The Basics of Raising Rabbits
The Basics of Raising Rabbits
Adopting a rabbit can be exciting for anyone, especially a child. As a previous Holland Lop breeder I am often asked questions concerning the basic care of these wonderful animals. I hope this blog will answer those questions any new rabbit owner may have. A female rabbit is called a doe and a male rabbit is called a buck. A buck generally reaches sexual maturity at three months whereas a doe reaches maturity at six months. It is generally a good idea to separate bucks from any other rabbit, regardless of sex at this time.
Ten day old Holland Lop babiesOnce the mother is pregant she will carry her kits (the baby rabbits) for up to 33days. The kits are born deaf, blind and without fur. Generally, the litter will not survive for a first time mother. A doe has two uterus'. Each uterus can hold up to 7 kits. This means if she has been double isiminated by the buck she can have a maximum of 14 kits at once. Ten days after the kits have been born they will begin to open their eyes and their fur will begin to grow. Between two and three weeks of age they will begin to crawl out of the nest on their own. It generally takes the doe anywhere between four to six weeks to wean her babies completely. Once this had been accomplished the babies are removed from the mother's cage. We remove our Holland Lops at 4 weeks but do not adopt them out until they are 6 1/2 weeks old. This is to ensure they are healthy enough for adoption and to see if there are any we would want to keep as show rabbits. It is best for anyone who wants to adopt a rabbit not to do so before 5 weeks. Never let a breeder convince you to take a rabbit younger than this. Also be certain to ask the breeder if they are supplementing the rabbits diet with hormones. Unfortunately, there are some who do this to make a profit. This is dangerous to the animal.
Once you have your rabbit at home what do you do next? There are two areas a rabbit can live in. The first is a cage or hutch. The size of the cage or hutch depends on the size of your rabbit. There are many different types of hutches and cages out there. I use wire cages that have the litter pan on the bottom below the wire floor. I would highly suggest a cage with a litter pan. Rabbits are very sensitive and highly susceptible to infections if they walk in their waste. The rabbit must have enough room in the cage to stand up and run around. Reaching into the cage you may experience different reactions from the buck and the doe. Does are very territoritorial. Once inside their cage that is there home. Bucks will be more accepting of you reachign inside their cage. As I tell my customers, "They are the ADHD bunnies." Bucks are very curious and will want to explore everything, everywhere. After you have the cage, water bottle and food bowl place the rabbit inside. Rabbits cannot withstand heat 80degrees or above. So you will want to ensure they have access to an air conditioner or placed inside. They can die from heat stroke or dehydration.
Now what do you feed it? Rabbits have very sensitive stomachs. NEVER feed them cabbage or lettuce. These foods will get stuck in their digestive system and may lead to medical complications. Another thing to keep away from rabbits is Alfalfa. Alfalfa causes diarrhea in rabbits. A good hay treat is to use Timothy Hay. I feed our rabbits a handful every other day unless I have a pregnant doe. She gets more. Timothy Hay provides additional proteins that may be lacking in their diets. You will also want to supplement their diet with a salt wheel. As for main diet I would highly suggest Purina Show Rabbit Pellets.
Rabbits are very clean animals. Like a cat, they can be litter trained. I have had some customers who buy rabbits from us that allow their rabbits free roam around the house and train them to use a litter box. This is very simple to do. Rabbits, like rodents, have teeth that are constantly growing throughout their lives. It is highly recommended the new owner place a chew toy inside their cage. The best chew toys I have discovered is called K-Bob. You can buy these in the bird aisle at Petsmart or any other Pet Store. They are wooden blocks that hand down a metal cylinder. Sometimes you can place a salt wheel on these. Hang it inside the cage and the rabbit will play with it. Another item I highly recommend is a plastic cat ball. Rabbits love the sound it makes as they roll it across the cage.
Like any animal, rabbits are susceptible to a wide variety of diseases. There are resources on the web that will help you if you have concerns. The best advice I can give is to find a Vet that has expertise in rabbits. Unfortunatly that is harder than it sounds. Rabbits are known as exotic pets. I would suggest, when trying to find a vet, call the ARBA. They have a list of vets across the country that have expertise in rabbits. You can find their number on their website at www.arba.net
Whether for show or as a pet, rabbits can be fun to raise. Enjoy your new friend.
