 |
| Please bear with us as we put this rabbit care page together. We don�t have a lot of extra time so we are going to try to add something to this page each month.
General Rabbit Care Rabbits are quiet, loving, inexpensive and easy to care for animals. But they do have some specific requirements. Please be sure that you really want a rabbit before you buy one. Rabbits can live for several years (we just lost our 10 year old Mini Rex) so please be sure you have some time to spend with a rabbit because just like a cat or dog they do like human interaction. So lets assume you have decided to buy a rabbit. Now what? Well, rabbits require three very important things�Fresh Air, Fresh Food, and Fresh Water. We�ll start with fresh air. If you have never owned a rabbit, let me tell you they have very strong smelling urine. If the cages aren�t kept clean the rabbits will be breathing air that has a very strong ammonia smell. Also, dirty cages attract flies and flies bring with them a whole host of other problems that I�ll discuss later. If you have a cage with a tray under it, it should probably be cleaned at least 2 or 3 times a week to keep the smell and flies under control. One thing I have also found is that all cages are not created equal. All-wire cages are much easier to keep clean and fresh smelling. Wood and wire hutches sold at pet stores are pretty and actually fairly easy to keep clean but not as easy as wire. Avoid hutches that have any wood under the wire floor (ie. Floor supports). When you have wood under the floor wire the urine and fecal matter become embedded in the wood and they never come completely clean and it�s impossible to get the urine smell out of the wood (I know this from first-hand experience). Most hutches sold in stores do not have wood supports under the floor (just around the outside edge). If cages are kept outdoors (not in a building of some sort) they will also need a roof to provide shelter from the sun and rain. Rabbits need to be kept out of direct sunlight as well as wind and rain. Rabbits are well suited to cold weather because of their nice warm coats. But that same warm coat makes it very difficult for them in warm weather. Rabbits don�t sweat and they don�t pant � their ears are their cooling system so they need help to stay cool in hot climates. Rabbits do okay to about 80 degrees but it is uncomfortable for them above that. Once it hits 90 degrees, it�s stressful for them. If you keep your rabbits outside and it is over 80 � 85 degrees, there are ways to help keep them cool. Your first defense against the heat is to get them in the shade. If you can, set up a misting system. It�s a great way to help cool your rabbits and it also helps keep the flies down (they don�t like the water). Another easy and effective way to cool your rabbits is to freeze a 2 liter soda bottle filled about 2/3 to 2/4 full of water and put the frozen bottle of water in with your rabbit � they will lay up against the bottle to cool themselves. |