Housing and Health
So you're thinking of buying a rabbit....
Here is some reliable information to help you get started, and to help you and your pet along the way!
Healthy Eating
It doesn't matter what kind of rabbit you have, all rabbit's need: water, commercial pellets, hay, grain, greens and vegetables, and salt and minerals.
1. Rabbits need clean and fresh water at all times.
2. Commercial feed are usually called complete feeds. This means that the feed contains everything necessary for the rabbit's diet (except water!), and with no chemicals that could harm the rabbit. Be sure that you read the insructions carefully and make sure that they are always stored in a clean, dry place, because pellets spoil easily once they've become damp. Feed your rabbit 1/4 cup of pellets in the morning and evening.
3. Rabbits should also be fed hay regularly, usually in the morning and evening. Feeding your rabbit hay adds roughage to their diet and helps digest food. The hay they eat should be fine and leafy. It should never be dusty or moldy! It should never have weeds in it, they could be harmful to your rabbit. You should also monitor the cage, and if the hay seems wet, replace it because wet hay helps disease spred. Hay cubes are a good substitute without the problems of matting in the cage.
4. Greens feeds can be lettuce, spinach, grass, etc., or root crops like carrots. These may be fed as a treat in your rabbit's diet, ( I know isn't it great, they treat their greens as treats! I wish some of us were more like that.....!) but they are not suitable as the only feed. Be sure that they haven't been sprayed with chemicals. (Just to ensure the safety of our rabbits, we get our greens from the nearby organic farm) You may feed your rabbit leaves from around your garden, but I don't recommend it, there are many leaves that can be harmful to rabbits, so why take a chance? You should give your rabbits some greens every, or every other feeding, like two carrots, or a slice of cucumber is good.
5. Commercial feeds usually contain SALT AND MINERALS which are needed by the rabbit. However you may like to just put a salt and mineral spool in each rabbit's cage for it to lick whenever it wants to. (We make sure that there is a salt spool in each of our rabbits' cages at all times.
Below is a picture of what a healthy rabbit should look like.
Spaying and Neutering- The Advantages and Disadvantages
It's a good idea to have your pet rabbit neutered or spayed, even if there isn't much opportunity for him or her to mate.
Advantages: There are many advantages from getting your rabbit spayed or neutered. Here are only some of the many advantages. Having your pet rabbit spayed or neutered makes your rabbit way more calm, and you will be able to hold him/her without getting biten, or sprayed. For females this is also a wise decision because all female rabbits are prone to cancer of the uterine, and when spayed, it prevents the deadly cancer from infecting them. If females aren't spayed, the chances rise every year for Uterine cancer, and by the time they are about 5 yrs old, they have about 80% chance of dying from Uterine cancer. Another advantage to get your rabbit fixed is that this will ensure a healthy, LONG life. Males will also pee (spray) on everything, and it can get very messy sometimes! They also will have an aggression towards other rabbits and people, even their handlers. Sometimes if a male comes across a baby rabbit, he might kill it. Also, litter training is so much easier when they are fixed. Even if you train your rabbit for years, they will still pee in the most interesting places!
Disadvantages: There aren't many at all. The only thing is that once you've done it, there's no undoing it. And they won't be able to reproduce.
Good Housing + Good Health = Happiness
Proper housing and a good environment will make rabbits comfortable and productive. It will also help to keep rabbits healthy and minimize disease. An environment is made up of all the things around a rabbit which affect how it lives, grows, and reproduces. Here are some of the things which affect the rabbit's environment: Weather, noises, fresh air, cleanliness, temperature, light, and humidty. A rabbit can have a controlled environment if you provide proper housing. There are many different ways to house rabbits, whether it's large, small, outdoor, or indoor, all rabbitries should provide an environment with the following: Clean cages, fresh air, protection from dampness, cold drafts, hot or cold temperatures, exposure to disease, predators and stress from cats or dogs. Rabbits need clean homes to stay healthy. They cannot look after themselves so we must do the work. Hutches and cages should be cleaned at least weekly. Check your rabbits daily for signs of poor health which include: sneezing, runny nose and eyes, dull fur, infected feet, discharge from ears, and broken claws.
