Rabbits are increasingly popular pets within the UK. There are a large number of breeds, which range from the Dutch Dwarf weighing about 1 kg when adult, to the Flemish Giant, which can weigh more than 8 kgs when fully grown.

Housing

As the popularity of the rabbit increases, so does the number that is kept as house pets. However, the majority are still kept in a hutch.

With such a large variation in breed size there is no ideal hutch design or size but there should always be sufficient space for the rabbit to lie at full stretch and to stand up on its hindquarters.

A clean dry bed of wood shavings, hay, straw or newspaper should be provided and inspected daily to avoid the build up of any dirt that could encourage disease.

A secure outdoor run is preferable, which will allow the rabbit to exercise and graze and can also be a site for toys such as tunnels or boxes.

Rabbits kept outdoors should be in a well insulated hutch protected from wind and rain and sheltered from excess sunlight.

Diet

Rabbits are herbivores and have a complex digestive system requiring both digestible and indigestible fiber types.

Fresh grass or hay should make up about three quarters of the diet and other fresh vegetables like carrot or cabbage can be added to provide some variation. Burgess Excel or Supa Excel is top-quality commercially available rabbit diets.

Rabbits need access to clean water at all times. Feed and water bowls should be cleaned daily.

Diarrhea

Rabbits are prone to digestive disturbances resulting in diarrhea. This may be serious, and even life threatening. Probiotics such as protexin are particularly helpful in maintaining or restoring the normal gut micro-organisms required to digest food properly.

Diarrhea often results in matting of the fur around a rabbits anus which can in itself be distressing to your pet, but is also a common cause of ‘fly-strike’ during the summer months. It is recommended that a preventative application of ‘Rearguard’ be used early in the summer to prevent maggots. ‘Advantage’ is a spot-on product normally used for flea control which can also help control flies and maggots. These products are available from your veterinary surgeon.

Reproduction

Rabbits become sexually mature at between 16-24 weeks of age.

Baby rabbits or ‘kits’ are born after 30-33 days of pregnancy and litter size ranges from

4-12.

To avoid mis-mothering or abandonment, the nest area should not be disturbed and the young kits should not be handled until they are weaned at around 7-8 weeks of age.

Neutering

Rabbits are prolific breeders and care should always be taken to avoid unwanted litters. Neutering not only prevents unwanted matings, but also can make both does and bucks less territorial and aggressive. In addition, does have a very high risk of developing uterine tumours if not neutered.

Bucks are castrated from about 5 months of age. A general anaesthetic is given and both testicles are removed from an incision made on the scrotum.

Does are spayed from about 6 months of age. A general anaesthetic is given and an incision made in the middle of the does tummy. Both ovaries and the uterus are removed during the operation.

Vaccination

Like dogs and cats, rabbits are susceptible to many diseases and some of these can be prevented by routine vaccinations.

Myxomatosis is a viral disease seen commonly in wild rabbits in the UK and unfortunately it can affect pet rabbits too. The disease is spread from infected to non-infected rabbits via flea bites. The virus causes swellings around the eyes, ears and genitals and feeding soon becomes difficult. In the vast majority of cases treatment is futile.

Viral haemorrhagic disease (V.H.D.) is another widespread viral disease that is present in the UK. The disease is spread via direct contact with infected rabbits or contaminated feeding or drinking bowls. Affected rabbits rapidly become ill and often sudden death is the first sign that is seen.

Both Myxomatosis and V.H.D. can be prevented by a single annual vaccination.



By: Sandy Scott

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If you own a rabbit and aren’t quite sure what to do with him or her why not train him. I will show you step by step how to litter train your pet rabbit. Within a few weeks, your rabbit will be trained to use a litter box both in and out of his cage. Don’t worry, its not that hard to do, I did it with my six year old daughter.

Here are three things you should do before you start to actually train your rabbit.

1) Make sure you have a proper cage for your rabbit:

His cage should be big enough for him to have a “living” area and a “potty” area.

2)Let your rabbit exercise everyday.

