Here is an opus of tricks and tricks, accumulated over time from questions asked by others preparing to bring a rabbit into their home.
Let’s start with the un-fun stuff and then move on to the easier things.
It’s important to keep mosquitos away from your rabbit. Myxomatosis, a mosquito and flea borne disease that is 100% fatal to domesticated rabbits, and is prevalent in this area. Please take a moment to read this article, too. Really, it's worth the time:
http://www.bunssb.org/bunnies/myxomatosis/
RHDv2 is the other disease we worry about. BUNS can assist with the vaccination this year… but it needs to be renewed each year. We are trying to turn this over to local vets but they are slow to get the necessary vaccine. Hopefully, this will be less of a problem going forward.
https://www.independent.com/2020/07/28/santa-barbara-braces-for-bunny-ebola/
Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease (RHDv2)
Next topic to discuss… litter, which typically consists of one or two cat-size litter pans with hay atop wood chips. Here’s a description of how to set up a litter pan so that it doesn’t have odor and keeps the hay fresh longer:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Rabbits/comments/55ahu7/english_angora_foster_bunny_and_question_about/d89db7q/
And here’s an accompanying picture of the setup of the pan:
https://1drv.ms/i/s!AsJUxCSTQEQlg9s99BjUCXidtAg1jg
Under the litter pans, you might place a large plastic tray with a small lip. These are available from auto-parts stores (or Amazon.com’s auto department). They are sold to catch oil dripping from under your car engine but they work very nicely as an under-tray in case the rabbit happens to hang its little bottom over the side of the pan and pee (accidentally).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078MQK4D1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Rabbits tend to be tidy, though admittedly they occasionally leave a few small round balls of digested hay (poo) on the floor… but those are easy to sweep up and don’t smell or stain, etc. The occasional accidental urination on a carpet, rug, or flooring may happen but it should be the exception, not the norm.
That said, when your rabbit first comes to your home, it will want to let everyone know that this is now its home… by marking with pee. Think in terms of there being two phases:
The adjustment period.
The remaining years.
During the adjustment period (a few days or weeks) a canvas painter’s drop cloth can be used to absorb the pee. Get two of those painter’s drop cloths so you can pop one in the wash while the other is on the floor. Put a waterproof lining under the drop cloth to further protect your flooring.
Amazon.com: Tarp Cover Blue Waterproof Great for Tarpaulin Canopy Tent, Boat, RV Or Pool Cover!!! (Standard Poly Tarp) : Tools & Home Improvement
Pack of 2: Canvas Drop Cloth Cotton Tarp 9x12 Large Canvas Tarp for Art Supplies, Drop Cloths for Painting Supplies/Paint Canvas Fabric or Couch Cover and Furniture Cover from Paint by Dirt Defense - - Amazon.com
The tarped area can be enclosed with a folding pet fence. There are MANY models available. Here’s just one possible example:
https://www.amazon.com/MidWest-Homes-Pets-MaxLock-Exercise/dp/B00CE944R0/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=folding+exercise+fence+32%22H&qid=1625952226&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-1
Once the rabbit stops feeling the compulsion to mark the area, i.e., once it stops (or mostly stops) peeing on the tarps, it’s ready to be given more room to roam. At this point you may find that you can remove the fencing and let the rabbit play in the room more fully. The good news is that you can easily predict where a rabbit will go because many rabbits dislike hopping on slippery surfaces, like hardwood floors. They will favor rugs. If you want to cover hard surface floors, a safe and aesthetically pleasing jute rug can be a nice and relatively inexpensive choice. Remember: once your rabbit has adjusted and is ready to simply live in your home, you’ll want it to have plenty of room to hop and binky.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SWW1NXQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Wherever the rabbit lives and plays, be sure to cover all electric cords. Here’s a simple and inexpensive product that does so:
https://smile.amazon.com/Protector-Electric-Protect-Rabbits-Diameter/dp/B07L86SJNJ/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=electric+cord+protector&qid=1595210324&sr=8-4
Other stuff to potentially purchase:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KZC8TDJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
(Pull out the liner cloth and you have a perfect hide-away. They will chew holes in the sides eventually. Which is good for their teeth. Yes, it’s a bit pricey but you get 2 very nice hampers.)
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DKW7652/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
(This or something similar. They come in all sizes, shapes and types.)
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G0TPK96/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
(This is a healthy tasty treat.)
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SLLF48/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
(These are good pellets. Not fancy but good.)
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0087Y5NKS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
(An alternative style of litter pan for rabbits… the instructions above for putting wood chips at the bottom, then a grate, then the hay still apply to this little pan… it just has helpfully high side walls.)
Here's a couple of links to places where you get terrific info.
https://rabbit.org/hrs-howcast-videos/
https://binkybunny.com/house-rabbit-information/
For a fun place to post pictures of your rabbits at play, I suggest:
https://reddit.com/r/rabbits
For most information, your go-to place will be https://rabbit.org/. Try using their “Rabbit 101” menu of articles to learn the basics of keeping a rabbit in your home. Focus especially on dietary requirements.
Hay is essential. This can’t be emphasized this enough. If you give your rabbit lots and lots of hay and very, very little other things that will ruin its appetite, you’ll do fine. Where MANY people go awry is that they give their rabbits lots of fruit and too many vegetables. They love that! But it reduces their appetite for hay. And if they don’t eat enough hay bad things happen to their teeth and guts. So, if you want to avoid problems always remember: hay, hay, hay.
Hay is available in bags outside the front door of the shelter. $5/bag, which should last you for about a week.
Use one or two heavy glazed bowls for water rather than plastic. Place the water carefully. Your rabbit will each drink as much as a 25 pound dog.
https://www.wikihow.com/Choose-a-Water-Dish-for-Your-Rabbit
Water is absolutely essential for your rabbits. Without enough, their digestive system gets “clogged” and can’t get unclogged and bad things happen. Be sure that the water is clean every day. Rabbits can be very finicky about water so the tips in the article mentioned above are essential.)
If you made it this far… congratulations! And welcome to the wonder world of rabbit husbandry.