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Over the past few years, rabbits have become increasingly popular as household pets. They are intelligent, can be easily tamed, they can be house trained and they come in a wide variety of colours and sizes.
The following information should be used as a guide to ensure your rabbit is well cared for and that you can share a long, happy and healthy relationship.
General information
The life expectancy of a rabbit is approximately 5-7 years. Some breeds may live up to 15 years!
Female rabbits are called does and males are called bucks. Baby rabbits are called kits.
Rabbits reach sexual maturity at 5 months of age and as their gestation time is only 30 days, 2 rabbits can quickly turn into 100! Infact a doe can get pregnant again the day she delivers her babies.
Sexing rabbits
It can be difficult to sex rabbits and this is best done at 10-12 weeks of age. To determine the sex of your rabbit lay the rabbit on its back on your lap and examine the vent area just in front of the anus. The doe will display a slit or line running vertically. The buck will have a round hole. Testicles are usually present around 12 weeks of age and bucks can father kits from this time.
Does can get quite grumpy at about 6-8 months of age. Yes its bunny adolescece! The solution is to desex the doe and her beautiful personality will return. Desexing her will prevent uterine cancer as 80% of rabbits over 4 years develop this tragic condition.
Diet
Caecotropes are pictured above
Rabbits are herbivores which means that they eat plants and plant products only!
Rabbits have amazing digestive systems which allow them to make good use of fibrous substances that most other species can't even digest!
The main way rabbits can achieve this is by the production of caecotropes. These are a special type of faeces that the rabbits eat directly from their anus. They look different to normal rabbit faeces as they are bigger and softer and resemble a small bunch of grapes covered with a film of mucus.
Unlike normal faeces, caecotropes are not waste. Caecotropes result from bacterial fermentation of food in the caecum. Caecotropes contain amino acids (building blocks of protein), fatty acids and vitamins. It is vital for rabbits to eat these caecotropes so that they can get the benefit of these important nutrients.
Hay
A rabbits diet should consist of 80-90% grass and grass hay (fibre). This is important for a number of reasons:
- hay is rich in nutrients
- hay is fermented in the caecum to produce caecotropes which deliver essential nutrients to rabbits
- hay/fibre is important for gastrointestinal motility (prevents gut stasis)
- hay promotes chewing which helps to keep teeth well worn
- chewing hay reduces boredom and subsequent chewing of inappropriate things
Always buy hay that smells fresh. Store hay at home in a well ventilated area.
NB: do not feed straw. Straw is devoid of nutrients and can lead to nutritional deficiencies.
Green Foods
These foods offer similar nutritional value to hay however they are higher in water content and therefore help support the rabbits kidney and bladder health. Green foods should be fed daily alongside hay. You should aim to feed 1 cup per kg of rabbit per day. (ie a 2kg rabbit should be offered 2 cups of green foods per day).
In general, the darker the green food, the higher the nutrient content. This is why we don't recommend feeding iceberg lettuce to bunnies! It is high in water content and low in nutrient value.
If green foods are eaten to excess they can cause soft faeces or diarrhoea. If this occurs, reduce the amount of green foods offered and encourage the rabbit to eat more hay.
Types of green foods that are good for rabbits are:
Broccoli (leaves and tops), brussel sprouts, bok choy, carrot tops, celery leaves, dandelion (leaves and flowers), endives, grass (free in the backyard!), parsley, raddichio, silverbeet and watercress.
Other Fruits and Vegetables
In the wild, rabbits would have access to fruits and vegetables at certain times of the year. These food items should not make up more than 5-10% of the diet of a rabbit. They should be fed in small quantities - 1 heaped tablespoon per kg of rabbit per day. (ie a 2kg rabbit should be offered 2 tablespoons of fruit/vegies per day)
Another reason for limiting this food group is that some rabbits love these foods so much that they eat them to the exclusion of hay and green foods. This can be detrimental to the rabbit's digestive and overall health.
Fruits and vegetables make excellent rewards for good behaviour and can be used for training too!
Types of fruits and vegetables that are good for rabbits are:
Apple, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, carrots, corn, cranberries, grapes, kiwi fruit, melons, mango, papaya, peach, pear, peppers (green or red), raspberries, sprouts (fresh), squash, strawberries.
Pelleted Diets and supplements
When feeding a diet of grass and grass hay, green foods and small amounts of fruit and vegetables, the rabbits are receiving all of the nutrients that they require for a balanced diet. There is no need for pelleted diets. Many of the commercial diets that are sold in pet shops and supply stores today are low in fibre and high in carbohydrate and fat. These diets can cause lots of digestive and dental problems in rabbits. They also cause obesity.