You should have your rabbit out to exercise 1-2 times a day for 30-60 minutes.

3) Feed your rabbit

You should feed your rabbit a combination of fruits, vegetables and dry food three times a day.You will find that your rabbit has one or two favorite treats which you will use when you begin to train him.

Ok now that you have spent a some time getting to know your rabbit and have become friends its time to start training.

Litter Training Your Rabbit

This should be the first thing you teach your rabbit to do. It is a fairly easy task to do plus it will eliminate having to clean up after him while you are training himother commands. You will need a litterpan about 4 inches high and either hay or nonclumping rabbit litter to put in the litter box. DO NOT use regular cat litter. The dust can cause respiratory problems for your rabbit. Place the litter box in the room where you have been letting him exercise. Remove some “rabbit pebbles” from the bottom of your rabbits cage and place them in the litter box. Put your rabbit in the litter box and use a command like “rabbits name, go pebbles” or “rabbits name, go potty “. Don’t worry if your rabbit hops out of the box, let him hop around for 10 minutes then place him back in the box and repeat the command. When you see your rabbit go potty in the box, praise him by scratching his nose or stroking his head and say “good rabbits name” or good boy/girl”. DO NOT give your rabbit a treat for going potty. Do this everyday for a week. By the end of the week your rabbit should hop in the pan and go potty whenever you have him out of his cage.



By: DChick

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Rabbits are very cute and cuddly and many have the idea that it is very easy to have them as pets. Children love to play with rabbits and as they are soft and cuddly, children like to catch them or hold them. Before deciding to have a rabbit as a pet, you need to learn some points so that you find it easy to maintain them. The first thing that is important is to note that they bite and they don’t like to be held or picked up when they are roaming about. So it will be a dangerous thing if you have a small child at home and if the rabbit is caught against their will, they may bite. You cannot train them not to bite in such cases.

Rabbits look very cute and it seems that they are the simplest of pets, as they just have to be caged. But the fact is that they have to be cared for a lot. They need to be taken out of the cage daily and they need to be exercised to keep them healthy. You will have to keep an area especially for them so that they exercise there daily and it should not have any harmful things. You should also keep away important things so that the rabbit doesn’t bite and destroy them. Those who have studied about the behavior of the rabbits, are of the opinion that it will also get depressed if it does not get the human touch on regular basis. So you or your child will have to spare some time exclusively for the rabbit and play with it.

It depends upon the breed that how often you have to brush the rabbit because they have a tendency to swallow their own fur, which might lead to intestinal problem or even breathing problems in the rabbit. The rabbit’s cage also needs to be cleaned either every day or alternate days. If taken care properly rabbits can live up to 10 years or even more sometimes. Buying a rabbit for a pet is a costly and time taking job. You will have to look after and take care of the rabbit and its habits so that they are maintained in a good health and in hygienic way. You have to take care of the type of food and the nutrition that is important for the rabbit too.

Rabbits are quite destructive sometimes and messy too, because basically it is mischievous. They cannot be trained, not to destroy anything so you will have to keep things away from their reach otherwise rabbits can go to the extent of chewing a shoe, cord or anything that they like. Also you will have to groom your rabbit regularly. Even then you should be prepared to clean up the fur, as they shred them here and there. There is one important point to be noted that most rabbits die of heart attack and they fear children a lot. So by keeping all the things in mind you can have a pet rabbit for your home.



By: Victor Epand

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use rabbits are known to be clean animals, it does not mean that this will save you from the pet grooming attention they deserve to have. Although a rabbit spends a good deal of his time grooming himself to maintain the quality of his coat and skin, it is still recommended to provide him some care as an owner to a pet. Like other pets, a rabbit still depends on its owner to have a set grooming plan who must strictly stick to it to ensure that the pet will be in its prime condition.

