Bunny plush is important

This makes me wanna get a bunny even more..

this is actually extraordinarly helpful, as i have been looking into getting a holland lop ><

thank you so much for this ;w; bookmarked!

are yogurt drops really bad for bunnies? o.o i have seen the products for it before, never thought anything of it.

Yeah! Rabbits are herbivores and can't process dairy. It's also an absurd amount of sugar which can hurt their guts. A lot of products sold for rabbits are ridiculously unhealthy or can even kill them. (Like flea/tick sprays, colorful food with seeds/dried fruit, bathing supplies)
And good luck! Petfinder.com is great for looking at bunnies. Rabbits also do best in spayed/neutered pairs.

http://rabbit.org/faq-should-i-get-.....second-rabbit/ (this article is spot on, the only thing is *never* keep rabbits and guinea pigs together. Ever.)
http://www.ohiohouserabbitrescue.or.....ondingbunnies/

5 months later and I have some more questions, if that's alright @W@

Is it alright to let rabbits free roam with chickens? I've tried researching online, but there seems to be a lot of conflicting information. We have a fenced in yard and some chickens/ducks/turkey. Would it be alright to allow the rabbit run around (after being introduced to the birds and vice versa) whilst doing things like yard work? Would a harness and leash make this process better? What is the safety of leaving a rabbit unattended in an enclosed yard for any period of time? The rabbit would be brought inside at night and when I'm not outside myself. The question is moreso pertaining to "If I need to go grab something in the house, is the rabbit going to be okay" kind of thing.

Sorry for the long and kind of specific question. I just see a mixture of people leaving their rabbits with chickens 24/7 and people swearing by not ever allowing the two to be near each other for various reasons.

Thank you for your time. orz

Rabbits and chicken's shouldn't be together as it's very easy for someone to get hurt as they'll never understand one another. Rabbits also groom their paws and any chicken muck may cause issues as well as any chicken feed that may be left around.. It's possible, some people do it, but it's not safe and it's not ideal. A dog pen with a cover would be a safer idea c: That's how I take my rabbits out for sun.
This is what I mean by a dog pen with a cover: https://i.imgur.com/tSsm59v.jpg

Ahh. Thank you for the clarification! This is extremely helpful. ;w;

What are your thoughts on taking rabbits out for walks, then? I see people taking their rabbits to the beach and to parks on youtube. Is this safe? I understand the threat of other animals, but could that be remedied by toting around a carrier? (Maybe one of those shoulder bags made for dogs for temporary carrying if a threat is in sight?)

Sorry if this is too many questions! @A@

Rabbits don't walk like dogs it's more just following them around with a leash lol. It's fine so long as one is mineful about the surroundings. Hawks aren't afraid of people and would be happy ot pick up a small animal even if you're 2ft away. A dog with a prey drive would come after a rabbit before a human could even blink. Parasites, fleas, ticks and flies can effect a rabbit without someone noticing. They can't be left alone on leads because they could strangle themselves or chew through them. So harnsses are fine (never collars) if caution is used but it won't be anything like a dog walk ;o

Mm. I'll stick to safer areas then. I didn't know that about strangling, so that's kind of scary.

What about spaying and neutering? I see some dispute about whether or not it's ethical/necessary. For example:
https://i.imgur.com/1U0uiIp.png

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6SsR0u3Mvk

What are your thoughts on this? @~@

I'd say spaying and neutering is probably the most important thing for a rabbit. I've seen that video and I'm totally disappointed with the misinformation they so proudly regurgitate. It's outdated and it's dangerously wrong. I'm just totally baffled about the misinformation they're spreading when there's dozens of free medical-based resources online that prove everything they're saying is incorrect. I suppose a lot of people just want to cling to what's convenient for them to believe and being called out can just make people more defensive, even if it makes no sense.