Pelleted diets were originally made for feeding rabbits in the meat and fur industry. These diets are high in energy density and promote rapid growth. As these rabbits have shortened life spans, the long term effects to their digestion and dental health are not relevant.
At the Rowville Veterinary Clinic we recommend that you avoid any commercial pelleted rabbit mixes.
Some pet shops and supply stores also sell vitamin supplements and salt blocks. Rabbits that are fed as described above do not need vitamin supplements or salt blocks and these can be detrimental to your rabbit's health.
Water
Fresh water should be available at all times. Water should be changed daily as rabbits tend to dirty their water supply. This can be overcome with drinking bottles!
Housing
Rabbits may be kept indoors or outdoors depending on which you prefer. In both situations, the rabbit should have a hutch/cage where it can be kept safe.
Outdoor Hutches
Outdoor hutches should have 2 sections - an outdoor run and an enclosed sleeping area or retreat. The run should be long enough so that the rabbit can hop 3-4 times before reaching the end, and tall enough that the rabbit can stand up on its hindquarters without hitting the top.
Runs are often made from wire which can damage rabbit's feet over time. Rabbits need to be protected from this by placing the hutch on soft grass or lining the run with cardboard or hay.
The rabbits food and water should be kept in the run.
The enclosed area or retreat is the place where the rabbit will sleep. It is also a safe place that the rabbit can hide in if it is frightened by a predator (ie the next door neighbours cat!!) This area should be filled with some form of bedding. Hay is ideal.
Outdoor hutches should be kept in a sheltered area of the garden.
Indoor Hutches
There are a wide range of indoor hutches available at pet shops these days. These hutches tend to not have 2 separate sections. It is important to place a small box or something similar inside the hutch so that the rabbit can hide away if frightened.
Again the hutch should be long enough so that the rabbit can hop 3-4 times before reaching the end, and tall enough that the rabbit can stand up on its hindquarters without hitting the top.
Hutches should be lined with cardboard, hay or soft bedding.
 Exercise
Regardless of whether your rabbit is kept indoors or outdoors, they should always be offered free exercise time in the garden outside. Ideally this free time should be supervised to protect the rabbit from predators (neighbours cats!) Rabbits love to explore their surroundings. They also love to run and jump and play. Supervision is important as rabbits also love to dig and burrow! Undesexed females are the worst offenders for digging! Speying female rabbits can help to reduce this behaviour.
Exercise in the house can also be fun but you must ensure that the room is rabbit proof before letting the rabbit loose! Rabbits love to chew and will chew on electrical wiring, phone cords, wooden furniture and indoor plants.
Housetraining
Many rabbit owners love to have their rabbits indoors as part of the family. Luckily rabbits are easily toilet trained!
Training your rabbit is as easy as follows;
* Observe your rabbit in its hutch. Rabbits will choose one corner of the hutch to toilet in. This corner should be obvious after a week of the rabbit living in the hutch.
* Place a litter tray in that corner. Make sure the litter tray has low sides so the rabbit can get in and out easily.
* Place some old droppings in the tray and also place a small amount of hay in the tray. Rabbits love to eat and poop at the same time!
* The rabbit will toilet in the tray
* After 1 month you should be able to have the rabbit free in the house with the litter tray nearby!
Please ensure that only pelleted litters such as recycled paper are used! Breeders choice is a good example of a pelleted litter. Clumping litter should be avoided at all costs as it can cause intestinal impactions in rabbits if eaten.
Environmental Enrichment
Rabbits get environmental enrichment from their diet and exercise time. However additional toys are much appreciated. Most pet shops sell a range of safe wooden toys for rabbits to chew on. They also like things that move and can be chewed such as toilet paper rolls!!
Rabbits also love companionship. You will never see a sole rabbit in the wild! If you cannot spend much time with your rabbit, it is important to get the rabbit a companion rabbit or a guinea pig. To prevent an ever increasing population, ensure that you desex your rabbits or keep 2 female rabbits together.
Guinea pigs can scratch and bite bunnies so for a harmonious environment, ensure that they are both desexed.
Handling
Rabbits are fragile animals that must be handled carefully. They have delicate skeletons and powerful muscles - if picked up incorrectly and scared, rabbits can kick with their back legs so forcefully that they can break their spines. Also don't forget that rabbits are prey animals and therefore instinctively they don't like being picked up. The best way to get your rabbit used to being handled is to do it very gently and as often as possible. The more a rabbit is handled, the more handleable it will be!
There are a number of ways to pick up a rabbit safely. The best way is to scoop the rabbit under his chest with one hand and then place your other hand under his hindlegs and lift him from the floor. It is most important to support the hindlegs to prevent spinal injury!!!
Never pick up a rabbit by his ears! This is extremely painful and unnecessary.
