Our Pet Bunnies
Deciding on a Breed
When I was in college, I had a pet bunny named Houdini. I went to the pet store and picked the cutest one they had. I knew he was a dwarf breed. I didn’t know much about the different types and it didn’t matter at the time.
Now that we’re adopting 2 bunnies for our sons, we figured it was time to research the different breeds and pick one that matched our needs and availability. We narrowed our search down to 4 breeds. Ultimately, we went with the Holland Lops. Their cuteness definitely played a role in this choice, but we also like that they are a gentle, medium-sized breed.
We did read that bunnies like to live in families in the wild, so we knew adopting 2 was our best bet. Our household is slowly becoming Noah’s Ark: 2 adults, 2 children, 2 dogs, and at the beginning of April 2025, 2 bunnies.
Finding the Right Bunnies
After a few Google and Facebook searches, we found Storybook Farms. Their family farm is super adorable and we like how open and loving they are about caring for their animals.
When we found the post announcing the birth of their most recent litter of 6 (born February 7th), they were just over 1.5 weeks old. 5 of the kits were black otters (meaning they have a white belly and white accents) and 1 was all black. 1 black otter was already claimed by another family. The picture to the right is what was shared for us to see what Storybook Farms had available at the time. They were too young to know their genders, so we chose the all black bunny and a black otter of the opposite gender. Within the hour, we sent our deposit via Venmo and they promised to keep us updated with pictures.
The babies will be ready to go home the first week of April (just in time for Easter).
Both parents are Holland Lops. Mom’s name is Flopsy. Dad’s name is Hobbes. We also received a picture of a kit from another litter showing us what the black otter coloring will resemble when these babies get older.
Holland Lop Colors
There are 8 categories of colors for Holland Lops: Agouti, Wide Band, Self, Shaded, Tan Pattern, Ticked, Pointed White, Broken.
Within each group is a collection of similar genotypes (genetic code), but the phenotypes (observable features, such as color) can appear to vary widely. Every bunny color is either BLACK (B), BLUE (B_ dd), CHOCOLATE (bb), or LILAC based (bb dd). Blue is the diluted form of black, and lilac is the diluted form of chocolate.
Dominant genes are represented by capital letters.
Recessive genes are represented by lowercase letters
Here’s a great guide that breaks down the different color variations.
Bunny Supplies
Habitat - Indoor/Outdoor Hutch
It is recommended to get a cage that is between 24” x 30” to 30” x 36” for medium-sized breeds.
Solid floor bottoms are preferred over wire mesh bottoms.
Since they are prey animals, they need a place to feel secure. They should be provided at least one place to rest or hide.
At the last minute, before bringing them home, we decided to have separate cages for the two bunnies. Instead of the hutch, we went with two of these bunny habitats (37” long).
Pellet food - young rabbit
Dispensers - pellet & water
It's best to provide water in a ceramic bowl versus a sipper water bottle.
Hay - Timothy
High quality grass hay provides the necessary fiber to maintain a healthy GI tract and should comprise the bulk of your rabbit’s diet (approximately 80%).
Timothy, meadow, oat, rye, barley, Bermuda, orchard, and prairie grass should be offered “free choice,” meaning it should be available 24 hours a day.
Hay feeder - basket
Litter box - corner pan
Bedding - paper
Toys - chewing
Cage liner - washable fleece pads
Picking Their Names
At the same time we were considering adopting bunny (for the benefits of them as pets, but also to help fertilize our backyard gardens), we were also checking out our local 4H club. Knowing that our animal-lover son will most likely want to get involved with a livestock project, we decided that we should get 1 of each gender. This way, if he wants to focus on bunny husbandry, he has the option. Otherwise, we can get them spayed/neutered.
We knew we were going to need a super cute bunny couple names. After consulting Google, here’s the list I came up with to pitch to the boys:
Albus & Minerva
Artemis & Apollo
Basil & Sage
Cupcake & Muffin
Harry & Ginny
Hermoine & Ron
Jack & Jill
Lily & James
Lorelei & Luke
Waffle & Cinnabun
Willow & Hawthorn
Brandon and I really liked the garden & food names. We thought the boys would narrow the list down to Basil & Sage, Cupcake & Muffin, or Waffle & Cinnabun. We had already discussed the bunnies becoming our little garden-dwellers and Jacob is usually a fan of puns.
I should have known our mythology and space loving 11 year old was going to like Artemis & Apollo. Since they’re from the same parents, our bunnies are also siblings. Jacob agreed to having the girl bunny (Artemis) as his and assured Jonah Apollo would definitely be a fighting bunny. I’m not sure what that means but they were in agreement so we moved on from the short list we had originally pitched.
And just like that, in the carride on the way to get the bunnies, their names have changed. Introducing…
Mango and Mochi
Bunny Care
Lessons We Learned in the First Week
We needed a separate area for them to hang out downstairs. We purchased this playpen and tunnel. We found it easier to use a handheld vacuum to clean out the playpen that our household vacuum.
The playpen became necessary because the bunnies (but especially Mango) would dart under the couch and not come out for a while. We didn’t want him to get into something that might harm him, so we let them hang in the playpen when we’re not able to watch them super closely.
The tunnel is super easy to clean. I fill the bathtub with hot water and dissolve a laundry detergent pod in it. Then, I submerge the tunnel and let it soak. After about 5 minutes, I swish the tunnel back and forth to make sure all of the urine has been lifted out of the bottom. Then I rinse thoroughly. Lastly, I place the tunnel out in the sun to dry.
The handheld vacuum also makes it easy to put the droppings in the garden. I just empty it there instead of the trashcan. Bunny droppings are cold compost, so they don’t need to break down in compost before they can be applied to the garden.
We needed somewhere to store the bunny food and hay. We bought these drawers for the hay and this air-tight container for the food.
One package of hay fits nicely between the 2 drawers.
The air-tight container comes with a scoop that we believe is a mouse, but it also kind of looks like a bunny. It works for us.
Toys, not just for chewing, are necessary. These musical toys are a hit. Mochi especially enjoys them.
We had more questions than answers, such as “How do we actually get them to use the litter pan instead of the entire cage?” (Hint: We’re still training, but we will share our revelations later.) For now, here are the books we’re using to learn about these fluffy companions:
Gardening Gold
Did you know that bunny poop is great for gardening? Read about our garden here.
Did you know bunny poop is known as gardening gold?
Rabbit manure makes an excellent and safe fertilizer for plants. It's a good source of nitrogen and phosphorus, essential nutrients for plant growth. Rabbit manure is dry, odorless, and comes in pellet form, making it easy to handle and apply.
How to use:
Direct application: You can spread rabbit pellets directly onto garden beds and mix them into the top few inches of soil.
Planting holes: Place some pellets in the planting holes before planting.
Compost tea: You can make a concentrated tea by adding pellets to water and allowing them to settle.
Application rate: For a typical garden bed, a 1 to 2-inch layer of fresh rabbit pellets can be applied and mixed into the top 4 to 6 inches of soil.
You can also add rabbit manure to your compost pile to create a richer soil amendment.
Each bag contains approximately 5 oz.
Each order contains 2 bags (approximately 10 oz total).