Rabbit Care Guide

Rabbits may be easy to love, but they're not quite as easy to care for.

These lovable, social animals are wonderful companions for people who take the time to learn about their needs.

Though providing care for these adorable creatures isn't difficult, rabbits have a long lifespan—more than 10 years—and many specific care requirements. Anyone considering adding a rabbit to their family should carefully research books and web sites on rabbit care before making a decision. Here are some quick tips to get you started:

Home Sweet Home

Indoors or Outdoors?
Every rabbit owner should know that the safest place for a rabbit to live is indoors. Rabbits should never be kept outdoors! Domestic rabbits are different from their wild relatives—they do not tolerate extreme temperatures well, especially in the hot summer months. Even in a safe enclosure, rabbits are at risk from predators. Merely the sight or sound of a nearby wild animal can cause rabbits so much stress that they can suffer a heart attack and literally die of fear.

Caged or Free to Roam?
Whether you decide to let your rabbit roam free in your entire home or just a limited area, it is important that you make everything rabbit-safe. One little bunny can easily find a whole lot of trouble in an average home. Because rabbits like to chew, make sure that all electrical cords are out of reach and outlets are covered. Chewing through a plugged-in cord can result in severe injury or even death. Their chewing can also result in poisoning if the wrong objects are left in the open or in unlocked low cabinets. Aside from obvious toxins like insecticides, rodenticides, and cleaning supplies, be aware that common plants such as aloe, azalea, Calla lily, Lily of the Valley, philodendron, and assorted plant bulbs can be poisonous to rabbits.

If kept in a cage, rabbits need a lot of room to easily move around. A rabbit's cage should be a minimum of five times the size of the rabbit. Your rabbit should be able to completely stretch out in his cage and stand up on his hind legs without bumping his head on the top of the cage. Additionally, cages with wire flooring are hard on rabbits' feet, which do not have protective pads like those of dogs and cats. If you place your rabbit in a wire cage, be sure to layer the floor with cardboard or other material. Place a cardboard box or "rabbit condo" in the cage so the bunny has a comfortable place to hide, and respect your animal's need for quiet time (rabbits usually sleep during the day and night, becoming playful at dawn and dusk).

When rabbits are kept in a cage, they need to be let out for several hours each day for exercise. Aside from running and jumping, rabbits also enjoy exploring their surroundings. This is an ideal time to play and interact with your rabbit. Make sure that he has a safe area to play and explore.

Bunny Bathrooms

Just like cats, rabbits can easily learn to use a litter box. Place a litter box in the cage to encourage this behaviour. If your rabbit roams freely through multiple rooms of your home, it's a good idea to have litter boxes in several places. Many rabbits enjoy spending time relaxing in their litter box, so make sure that it is of ample size. For bedding (litter), stay away from wood shavings, especially cedar and pine, which may cause liver damage or trigger allergic reactions in rabbits. Also avoid clumping or dusty kitty litters, which can cause serious health problems if eaten. Instead, stick with organic litters made of paper, wood pulp, or citrus. Newspaper can work too, but may not be as absorbent. Be sure to put fresh hay in the litter box daily, as many rabbits like to have a snack while sitting in their litter box.

A Balanced Diet

Rabbits have complex digestive systems, so it's very important that they receive a proper diet. Many health problems in rabbits are caused by foods that are incompatible with their digestive physiology. A basic rabbit diet should consist of the following foods:

Hay
Rabbits need hay—specifically, Timothy grass hay. Rabbits should have access to a constant supply of this hay, which aids their digestive systems and provides the necessary fibre to help prevent health problems such as hair balls, diarrhoea, and obesity. Alfalfa hay, on the other hand, should only be given to adult rabbits in very limited quantities, if at all, because it's high in protein, calcium, and calories.

Vegetables
In addition to hay, the basic diet of an adult rabbit should consist of leafy, dark green vegetables such as romaine and leaf lettuces, parsley, cilantro, collard greens, arugula, escarole, endive, dandelion greens, and others. Variety is important, so feed your rabbit three different vegetables at a time. When introducing new veggies to a rabbit's diet, try just one at a time and keep quantities limited.

Fruits and Treats
While hay and vegetables are the basis of a healthy diet, rabbits also enjoy treats. Cartoons and other fictional portrayals of rabbits would lead us to believe that carrots are the basis of a healthy rabbit diet. Many rabbits enjoy carrots, but they are a starchy vegetable and should only be given sparingly as a treat. Other treats your rabbit might enjoy are apples (without stems or seeds), blueberries, papaya, strawberries, pears, peaches, plums, or melon. Extra-sugary fruits like bananas, grapes, and raisins are good too, but should be given on a more limited basis.

Foods to Avoid
With such sensitive digestive systems, there are a number of foods that rabbits should avoid eating. These include iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cabbage, corn, beans, peas, potatoes, beets, onions, rhubarb, bamboo, seeds, grains, and many others. Also, don't feed your rabbit chocolate, candy, anything moldy, or most human foods. If you are not sure about a certain food, ask your rabbit's veterinarian.

Pellets
If you choose to make pellets a part of your rabbit's diet, it is best to use them as a supplement to the dark green, leafy vegetables, not as a substitute. These pellets should only be given in small quantities (1/8 -1/4 cup per five pounds of body weight per day, spread out over two daily feedings). Also, make sure to purchase Timothy-based pellets. Many brands of rabbit feed contain seeds, corn, and other foods that are too high in calories to be the basis for a healthy rabbit's diet.

