Park Vets Guide to Rabbit Ownership Rabbits are fast becoming one of the nation's favourite pets. There are about 1.7 million rabbits kept as pets in the UK. There are many different breeds and varieties of rabbit varying in size, body shape and personality. Choose your rabbit carefully to suit your lifestyle as this bunny should live for 8-12 years or even longer. Owning a rabbit is great fun and very rewarding, but it is a big responsibility and long-term commitment in terms of care and finances. If you own or are responsible for a rabbit you are required by law to care for him or her properly. There is no one perfect way to care for all rabbits and every situation is different, but we have certainly moved on from the days when the
unfortunate rabbit spent its days confined to a small hutch at the bottom of the garden. Although traditionally rabbits were thought of as good pets for children this is not the case as they are not easy to look after well. Many rabbits are now kept indoors as house pets as well as outside. This seems to be well tolerated by rabbits and they make rewarding pets when kept in this way. It us up to you how you look after your pet, but you must take reasonable steps to ensure that you meet all his / her needs. Rabbits have many special requirements making keeping them happy and healthy both exciting and rewarding. Our veterinary nurses are always at hand to help you choose your pet and advise you every step of the way there after. Please contact us at Park Vets - we will be able to point you in the right direction and sort out any concerns. Further useful rabbit information can be found at www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk Choosing your rabbit There are many places where you can buy a bunny but please be careful. The most important thing is to minimise stress so acquiring a rabbit direct from its breeder is by far the best option. Here it will not yet have experienced the trauma of leaving home and one quick direct journey to its new home is far preferable to any moves via pet shops etc. You will know for certain that the baby rabbit hasn't been exposed to
disease outside of the home and has had no interruption or change of its feeding pattern. This minimal stress approach leads to a much smoother transition to its new home, and will certainly reduce the risk of acquiring a poorly bunny. We see many new rabbits who are ill within days of new ownership simply because their delicate nature cannot cope with the stress of several new environments, leaving them compromised and susceptible to disease. Visit your rabbit in its birth home, check that it is weaned and eating solid food. Take a sample of this food home with you so again any changes can be made gradually. Settling into his or her new home Rabbits are prey animals so they need to be able to hide from things that scare them. Make sure you provide hidingplacesfor this purpose away from the sight and sound of potential predators- dogs, birds, people. These safe areas should be in addition to your rabbit's main shelter and should be away from draughts, out of direct sunlight and in a quiet area. You could use cardboard boxes with two entrance/exit holes cut out, travel carrier with the door propped open, a chair with a blanket draped over etc. if your rabbit chews up the box, don't be surprised, it just means your rabbit is having fun and may need a new box soon! Rabbits are highly sociablecreatures living in large groups in the wild. They need the company of each other and if this isn't possible, then they will need plenty of human interaction to entertain them. The best pair to keep together appear to be a neutered male and neutered female. See later for information about neutering. Be careful,as rabbits can be fertile from as early as 12 weeks of age! If your rabbit does have company, make sure there are enough hiding places, toys, access to food etc. to satisfy them all.
If being kept indoors ensure that the environmentis made rabbit proof - they love chewing electric cables, phone wires, wallpaper etc etc... Rabbits are active intelligent inquisitive individuals, and if bored, he or she may suffer. As well as ensuring that his or enclosure is big enough, the environment should provide plenty of mental and physical stimulation so that the bunny can perform normal behaviours of exploring, hopping, foraging. Although stimulation is good, make sure that they have a predictable routine - so if they get used to having a specific toy / item at a certain time of day this must be continued to avoid your rabbits becoming distressed. Rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk, so this is when they prefer to play,eat and forage. House trainingis generally straightforward- just use a cat litter tray with some soft litter, sand or earth. Leave a few droppings in here at first and keep the rabbit in a small confined area - bed, food, tray until he or she gets the idea. Food There are so many myths surrounding the feeding of rabbits. Basically if you remember that wild rabbits eat grass you won't go far wrong! Good quality hay and grass should make up the majority of your rabbit's diet and should be freely available. Provide fresh clean drinking water at all times- if using a bottle make sure your rabbit is actually aware of it and can use it, and that it is working properly at all times. A drinking bottle may seem more convenient but a bowl is much more foolproof! It's ok to feed a small amount of commercial dried diet but avoid the muesli style diets as your rabbit will select feed from this and this unbalanced diet can often lead to complications. Choose a nugget or pelleted food and feed a set amount daily. As a guide measure out about 25g (an eggcup full) of pellets per kg of your rabbit's body weight daily.
Rabbits are grazers and need to eat low calorie high fibre food for extended periods each day to enable their digestive system to function properly. This constant grazing also helps to wear down their teeth which grow continuously throughout their life. Failure to eat the right diet can result in serious dental disease and digestive upsets. Rabbits do not naturally eat cereals, root vegetables or fruit. Only feed these in very small amounts as an occasional treat. A rabbit's diet should notbe based on lettuce, only small amounts of the dark leafy fibrous varieties should be fed. Try to feed a variety of greens daily - cabbage, kale, parsley, mint but remember that hay and/or grass should be the main diet component. Adjust how much you feed your rabbit to make sure he or she doesn't become under or overweight. Rabbits produce two sorts of droppings - hard dry pellets that you see in their environment and softer moist (caecotrophs) which they eat directly from their bottom and which are an essential part of their diet. Unfit overweight rabbits often can't reach the caecotrophs so can get digestive upsets and dirty sticky bottoms. For a list of rabbit safe plants, vegetables, fruit and herbs look at:
www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk Advice Please don't hesitate to contact Park Vets for advice on any issues, however trivial they may seem. If we can't solve it, we will know someone who can! In summary Of course our Park Vet guide to rabbit ownership can never answer all of your questions. There are many links on our website to additional information both within our own website and directing you to useful snippets elsewhere. Above all please remember that we are here to help. We are only ever a phone call away, and are happy to give advice on all aspects of pet ownership. If we don't have the answer immediately to hand or are dealing with emergencies we will endeavour to get back to you as soon as feasibly possible. We believe that prevention is better than cure so the beginning of your pet ownership journey is of paramount importance to us, but keep our contact details handy always. You never know when you might need us!