What you will need when Bunny arrives:
We sell all these items in our online shop, go to: https://bunnybuddy.co.za/shop/
(Online Shop items are delivered by a normal courier at a set fee of R99 no matter how much you order.) Please order 7 days in advance. If you are collecting your bunny from our farm your items will be delivered to the farm for free.)
1. Suitable cage (minimum 80cm wide) for indoors. You can move this cage outdoors as well during the day. For outdoor cages or hutches, make sure there is a closed area for bunny to sleep in or hide in when he feels unsafe or if the weather is very hot or cold.
2. For the bottom of the cage you can use straw or wood shavings or soft straw, this goes for the litter box as well (The litter box goes in a corner of the cage). Bunnies like to ‘go’ in a soft place so the hard litter box pellets are not the best option.
3. Diet: 80% of their diet should be hay, the best hay to use is Oat Hay or Teff Hay. Tasty hay is also adequate but oat and teff are definitely the best option.
Half a cup of Rabbit Lucern pellets can be given each day.
Greens should be kept to once or twice per week as bunnies can develop diarrhea from too many greens. (When you give greens please make sure they are rabbit safe, you can simply google it or check our website for articles on what is safe to feed your bunny) bunnybuddy.co.za
Lawn Grass is fine, they can nibble on your lawn if its free of pesticides.
4. Water: You can use a water bottle but make sure bunny drinks from it as they do not always know how, best to use a water bowl or use a bowl until you see bunny is drinking from the bottle easily.
5. Bedding: Soft Hay is the best bedding, such as Barley Straw, you can also use some wood shavings.
6. Toys: No plastic toys, use bunny safe toys, wood and cardboard is the safest or some rope toys.
(Rodent-type toys).
7. If a bunny is on its own you can put a plush toy in with him or her, it makes them feel safer, and they will cuddle up to it. (Eventually they might start tearing it a bit so don’t use something expensive, lol).
8. Use a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar in their water twice a week to keep their immune system healthy. It is also a natural dewormer and aids Stress.
9. You can give them a few sunflower seeds now and again to make their coat shiny and soft, but not too many as it will make them get fat. Actual Sunflowers and Sunflower Leaves are also very good for them.
10. For flea prevention we use ‘Vondi’s Diatomaceous Earth’, it also acts as a natural dewormer and parasite prevention treatment. We strongly recommend you purchase this item. we sell this item in our online shop. Click here
11. For healthy intestinal flora or If bunny ever gets diarrhea, it’s a good idea to buy ‘Protexin Probiotic Supplement’. We sell this item in our online shop. Click here
12. Cleaning: Use watered-down white spirit vinegar to clean cages etc, do not use any chemical cleaners. You can also use F10SC Vet Disinfectant, we sell 200ml and 1L bottles in our online shop. Click here
13. Bathing: There is no need to bathe your bunny, they clean themselves like cats do, if ever you need to clean the fur please use lukewarm water and a cloth to do so.
14: De-worming: As mentioned above use Vondis DE and Apple Cider Vinegar as a preventative against any kind of worms. If your bunny shows symptoms of worms when older you can buy the deworming paste from your vet or from takealot, only if your bunny gets worms in the future (using the paste too often renders it useless as they will build up immunity to it). Prevention is better than cure. Apple Cider Vinegar works very well to prevent it.
15: Vaccinations: Please take your bunny to get the RHVD virus vaccination once a year. Starting as soon as bunny/bunnies arrive with the courier or get collected from us. Bunny Buddy Rabbitry is virus-free and the Courier uses safety measures to prevent infection during transport.
If you have further questions please feel free to ask.
Tanya from Bunny Buddy.