Water
Rabbits should always have an ample supply of fresh water available. Be sure to change your rabbit's water at least once each day. Water can be kept in a sipper bottle or bowl. If you use a sipper bottle, watch new rabbits to make sure they know how to use the bottles, and clean bottles daily so the tubes don't get clogged. If you use a bowl, make sure that the bowl is heavy enough to avoid tipping and spilling.

Chew on This

Chewing is part of a rabbit's natural behaviour, but it doesn't have to be destructive. To keep rabbits active and amused, you may want to put untreated wood blocks or cardboard in their cages (Be sure to remove any staples or tape from cardboard first!). Bowls, balls, and rings made of willow wood are big hits with many rabbits and can be purchased online or in specialty stores. You can also use paper-towel rolls, toilet-paper rolls, and other chewable cardboard materials that can be tossed in the trash once they've served their purpose. Avoid objects with sharp edges, loose parts, or soft rubber that rabbits could chew into pieces and swallow.

Handle With Care

Rabbits are fragile animals who must be handled carefully. Their bones are so delicate that the muscles in their powerful hind legs can easily overcome the strength of their skeletons. As a result, if not properly restrained, struggling rabbits can break their own spines.

To pick up your rabbit, place one hand underneath the front of the rabbit and the other hand underneath his back side, lifting him carefully with both hands and bringing him against your body. Never let a rabbit's body hang free, never lift by the stomach, and never pick a rabbit up by his ears.

Don't forget that rabbits are prey animals and many will not enjoy being picked up. Be sure to go slowly with your rabbit and practice. Let your rabbit get accustomed to being handled.

Rabbits groom each other around the eyes, ears, top of the nose, top of the head, and down the back, so they'll enjoy it if you pet them on their heads. Like any animal, each rabbit will have an individual preference about where he likes to be touched. Rabbits lack the ability to vomit or cough up hairballs like cats, so try to remove loose fur when you have the opportunity to do so. Simply petting or brushing your rabbit for a few minutes each day should remove most of the excess fur. Some rabbit breeds, such as angoras, have extra grooming needs because of their distinctive coats.

Rabbit Genetics

There are 10 color gene groups (or loci) in rabbits. They are A, B, C, D, E, En, Du, Si, V, and W. Each locus has dominant and recessive genes. In addition to the loci there are also modifiers, which modify a certain gene. These include the rufus modifiers, colour intensifiers, and plus/minus (blanket/spot) modifiers. A rabbit's coat only has two pigments, pheomelanin (yellow) and eumelanin (dark brown). There can also be no pigment, causing an albino or white rabbit.

Colour Genes

Within each group, the genes are listed in order of dominance, with the most dominant gene first. In parenthesis after the description is at least one example of a colour that displays this gene.

Note: lower case are recessive and capital letters are dominant
"A" represents the agouti locus (multiple bands of colour on the hair shaft). The genes are:
A= agouti ("wild colour" or chestnut agouti, opal, chinchilla, etc.)
at= tan pattern (otter, tan, silver marten)
a= self or non-agouti (black, chocolate)
"B" represents the brown locus. The genes are:
B= black (chestnut agouti, black otter, black)
b= brown (chocolate agouti, chocolate otter, chocolate)
"C" represents the colour locus. The genes are:
C= full colour (black)
cchd= dark chinchilla, removes yellow pigmentation (chinchilla, silver marten)
cchl= light chinchilla (sable, sable point, smoke pearl, seal)
ch= Himalayan, body white with extremities ("points") colored in black, blue, chocolate or lilac, pink eyes
c= albino (ruby-eyed white or REW)
"D" represents the dilution locus. This gene dilutes black to blue and chocolate to lilac.
D= dense colour (chestnut agouti, black, chocolate)
d= diluted colour (opal, blue or lilac)
"E" represents the extension locus. It works with the 'A' and 'C' loci, and rufus modifiers. When it is recessive, it removes most black pigment. The genes are:
Es= steel (black removed from tips of fur, which then appear golden or silver)
E= normal
ej= Japanese brindling (harlequin), black and yellow pigment broken into patches over the body. In a broken colour pattern this results in Tricolor.
e= most black pigment removed (agouti becomes red or orange, self becomes tortoise)
"En" represents the plus/minus (blanket/spot) colour locus. It is incompletely dominant and results in three possible colour patterns:
EnEn= "Charlie" or a lightly marked broken with colour on ears, on nose and sparsely on body
Enen= Broken rabbit with roughly even distribution of colour and white
enen= Solid colour with no white areas
"Du" represents the Dutch colour pattern, (the front of the face, front part of the body, and rear paws are white, the rest of the rabbit has colored fur). The genes are:
Du= absence of Dutch pattern
du= Dutch pattern
"V" represents the vienna white locus. The genes are:
V= normal colour
Vv= Vienna carrier, carries blue-eyed white gene. May appear as a solid colour, with snips of white on nose and/or front paws, or Dutch marked.
v= vienna white (blue-eyed white or BEW)
"Si" represents the silver locus. The genes are:
Si= normal colour
si= silver colour (silver, silver fox)
"W" represents the middle yellow-white band locus and works with the agouti gene. The genes are:
W= normal width of yellow band
w= doubles yellow band width (Otter becomes Tan, intensified red factors in Thrianta and Belgian Hare)

 

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