The Rabbit Page
More and more rabbits are being kept as house pets. There are a wide range of different breeds and sizes available from
specialized breeders and pet shops. We do sometimes have problems with very young rabbits coming into a new environment, it is better if they are twelve weeks of age before they go to their new homes. Whilst it is possible to keep one rabbit on his own they are social animals and prefer a companion of the same sex. Guinea pigs make good companions for rabbits.
Male rabbits reared together will often live in harmony but there can sometimes be problems if you try to introduce a mature animal to a stable group. If they do start to fight you will have to decide which one is trying to be the most dominant and have him castrated. Male rabbits must also be neutered if you have a mixed sex group, as it is not a good idea to breed unless you are sure you can find homes for all of the offspring. From time to time we neuter female rabbits as well either because they have become aggressive or so that a mixed sex group can be kept with a breeding male.
Rabbits are pregnant for only thirty days and the kittens are blind and hairless when they are produced. There can be more than ten in a litter and they are fed by the doe for up to eight weeks. Rabbits can breed from sixteen weeks of age and will live for as many as eight years.
Wild rabbits are grazing animals consuming mainly grass with some leaves and shoots. Grass is composed of up to 25% fibre,15% protein and 2% fat. This is a low energy diet and wild rabbits will spend most of their active time eating. Commercial diets are mostly too low in fiber and too high in energy and protein. It is the insoluble fiber in the diet that stimulates gut motility and protects it from enteritis. When things start to pass through too slowly excessive fermentation will occur and the balance of micro organisms will change to the detriment of the digestive processes.
Rabbits rely heavily on these micro organisms to digest their food. In the large bowel contractions separate the fibrous from the more fluid material. The former is passes as hard pellets, the latter moves back into the caecum where bacteria ferment it. It is this material that is coated with mucus and passes back through the digestive tract, usually unseen during the night. The soft faecal pellets are swallowed whole and remain in the stomach for up to six hours where they are slowly digested for the second time.
Some diets offer a mixture of components and not enough fiber, the rabbit will eat the more palatable parts and leave the pellets that contain most of the vitamins and minerals. There is a new feed out now for rabbits, the manufacturers have taken a good look at the way the digestive system works and devised a palatable pellet that contains all of the mineral vitamin and fiber requirements for their needs. Called
Supa Rabbit Excel it works well for individuals that are prone to bouts of diarrhea and we find that owners that have used it from an early age have far fewer teeth problems with their pets. Good quality hay should always be available, unless you can be sure of a regular supply it is better to get this from a pet shop.Some individuals will become bored with their food. If they do not have to spend much time searching for their daily requirements and may start to reject what you give them. You can introduce variety by feeding small quantities of plants from your garden. They like blackberry and raspberry leaves as well as plantain, broccoli, celery, sprouts and cabbage. Also try small quantities of mint, parsley and water cress if you have them. Dandelion, lettuce and Groundsel leaves are laxative so should only be used in small amounts. Carrots are readily consumed and can be suspended from the roof of the hutch to increase the amount of time your rabbit will spend eating.
Rabbits will eat biscuits and sugar rich foods, but they are best avoided if you want to stop your pet getting too fat. Similarly do not feed bread, grass trimmings from the lawn mower or a mixture of waste leaves from a green grocer as this is asking for trouble.
Take care to avoid digestive upsets by changing your rabbit's feed very gradually. When introducing a new feed aim to make the change over in a period of ten days. It takes time for the organisms in the caecum to adapt to a new diet so be patient or your pet may stop eating the pellets all together.
When rabbits develop a digestive upset they can be difficult to treat because of the way they use the bacteria in their gut to release the goodness from their diet. Mucoid enteropathy can be a fatal disease of young rabbits, it tends to occur soon after animals go to their new homes. Sometimes it is better to delay this until they are at least twelve weeks of age and always try to keep them on exactly the same diet that they are accustomed to at first. The aim of treatments is to re establish the organisms in the gut that digest the food. Electrolytes are given by mouth and we tend to feed the best quality hay that we can find until the gelatinous diarrhea settles down.
We have to be very careful with the antibiotics that we give to rabbits. Some of the ones that are given by mouth upset the balance of bacteria in the intestines and this can sometimes be difficult to correct.
