Jump to content

Rabbits- Advice on requirements please.


SamH

Recommended Posts

remove all offal keep kidneys liver and heart...
I was going to post my requirements for rabbit, but thought I would be frowned at. Much the same as yours but rub down with rosemary and let stand for a while before frying/browning. I dont like fennel or celery so would leave them out.

Had a wonderful roast rabbit with garlic and rosemary in a little Italian restaurant where no-one spoke a word of english

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i you live near any farms or paddocks id get them vaccinated for RCD. we have male and female lop rabbits we got the male fixed he is much more placid now and the female is definatly more dominant . its not a great idea to keep two males together as they may fight or spray at each other. a fixed male and female is better or two females. ours love bananas and apples and carrots also broccoli and cauili . . dandylion leaves are a definite favourite. a good food is nrm pellets i usually mix sunflower seeds with it too. be careful with them inside there urine stains quite badly and they are prone to chewing telephone cords and wires . ( mine also chewed the buttons off the tv remote once) to toilet train get a litter box and put their droppings in it they will eventually( mine only took a week) just start going in there. i wouldnt empty it every single day as they need to eat some of their droppings at night, i think it has something to do with their digestiove system not being very effiecent so they process some food twice to get what they need from it, so dont be too disturbed if you see it eat its own droppings

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10. What are some things a hutch MUST have?

11. What are some things a dream rabbit hutch would have?

Thanks! :D

10. a door to get rabbit in and out

11. Rabbit's own Mr Whippy van to bring him soft serve cones

11. A roaring fire to warm his toes while smoking his pipe after dinner

11. A bed made of candy floss as soft as his ears so he could snack on it during the night

Link to comment
Share on other sites

if you get 2 rabbits, double.... no make that triple check that they are BOTH the same sex....DO NOT get male and female unless you are ready for a serious rabbit population overload!! :sml1:

Its also not a good idea to put 2 males together as they can get teritoral (spelling) unless you get them fixed. Ive always had 2 females and they were great together. The last 2 rabbits i got were supposed to be 2 females. Ended up getting 1m 1f and didnt find out until i opened the sleeping area one day to find 4 naked little babies!!

Heres a good website for rabbit food etc :

http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/diet/foods.html

also the rabbit fancy website is great too! Good luck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just wrote an article on rabbit nutrition for the journal so all of this is in my mind at the moment. :nilly: The main causes of health problems in pet rabbits are related to poor nutrition and husbandry.

Rabbits are social creatures and it is best if they can socialise with others of their kind. They also need exercise for optimal gut function so a small hutch or very limited confinement is not ideal in the long term. They are very much like horses in their digestive tract so high fibre, low nutrient vegetation (eg, hay) is essential for their digestion. This can be difficult to achieve because rabbits are programmed to eat the most nutritious part of the plant (like we tend to eat pies....). They are nocturnal feeders and during this time they eat an abundance of high fibre material. While they eat, their gut sifts through the fibre and eliminates the really tough stuff and keeps back the nutritious bits. During the night they pass dry pelleted poo and in the morning, their gut slows right down and starts working on the nutritious bits that were held back from overnight. Then they pass soft faeces that they eat directly from the anus and swallow whole. This nutritious bit is held in the stomach and dissolves slowly releasing the predigested nutrients so that the rabbit can absorb it. The rabbit shouldn't eat much in the morning to allow this process to occur. They should also be given an abundance of high fibre hay (eg, low nutrient pasture hay) to eat free will. If you feed any pellets, they should be limited (around 1/4 cup per day for a medium sized rabbit) so that the rabbit doesn't eat them in preference over high fibre hay. Like Alan said, pellets were developed for commercial production of rabbits to help them grow fast. Most pet rabbits don't need to grow fast! Feeding the fresh greens is also important for nutritional balance and moisture. It is very important to limit the carbohydrates as this can change the intestinal bacteria in a very bad way. Avoid high sugar foods, fruits, sweet vegetables, starchy vegetables, and grains (eg, cereals and breads). It is also good to limit fats as the rabbit is much more efficient at extracting nutrients from food than we are - they don't need fatty foods.

Important point: If your rabbit stops eating for a day, it can develop a life threatening condition of gut stasis so it needs to be taken to a vet to ensure that it starts eating again.

Sorry to go on and on, but I find it interesting. :smln: Anyway, this info is useful to help ensure that your pet lives a long healthy life. :thup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
Can he not stick his ear down? lol

No lol, always listening out for something.

And yeah Sophie, just the one :)

Thought it up this avo, everyone likes it and agrees so it's sticking. Had him out in the lounge for an hour tonight, he was running laps exploring the place. Firm NO! when he started to nibble the carpet and couches :o

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL your worried about your rabbits safety when around dogs and cats :rotf: My rabbit chases after my cats if they annoy him. It is quite a sight to see, my cat high tailing it over the fence cause my rabbit has scared it off.It is fine with our black Lab, but it would depend on what type of dog you have is to weather the dog will go after your rabbit. My guess would be any pitbull kinda dog and those stupid little yappy ones which have a really annoying high pitch bark.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...