Basic Rabbit Care Information

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Carolyn

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-Rabbits won't eat if they cannot drink. Make sure the ball bearings ofyour rabbits' water bottles are not stuck closed. It's suggested togive outside rabbits water bowls/crocks in the wintertime because theballs in a watter bottle freeze.

-Iceberg lettuce is not the lettuce of choice for rabbits, especially young ones.

-Feed store rabbit pellets are generally fresher and more nutritious than pet store rabbit pellets.

-Don't overfeed treats, especially those containing sugar.

-Check your bunnies' fur and skin surface at least weekly, looking for any lumps, growths, or abnormalities.

-Most locales have an emergency night time veterinary service. What is yours and where do you have it posted?

-Carrots are high in sugar content, as is banana.

-Bunnies usually don't get dandruff. It is more likely to be fur mites.

-Fat-faced, big headed bunnies need feed containers they can get their heads in.

-Pet bunnies should all be neutered in the interests of behaviormodification, improved health, and longer life...makes 'em a better pet.

-Pet bunnies often need "toys" to keep them from getting bored.

-Pet bunnies probably need on the order of at least an hour a day of supervised freedom to exercise properly.

-If a bunny licks you, it is his/her way of saying, "I love you." Has nothing to do with salt on your skin and/or perfume.

-Mounting behavior is not uncommon even among neutered or same sex animals. It helps to establish a dominance rank order.

-High temperatures/humidity more likely to cause a rabbit's death than low.

-Some bunnies will eat foam rubber, necessitating risky, and expensive, surgery!

-Timothy hay given to your rabbits help to keep their systems clean offurballs, keeps their teeth in good shape, and they love it.

-Use hayracks so that the rabbit doesn't eat hay that they've urinated on as it will make them sick.

-Rabbits teeth continually grow. It's important to provide your rabbitwith a piece of wood or something hard to chew on so that their teethstay filed down.

-Always be sure your rabbit is kept dry and clean because they can get sick if exposed to a moist, damp, or dirty environment.

-Protect your rabbit from extreme changes in temperature.

-Never use cedar shavings as litter. Don't use cat litter in alitterbox because if the rabbit ingests it, it will make them ill.

-Pellet feed should have at least 18% or more of crude fiber. Colorfulrabbit food is more likely high in sugar and less in nutrients that arabbit needs.

-Rabbits usually sleep during the day and are most active at dawn and dusk.

-Unlimited amounts of stress can make your rabbit sick or even cause itto have an untimely death. Be sure that your rabbit isn't exposed tocontinual stresses.

-Do not put your rabbit's cage in a drafty or sunny area. If outside,always take precautions to protect the rabbit from the weather.

-Dried papaya or fresh pineapple can help move furballs though the rabbit's system.

-Pay close attention and be proactive with questions or aid to abnormalbehavior in your rabbit. The sooner the problem is treated, the betterchance of survival your rabbit has.

-(From Buck Jones) I add approximately one teaspoon of vanillaflavoring extract, real or artificial, to one gallon of drinking waterin an effort to reduce fly strike and warbles by reducing the number offlies in and about our rabbits.

-Rabbits love to chew on electrical wires. All such wires should be out of their reach.

-A rabbit's field of hearing is 360 degrees. Their ears can turnindividually to pick up the slightest noise. If you have an indoorrabbit, don't 'blast' the volume on your stereo or t.v. as it may hurtyour rabbit's ears and frighten your little one.

-Their sense of smell also is extremely keen. Some cleaning products really bother rabbits because of that sensitivity.

-Soft grinding of their teeth, purring, or a buzzing sound is a sign of contentment and happiness

-Hard grinding of their teeth means they're in severe pain or danger.

-Rabbits are social animals in that they like to be in a place wherethey can watch things going on around them. That said, they also enjoybeing able to 'get away from it all' when they want their quiet time.

-Before you let your rabbits loose in the yard, check the list of safefoods/plants in the Rabbit References post to be sure your rabbit issafe.

-When you pick up a rabbit or if it kicks while you're holding it,cover its eyes with your hand and talk gently to help calm it down.

-Don't overfeed your rabbit. A fat rabbit has a hard time hoppingaround and cleaning itself where it needs it the most. It's hard ontheir hearts as well.

-Don't chase your rabbit. It will be frightened of you and never trust you.

-Bunnies respond very well to praise and not well at all to yelling at them.

-Bunnies need to digest some foods twice therefore have two differenttypes of droppings. They eat the softer droppings (cecetropes) andshould not be discouraged as it's normal and necessary for the rabbit.

-When a bunny is frightened with their ears up (unless a lop) and eyesbulged, telling the little one "It's okay" and petting him/her willcalm her down immediately.

