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Pet Rabbits – The Five Important things Part Two.
Healthy Happy Rabbits Part Two, “Diet”
Make sure your rabbit has a healthy Diet!
Facts
- Without water to drink a rabbit can become seriously ill.
- Rabbits are grazers and naturally eat only grass and other plants.
- The rabbit’s digestive system must have grass and/or hay in order to function properly.
- Some plants are poisonous to rabbits.
- Rabbits do not naturally eat cereals, root vegetables or fruit.
- Rabbits naturally eat for long periods of time, mainly at dawn and dusk.
- How much a rabbit needs to eat depends on its age, lifestyle and state of health.
- If a rabbit eats more food than it needs it will become overweight and may suffer.
- Rabbits’ teeth grow continuously throughout their life and need to be worn down and kept at the correct length and shape by eating grass, hay and leafy green plants. Failure to eat the right diet can result in serious dental disease.
- Rabbits produce two types of droppings – hard dry pellets, and softer moist pellets that it eats directly from its bottom and which are an essential part of its diet.
Things you should do
- Provide fresh clean drinking water at all times. Check the water supply twice a day. Make sure water doesn’t freeze if your rabbit is outdoors in winter.
- Good quality hay and/or grass should make up the majority of your rabbit’s diet and should be available at all times.
- You can feed a small amount of commercial rabbit pellets or cereal mix, but hay and/or grass are much more important. If pellets or mix are provided, follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Don’t keep topping the bowl up as this may result in it not eating enough hay and/or grass.
- Growing, pregnant, nursing or underweight rabbits may need a larger portion of pellets or mix. Your vet or a rabbit nutritionist will be able to advise you about how to provide the best diet for your rabbit.
- Find out which plants are safe to feed your rabbit. Offer safe, washed leafy greens or weeds every day.
- Do not feed lawnmower clippings as these can upset your rabbit’s digestive system and make it ill.
- Only give root vegetables like carrots, or fruit, in small amounts as a treat. Don’t feed any other treats as these may harm your rabbit.
- Adjust how much you feed your rabbit to make sure it does not become underweight or overweight.
- Don’t make any sudden changes to your rabbit’s diet as this could upset its digestive system and make it very ill.
- Monitor the amount your rabbit eats and drinks. If your rabbit’s eating or drinking habits change, the number of droppings gets less or stops, or there are soft droppings sticking to its back end, talk to your vet straight away as it could be seriously ill.
Pet Rabbits – The Five Important things Part One.
Healthy Happy Rabbits Part one “Environment”
Make sure your rabbit has the Perfect Place to Live
Facts
- Rabbits are athletic animals. They need the opportunity to hop, run, jump, dig, stand fully upright on their back legs, and stretch out when lying down.
- A rabbit must be able to avoid things that scare it. Rabbits are a prey species and must be able to hide in a secure place, away from the sight and smell of predators (e.g. foxes, cats, dogs, ferrets and birds of prey).
- Living in a draughty, damp, hot, poorly ventilated or dirty environment may cause your rabbit to suffer and become ill.
- A rabbit needs regular access to an appropriate place to go to the toilet.
- Rabbits are intelligent. If your rabbit is bored, and doesn’t have enough to do, it may suffer.
- Rabbits are inquisitive. If there are hazards within their environment they may easily injure themselves.
Things you should do
- Provide your pet rabbit with a secure living environment that is large enough for it to exercise in and stand up fully on its back legs.
- You should provide both a large exercise area and a secure shelter where your rabbit can rest, feel safe and is protected from predators and extremes of weather and temperature. Ensure all areas of your rabbit’s environment are well ventilated, dry and draught-free.
- Make sure your rabbit has constant access to safe hiding places where it can escape if it feels afraid.
- Allow your rabbit to exercise regularly.
- Provide enough bedding to keep your rabbit warm. Bedding should be safe for your rabbit to eat, e.g. dust-free straw or hay.
- Give your rabbit regular access to a suitable place where it can go to the toilet, separate to where it eats and sleeps.
- Clean the housing and toilet areas regularly.
- If you are going away, try to find someone to care for, and meet all your rabbit’s welfare needs within its familiar home. If boarding your rabbit, try to ease the move by keeping grouped rabbits together and taking familiar items, such as toys, along too.
- When you transport your rabbit make sure it is comfortable and safe at all times. Putting familiar smelling items in the carrier and the new environment can help make your rabbit feel at ease.
- Ensure the size and temperature of any place you leave your rabbit (including your vehicle) is appropriate.
- Make sure that where your rabbit lives is safe, secure and free from hazards
Pet Rabbits; The Five Important Things and the Animal Welfare Act
There are an estimated 1 million Pet rabbits in the united kingdom and most will live for at least 8-12 Years. Following the Introduction of the Animal Walfare Act early in 2007 every pet owner in the UK has a Legal “Duty of Care” to look after their pets and provide them with the 5 essentials to health and well being.
