Caring for Your Pet Rabbit

Rabbits are not an easy pet to look after as they require a lot of time, love and attention. They will need daily cuddles and grooming as well as feeding twice daily and cleaning out daily. There is also a fair cost involved in keeping rabbits as pets not only for food, water and bedding but also vaccinations and other veterinary costs.

For help on picking a suitable breed of rabbit to suit your lifestyle please see our Rabbit Breeds Article.

Housing your Rabbit

It is perfectly feasible to keep just one rabbit providing that you have plenty of free time to devote to your pet rabbit, alternatively you can keep two rabbits together. Two entire males together will generally fight, as one will become dominant over the other. If both males are neutered they will usually live happily together. Two females may live together fine if they have been together from a young age but again one may become dominant and problems can occur. The most natural combination would be one male and one female. However unless one or both are neutered you will have unwanted pregnancies.

The hutch should be plenty big enough so the rabbits can easily move around. There should be a run area where they can exercise and graze on grass if they want to. There will also need to be an enclosed sleeping area.

Bedding can vary but newspaper is recommended as a bottom layer. Sawdust or cat litter can then be used, as both are good to soak up the urine. In the sleeping area there needs to be either straw or shredded paper. The sleeping area should contain more bedding that the rest of the hutch. The hutch itself should be placed away from direct sunlight in case the rabbit becomes stressed or has a stroke. There must also be good ventilation to prevent respiratory disease.

Boredom can be stressful for rabbits so make sure the hutch or exercise area has some safe toys. Cardboard boxes and tubes can make good toys and branches from fruit trees make good gnawing sticks

Not all rabbits have to be kept outside; some make lovely house pets and mix well with the whole family and even other pets and are easy to litter train. They can be quite destructive and like to nibble electric cables and the likes but with a little preparation a room or house can be made rabbit proof. Your rabbit will still require a bed or indoor cage- an area of its own where it feels safe and can relax.

Rabbits need a constant supply of fresh cold water, which needs to be supplied from a drinking bottle. Bowls are not a good idea as can easily be knocked over meaning the rabbit will then have no water for the rest of the day. The water needs to be changed at least once a day especially in hot weather. Food bowls need to be strong so that the rabbit does not chew through them.

Litter trays should be emptied daily and hutches and sleeping areas should be thoroughly disinfected weekly. Rabbits that are kept in dirty environments are more susceptible to respiratory illnesses, sore feet, urine scalding and if they are not able to clean themselves properly  this can result in fly strike (myiasis).

Neutering and breeding
A male rabbit is known as a buck and a female a doe.

Rabbits become sexually mature at 16-24 weeks. The recommended age to have rabbits neutered is 6 months however in larger breeds it is better to wait until about 9 months.

There is a definitive oestrus cycle for the doe. Some does will become receptive to a male every 4-6 days throughout the breeding season, which runs from January to September.

Ovulation is triggered by mating but it can also be triggered by two does mounting. If mating is unsuccessful pseudopregnancy (false pregnancy) may occur and last for 18 days. During pregnancy nesting and mammary gland enlargement may occur.

Pregnancy can be palpated at 12-14days and the total length of pregnancy is 30-33 days. Following parturition the doe and the litter should not be disturbed except to give food and water. If otherwise the doe may reject the litter. Weaning should occur at 7-8 weeks.

Veterinary Care

Rabbits have teeth that are open rooted meaning they continually grow. Normally the molar teeth wear down on their own by chewing or grinding. Sometimes if the teeth are misaligned these teeth cannot wear down properly. This is known as malocclusion which is a serious condition resulting in jaw infections and an inability to eat. This condition can be hereditary so rabbits can be born with tooth problems. Rabbits with the condition should not be used for breeding.

The ears can also be checked regularly although problems with the ears are less common.

The nails can also grow quite long and if you have an indoor rabbit or one that spends a lot of time on grass the nails will not get a chance to wear down themselves. You can get the nails clipped at your veterinary surgery. Alternatively you can place the exercise area onto a concreted surface and this should help to keep the nails short but will need to be done on a regular basis.

It is recommended that rabbits are vaccinated against myxomatosis and Viral haemorrhagic disease – see article on rabbit vaccinations