It’s very important that your bunny has timothy, orchard, or oat grass hay at all times.
Pellets are important to feed you bunny as they have vitamins and nutritional supplements that hay does not have. The guideline is ¼ cup of food per 6 lbs of rabbit. Holland lops are a small breed that will be between 2-4lbs fully grown so ¼ cup per day should be sufficient enough. Feed unlimited pellets until 12 weeks of age. Pellets alone are not sufficient enough to balance your rabbits diet. It is essential that you feed them hay as well. Pellets do not provide the high levels of fiber needed to digest through their digestive system which is why hay is crucially important to feed them. It is ok for baby bunnies to eat Alfalfa hay as it has the high caloric and protein levels for proper development. Although when they reach three months of age switch them over to timothy, orchard, and/or oat hay.
There are two types of rabbit food on the market. One is a solid pellet and the other has little colorful treats mixed in. We recommend using a solid pellet food because those treats have no nutritional value and what can happen is your bunny will pick only the treats out and refuse to eat the actual beneficial food. This can cause a series of health problems and obesity.
We use and sell Modesto Mills Organic Rabbit Pellets and timothy or orchard grass hay. Another great brand we recommend is Oxbow which can be purchased online and at many pet stores. You can use either a water bottle or bowl for water. If using a bowl, make sure to get a heavy duty bowl that isn’t easy to be pushed around or tipped over. Gravity waterers that are used for dogs and cats can also be used for rabbits as well.
Housing
Your bunny can be kept indoors or outdoors. We really don't recommend housing your bunny outdoors because it is highly less likely they will be as socialized with and depending on where you live, weather can affect them. If outdoors, make sure the cage or hutch has a roof or is placed under a cover to prevent rain and wind. Rabbits need plenty of space to run around and most basic hutches on the market don't cut it. Just because a hutch is a double or triple decker doesn't meant they are efficient for rabbits. Rabbits aren't climbers and need open flat space as their living space as well. Also be mindful of the direct sunlight and wind. In the heat of the summer make sure they have a shaded cover over them. If its above 80 degrees you can put a frozen water bottle in the cage to cool your bunny down. In the Winter you can add hay inside the hutch for them to burrow in or buy a heat lamp to attach to the outside of the hutch. If you choose to purchase all wire cages just be sure to put a piece of wood or tile in their cage so they can rest their feet when needed. A common issue with bare wire cages is your bunny can get sore hocks which is open sores on the bottom of their feet from the hard wire floors.
If you would like to keep your bunny indoor I would highly recommend litter training them! Bunnies that come from Blue Clover are all the way if not almost potty trained by the time they leave here! Once litter trained you can actually let them free range in parts of your home that are rabbit proof. Make sure cords are out of reach and they have plenty of chew toys. Wire storage cubes are a fun way to make a bunny condo in whichever shape or height you’d like. On the link attached we recommend ordering at least two (12) set panels because you will want height as well as length because rabbits can just over a 12 inch panel. The great thing about the cubes is if you decide to add more bunnies to your family, you can just expand the cubes to make their area bigger instead of having to buy a new cage. Pinterest is also loaded with awesome ideas for indoor and outdoor rabbit setups!
Potty Training
First you will want to buy a litter pan, but not just any litter pan. On the market for rabbits you will find these litter pans that are a triangle shaped which can be placed in the corners of your cage. These are not the most effective ones to use and we do not recommend them. If you do choose to buy one of the corner pans and you are having trouble potty training, switch to a square one. Try to find a pan that is stable enough that if they push their feet on the edge, it wont tip over. For litter, we recommend using a shredded paper or pellet form to absorb urine. Do not use clay-based or clumping litter as this is harmful to rabbits’ respiratory systems. Look for a litter that is odor absorbent, as rabbit urine has an unpleasant smell. Put a thin layer of litter at the bottom of the litter box- just enough to absorb wetness. There’s no need to fill it too high since rabbits don’t bury their droppings like cats. Plus, when you clean the litter box, you dump the entire contents out each time. Don’t fill too high or you will excessively waste a lot more litter than necessary. We recommend and use Carefresh Litter. You’ll want to limit their free roam space in the beginning to get them acclimated to their new area. Buying a puppy pen to confine them in one area is a good idea. As they are progressing in their training, you can open their space up more until they are fully potty trained. Then feel free to let them free roam with full access to their litter pan. If for any reason they start having accidents, retract their space again until they’re using their litter box. Some families have multiple litter boxes depending on how big of a space they have to run around in. Here are a few other tips for those stubborn, “outside-the-box” bunnies: · If an accident occurs, wipe up the urine with a paper towel and pick up stray poop and place both in the litter box. This helps get the message across that the litter box is the place that they should do their business. Keep in mind that rabbits are generally not 100% perfect with their litter box. Sometimes they leave a few droppings next to the box, or they urinate over the edge of their box. This is normal, so placing a plastic mat under their litter box or putting the litter box on a tile floor makes it easier to clean up these little mistakes. · Bunnies here at Blue Clover Rabbitry begin potty training before they leave. Some rabbits pick it up right away within a day, while others may take a few months. Be patient and persistent! If you can see they’re about to go outside their litter box (they may lift their tail or sometimes they sort of shimmy down in a seated position right before they go), try to pick them up and put them in the litter box. · If your bunny is insistent on going in one corner of the room, sometimes it’s easier to give in to their stubbornness, and place a litter box in that corner. · If your rabbit is pooping/spraying pee everywhere, this is probably due to your rabbit marking his territory. It’s a good idea to get your rabbit spayed/neutered in order to calm down their hormones and lessen the likelihood of territory marking. Sometimes it can take up to a couple months for the spraying to stop so be patient. You can buy a litter box with tall sides to help avoid urine being sprayed out of the pan. Even if your buns live outdoors, you can still potty train and we would recommend doing so for cages without a drop pan. This allows the cage and rabbit to stay cleaner.
Socializing
These bunnies are born into a social environment and are used to being around children and other pets. Make sure you socialize with your bunny each day, whether it’s petting or snuggling on the couch watching a movie. It will help your new bunny to bond and build trust with you!
If you already have another bunny and you bought a new bunny to be a companion, slowly introduce them between a gate or cage first to see how they react together. This allows time to get to know each other at a distance. If having more than one, I would recommend spaying/ neutering them because when of age they can become territorial and one may be more dominant than the other. Getting them fixed calms down their hormones and helps them bond together.