-Stress breaks down a rabbit's immunity system.

-A bunny that stares straight ahead, doesn't move or eat and is quiet is probably in pain or sick.

-Check the soles of your rabbit's feet often to be sure there aren't any cuts or injuries.

-Pet bunnies, especially indoors or unable to dig or hop, need to havetheir nails clipped when necessary (approximatley every 6 weeks-give ortake). Overgrown nails are painful and dangerous for a rabbit.

-You do not need to bathe your rabbit. They clean themselves as a catdoes. Unless the rabbit has to have droppings cleaned off of him/her orcan't do it themselves, best not to give them a bath. Rabbit's haveoils in their fur that a bath with soap can get interrupt the balance.Some rabbits' skin is sensitive to soaps.

-If you do have to clean a bunny, use lukewarm water and best to spotclean. A rabbit immersed into a bath, especially one of too cold or toohot, can be shocking to it and that could be fatal.

-Dehydration in a rabbit can put it into shock. No matter what, keep your rabbit hydrated if you have to syringe feed it.

-You should keep your rabbit pellets in a air-tight container to keep it fresh and not encourage other critters.



The 8th Edition of Rabbit Production byMcNitt/Patton/Lukefahr/Cheeke is considered the "Bible" for rabbitbreeders, however, pet owners will also find it very informative.

Domestic Rabbits and Their Histories -- Breeds of the World by Bob Whitman

Care of the Domestic Rabbit by Dr. Chris Hayhow

Rabbit Health 101 by Kathy Smith

The Private Life of The Rabbit by R.M. Lockley (out of print-look through web for Used Books)

The Really Useful Bunny Guide
by Caroline James


Care of the Domestic Rabbit by Chris Hayhow

Domestic Rabbits and Their Histories -- Breeds of the World by Bob Whitman

Rabbits for Dummies by Audrey Pavia

Rabbits and Hares by Anne McBride

The House Rabbit Handbook by Marinell Harriman

Why Does My Rabbit…? by Anne McBride

Lop Rabbits as Pets by Sandy Crook. (An excellent book for rabbit owners of any breed.)

Your Rabbit: A Kid's Guide to Raising and Showing by Nancy Searle

Barron's The Rabbit Handbook by Karen Gendron

Rabbit Handbook by David Taylor

Barron's Hop To It by Samantha Hunter

The Rabbit: An Owner’s Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet by Audrey Pavia

Storey’s Guide to Raising Rabbits: Breed, Care, and Facilities by Bob Bennett and Deborah Burns

Rabbits USA Annual Magazine





Safe Foods for Rabbits:http://earthhome.tripod.com/saferab.html

Determining the Gender of your rabbit:http://www.debmark.com/rabbits/sexing.htm

Is My Rabbit Pregnant?http://islandgems.net/palpating.html

Geriatric rabbit and health issues associated with "oldage".[url]http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/Pr05000/pr00408.htm[/url]

Herbs for Rabbits:http://www.healthypetcorner.com/rabbit.html

Toxic Plants:http://www.adoptarabbit.com/articles/toxic.html

Rabbit Language and Behavior:http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittalk.html

Bonding Two or More Bunnies:[url]http://www.mybunnies.com/bonding.htm[/url]

The House Rabbit Society:http://www.rabbit.org/

Pictures of Rabbit Breeds:http://www.arba.net/photo.htm

GI Stasis:http://fig.cox.miami.edu/Faculty/Dana/ileus.html

Diarrhea:http://fig.cox.miami.edu/Faculty/Dana/poop.html

Why Rabbits Eat Their Poop:http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

Runny Nose, Eyes, Sneezing:http://fig.cox.miami.edu/Faculty/Dana/sneezing.html

The “Tooth” about Lagomorphs:http://www.geocities.com/billynock/TEETH.html

The Rabbit Railroad:http://www.rabbitrailroad.com/

Pet Loss and Grief:http://rainbowsbridge.com/Poem.htm

Finding a vet in your area:http://www.rabbit.org/care/vets.html

RabbitReferences:http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html

Types of Hay:http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/diet/hay_grass.html

Mites:http://www.mybunny.org/info/mites.pdf

Spaying and/or Neutering Your Rabbit:http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html?

