Foster Carer Guide
Preparing for your foster bunny
You will need the below items to foster a bunny with us. To reduce costs, you can purchase pens and other items second hand. We have a limited supply of this equipment which you can borrow if available. Feed can also be provided. In most instances, you can collect our equipment from various storage locations.
Pethomes have put together a great Starter Pack, which includes everything you need. If you would like to explore more buying options, please have a look at our brand new Shopping Guide. It will also explain what not to buy!
Equipment check list
Needs to provide enough space - 1.2m x 1.2m or more and needs to be high enough - 30 inch / 76 cm or more. Soft pens, hutches and cages are not appropriate.
Needs to give the bunny the opportunity to hide. If you have a tunnel, a hidey house is optional and can be made of cardboard. If you only have a hidey house it must be from a durable material.
Needs to provide enough space for a bunny to sit comfortable and turn around. Typically you will need one that is 50cm long.
Litter consisting of paper, wood shavings, wood pellets or crystals (avoid the 'clumping' ones).
Good brands are Catmate, Ozpet and Proteq.
HIGH QUALITY PELLETS
Recommended brands: Vetafarm, Oxbow, Burgess. No pellet mixes that are colourful, contain seeds, or are marketed as suitable for rabbits and guinea pigs).
You need 3 types of hay: 1) Cereal hay: Oaten (most common), wheat, barley, 2) Grass hay (timothy, orchard, rye, teff, pasture), 3) Lucerne hay as treat and for emergencies. Best brand: Oxbow. Other good brands: Peters, Friendly Earth, King Alfalfa.
The water bowl should hold 400-500 ml and either be heavy / very stable so the rabbit cannot tip it over.
As for the food bowl: Any bowl or plate you have at home will do.
Any pet carrier will do as long as it can be securely locked and is big enough for a rabbit. Hard plastic carriers last longer than the soft fabric / foldable carriers as rabbits can chew them.
PET BRUSH AND NAIL SCISSCORS
Emergency kit
CRITICAL CARE
SYRINGE
HEAT PAD
Setup
So you have all your equipment - what next? It's time to set up the playpen and equipment. There are a couple of things you should consider:
- Location of the play pen: We recommend you set it up in the corner of a room. If you have your own rabbits don't put it into the area they consider their territory - ideally you want to keep them apart.
- Arrangements within the play pen: Put the litter tray into the corner of a play pen that is close to a wall. Rabbits like to do their business with their back to the wall while having a good view of their surroundings.
Our showcase setup
- Play pen: 8 panels, 70+ cm high, with walk-through door. Placed in the corner of the room.
- Large litter tray, 50 cm long. Placed in the corner of the play pen. Filled with 2/3 litter and 1/3 hay, so the rabbit can poop and eat facing the room.
- Hay bag to ensure unlimited hay supply (you can use a shopping bag)
- Water bowl: 15 cm in diameter, difficult to tip over, ideally heavy (ceramic)
Food bowl: No special requirements. - Play tunnel: for the rabbit to play and hide in.
- Sea grass matt: for the rabbit to chew (optional).
- Hidey house: another place for the rabbit to hide (you can use a cardboard box).
In this example setup: Playpen and litter tray are from Pethomes (also offers Starter Kit), hay bag is from Bunny Bazaar, water bowl (950 ml) is from Petbarn, tunnel is from Amazon, seagrass matt is from Bunnings, hidey house is from Kmart. Of course, you can source all equipment you need from just 1 or 2 suppliers - check out our Shopping Guide to see options that we have put together for you!
There are many ways to equip and arrange a play pen, but if you stick to this 'template' you cannot go wrong! If you would like further inspiration check out our video on foster carer setups:
Once you have your area set up, please take a photo and send it to the Bunny Tracker you have been in contact with. This way they can review it and advise you if you need to change anything.
