Rabbit Care | frenchlops

General Rabbit Care

Raising rabbits can be very fun and enjoyable. When getting involved in rabbits make sure that you are well informed before purchasing your first rabbit. All rabbits take a lot of care and attention. They are as big of a commitment as a dog or any other pet. They need love and attention to stay healthy and friendly. Rabbits need to be played with or petted daily. They need to have enough room to run around and exercise, especially the larger breeds. I do not recommend the purchase of a rabbit before you are fully aware of the responsibility and commitment of having a rabbit.

Getting Started:

Before purchasing a rabbit you need to do some research. Depending on where you live there might be restrictions on the kinds and amount of rabbits that you can have. Also you need to see how much space you have for your rabbits and the space that you have for the rabbit's housing. If you do not have much space for housing then you will most likely want a smaller breed of rabbit because they need less space to stay healthy and happy. If little children will be handling or playing with the rabbits should also play into the consideration of the type of rabbit that you purchase. If there are younger kids, the smaller rabbits are easier to handle for the little children, but the larger rabbits tend to have better temperaments and tend to be more playful. It all really depends on your situation for which rabbit breed you purchase. Also rabbits will normally behave better and be happier if they have a rabbit companion. This does not mean in the same cage. But more like purchasing two rabbits and having them in cages next to each other. Rabbits will get lonely. So they need a friend.

Housing:

Housing requirements are different for every rabbit. Smaller rabbits need less space than the bigger breeds. For example if you are looking into breeds such as Netherland Dwarfs or Holland Lops they need less space than say Californians or French Lops. Though all rabbits need enough room in their cage so that they can move around and get exercise. Being able to move around will improve the muscling on the rabbit making them show better and will put them in an overall better health. The exact cage sizes are different for each breed and it is best if you talk to a professional that raises the breed about cage requirements. No matter if your rabbit is in doors as a house rabbit or housed outside, it should always have a wire bottomed cage. Rabbits cannot just roam your house like a dog. They need more supervision, because they will eat your electrical cords,dig, scratch and tear up carpet.

All rabbits (no matter the breed) need a pelleted food as the base of their diet. Pelleted rabbit food can be purchased at almost any feed store. The formulas of these pelleted foods can lack the needed amount of fiber for rabbits. Most rabbit owners will give their rabbits some kind of roughage supplement to increase the amount of fiber in the rabbit's diet. A good quality hay provides the necessary fiber your rabbit needs to maintain digestive balance. If your rabbit does not have enough fiber in its diet then its body condition will be lacking and the rabbit will be more likely to have digestive problems. The amount that you feed a rabbit will depend on the breed and what the maximum recommended weight is. If the rabbit is younger you will normally have to feed them more, so that they will develop to the correct size. Also rabbits love treats. They mostly love carrots, apples, bananas, and dried fruit. It is important that you never give your rabbit iceberg lettuce or any leafy vegetables; such as cabbage. This is because the digestive systems of rabbits are not built in a way that they can digest these kinds of food. All rabbits need access to fresh water all the time.

Feeding and Nutrition:

Breeding and Kindling:

If you are interested in breeding your rabbits, you want to make sure that you do it before they are a year old. If they are older than a year when you try and breed them they normally have more trouble getting bred and sometimes never will. There are different methods to breeding your rabbits. The two most common methods are cage breeding and table breeding. Most people will cage breed. This is when you take the doe and you put her in the buck's cage and leave them for a little while. After they have successfully bred, you take the doe back to her cage. This method allows the rabbits have more freedom. The down side to cage breeding is some rabbits will be aggressive towards the other. If this is the case, you, want to remove the doe before either of the rabbits gets hurt. If you do not want to cage breed, you can table breed. This gives you more control and the rabbits will then not interact as much. When the buck has been successful he will fall off of the doe. You want to have the doe and buck successfully breed at least two

times to ensure that the doe is bred. Breeding rabbits that are closely related is not

recommended because this can cause birth defects or the re-occurernce of bad

qualities in the offspring. This is called inbreeding. Some breeders will breed two

rabbits who are close descendants from a mutual "good quality" ancestor, in an

effort to reproduce that outstanding quality.

The gestation period of a rabbit is most commonly 31 days. She can kindle (give

birth) as early as day 28 and as late as day 35. Normally you will want to put the nest

box in with the doe 28 days after she was bred. The needed size of nest box will

vary based on the breed of rabbit. In the nest box you want to provide shredded

paper and straw for the doe. Most people do a combination of both but you can do

just one. Do not use hay in place of the straw because the does will eat the hay. The

doe should pull hair and create a nest for the babies. This acts as an insulator. If the

doe does not pull hair, you will need to do this and put it around the kits. About 1 to

1.5 weeks before the doe is due you can start to mix a little bit of molasses into the doe's water. The molasses provides many nutrients that the pregnant doe might be lacking. This will help keep the doe from eating her kits when she has them. If the kits are born in the winter and the rabbit is not in a heated building, the kits will need a heat lamp on them to help keep them warm at night. The kits will be born with their eyes closed. At around 1 and a half to 2 weeks their eyes will open. This is when they can start to get out of the nest box. Once the kits are approximately 4 to 5 weeks old you can sex them. The bucks will look like a donut or a circle and the does will be more of a taco shape. The babies should be weaned between 6-8 weeks of age, depending on the breed and most likely not sold until they are nine weeks old. If you still have them when they are 11 weeks old you should separate the does from the bucks.

Health:

The health of rabbits can get very complicated. Rabbits are naturally prey animals. Because of this they hide their sickness and how they are feeling very well, making it very difficult to tell when they are sick. Normally when the rabbit shows signs of a deadly sickness, it is very hard to save them. Luckily these certain illnesses are not often seen and normally rabbits just have small health problems that are equivalent to a human cold. The most common health issues found in rabbits is discharge from their eyes. This is normally just a couple goobers and then they are fine. But if there is something in the eye and it gets infected then the rabbit can be in trouble. You want to make sure that the eye and the area around the eye are kept clean so that the eye will not be re-infected. Rabbits clean themselves with the inside of their front paws. So if they have an eye infection the bacteria can build up on their paws, making it so that every time they groom themselves they are re-infecting their eye. So you want to make sure that you keep the eye area and their feet clean. For any illness of infection it is important to contact a rabbit knowledgeable veterinarian immediately. Often antibiotics can save your rabbits life.

Rabbits are also very prone to getting sore hocks. These are sores that

appear on the bottom of their feet. These normally occur from the

rabbit sitting on bare wire for too long or moving around a lot on the

bare wire. To prevent these you can purchase resting mats that attach

to the floor of the cage and will protect the feet of your rabbits. If you

don't have a way to get resting mats small pieces of sheet rock will

also work. Just do not put these pieces in the corner that the rabbit

pees in. This is more important to pay attention to in large rabbit's

because these are the rabbits that it is most commonly seen in.

Keeping the rabbit's cage clean at all time will reduce that rabbits risk

of getting sick.