Rabbits
Rabbit Care
Rabbits make wonderful pets: they are affectionate, inquisitive and social creatures. Rabbits can be housed indoors or outdoors, they can be litter trained and they are very clean animals, spending a significant portion of each day grooming their soft fur.
Rabbits are not rodents, they belong to the lagomorph family, which includes hares. They differ from rodents in a number of ways, including the fact that rabbits have “peg teeth” which are a second set of top incisor teeth, hidden behind the two front incisors.
There are many different bunny breeds, with a wide variety of sizes, colours and fur types. On average, rabbits live for 6-8 years, but with good care some have been known to make it to 15 years old! Below are some notes to help you keep your bunny happy and healthy.
Feeding Rabbits
Rabbits are specialised herbivores (“leaf-ivores”) that need a diet that is high in fibre and low in fat and low in carbohydrate.
A rabbit’s diet should be:
- 80% good quality hay (grass hay, timothy hay, oaten hay, pasture hay)
- Fresh leafy greens – at least 2 packed measuring cups per kilo bodyweight each day
- Pellets – 1-2 tablespoons of a high quality pellet with known nutritional analysis
- Treats – maximum 1-2 tablespoons per day
- Hay
A 2kg rabbit should eat the equivalent of a standard cat litter tray packed full of hay each day. This is a very important part of the diet – it keeps the rabbit’s gut healthy, wears down the ever-growing teeth and takes time to eat, providing ‘environmental enrichment’ for your bunny. The hay should be fresh and of good quality. Straw is not a suitable food, and should be avoided. Only limited amounts of leucerne and clover hay should be fed as these are too high in calcium for the normal adult rabbit.
- Leafy greens
Fibrous leafy greens are best, and at least 3 different types should be offered fresh each day. Examples include grass, dandelion leaves, spinach, chicory, endive, bok choy and other Asian greens, cabbage/cauliflower/broccoli leaves, carrot tops, brussel sprouts, kale, dark leafed lettuces and herbs (basil, parsley, dill, mint etc).
- Pellets
The only pellets that we as veterinarians recommend are the Oxbow brand, because these are of a suitable nutritional make up for rabbits. Pellets need to have more than 18% fibre (with at least 12.5% indigestible fibre), protein between 12 and 16% and fat content of less than 4%. These are fed in a small amount only as they are a supplement, not a dietary staple, providing extra vitamins and minerals.
- Treats
Anything that is not a leaf or a stem is a treat! Appropriate treats include dried and fresh fruits (fresh apple, sultanas etc), capsicum and root carrots. Biscuits, grains, corn, seeds, peas and bread are NOT suitable for a rabbit.
Coprophagia
Yes, rabbits do eat poo! Because they are adapted to a diet high in fibre, their gut works to form 2 kinds of faecal pellets: the normal poos you will see and a “night stool” that should be passed in the early hours of the morning, eaten immediately and never seen by the owners! These contain a special mix of bacterial nutrients, that are essential for health. If you see something that looks like diarrhoea or sticky poos in the hutch, please bring you bunny in for a vet visit as it is usually a sign of an underlying problem.
Housing Rabbits
As mentioned, rabbits do well when kept indoors or outside. For indoor bunnies, it is important that the areas of the house that they have access to are safe: as bunnies love to chew on things there should be no exposed electrical cords and no tiny spaces that a rabbit may get stuck in. Rabbits will often nibble on carpet and the backs of couches, so this needs to be carefully considered if your pet is to have free access to the house, otherwise free range may be limited to times when the rabbit can be under your supervision.
All rabbits should have access to unfiltered sunlight each day (that is, sunlight that has not passed through glass) as this may be important in preventing bone and dental disease.
Hutches
Rabbits should never be housed on wire floors as this can damage their sensitive feet. If the hutch does have a wire floor, this should be lined with newspaper and then covered with a good layer of hay to provide a soft cushioned surface for their feet. The hutch should be made of a material that is easy to keep clean and cannot be chewed by the rabbit (thus wood is not a suitable material).
Rabbits who will spend most of their time in a hutch need room to exercise. The minimum appropriate size is a length that allows the rabbit to take 3 full consecutive hops (up to 2m for New Zealand White) and a height that allows the rabbit to stretch up fully on its hindlimbs.