The most important part of the rabbit’s body that you should look out for is its hair. The best way to groom the rabbit is by brushing its hair at least once a day. This brushing time is not only for your rabbit’s well being but yours as well since it serves as a bonding time for both you and your pet. The significance of brushing your pet rabbit’s hair is to remove any dead or loose hair which your pet can swallow. When this happens, hair can accumulate inside the rabbit’s body resulting to a hairball. The existence of a hairball in the body of a rabbit can lead to the blockage of your pet’s digestive system which will entail cost on your part especially if surgery is needed to remove the hairball. A known fact about rabbits is that they usually shed their coat every three months, so during this time it is best to increase the frequency of the brushing of the rabbit’s coat. You must also be ready to vacuum your house more often when the rabbit sheds its coat. Since rabbits have very delicate skin, a soft bristled brush is recommended when grooming.

A properly groomed rabbit is indeed a sight to behold. It will take a huge amount of effort on your part to keep your pet’s hair clean and free from mats. Keeping your rabbit’s hair short and easy to groom will help your pet to stay comfortable during warm summer days. If you are having qualms as to trimming your pet’s hair, you can bring your rabbit to a professional groomer and allow yourself to observe how they groom your pet so that the next time grooming is required, you will be able to do it on your own.

Another point of interest which you should take note of with your pet is its nails. You have to make sure that your rabbit’s nails aren’t too long because even if they look pretty, they can damage your carpet by scratching on it as their way of trimming their nails on their own. Since rabbits are very delicate animals, you have to make sure that you do not cut the nails too short or you risk having them bleed which can be very uncomfortable to your pet.

If you are still not confident in personally grooming your pet, don’t hesitate to bring him to the nearest veterinarian or grooming parlor to have him groomed. From there, you can learn the basics which you can apply when it is your time to do so.



By: Chanvit Phupook

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Pet Rabbits care and concern should be paramount, especially if you are getting someone in your family a Rabbit for a Birthday or Holiday present.  While the Disney movies always make the fluffy little rascals so cute, there are some basic that you have to be aware of before bringing them home to be loved and cared for.

First, you have to realize that rabbits are creatures that like to roam in groups, by and large.  Additionally, the usually stay within a region as a creature and are not know to wander far from that area they are familiar with.  Because the nature of rabbits are of a fairly docile creature, they are usually easy game for prey.

With house rabbits, you have got to know a bit of the history so you can accommodate them as a pet.  With that in mind, let’s look at 5 basics to keep them happy in your home.

First, their home.  Rabbits don’t like to be caged all day, but they must feel safe.  Many like the idea of a larger cage that the rabbit can go in and out of and allow the rabbits to roam.  Be sure to make sure you rabbit-proof the home and give them something to use for waste.  Believe ti or not, rabbits will use litter boxes, just make sure  they don’t share it with a cat…that is trouble with a capital “T”.

Second, use anything but Cedar, as it can harm rabbits, for their bedding.  They love a soft blanket that they can nest in.  I have seen may take old towels and cut into several nice size shapes and let the rabbit arrange as he chooses.

Third, rabbits are vegetable lovers, so resist the need to give them stuff you think they might like.  This means that your favorite house plant will look good to them, so just be aware.  Know that Rabbits have small digestive tracts and you have to be careful to give them too much as they will eat most anything if you let them.  The idea that the furry little friends only will eat lettuce is not so much true as lettuce does nt haove a lot of nutritional value.  Let the eat other veggies as well such as; carrot tops, spinach, broccoli, and other green vegetables.  Vary it up and your pet Rabbit will love you.  And don’t forget the fresh water; and a clean, cool environment.

Fourth, the handling of your pet Rabbit.  Remember that Rabbits are very sensitive creatures, especially with their ears and eyes as those are their predator defense mechanisms.  Their ears are an indicator as to what they are sensing as the ears will stand up when they sense something.  Respect their senses and never pick them up by their ears.  Always place a hand under their chest between the front feet and the other hand under their butt.  This will give them a comforting feeling and allow them to feel safe with you.  Also, never touch their nose.

A Rabbit is a pet that could live anywhere from 7 to 10 years on the average with proper care, with some rabbits living into the teens.  Take care of them and, like any other pet in your home, they will probably become a treasured member of the family adored by all.



By: DA Southern

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