Keeping Rabbits

Permanently confining rabbits to a small hutch
is cruel and will lead to health problems.

Best Rabbit Hutch tells you about the
minimum recommended sizes for rabbit hutches.

There's also links to free and inexpensive DIY plans for making
good sized rabbit hutches and runs.

Rabbits evolved to eat mainly grass
and poor quality grass at that.

Yet, what do we do?
We feed them on a mix of grains and treats.
So what is the best rabbit food?
How do you keep them healthy?
See Feeding pet rabbits
for everything you need to know

Rabbits often do not like being picked up and held
(It's to do with being at the bottom end of the food chain!)

They do like to be stroked though

One evening Sparky came in and told me she was worried about one of her rabbits. A two year old female, who up until then had been healthy. Because Sparky looks after her rabbits so well, she can notice the minute something is "not quite right".

The rabbit was very subdued, sitting where she did not normally sit and when I picked her up to check her over, she did not struggle, which was very unusual. She did not mind being stroked but like many rabbits she did not like being held and she did not protest - there was definitely something wrong.

I immediately logged on the the internet and established that the minute you have concerns about a rabbit you should not delay seeking treatment.

Of course being a Saturday night, our Veterinary surgery was closed but we are only 20 minutes drive from a top Veterinary training hospital which provides emergency cover in our area.

We had to leave our bunny overnight, when she would have blood tests and be put on a drip to make sure she did not get dehydrated. The suspicion was that she had a digestive problem and the hope was that it was mild enough to respond to treatment.

Late that night I received a phone call to say that the first blood tests indicated a more serious problem but they would not know for sure until further tests were done the next morning, which would tell us if she was responding to the treatment.

The next morning the vet called with the results of the blood tests and informed me that our rabbit was in acute renal failure for which there was no cure. The kindest thing to do would be to have her put to sleep.

We took Sparky and Lizzie to say goodbye. It was a heart breaking half an hour as the girls sat stroking the bunny and talking to her. We could all see that she had deteriorated since the night before and that although she was not suffering, if she was allowed to carry on then she would suffer badly.

We did not stay while our beautiful, much loved bunny was put to sleep but at least the girls could see for themselves that it was hopeless and they could hear from the Vet for that there was nothing that could be done. More importantly they were able to say goodbye.

How do you keep your rabbits healthy?

Do they need vaccinations?
What do you need to look out for?
What plants are poisonous for rabbits?
See Rabbit health problems

Post mortem tests showed that although our rabbit had shown no symptoms, she was riddled with a parasite called E. Cuniculi, which for some reason had flared up so quickly that it caused major renal failure and was impossible to treat.

Getting this result was essential for our other three rabbits. They were all well but there was a possibility that they were infected too. Fortunately there is a treatment that can destroy the parasite and they were given a dose of Panacur once a day for 28 days.

More information on E. Cuniculi can be found on Rabbit health problems.

Unless they are to be used for breeding,
rabbits should be neutered

Males to calm them down

Females so they do not have phantom pregnancies
and become aggressive