As a rabbit matures, her psychological profile will change due to a new endorphin being introduced from hormonal development. Her heart rate and pulse will increase, thus causing some side effects like sporadic energy consumption and mood changes. She will start to become more territorial, especially if there are no other rabbits around her. Her dewlap will begin to store fat for potential mammary gland productions. Teeth and nail production will triple causing the greater need to carve up any wood or fabric around the home with her teeth and claws. This happens so that the female can regularly dig shallow burrows for her young and/or forage more to fulfill her appetite so she can nurse.
Over the next couple of years, her vaginal walls will thicken to prepare her for higher levels of mating. Unfortunately, without the proper friction in this region from a mate, the accelerated cell growth will become cancerous. This will also carry on into the internal areas of her as well as possibly lead to secondary areas affected by the blood like the liver and lungs. Due to her increased heart rate and stress on her system from the excess hormone production (a hormone that elevates energy and growth patterns), her life span will be much shorter; by up to 70% shorter in some cases.

Any rabbit-savvy vet would say how important spay/neuter is and there's been controlled experiments that prove that uterine cancer is a serious danger, typically about an 80% chance of developing uterine cancer by age 4. Nothing that comment says has any backing, meanwhile there's hundreds of sources and scientific research behind why spaying and neutering is important for a rabbit's health. It also does have huge benefits to rabbit behavior as well. That's why bonding an unaltered rabbit with another rabbit is considered unsafe and why all rabbits involved need to be spayed/neutered before bonding, even if they're the same sex.
Of course even rabbits kept alone, as much as that's not ideal, need to be spayed/neutered for their health as well. The risk of a rabbit dying in surgery preformed by a rabbit-savvy is about 1% or less. And the risk of uterine cancer is 80% by age 4. The risk of cancer is far higher than the surgery. And it's not a risk to put a beloved companion through, cancer is painful and an awful way to go. Males also have a risk of testicular cancer as well as behavioral issues from being unaltered such as spraying pee, not using the litter box, fighting humans and other pets, and mounting everything.

More info on uterine cancer:

http://www.petmd.com/rabbit/conditi.....adenocarcinoma

http://rabbit.org/tumors-in-rabbits/

http://sawneeanimalclinic.com/downl.....in_rabbits.pdf

http://www.mybunnies.com/onyx_surgery.htm

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/educat.....f-not-spaying/

http://www.rabbit.org/care/bibliography.html


More info on spay/neuter:

http://rabbit.org/faq-spaying-and-neutering/

http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Spaying_.....tering_rabbits

https://imgur.com/a/Vglh5

http://ontariorabbits.org/care/spay.....-and-neutering

Oh, jeez. I'll assume that I can rely on the sources you've given for more information when it comes to some other things, then. I've been watching mostly youtube videos on this and that's probably where I've been going wrong.

Thank you for the whole bunch of links! I'll be bookmarking them all. o/

Alright, alright. I think this is my last question:
Are there any sources on rabbit information that I should be directly wary of? Prominent youtubers, misinformed websites, etc? I've heard Petco pamphlets are terrible, and now I know of Happy Tails being unreliable. @w@ Idk it's hard to know if something is just controversial or if it's actually wrong. For me, anyways, since I don't have any first hand experience with rabbits beyond just a petting zoo trip once qwq

Yeah youtube is kinda meh in quality of info, I can't really name all the bad channels but if they talk about breeding, eating/killing rabbits, keeping rabbits outdoors, say hutches or wire flooring are fine, or say things like rabbits don't need vet care or don't need to be spayed/neutered those are some big red flags.

This is a good playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-1faBh7DIs&list=PLLALQuK1NDrjnjAFAcbvUg4tmT_jxnjTU
(Careful, howcast has videos from a petting zoo which talks about wrong information - everything in this particular playlist is good, though.)

The channels Stormyrabbits and 101Rabbits are also good channels I feel.

Rabbit.org is probably the best website to learn from overall, though. This is a good page to start from: http://rabbit.org/frequently-asked-questions/

Ahh :C oh boy, I see a lot talking about hutches being good.

Thank you so much for all of this help! It is very VERY very very much appreciated. You're a godsent. @_@

I'll start relying on the website, then. o/ Thank you so much.