The rabbit’s house should be well ventilated with shelter from the wind, rain and sun. Outdoor enclosures should not allow access of predators nor allow the bunny to escape if it digs. It is also recommended that it be mosquito-proof to prevent the spread of Myxomatosis (see below).
All rabbits (indoor or out) should be provided with an area to run to and hide in when they feel threatened, such as a overturned cardboard box with a door cut out or an enclosed area of the hutch.
Rabbits Love Company
Rabbits are social creatures, in the wild they live in large groups of friends in a warren. Your bunny also needs company, you are a great start, but bunnies like a constant companion with whom they can interact 24 hours a day. Usually this is another rabbit, but cats and dogs can also serve as a bonded friend to rabbits, depending on the nature of both parties. It is recommended not to leave a bunny with any companion species unsupervised until you are certain that both are safe and comfortable with the arrangement.
Guinea pigs are not recommended as companions for rabbits, as the two species have different feeding requirements, rabbits have been known to bully guinea pigs and because rabbits can harbour a bacterium that is harmless to bunnies, but can make guinea pigs sick.
Other Problems Rabbits May Encounter. Please see your vet if you suspect your rabbit has any of the below mentioned conditions.
Tooth Problems
Rabbits who eat slowly, are losing weight, have a lack of appetite or a wet chin may have tooth abnormalities. Rabbit’s teeth continually grow, so they can also get problems with overgrown teeth. The single most important thing that you can do to look after your rabbit’s teeth is to feed a good diet with lots of hay.
Digestive Problems
Rabbits with digestive upsets may have diarrhoea, bloated tummies, or may be lethargic. Digestive problems can be caused by the rabbit eating an unbalanced diet, eating something it shouldn’t, or by a sudden change the rabbit’s diet.
Coccidiosis
This is a serious disease that affects mostly young bunnies and can be fatal. Signs include watery, bloody diarrhoea, lack of appetite and lethargy.
Heat Exhaustion
Rabbits are very sensitive to heat, and can die if they get overheated. In summer or any other warm days, especially if the temperature is likely to be 28ºC or over, ensure your rabbit has plenty of shade or bring your bunny inside to escape the heat. Tin hutches can get very hot in the sun, so these are not appropriate houses. Covering hutches with a wet sheet and putting it under some shade can help. Another way to keep your rabbit cool is to fill a 1litre bottle ¾ of the way with water, freeze and then place in the rabbit hutch on hot days. This not only keeps the hutch cool, but rabbits often drape themselves over the bottle to cool down.
Ulcers on Hind Legs
These are normally caused by wire mesh at the bottom of hutches, or by damp dirty bedding. Avoid these problems by keeping your rabbit in an appropriate rabbit hutch, and by keeping your rabbits bedding clean and dry.
Problems Eating
Rabbits spend much of their day eating when they are fed a hay and grass diet. If a rabbit stops eating for more than a few hours, it can be a sign of a potentially serious issue. If you notice your bunny has stopped eating, refuses a favourite treat or is consistently eating more slowly than normal, veterinary advice should be sort immediately. Any rabbit that has not eaten or defecated for 12 hours or more should visit a vet ASAP
Desexing Your Rabbit
It is absolutely recommended that you de-sex your bunnies!!! Why?
- To prevent unwanted pregnancies
- To prevent Uterine Cancer in females – by the age of 4-6 years, up to 80% of un-de-sexed girls (that’s 4 in 5) will have developed uterine adenocarcinoma. This cancer often spreads to the lungs early, so de-sexing once they have this disease may not solve the problem
- To prevent testicular cancers in males
- To reduce undesirable behaviours (such as urine spraying) in both males and females
What age should you de-sex your Rabbit?
6 months of age for females & 4-6 months of age for males. Why?
Females:
- Females reach puberty between 3 and 6 months of age
- The surgery is generally simpler in a younger rabbit, however it can still be performed in older bunnies, as long as they are otherwise healthy.
Males:
- Males reach puberty between 4 and 6 months of age
- Males may be castrated once their testicles have descended. Again – older males can be castrated after this age, as long as they are healthy.
Anaesthetic Risk
Rabbits and other small pets can be fragile creatures. They can be more prone to stress by handling and unfamiliar situations when compared with dogs and cats. As a result, an anaesthetic for these pets can be a little bit more tricky. We use specialised anaesthetic equipment and protocols to ensure your pet has the safest anaesthetic possible.
