New bunnies..info/advice appreciated

[ThumperFlower]

I just got two floppies last night, and they are awesome! A brown floppy male, Thumper, and a Grey floppy female, Flower. At first I put them in the same cage to sleep so they could keep eachother company, but they seemed to be annoying one another..maybe they were just playing, I'm not sure, so I split them up..two seperate cages to sleep in. During the day when they weren't out and playing I put them in the same cage because they wanted to be around eachother..they were fine. Should I be seperating them at night or no? Also, they are very friendly and tame so I let them loose in my room, they are fine..of course I keep an eye on them to be sure they are safe, and nothing gets damaged..but it's beautiful outside and I decided to let them hop around the yard! They really had fun playing, I have a 2 y/o neice and she adores them, so they got plenty of excersise and playtime with eachother! My yard is fenced in so they cannot get out, but is there any other dangers I may not be aware of? I do plan on getting them a play pen for outside, because I have a dog also..the dog does not try to harm them, but just to be 100% sure I don't want them always having free roam..also because I have a small pond..not sure if bunnies are wise enough to stay out! As of right now they do not have a hutch to sleep in outside, but I will be getting one soon. Any advice at all will be greatly appreciated !

[Karen]

How old are they? Are they spayed/neutered?

Don't let them outside unsupervised, as birds of prey are a danger from above!

There is a lot of rabbit-proofing info that we found helpful at http://rabbit.org and other info there as well!

[ThumperFlower]

I couldn't tell you, some strangers didn't want them, and brought them into a petstore..and I know the manager there, she knew I wanted bunnies..so she gave them to me instead of selling them. I do not believe they are spayed/neutured..but they will be if they aren't...I don't need baby bunnies everywhere! lol Sorry that didn't help much.



Nooo they won't be out unsupervised..Hawks..and ect, I had an issue with them when I lived in MA, they were always after my chickens!

[Karen]

Make a vet appointment right away, and keep them separated until you find out if at least one of them is spayed/neutered - as bunnies can breed early and often. The vet will also be able to approximate an age for you.

Other than that, you can keep them together all the time, if they're bonded and get along, that's great.

I wouldn't plan on letting them sleep in an outside hutch - many predators are active at night, and rabbits can literally be frightened to death even if the predator cannot manage to get into the hutch.

[ThumperFlower]

I will do that...I'm wondering if my vet will see bunnies...Hmm? He should..I'll have to call and see and make an appointment tomorrow, thanks

[Karen]

http://rabbit.org also has a listing of good bunny vets by area - that's how we found Miss Hoppy's vet, who is excellent and loves bunnies even though Miss Hoppy bites her.

[ThumperFlower]

That is a good site, I've already found a vet near me, if my regular vet won't see them, I'll be taking a trip there..thanks again.

[dab_20]

I agree w/ Karen. Please do not let them be together until you find out if they are spayed/nuetered. If they are bonded and fixed they can be together all the time. I personally would not let them sleep outside. We keep ours in a hutch in the barn, which predators cannot get in at night. I would search for rabbit info on the net, there is alot of sites that can give you all the information you need!

[ThumperFlower]

Thanks everyone, I have an appointment tomorrow...And yes..the net is a great source of info, that's how I happened to come across this forum..typing in stuff I needed..