Care of Orphaned Rabbits
From time to time cats or dogs may disturb young rabbits and perhaps bring them in unharmed. Orphaned rabbits are difficult to rear as it is easy to over feed them. Rabbit milk is very rich and in the wild mothers suckle their young for only five minutes each night. If you find a nest disturbed and there is a good chance that the Doe is still alive it is better to leave well alone. The mother will return during the night and feed her litter, they have not been abandoned. There is more information about this on the following link.
Rabbits are very clean animals and spend a great deal of time grooming themselves. The fur is very fine and has a tendency to build up into a tight ball in the stomach if too much is ingested. Affected animals have a poor appetite and become lethargic. It is not always easy to diagnose this condition unless x rays are taken. We have never had to operate on a rabbit with a hairball as we have been able to sort things out with medical treatments. Remember to groom your pets regularly, particularly when the are shedding their coat and give them the best hay you can find as this helps to move things along. Fresh pineapple juice contains an enzyme that helps to break up hairballs and you may find this useful if your pet has a tendency to develop this problem.
Rabbits are not prone to cystitis but they can sometimes just like cats and dogs have stones that form in their bladder. The early signs of this are straining and increased frequency of urination, sometimes blood will be noticed in the litter tray. Bladder stones are serious, they can sometimes be felt just in front of the pelvis if your rabbit is calm on the examination table. X rays give us a clearer picture of what is present. These calculi have to be removed by a surgical operation and afterwards there will be a need to reduce the pellets in the ration and increase the amount of hay to lessen the chances of the condition recurring.
Infectious Diseases
There are two severe viral diseases that rabbits suffer from that even rabbits that live inside are prone to get.
Myxamatosis
has long been a problem in the wild rabbit population; it affects all of the mucus membranes causing swellings in the mouth and around the eyes. Once the symptoms start it is only a matter of a few days before the affected individual will stop feeding and not be able to survive. This infection is invariably fatal for rabbits that have never been vaccinated although it may be three weeks before animals die from this infection. Mosquitoes and fleas carry this virus once a colony has been infected and it is often our cats that bring the disease back with them on their ears when they have been out hunting.Viral Hemorrhagic Disease
was notifiable when it first appeared in the south of England a few years ago, but it has become so widespread now in wild rabbits that we no longer have to report the victims of this disease to the Ministry of Agriculture. Post Mortem signs are hemorrhages throughout the gastro intestinal tract but our experience of this virus is that the course of the disease is so rapid animals are just found dead. It is not clear how domestic rabbits contact the virus; the chances are that we can carry it into the house if we have been anywhere near the infection in the wild population.There was a time when there were no vaccines available that we could use in rabbits, but fortunately this is not the case now, as there are vaccines to protect against both myxamatosis and the viral hemorrhagic disease. Rabbits can be vaccinated from six weeks of age. It is not recommended to administer both vaccines at the same time so we usually have an interval of two weeks between doses. Annual boosters are again essential to ensure continued protection.
There is more information about these infectious diseases by clicking the links on the Intervet Site.
Some Rabbits can suffer a great deal with their teeth. X rays reveal that the skull of a rabbit is built around the teeth. They differ from us in the way the teeth have open roots. Instead of growing to a certain length and then stopping, rabbit's teeth grow throughout their lives. Any misalignment of the teeth or weakness in the roots can cause then substantial problems. Wild rabbits eat mainly grass and do a huge amount of chewing to keep their teeth trimmed. The diet we provide encourages rapid growth, but does not cause so much wear in their mouths.
Problems we have to deal with are overgrown and misaligned front teeth, sometimes the incisors do not come together and grow out in different directions. This can be corrected, but regular trimming is needed.
Problems with the molar teeth are more difficult to deal with. The back teeth are quit sharp in rabbits, the top ones tend to grow outwards when they are distorted and cut into the cheeks, the lower ones grow inwards and cut the tongue.
We have special clippers to cut the molar teeth of rabbits, but they can only be used when the animal has been given a general anesthetic as the mouth can only be opened so far and access is difficult. Often this procedure needs to be repeated every two to three weeks which is not always possible.
The teeth of rabbits have substantial roots, that is why diet is so important for growing animals so that the skull will be mineralized properly and hold the teeth in place. If the roots get swollen and possibly infected they will restrict the passage of tears down the ducts. Tear staining down the face is often one of the earliest signs that your companion is having problems in his mouth. When the early signs are not noticed infection can follow, tooth root abscesses are difficult to deal with and are reluctant to respond satisfactorily to even the most aggressive of treatments.
