Breeder of Mini lop & Netherland Dwarf Rabbits based in Ayrshire, Scotland

I have put together a brief Care Sheet below, as a new rabbit owner you should have a quick read through, you may pick up some information that may come in useful.

One or More??

If you want to keep more than one rabbit the best choice is a neutered male and female, once neutered they will happily live together. If you wish to keep two females or two males together they may end up fighting especially when not neutered. Both male & female rabbits can be neutered at 6 months old, some vets may suggest sooner.

Feeding

The mainstay of a rabbit's diet should be large unlimited amounts of fresh hay, and a well-balanced dry rabbit mix and plenty of clean water. Rabbits have very delicate stomachs so when feeding fresh fruits and vegetables make sure they are added to the diet one vegetable at a time and eliminate specific varieties if they cause diarrhoea.  Rabbits constantly need to wear down their teeth see my Health Page for more info.   

NEVER feed your rabbit lettuce as it can cause diarrhoea and even kill. You shouldn't feed any greens to rabbits under 12 weeks unless the breeder tells you otherwise. When buying a young rabbit you should be given a bag of food that the rabbit is currently eating. If changing you should do this slowly by mixing the current feed with the new feed gradually over 10 days. You will also need a water bottle fixed to the outside of the cage filled with fresh water daily.

Hutch & Bedding

For an outdoor rabbit the ideal home is a wooden hutch made of a heavy wood with a waterproof roof, and raised off the ground. All rabbits must have an adequate exercise area, whether it is an outside run or an enclosed area in the house. Wood shavings should be used for the floor of the hutch or cage. Fine sawdust can cause eye irritations so this should be avoided. Bedding material should be provided especially in cold and wet weather for the outdoor rabbit. The best thing to use is straw on top of a layer of the wood shavings in the sleeping compartment. The rabbit home should be cleaned out weekly and any old food removed. If it is necessary to wash the home then only use a cleaner specifically designed for cleaning rabbit hutches. DO NOT use newspaper on the floor of your rabbits hutch as the print can be toxic. Please take a look at our Rabbit Housing page.

Toys & Exercise

Rabbits need things to climb on, crawl through, dig and chew. It is possible to provide plenty to entertain this rabbit with using household items, such as toilet roll tubes and boxes. Several boxes can be put together with holes in them so the rabbit can go from box to box, just like being in a warren. Ramps can also be put against the boxes so the rabbit can climb up; they like to have a lookout post. 

Take care when letting your rabbit out in your garden, make sure it is secure safe and free from anything poisonous, please see Poision Plants page for more details.

Intelligence

Rabbits can become trained to learn their name. They can even be trained to go to the toilet in one specific area, which makes cleaning up after them much easier. Please look at our Litter training page. All rabbits are very different just like people, sometimes they have happy days some times they have days when they want to be alone, take a look at our Behaviour page to find out some tips as to what your bunny may be trying to tell you.

Health

If you plan to keep your rabbit outside you should get it vaccinated for Myxomatosis & ask your vet if there has been any VHD in your area.

Rabbits chew their hutches to wear there teeth down, a good idea is to give them fruit branches which are pesticide free to gnaw on.

If your rabbit develops a swollen belly or diarrhoea you should contact your local vet immediately as early treatment may be required.

Rabbits are susceptible to mites which are sometimes present in hay etc, If your rabbit starts to suffer from flakey skin you can try using DYNA-MITE or attend your vets.

During summer/warm weather fly strike may occur, this can cause great harm, flies lay eggs in the anal region of the rabbit, within 24 hours the maggots hatch. To prevent this keep the hutch clean, examine your rabbit twice a week. Repellents such as Dynamite can be bought in the shops. If you have an outbreak please visit your vet as soon as possible as it can be fatal.

Find further Health info here