The riskiest time in your new rabbit's life is likely the first few days after you first bring them home. Limiting change and stress is the key to a smooth transition and survival in their new home. Stress weakens the immune system and can also make them more suseptible to digestive issues with any change in food. A rabbit can look fine then be dead from inflamed intestines within a few hours.
I do offer free replacement if a rabbit dies for any reason soon after taking them home. So far I've only needed to replace one this year.
Rabbits in the wild have a territory. They know where all the tastiest plants are, water sources and where to hide if there is danger or bad weather. When I was a young boy growing up in Oregon, I'd always see the cottontail rabbits browsing near the nastiest thicket of blackberry vines. When startled, two bounds and they'd be deep in the cover, I'm sure kicking back and laughing at me or any other predator. They seemed immune to the nasty thorns and would just relax in the thicket until danger passed.
Getting forced out of the place they know is extremely stressful. Rabbits know they are at the bottom of the food chain so any change spells danger. Not having their spot to hideout leaves them terrified.
Things to do:
1) Get at least a few days worth of the food they have been eating and mix it to gradually transition to your feed. Lots of fiber is good. Avoid rich foods such as alfalfa and plants from the cabbage family until they've had time to settle, and even then sparingly.
2) Make sure they have something to hide behind. A cardboard box is good.
3) Have a good cage or enclosure that will keep them from escaping and keep predators out.
4) Put up some tarp or other obstruction to protect from wind, rain and view of other animals in your yard. Minimize new sites and sounds so they can try to relax. Make sure they are shaded and no direct sun. Frozen plastic bottle in the summer to snuggle up to will help reduce heat stress along with spraying water around the area for evaporative cooling. In extreme heat, consider a mist system. Rabbits handle cold well if they are dry and protected from wind.
5) Make sure they have plenty of clean water.
6) Keep interaction with children down to a minimum the first few days. After a few days when the rabbit seems relaxed, gradually introduce children and teach them how to properly hold the rabbit but only for short intervals in the beginning. Have the child give safe treats such as timothy hay or apple twigs.
7) Pets need to be kept away and their view obstructed. Dogs can tear through wire cages and just running past the cage can startle a rabbit to where it could blindly crash into the wall of it's cage and hurt itself. You may need to later do some heavy training of dogs so they will leave the rabbits alone. Good luck with that. Success varies drastically between breeds.
8) Predators will be a problem if you don't have your rabbits in a secure building or fenced yard. So, at least get some fence posts and wire and get them enclosed.
9) Rabbits are not a herd animal. Meeting a strange rabbit is stressful and sometimes violent. So being alone is best.
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