Bunny Lane in winter!
The little hutch at the front is home to two of our six Guinea Pigs...a long story!
Rabbit Care
As you can see my bunnies live outdoors. They are all healthy and thriving, so no ill effects from the cold weather! The corner of the garden where my hutches sit has very good shelter from the wind and rain, and is in the shade so they can escape the sun in summer.
I feed adlib hay to my bunnies, enough for them to sleep on and eat all year round; I put fresh hay in every morning and clear out anything left over from the day before. I don't buy hay from pet shops as it tends to be poor quality. I buy my hay from horse feed suppliers, and only choose bales that are light to lift, dust free and sweet smelling (pull a sample from the middle of a bale to test). It has been quite a challenge finding good hay this winter. My Rabbits and Guinea Pigs (GPs) love their hay, and it always amazes me how much of it the GPs can eat in a day, given they are so little!
Hay is the most important part of both the rabbits and GPs diets. It keeps their digestive systems working, helps their teeth, and provides the mental stimulation they need. I also feed them "Just Grass" a dried timothy grass, each day.
The pellet food I use is Burgess Supa Excel Premium Pellets - this is recommended by vets. I feed this morning and night, with the dried grass, and a few Barley Rings as an extra every morning. Barley rings are a horse feed that rabbits seem to love, and thrive on. The GPs are fed a Guniea Pig food as they have different needs from rabbits, they also are fed fresh red pepper and brocceli almost every day.
I give the rabbits a variety of fresh veg in small amounts every other day, and they also have a small amount of fruit once a week. As a treat they are given some leaves from the Ash tree. At the end of the summer I dry some branches to give them as a treat over the winter. Oh, and they are also treated to an odd hobnob, digestive biscuit or oat cake now and again. I know its wrong but they love them, and as Bubbles survived the odd (bad for you) treat without ill effects for 14 years, I'm sure it can't do too much harm if given in moderation.
My rabbits are all litter trained, and my hutches are cleaned out completely morning and night.
Most importantly my rabbits and my GPs are given lots of freedom. They all love the garden and when it's not possible to let them out they have turns each in the house.
My Rabbits and GPs run in the garden together, although not all at one time (boys and girls are kept apart). The dogs join them. Needless to say we have many burrows and few plants!
We are fortunate in having a six foot walled garden so it is very safe. A local cat does eye up the GPs every now and again (you can see him in photos). The dogs and Helga keep him at a safe distance from the rabbits and GPs, but I think he may have eaten my little Robin friend! We have 4 male GPs who run around like a little train one in front of the other. They have an odd squabble but having lived together in a garden shed for 3 years they have a firm hierarchy, so the squabbles rarely escalate into anything more than a standoff.
A Pic of GP House. This is where the boys live...
The main door is left open in summer, and a wire inner door lets the air in and keeps them safe from harm. Below a baby rabbit says hi to daddy. He is thinking - not another rabbit!
The Bunny Guard
Heidi sitting amongst the baby bunnies. This is her summer job and she takes it very seriously. She keeps them safe from crows, and at times I could swear she counts the babies in. If one wonders out of site she becomes frantic with worry, unlike mummy rabbits who don't seem to bother!!
