Baby Bunny Care Sheet
Since most of our rabbits go to new homes as eight to twelve week old kits, we created a care sheet just for the little buns.
Water
Water is first for a reason. Dehydration is the most common problem that new bunny owners encounter and it can be very serious for a baby bunny. Having a water bottle is great, but you also need to provide a bowl of clean water in the beginning. Our rabbits have both, and prefer to drink out of bowls. Having fresh, clean water helps rabbits keep on weight and better deal with the stress of a move. A hydrated rabbit is a happy rabbit.
Home
Your rabbit will be more than excited to explore their new space but give them a couple days to get used to the smells and sounds of their new home. We suggest homing them near the most active part of your home, especially if it is a single rabbit. Near the living room or kitchen works well. To help them adjust, you want to make sure that you are providing them with the comforts they need to feel safe. Choose a space that can be dedicated to your bunny. Rabbits like to have a “home base” where they can find their food, litter box, and favorite toys. An open set up is fantastic but make sure their space includes tunnels and hides or caves (these can be as simple as cut up cardboard boxes) so that they can take some private time if they need it.
The absolute minimum space requirements for a cage are four hops across in one direction without running into any obstacles, like the food bowls. Horizontal space is more important than vertical space - meaning multiple levels may be nice but they really need more flat space to be able to do zoomies and binkies. A 4 ft by 6 ft space is the minimum requirement for exercise. There are many suggestions for cages and pens on our Rabbit Care Page.
Simple Cage (This is a good starter cage to be used how we use Sasha’s cage below, not as an all the time cage.)
Schedule
Rabbits are crepuscular, which means they are most active morning and evening, sleep the late part of the night, and take naps throughout midday. We feed our rabbits first thing upon waking in the morning (usually shortly after dawn but they will adjust to your schedule!) and then let them out to play for a few hours until they start acting sleepy. They generally cuddle and nap for most of the day and become active again in late afternoon. We serve a full rabbit dinner at 6 pm. This schedule is what they are familiar with but of course will adjust to whatever schedule your family follows as time goes on. This is just a guideline for an easier transition.
Feeding
We feed the rabbits twice a day, once before breakfast and again around dinnertime. For each meal we provide 1/4 cup (per rabbit) pellets. We suggest Oxbow Young Rabbit Food as the best option for young rabbits. Timothy Hay or Orchard Grass should be provided at all times and they should be hungry enough eat it during the day. Do not feed your bunny vegetables, fruit, or any fresh treats. Instead used dried forage blends while they are still young. We wait until bunnies are three months old to start fresh greens and veggies so it will be up to you to introduce these new foods slowly. Once you are sure your rabbit is settled into their new space, you may start to add fresh foods slowly over a period of several months. Start with leafy greens adding more each day, then vegetables. Finally, you may add small pieces of fruit as treats - about the size of a blueberry. Any sign of mushy poop or a dirty bum and you should back up and provide ONLY hay and water until it has cleared up. Read more about nutrition.
Litter Box Training
We litter train all of our rabbits as they are growing up with their mother so they will be primed to continue that learning with you. We start the training by moving their hay feeder above a litter box so that when they are munching, they are sitting in the box. Do NOT buy the small corner litter boxes. They are not nearly big enough, even for a small rabbit. Try something along the lines of a cat litter box instead. We fill our boxes with an inch of kiln dried pine litter from Southern States, but you can also find many options at pet stores in the cat litter isle. Pine pellets, crushed walnut shells, wheat pellets, and recycled paper all make fantastic litter options. Then we remove bedding and litter from the rest of their enclosure. They want to use the bathroom on something absorbent, so by removing litter from everywhere else, they are encouraged to use the litter in the box. It might help to remove blankets and soft beds while training. You may find it easiest to let them go in a cage for a couple days before setting up a box. They will generally try to always use the same corner. Place the litter box in this corner. See Sasha’s litter training set up below. And here are some helpful supply links:
Waterproof Floor Mat -$21
Single Rabbit Litter Box - $33
Large Rabbit Litter Box - $63
Cozy Bunny Beds - $22
Health
The most important thing to watch for in baby bunnies is diarrhea. It is common for there to be a slight case brought on by the stress of the move. Keep a close eye on your rabbit and make sure they are eating and drinking water. They should ONLY be given hay and water (in a bowl) until the diarrhea has cleared completely. Then you may start slowly adding in other foods starting with the pellets we provided you. If you notice that your rabbit is extremely lethargic, or not eating or drinking for more than 12 hours, contact us or your local vet for advice. Learn more about local vets and spay or neuter costs on our Rabbit Care page.
Enrichment
Rabbits need exercise! They love to run and hop around so give them an extended space for a few hours a day and they will be sure to entertain you with “zoomies” and “binkies.” This means crazy fast sprints and acrobatic sideways hops! It can be inside or out. There are endless options when it comes to cages, play yards, xpens, or simply free roaming your rabbit. Every family and situation is going to have a different solution and that is perfectly okay as long as the rabbit is getting healthy exercise. We use cotton rugs or waterproof highchair mats (shown below) to protect the area where the bunny lives while litter training and to give them some traction for running. There are also many delightful rabbit toys you can find online. Ours love the wicker balls and plastic stacking cups the most. You could also collect hardwood sticks and pinecones from outside where you know there are no pesticides used. Box tunnels and homes are also great and inexpensive toys. Rabbits love to run through cat tunnels, the longer, the better. Woven hides or tunnels are fantastic too as they serve a dual purpose, hiding and chewing. Here are some links for the best toys, hides, and tunnels I’ve found.
3 Way Tunnel - $10
Cute Woven Bed - $17
Grass House - $26
Woven Toy Balls - $9
Timothy Grass Balls - $14
Neutral Stacking Cups - $15
Grass Tunnel - $19
Bunny Play Set - $30
*When you use my links to shop on Amazon, you are helping support my website and educational materials that are found here. I love writing about rabbits and their care and I hope my advice and insight helps you on your rabbit journey as well. I only suggest products that I have used with a positive experience. Thank you!
Box home sweet home. We decorate the boxes with cardstock paper and a non-toxic Elmers glue stick and brown paper tape. Some rabbits will tear them apart completely so don’t get too invested in your designs! They’re fun to make for each season or holiday.
Share your Box Home photos with us by tagging @breadboxfarm on Instagram!
Sasha’s “cage” is basically just her litter box. (You can see how most of the mess has ended up in her box.) We originally extended her space with an xpen and placed a waterproof highchair mat underneath to catch any messes. The smaller cotton rug is there to give her traction when jumping in the box and a soft place to lay. We encouraged her litter training by always immediately cleaning up any accidents and placing any poops we found back in her box. Eventually, we were able to take away the xpen completely and let her free roam all the time. Accidents have been few and far between and she is about three months old now. You can see the roof of her box home near the bottom of the photo. It gives her a safe place to rest or hide when it gets noisy.