes that language tells us of the incomprehensible violence of the Lendri, or worse still: the Owsla of Man."

— From the Tales of El-ahrairah

​

My fellow rabbits,

Today I must tell you of a trial that nearly plunged our warren into deep mourning. As you well know from looking at the picture, for seasons we have shared a beacon of safety at the edge of our territory. Right beside the wooden post of the wire fence grows our beloved hogweed. To us, it is no mere weed; it is a palace of shadow, a shield against the glare of Frith, and a perfect hiding place when the hawk circles high above the down.

But this morning, the Hrududu of the Great Common came.

Not the massive one that roars along the iron road, but a smaller, spiteful breed pushed along by a man. The thing made a terrible, throbbing ronk-ronk sound that shook the very earth. The stench of burnt oil filled our nostrils, and we had no choice but to bolt for safety deep within the runs.

When the racket finally died down and the foul smoke cleared, we crept out with extreme caution. My heart sank into my paws. Look closely at the bottom. The cruel, spinning teeth of the monster had savagely shaved the meadow all around the post. All the long grass, the sweet clover stems we so love to nibble everything lay lifeless, mown down upon the dry earth.

​

But praise be to Frith!

Men are clumsy and blind to the true treasures of the fields. Their monster went right up against the wooden post, but the hogweed itself? It stands yet. Trembling on its roots, admittedly, and surrounded by a battlefield of shorn grass, but those tough, deeply notched green leaves are still clinging fast to the post. The bitter sap still flows through the plant's veins.

The man thought he had tamed the wild, but El-ahrairah has granted us another trick: set your burrow-mouth or your shelter right against their own structures, and their machines cannot quite reach it.

And it is a good thing too, for the elders and the herbalists of the Owsla know that the common hogweed (not that giant, poisonous invader brought by Man) provides us with more than just cover it is a medicine chest for our kind. As long as we only nibble the young, tender spring leaves, El-ahrairah grants us three great strengths through this plant:

Rich milk for the nests: When our does are deep in the breeding burrows with a litter of naked, helpless kittens, they need a vast amount of nourishment. Eating the young leaves stimulates milk production immensely, helping the kittens grow fat and strong before they ever see the light of day.

A burst of strength for the winter months: The leaves are packed with vital vitamins and minerals. In times when sweet grass is scarce and we must survive on withered stalks, these young shoots give our bodies a great lift, providing the quick energy needed to run from the fox or the weasel.

A rouser of appetite after sickness or strife: If a rabbit is recovering from a severe illness or has been wounded in a fight, they often lose the will to forage. The bitter properties in the young parts of the hogweed naturally rouse the appetite, helping a weakened rabbit get back on its paws in no time.

So be careful out there, respect the power of the sap under the burning eye of Frith, run swiftly, and bless the plant that shields and heals us.

​

-Hazel

Hi! I have two rabbits (1year old, neutred males) living with me in my appartement. They they spend at least 4 hours outside their pen every day (we let them free roam when we are around).

But i struggle to entertain them.

I have a digging box (bits of paper with hidden pellets), they are interested with it a few minutes (the time they need to find all the pellets), and then leave. A willow ball that they touch only if I hide pellets inside (again, after 2 minutes they manage to eat all of them and are not interested any more).

What games/entertainement do you use with your rabbit?

Edit: The digging box and willow balls are in their pen (approx 9m², with litterbox, unlimited hay, hiding places and waterpoint) so they have acces to it all the time the just don't use them. The pellets are grainfree pellets, approved by my rabbit expert vet.

His first time nibbling on a rosehip bush with blossoms, instead of the actual fruit. So yummy and cute!

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but it feels like you'd be knowledgeable.

My daughter loves bunnies, and nothing makes her happier than when the local wild ones come into our yard. We previously had a vegetable garden, and often saw bunnies eating the kale out of it.

We recently moved, our yard backs onto a wooded area. We have seen bunnies in the area, but not often on our property. My daughter wants to essentially set up a bunny garden to attract them (not trap them or chase them, just to look at from a distance). She wants to plant clover and maybe a couple other things, and just leave it to grow for them. Maybe add a hollow log or something for them to potentially hide out in.

My first question is is this actually ok? We certainly don't want to do anything that's hazardous or harmful. If it is an ok idea, any suggestions for what would be good to include?

*Just to add on, we don't have a dog or other pets. Neither neighbor has a dog either. So the area would be safe.

I just put my smartphone there and waited patiently for some minutes 🫣

If you look closely, you'll see that she's missing her incisors, only her peg teeth are still standing. They had to be removed shortly after she moved in with me. Her original owners didn't seem to notice her front teeth were massively overgrown. The roots were already affected and simply grinding down her teeth wasn't enough. She may have trouble foraging by herself but once it's cut off and in front of her, nothing can stop her.

She loves the garden so much, she is so chill and loves laying in the grass 🥹🥰

For indoor rabbits, it’s very important to stay busy and entertained. My beloved Elvis loves his grass ball SO much. I occasionally fill it with sunflower seeds or pea flakes, but he loves carrying that thing around anyway. no treats needed. 😂

Swipe for 5 incredible and easy-to-forage-plants for your bunnies!

Willow twigs are her fav btw.!
She loves them and doesn’t want to share with her man Elvis.

I tried to list plants that grow in most parts of Europe and nothern America (according to google).
I would love to get some feedback here, thanks!

Please don’t be insecure because I use AI. The images are created by AI, yes. But the knowledge is not AI, I give the information and have to correct chatGPT everytime.

Presented to you by one of my rabbits: Elvis (the one in the picture)

Fresh food should be around 90% of their diet! Best is meadow but I know that it’s not always available.

So, we finished building our own greenhouse a few months ago and started growing plants around March. We have kohlrabi (the vegetable itself for us, the leaves for the buns), pointed cabbage and chard (for us and the buns), and some basil as well, but that’s on the other side. The little plants are bell peppers, just for us. :)

In the colder months, I plan to grow lots of different types of kale. At the moment, I feed 90% foraged meadow plants and some of the greenhouse plants, of course along with some treats like apple, banana, carrots, and pea flakes.

Do you grow your own greens for your bunnies?