The five important needs for pet rabbits

Let’s talk pet rabbits! June and July see the celebration of 15 years of the Rabbit awareness week or RAW. Set-up by the PDSA, RAW aims to improve how we look after our pet rabbits. The PDSA say that 49% of pet rabbits live alone and are often the forgotten pet. So what do pet rabbits really need? Essentially pet rabbits need their five welfare needs met, they are:

1. Companionship

Pet Rabbits love a bit of company, ideally, keep them as a couple, or even in larger groups if you have space. Rabbits can be bonded together if done so safely. They must both be neutered, in good health, and ideally the same size and age. Kept on their own rabbits can become lonely, stressed and aggressive. Think about a family of rabbits, like you see out in the wild.

2. Home

Let’s face it if you are keeping rabbits you need space. They like to hop, jump, sprint, stretch out and stand up. Pet rabbits need somewhere to eat, sleep, exercise and play, so think hutches, enclosures, runs, and tunnels to help happy rabbits. Rabbits also like to escape, especially if you’ve met my recent rescue rabbit Murphy. So you will also have to think about fencing. Safe spaces should also be waterproof and clean as rabbits can easily suffer from Flystrike.

3. Food

Our pet rabbits are not that far removed from their wild counterparts so their diet needs to reflect what they would be eating if native. They should be fed enough hay equivalent to their own body size, a handful of fresh greens/vegetables twice a day, scattered, and a teaspoon of rabbit nuggets. Keeping them a healthy weight and adding these different types of food will help their teeth and stomachs, both of which are the main problems for pet rabbits. I can offer help with weight management, or nutritional advice if you are local to Horsham and surrounding areas. You can also find tasty rabbit food, including forage treats and dried flowers from Twig and Nibble.

4. Enrichment

Bored rabbits will eat more, groom more and move less, this can lead to obesity, stomach and heart problems in addition to arthritis. You should provide toys for your rabbit, things to gnaw, places to explore, and items to dig into. You can also train rabbits, my old rabbit Lucky was litter trained and my new rescue rabbits come in when I ring a bell.

5. Healthiness

Once you are happy you have checked the above four welfare needs of your rabbits, there are a few other rabbit essentials. Make sure you register them with a vet as they will need vaccinations against Myxomatosis and RHD1+2. You can also get your rabbits micro-chipped if you are worried about them escaping. In addition to nail clipping, it is also a service I offer. Make sure their fur is brushed and that their bottoms are clean. Most important of all, spend time with your rabbits! Play, groom, talk, pat and socialise with them.

Like all pets, rabbits need care and attention, they might reward you with successful training techniques such as mine with the bell, high jumps, big hugs and lots of cute nose twitching.

Your Pet Rabbits

Show me your pet rabbit! I’d love to hear from you, find me on my Facebook page, or add a comment below!

Rabbit Services

If you need help with your rabbit healthcare, nail clipping or micro-chipping, have a look at my services page, or get in touch.