No problem, good luck. Good rabbit info can be hard to find but eventually you can learn to sift through the bullshit.

Alright I'm already back to bug you. qwq Tried asking some facebook groups for help but. . . 90% of everyone's questions go ignored and if people do post they don't answer your question.

Where are the best places to go to buy rabbit feed/bedding? Is it best to check local feed stores, or are there any chain stores that sell rabbit supplies? >< Or do you order everything off of Amazon?

(As a side note I already checked the pet stores around me and they're all exclusively dog/cat store/wild bird stores qwq)

Is it alright to shop at Petsmart? They have one of the brands you listed ><

https://i.imgur.com/Ccjcf4n.png

also this is just someone spouting nonsense right? ><

Technically rabbit's don't need pellets, with a proper diet of lots hay (which bunnies need unlimited amounts of regardless of anything) and proper veggies and herbs it's possible to be pellet-free and some bunnies need to be on a pellet-free diet due to health issues. Basically, they're fine. They don't NEED pellets, but it's no harm so long as it's a healthy brand! Only about 1/8 of a cup for most rabbits, 1/4 a cup at the most. It's probably the least important part of their diet, along with treats. See rabbit diet infographic here: https://i.redd.it/2n05i1qnz2uz.png
Pellets are fine for the average bunny owner though, so it's really a choice imo. More info on pellet-free diet: http://rabbit.org/pellet-free-diet/

Careful with youtube's comment section, it's an abyss tbh.

As for where to buy bedding and pellets, bedding should be used in the litter box and no where else or it can confuse bunny on where to go potty (it's also a huge waste of money to put bedding everywhere) fleece blankets or simple rugs are fine to use on the floor of a rabbit pen!
For *litter* - I use horse stall pellets from Agway but Tractor supply and most farm supply stores would sell horse stall pellets. They're pelleted litter than absorb liquid, used for the stall of horses. For me a bag is 40 lb worth of horse stall pellets costs me $6 and it lasts me a bit over a month with two normal sized litter pans. Just to clarify horse stall pellets are not pellet food! They're made of kiln dried pine (the only safe kind of pine) and they're used to absorb urine in a litter box, no eating x_x haha. Besides that, there are many options for litter, you can find more info here: http://rabbit.org/faq-litter-training-2/

For pellets I buy mine off chewy.com, if you live in the USA it's a good place to shop! I buy oxbow garden select adult rabbit food, but anything from oxbow is fine. Sherwood forest and Small pet select are online brands that are good choices too. Science selective (USA, UK) is another option too. Burgess (UK) is a good brand too. Petsmart and petco are fine to buy products from, they sell some good brands and some bad ones - just be mindful of what you're buying is all c: I discussed what's bad and what's good here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/25381825/ in the comments too.

Also, for rabbit groups on facebook many many many of them are bad so be wary. I know it's a lot of shit to sift through. BUt these are my top two fave bunny groups - lots of great information and there are also professional vets in the group too [not a replacement for actual vet care, of course]
Posting a [bunny-related] image along with your question may also help your post get more attention.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/houserabbit/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/int.....lhouserabbits/

; w; thank you so much again. I've applied to join both the groups you've linked. I'm actually going to print out those charts you made (if that's alright) and hang them up for constant reminder. That's also a surprisingly inexpensive litter that I'll have to check for as well. (I live in a pretty rural community with lots of feed stores so I'd be amazed if I couldn't find it).

You're a real saving grace ;_; you should write a book on rabbit care or something. I'd buy it. ;^;

Yeah! This is examples of the bag: https://imgur.com/a/o3clS
And you're free to print out the charts, I used to print them and leave them at pet stores and other stores that sell small animal supplies haha.

And no problem, a lot of it is stuff I've learned in time. I've had rabbits for years but I'm still always learning. I always try to get sources from vets and behavioral professionals and all, I feel too many people believe anything without looking deeper into it and that's how misinformation spreads.