If you are unsure how to handle your rabbit safely, please contact the clinic.
Medical Information
Dental Disease
Rabbits have aradicular hypsodont teeth. This means that they have no true root and that they grow continuously throughout life. Rabbits teeth grow 3mm per week! This is because rabbits evolved on a fibrous diet which needed to be ground down. If their teeth didn't grow continuously they wouldn't last the rabbit's lifetime.
Rabbits have incisor teeth (upper and lower) and cheek (molar) teeth. Rabbits have 2 sets of upper incisor teeth one behind the other. The smaller pair which are behind the front pair are called peg teeth. The lower incisors rest on these peg teeth. The incisors have a chiselled edge. The cheek teeth cannot be seen as rabbits cannot open their mouths wide. They have 6 upper cheek teeth and 4 lower cheek teeth on each side of their mouth.
Dental disease most commonly occurs secondary to poor diet and poor wear.
Rabbits are designed to eat a diet composed mostly of fibrous matter (hay). Eating hay encourages rabbits to chew and grind their teeth sideways. This is the most natural movement of the jaw and it wears the teeth down nicely. When rabbits eat pellets, they chew the pellets with an up and down motion of the jaw. This does not wear the teeth down at all and can result in uneven wear of the cheek teeth and spur formation. Spurs can cause ulcers in the rabbit's mouth which can be painful. Overgrowth of the cheek teeth causes the incisors to stop wearing against each other. This is called malocclusion. Overgrown incisors look like tusks.
Dental disease in rabbits can also be caused by genetics (poor conformation of the jaw resulting in malocclusion), trauma, systemic disease and dental infections.
Signs of dental disease in rabbits are: overgrown incisors (tusks), drooling, reluctance to eat, discharge from the eye, discharge from the nose and tooth grinding.
Overgrown incisors should not be trimmed as this can cause painful fractures of the tooth. They also should not be trimmed as there is often more going on inside the mouth than can be seen!
At the Rowville Veterinary Clinic, we assess your rabbit's dental status at every routine appointment. If you are concerned about your rabbit's teeth, please contact the clinic.
Desexing
At the Rowville Veterinary Clinic we strongly recommend desexing your bunny at 6 months of age. This will prevent unwanted litters. Speying female rabbits reduces aggression, reduces digging behaviours and also eliminates the chance of uterine cancers.
Castrating male rabbits helps to reduce undesirable behaviours such as aggression and urine spraying. It also helps prevent unwanted litters. It is interesting to note that bucks can still father bunnies until 4 weeks after their surgery.
Fleas and Mites
Rabbits can suffer from fleas and mites. Both cause itchiness and rabbits will be seen to scratch and pull their fur out.
If you think your rabbit has fleas or mites, make an appointment to see the vet at the clinic
Hairballs
Rabbits can suffer from hairballs. These can grow very large and some can cause an obstruction! To try to prevent hairballs it is very important to follow the above-mentioned dietary guidelines and ensure that there is lots of fibre in the rabbit's diet.
Vaccination
Rabbits should be vaccination against the serious and preventable viral disease calicivirus:
Calicivirus is a highly contagious and devastating virus that causes death in nearly 100% of infected rabbits. Calicivirus kills within 24-48 hours of infection.
Calicivirus was released by the government in 1996. It is a biological weapon against the wild rabbit population in Australia. Unfortunately, it can affect out pet rabbits as well.
Calicivirus causes severe internal haemorrhage - this means that the rabbits bleed to death internally.
Calicivirus is spread by rabbit-rabbit contact, contact with contaminated food and by biting insects such as mosquitos and fleas.
At the Rowville Veterinary Clinic we strongly recommend routine annual vaccination against calicivirus. The first vaccination is given at 12 weeks of age.
Many of you also know about another biological weapon used against the wild rabbit population called myxomatosis. Myxomatosis was first released in Australia in 1950. Unfortunately there is no vaccination available in Australia against myxomatosis.
Myxomatosis is also a highly contagious and devastating virus. Affected rabbits usually develop swollen eyes, ears and genitals. They become inappetent and have trouble breathing. Most rabbits that become infected with myxomatosis will need to be put to sleep.
As with calicivirus, myxomatosis is spread by rabbit-rabbit contact and by biting insects such as mosquitos and fleas.
To protect your rabbit against myxomatosis, ensure that he is not allowed to play outside at dawn and at dusk and protect all outdoor hutches with mosquito proof netting.
Worms
Rabbits do not suffer from pathological intestinal worms and therefore unlike dogs and cats, they do not need to be wormed.
Interesting links:
http://www.fuzzy-rabbit.com/about.htm
http://www.oxbowaustralia.com
Photos on this page by iStock Photo
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