Preventing Fly Strike with Vanilla Extract:http://rabbits.com/page_9.htm

Heat and Sun Stroke in Hot Climates:http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=864&forum_id=1

Pasturella: Symptoms of a cold, very serious respiratoryinfection.[url]http://www.rabbit.org/care/pasturella.html[/url]


[align=left]Third Eyelid: This is what it looks like:http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/9798/Nov26_97/eye2.jpg

Bunny Years Calculator:http://www.bunnyrescue.org/calcage.html

Litterbox Training:http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=7&forum_id=1

Toys:http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=407&forum_id=1

Rescuing Wildlife Rabbits and Baby Rabbits:[url]http://www.wildliferescueleague.org/report/nova_rabbit.html[/url]

Rabbit Eyes:[url]http://home.kc.rr.com/jhabernal/mohrskc/hrswebpg24.html[/url]
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[align=left]Rabbit Information:[url]http://www.tsukiyo.org[/url]
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[align=left]West Nile:[url]http://www.avma.org/communications/brochures/wnv/wnv_faq.asp[/url]


Binky: Expression of happiness by arabbit. "When a rabbit binkies, it jumps into the air and twists itshead and body in opposite directions (sometimes twice) before fallingback to the ground."http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittalk_binkies.html


Bunny Flop: Very relaxed rabbits will roll ontotheir sides or even on their backs. A favorite way to do this is tofirst twist one's head sideways, then fling the rest of the body intoline so that the feet fly out to the side. This is called a "flop" andindicates a very happy bunny. A happy rabbit may lie on its side (orback), and stretch or wiggle or sometimes just hold still there. It mayeven roll its eyes a bit so that the white shows. When you first seethis you will probably be afraid your rabbit is dead, because it lookspretty odd. If you rush over to give it CPR, it will quickly rightitself and look strangely at you for disturbing a nice stretch.http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittalk_binkies.html


Some terms you'll see in the rabbit world:

4-H CLUB: An organization that teaches children how to care for and exhibit livestock.

ARBA: American Rabbit Breeders Association

Buck: Male rabbit

Broken: A variety that has a color in conjunction with white


Culling: Removal of undesirable rabbits from the herd

Dam: The mother of a rabbit

Dewlap: A fold of loose skin which hangs from the throat, common in does

Doe: Female Rabbit


Flat Coat: Fur lying to closely to the body. Lacksspring or body as noted by touch. Usually a fine coat coupled with alack of density.

Fly Back: When the fur returns quickly to its normalposition after being stroked toward the head of the rabbit.

Gestation: The time between mating and kindling of a doe, usually about 31 days.

Hock: The portion of the foot that carries the weight of the rabbit

HRS: House Rabbit Society

Juniors: A rabbit under 6 months old


Kindling: Giving birth

Kits: Baby rabbits


Litter: Young rabbits being raised by a doe

Luster: Brilliance/brightness of fur

Moult/Molt: The process of shedding fur

Nest: A whole in straw or hay, which a doe lines with fur, preparing for the litter to be born.


Nutri-Cal: A high calorie dietary energizer for animals who won't eat.

Open Coat: Fur that doesn't return to normal position when stroked backwards.

Peanut: A kit that is born with a dwarfing gene from eachparent. With such a genetic make-up, they usually die within a few daysof birth as they are unable to grow.

PETA: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Runt: Smallest kit of the litter, but able to grow as big as their siblings.

Rollback: Fur that gently falls back into position when stroked backwards.

Sexing: Determining the sex of the rabbit

Weaning: The separation of young from the doe. Ending the lactating and nursing period.


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Special Thanks to Pamnock, Buck Jones, and BunnyMommy for your contributions.

-Carolyn
 
http://www.tsukiyo.org

Tons of rabbit info. Care, health, pet rabbits, showing, breeding, 4-Hand showmanship, genetics, varieties (colours), breeds, rabbits inmythology and popular culture, rabbit taxonomy (species info), vitalstats and other general rabbit info, history of the domestic rabbit,rabbit humour, and breeder directory.
 
Thanks Loz and bluebird! :dude: I appreciate that.

And Thank You, Pamnock and Miyabita. So noted and printed.

I'm bumping this post back up for Jack's Mom.

-Carolyn
 
otS3go,

Personally, I put their favorite treats in there and walk away. I don'tgive them any snacks after dinner, which is around 5:00 and they areput to bed at 9:00, so they're ready for it. They hop in, I go over andclose the cage. Sometimes their 'treats' are just some of their pellets.

One rabbit I used to babysit for, Calbert, use to go in his cagewhenever I'd start tidying up in there. One day, I just startedflipping his rattle all around and playing with it, and he didn't likethat at all! :X He jumped right in and door was closed behind him.

I'm sure others will pop up and give you ideas. One of mine loveshanging out in her cage, the other, I've trained that way from when hewas a baby, so I may be luckier than most.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Pamnock,

That website wasn't listed. Keep 'em coming!! If you have the one that you posted about mosquitos, I'd love to add that one.

Thanks, Doc. :cool:

-Carolyn
 
Actually Pam, I thought you had one just about mosquitos. Oh Well. Not a big deal.

-Carolyn
 

Bumping for Robert for Rabbit Railroad address.

-Carolyn
 

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