training rabbits

[arc]

daaaavvveeeeeee

how do you train rabbits? i'm looking after me mams house for the week, and as well as the cats, dog, chickens, fish and aga to look after, they've just got a couple of bunny wabbits.

they've got a lovely hutch, and a nice run for them to be out in during the day - which gets moved about around the grass. (they can't run free due to other animals about the place!)

now it's handy they eat the grass, but as my little sister nicely put "they poo a lot, look a big slimey one!" in the their hutch, they have a toilety kind of bowl which they do use - how would i go about getting them to use a similar sort of thing in the run. didnt wanna confuse them by taking the bowl from the hutch.

 

[doctorchris]

Firstly, I'm a bit worried about the big slimey poo. Rabbits usually produce dry pellets so a slimey one suggests something a bit wrong with their guts.
It could be something simple like diet. Are you giving them a lot of Lettuce or other veg? They are better off with dried food pellets, grass from the lawn and a good supply of fresh water.
Regarding where they poo, the normal dry poo they produce is actually good for the lawn as it will fertilise the grass and is quite rapidly absorbed into the soil or broken down by various organisms. Don't worry too much about training them to poo in a special place. In addition, don't forget that rabbits produce a softer poo that they then eat and pass through their gut again. This is because they need to pass their food twice through their gut to extract the maximum nutrition. Clearing up their poo too quickly could prevent them doing this and lead to malnutrition.
Take care of those bunnies!

 

[arc]

i'm putting the slimey poo down them being given some cabbage, i think they've tried it and decieded it wasn't for them (some has gone, but most is still there.. they won't be getting any more) It could also have been a chicken poo - they sometimes hop over into the garden.

main reason am not keen on poo being all over the grass is because my little sister plays out there, as does the dog - don't want it all run into the house!

 

[doctorchris]

The dry poos will not be picked up on the feet of your sister or the dog. Even if they get into the house they hoover up easily. My daughter's rabbit used to spend ages in our lounge and left quite a few poos that the hoover sucked up without leaving a mark.

 

[Kier]

I'm pretty sure that the slimey poo is because they've not eaten it again?

We've never had a problem with poo getting in the house from our rabbit and Guinea pig poo.

 

[doctorchris]

Make sure that the rabbits' bums are clean and dry or they may get flystrike where they end up with maggots under the skin. This is just the time of year that it will start to be a problem.
Honestly, Arc, you should be paid a fortune for what you've taken on!

 

[Phoenix3dfx225]

I'm sure he'll earn his keep eating anything in site - tis what a chief would do

 

[arc]

you should see the amount of beer and cider in the fridge for me

 

[dave]

missed this. they do wet poos at night that they are supposed to eat. but can get up set tums too that give runny poo
good advice inc a list of what they can and cant eat on http://goldenbunnies.org.uk/index.php but all rabbits are not the same some can eat only veg n hay an be fine, but some will have belly ache on some things but not others.

like some one said above fly strike is big worry this time of year, you can get stuff to help keep flys away but bums should also be checked daily.
dont forget mixi jab twice a year an another jab too that i always forget the name of

 

[arc]

they've only just got them (around a week ago) they've had their jabs

they have no flys on them i'll upload some pics later

 

[a1ant]

...dont forget mixi jab twice a year an another jab too that i always forget the name of

VHD by any chance? Viral Haemorrhagic Disease or somethin

 

[dave]

VHD by any chance? Viral Haemorrhagic Disease or somethin

yes thats it, i always get mixed up an call it vvt

arc you wont see flies on them. fly strike is when evil flies lay their eggs in a rabbit, then the magot things put a chemicial into the rabbit that puts the rabbit in shock

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-12/fly-strike.html

 

[Chas Uno]

but bums should also be checked daily.

 

[arseofbox]

What's an Aga look like?

 

[jenks69]

What's an Aga look like?

 

[dave]

What's an Aga look like?

 

[arc]

:yeahthat: it's fuelled by anthracite, its.. odd to cook on and heats the kitchen and does the hot water too.

hannah and becca

hannah, becca, amber and dave

fishies

scrufty cat (wild farm cat)

chickens!!

mother hen sat on 8 eggs

and harry

 

[dave]

muzzle the dog an let then out, they will kick the crap out of the rest

 

[dave]

also best you read about chicken poo an rabbits on that rabbit site

 

[arc]

harry is fine with the rabbits, and the cats both know better than to go near them. but the garden is huge and im-practical to wabbbit proof. the chickens live round the back, and only very rarely hop over into the front.