It is generally accepted that there is no one ‘perfect’ way to care for all rabbits because every rabbit and every situation is different. Rabbits are now increasingly kept indoors as house pets as well as outside. It is up to you how you look after your rabbit, but you must take reasonable steps to ensure that you meet all its needs. The animal Walfare Act has identified 5 Essential Areas
- Environment; As a pet rabbit owner you must provide a safe, dry and secure place for your rabbit to live. Weather your rabbit will live in your house or outside in a Rabbit Hutch you must ensure that this is sufficient for your pets needs
- Diet; You must ensure your pet has a healthy diet and always has access to water
- Behaviour: Make sure your rabbit is able to behave naturally and normally
- Compan; ensure that your rabbit has the correct Company
- health and Welfare: Make sure your rabbit is protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease;
over the coming weeks we will look at each of the five important things in turn.
Big Rabbit Hutches for Small Gardens!
One of the most important things you must provide for you pet rabbit or guinea pig is a safe and secure environment to live in. Over the past 4 years following the introduction of the animal walfare act in early 2007 the RSPCA, animal rescue centres and the Rabbit Walfare Association have been campaigning hard to increase the awarness that Rabbits need Big Hutches.
Here are the RSPCA guidelines for providing your rabbit the best environment.
Things you should do
- Provide your rabbit with a secure living environment that is large enough for it to exercise in and stand up fully on its back legs.
- You should provide both a large exercise area and a secure shelter where your rabbit can rest, feel safe and is protected from predators and extremes of weather and temperature. Ensure all areas of your rabbit’s environment are well ventilated, dry and draught-free.
- Make sure your rabbit has constant access to safe hiding places where it can escape if it feels afraid.
- Allow your rabbit to exercise regularly.
- Provide enough bedding to keep your rabbit warm. Bedding should be safe for your rabbit to eat, e.g. dust-free straw or hay.
- Give your rabbit regular access to a suitable place where it can go to the toilet, separate to where it eats and sleeps.
- Clean the housing and toilet areas regularly.
- If you are going away, try to find someone to care for, and meet all your rabbit’s welfare needs within its familiar home. If boarding your rabbit, try to ease the move by keeping grouped rabbits together and taking familiar items, such as toys, along too.
- When you transport your rabbit make sure it is comfortable and safe at all times. Putting familiar smelling items in the carrier and the new environment can help make your rabbit feel at ease.
- Ensure the size and temperature of any place you leave your rabbit (including your vehicle) is appropriate.
- Make sure that where your rabbit lives is safe, secure and free from hazards
But how do you provide this ideal environment if you only have limited Space? The easiest and often the only way is by using a mulit level rabbit hutch with connecting ramps, by allowing your rabbit access to multiple levels you can triple the amount of space your pet has. Once a rabbit gets used to this layout they are very happy. If you do not have the space for a large rabbit hutch and run then you can always use a triple decker rabbit hutch.
Natura Giant Rabbit Hutch and Run with Wheels
This large rabbit hutch and run on wheels is the perfect choice for more than one rabbit. We have however had a lot of questions about why this hutch and run is relativly expensive.
firstly this is a quality rabbit hutch and run. It might seem quite simple to add a set of wheels on one end and some handles on the other and hey presto a fully mobile hutch and run. It is not however this simple. If you study the pictures carefull you will see that the central upright (between hutch and run) is a triple thicknes, with 2 large metal brackets front and rear This is to give the hutch additional strength and ensure you dont “break its Back” when you lift one end to move it around.
Also the ramp has to be re-designed. You will see that there is an additionl cross member to support the base of the ramp so that it reminas in place as the hutch and run is moved around the garden.
You can also see the Castor type wheels. These are quality wheels that will last as long as the htuch itself.
When you consider all the changes that have been made to the basic hutch design to make this a long lasting, mobile home for 2 or more rabbits you can see how it is a little more expensive than a standard hutch.
More details about this Quality Rabbit Hutch here.
How do I Choose the Best Outdoor Rabbit Hutch?
Outdoor Rabbit hutches are still the number on choice in the UK for Keepping Pet Rabbits. Keeping Rabbits outside means that you do not need to rabbit proof the inside of your house, you dont need to litter train your rabbit and allows your rabbit to enjoy the sounds and smells of the outdoors. To raise healthy and happy rabbits outside there are somethings that you need to consider. Uppermost is the choice of hutch where your pet will spend most of their time.
Firstly you need to account for the effects of both sun and rain on your hutch. Cheaply made hutches will warp from prolonged sunlight, rot from mositure and blow over in strong winds. They are also almost always too small when your pet grows up. At best you will waste valuable time and money repairing or replacing it. At worst it will colapse or break injuring your pet or allowing it to escape.