Adopting a rabbit can be exciting for anyone, especially a child. As a previous Holland Lop breeder I am often asked questions concerning the basic care of these wonderful animals. I hope this blog will answer those questions any new rabbit owner may have. A female rabbit is called a doe and a male rabbit is called a buck. A buck generally reaches sexual maturity at three months whereas a doe reaches maturity at six months. It is generally a good idea to separate bucks from any other rabbit, regardless of sex at this time.
Ten day old Holland Lop babiesOnce the mother is pregant she will carry her kits (the baby rabbits) for up to 33days. The kits are born deaf, blind and without fur. Generally, the litter will not survive for a first time mother. A doe has two uterus'. Each uterus can hold up to 7 kits. This means if she has been double isiminated by the buck she can have a maximum of 14 kits at once. Ten days after the kits have been born they will begin to open their eyes and their fur will begin to grow. Between two and three weeks of age they will begin to crawl out of the nest on their own. It generally takes the doe anywhere between four to six weeks to wean her babies completely. Once this had been accomplished the babies are removed from the mother's cage. We remove our Holland Lops at 4 weeks but do not adopt them out until they are 6 1/2 weeks old. This is to ensure they are healthy enough for adoption and to see if there are any we would want to keep as show rabbits. It is best for anyone who wants to adopt a rabbit not to do so before 5 weeks. Never let a breeder convince you to take a rabbit younger than this. Also be certain to ask the breeder if they are supplementing the rabbits diet with hormones. Unfortunately, there are some who do this to make a profit. This is dangerous to the animal.Once you have your rabbit at home what do you do next? There are two areas a rabbit can live in. The first is a cage or hutch. The size of the cage or hutch depends on the size of your rabbit. There are many different types of hutches and cages out there. I use wire cages that have the litter pan on the bottom below the wire floor. I would highly suggest a cage with a litter pan. Rabbits are very sensitive and highly susceptible to infections if they walk in their waste. The rabbit must have enough room in the cage to stand up and run around. Reaching into the cage you may experience different reactions from the buck and the doe. Does are very territoritorial. Once inside their cage that is there home. Bucks will be more accepting of you reachign inside their cage. As I tell my customers, "They are the ADHD bunnies." Bucks are very curious and will want to explore everything, everywhere. After you have the cage, water bottle and food bowl place the rabbit inside. Rabbits cannot withstand heat 80degrees or above. So you will want to ensure they have access to an air conditioner or placed inside. They can die from heat stroke or dehydration.
Now what do you feed it? Rabbits have very sensitive stomachs. NEVER feed them cabbage or lettuce. These foods will get stuck in their digestive system and may lead to medical complications. Another thing to keep away from rabbits is Alfalfa. Alfalfa causes diarrhea in rabbits. A good hay treat is to use Timothy Hay. I feed our rabbits a handful every other day unless I have a pregnant doe. She gets more. Timothy Hay provides additional proteins that may be lacking in their diets. You will also want to supplement their diet with a salt wheel. As for main diet I would highly suggest Purina Show Rabbit Pellets. Rabbits are very clean animals. Like a cat, they can be litter trained. I have had some customers who buy rabbits from us that allow their rabbits free roam around the house and train them to use a litter box. This is very simple to do. Rabbits, like rodents, have teeth that are constantly growing throughout their lives. It is highly recommended the new owner place a chew toy inside their cage. The best chew toys I have discovered is called K-Bob. You can buy these in the bird aisle at Petsmart or any other Pet Store. They are wooden blocks that hand down a metal cylinder. Sometimes you can place a salt wheel on these. Hang it inside the cage and the rabbit will play with it. Another item I highly recommend is a plastic cat ball. Rabbits love the sound it makes as they roll it across the cage.
Like any animal, rabbits are susceptible to a wide variety of diseases. There are resources on the web that will help you if you have concerns. The best advice I can give is to find a Vet that has expertise in rabbits. Unfortunatly that is harder than it sounds. Rabbits are known as exotic pets. I would suggest, when trying to find a vet, call the ARBA. They have a list of vets across the country that have expertise in rabbits. You can find their number on their website at www.arba.net
Whether for show or as a pet, rabbits can be fun to raise. Enjoy your new friend.
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