When you stop to think about it we are asking a great deal from a pet rabbit to get them to live with us in a domestic environment when they are only slightly removed from a nocturnal animal that lives in a large social group mostly underground. Rabbits have developed an acute sense of sight smell and hearing to help them survive as a prey species in the wild. Most rabbits are not handled when young so they are not introduced to people, dogs and cats until they have left the security of the nest when their survival instincts are to treat new situations with extreme caution.
A stimulating secure environment is important for their well being. Whether kept inside or out they need sufficient space to move about, stretch to full length, hop and to run. Try to give them a place to hide, somewhere to stand up on and a place to seek shelter on sunny or wet days. Toys are helpful to give them things to investigate with their feet and mouths.
Common problems are aggression to other rabbits. This often occurs in disputes over food or territory. Rabbits of both sexes can be aggressive in the breeding season. This can be serious if there is no where for an individual to escape to. Rabbits are un usual in the way that their aggression may result in the death of their opponent. Some rabbits may display their fear of a loud noise or the presence of a predator as aggression towards a companion.
Some rabbits can be aggressive towards their owners. This is often a stress or fear response. It is a successful tactic if you want to be left alone to be aggressive towards your owner. It has been shown that litters that have been regularly handled between ten and twenty days of age are far more likely to be confident when handled by people.
Some rabbits will loose their litter training as they approach puberty as they then have an instinct to use urine and faeces to delineate their territory. They have an acute sense of smell and will repeat a performance if you have not been able to clean up after them effectively.
To help with their behavioral problems you need to try and see the world from their point of view. If you need any help with your rabbit contact the surgery either by phone or e mail or try the Rabbit Behaviour Advisory Group Web Site.
Samples cultured from the nasal passages of rabbits will often reveal the presence of Pasturella bacteria. These often have little significance, but there can sometimes be a big increase in the amount of this infection when individuals are put under stress, when mixed with others perhaps, or at times when they are dealing with some other disease problem. We also see cases of Pasturella when individuals are kept in a less than ideal environment. Pasturella infections are always serious and can progress to pneumonia. Rabbits do not have a huge amount of extra respiratory capacity at the best of times and struggle to cope when their lungs are infected.
The same organism can sometimes cause abscesses to form under the skin. these can sometimes grow to a substantial size. Depending where on the body they develop the preferred treatment is surgery to carefully remove the infected tissues.
Rabbits get a severe reaction when they are infected with ear mites. There ears seen to get inflamed very quickly. The infestation will respond to insecticidal ear drops. It is usually better not to try and clean the ear canal, as the lining is so sensitive and can readily be damaged.
If there are areas of flaky skin over the body the cause will often be a mite called Chyletiella. Rabbits do not respond well to shampoos and washing. The best treatment for this parasite is a small quantity of an injection. This is given weekly for three weeks to give a lasting cure. All of the rabbits that have any contact with the infected individual should be treated or the problem will linger in your house for weeks or months affecting different animals at different times.
This is seasonal, it only happens in the summer months, usually when rabbits are outside. Occasionally we see this condition from an infected wound but it is most common in individuals that have faecal contamination of their rear ends or when their bedding gets wet.
Fly eggs soon develop into little maggots and these burrow into the skin, releasing toxins and causing a great deal of irritation. It takes a long time to remove all of the maggots, we usually have to sedate your pet and shave away the hair from the affected area so that we can see how much damage has been done. An injection is given to kill and larvae that may have got beneath the skin. Some individuals will need extensive treatments if the damage is severe.
Rabbits that are overweight or have dental problems are more susceptible to fly strike as they will not groom themselves adequately. Sometimes it is a good idea to get these problems sorted out in the early spring before any blow flies are about
Going on Holiday?
Most kennels and catteries do not cater for rabbits and other furry animals and it is not always possible to rely on family and friends to take care of things when you are away. There is a dedicated Bunnery in Staffordshire that might be able to help so that your rabbits can enjoy a holiday as well as you do.
Still looking? You will find more information on rabbits if you follow the link to Rabbit and Guinea Pig Welfare page.