Rabbits need respite not only from the heat and cold but also need pelnty of ventilation. Outdoor hutches with poor ventiliation lead ot heat stroke, become un-hygenic and remain damp. Conversley Outdoor rabbits should have access to shelter from Winds and Rain. Ideally an outdoor hutch will have a large mesh door with constant access to a wire Run and a seperate Nesting area to shelter from the wind and rain.
Secondly you should consider the security of your rabbit. All Rural and urban areas now have a whole range of Preditors from domestic cats to foxes and Dogs. Your hutch should be heavy enough to prevent preditors nocking it over and should have heavy duty weldmesh. Secure door catches are also a must. Choosing a hutch that prediors can not get into is not however enough. Rabbits have a powerful flight instinct to escape preditors. These instictual fears ar so strong that rabbits can die simply from the stress caused by a preditor being near by. Rabbits also have relativly weak spines and many litteraly break there backs trying to escape a preditor dispite a sturdy hutch providing all the protection they need. You must provide Hiding places for you rabbit. A house with 2 Entrances or a large tunnel is ideal, Also deep bedding in the sleeping area will also help.
Thirdly you also need to conside what size of hutch to buy. There is no set standard size that you should have and recommended sizes can vary wildly. One thing that all rescue centres agree on is that the hutch should be as large as you can make it. You should choose the biggest hutch you can afford and can fit into your garde. Consider buying a modular hutch that you can add additional levels or runs to at a later date. Remember your baby bunnies will grow.
Fourthly you should consider how practical the hutch will be. It should be easy to clean and easy for you to catch an look after your Pet.
Lastly you should look at the style and look of the hutch. There are a lot of different types and styles of hutch, but remember your rabbit does not care!
I hope these guidelines will help you to choose the best hutch for you and your rabbit.
See our quality Outdoor Rabit Hutches
Modular Expandable Rabbit Huthes and Runs from The Rabbbit Hutch Shop
At our Workshops up in north northumberland we produce our own modular rabbit hutch and run system. This allows people to start
out the a basic unit and add on extra levels, run space and living area as they need to. We have two basic designs, one is based upon a 4ft x 18″ x 18″ rabbit hutch and is ideal for guinea pigs or if you have limited space. The current standard recommended by the rabbit walfare associaition is for a minimum 6ft x 2ft x 2ft hutch size, we have found however that most rescue centres are happy to re-home to our 4ft range if your pet has access to a large run or mulitple levels.
Our 6ft x 2ft x 2ft range is perfect for rabbits of any size. All sizes on our own hutches are internal so theser are the biggest rabbit hutches currently available in the uk that we know of. Onc you start to combine them on multiple levels and add in extra run space they really can become rabbit mansions.Technorati Tags: rabbit hutches
Trixie Natura Apex Rabbit Hutch & Large Run 186cm x 93cm x 143 cm Review
This large rabbit hutch and enclosed run really has to be se
en. With slide out easy clean plastic deep dish floor, trap door and access ramp and large covered run it is ideal for larger breeds and more than one rabbit. Unlike many mass produced hutches all the natura range from trixie have maintained good head room and are larger then most hutches. This rabbit hutch and run has more than enough room for your pet to exercise.
With additional storage space in the “Attic” and large access doors to both the hutch and run this hutch is very practical. It is also very well Put together with Jointed timber framing, screws in place of nails and heavy duty “dog cage” type mesh making it strong and foxproof.
There is also winter cover available to give extra protection in the winter! Definatly not the cheapest rabbit hutch you can buy buy but given everything that you get with one of these hutches it could be the smart choice.
How do I Choose a Rabbit Hutch?
Rabbit Hutches now come in Many Different Sizes, but how do i choose the right hutch for my pet rabbit. The First thing to remember is that a rabbit hutch can never be too big. As a Minimum your hutch should be 6ft x 2ft x 2ft or equivelent floor space. Ideally your rabbit should have constant access to A Large Exercise run. Also you should remeber that your rabbit will continue to grow. Starter hutches are too small even for young rabbits and need to be replaced almost striaght away so are never a good 
idea. There are also alternatives to a traditional rabbit hutch. many people now keep House Rabbits or convert an old garden shed or dog kennel to a extra large rabbit hutch.
your also need to think about where you are going to put your rabbit hutch, how mutch space do you have. How mutch sun will the hutch get. Will it be exposed to rain or wind? What syle of rabbit hutch will make it as easy as possible for you to look after your rabbits. How many doors should the hutch have. do you need a roof that opens? Can you have an adjoining run or will you need a seperate run?
You should also consider how long your rabbit will live (7-10 years) Many mass produced hutches are made from thin plywood, they are too small and even if they were big enough and you looked after them they would not last long.
The best option really is to go for the largest best quality hutch that you can afford. This rustic hutch however may not be suitable for the british climate!
