|
|
Diet
It used to be acceptable to feed your rabbit on pellets or mix and hay and many breeders and pet shops still recommend this diet for your pets.
However, rabbits fed on a high concentrate diet are getting into trouble when visiting the vet for their yearly vaccinations. Many are overweight and/or are developing bad teeth.
Most vets are giving out either advice or a copy of Care 4 General Care of your Rabbit
now a days advocating grass, grass and more grass. Obviously a rabbit hopping around a lawn or in a large run is going to exercise more, but by cropping grass (or eating hay) he has to chew, and this will wear down his back teeth. Concentrates do not allow much chomping.
Your adult rabbit (over 6 months) should be limited to 60grames per day of either pellets or mix, the rest of his diet should be the lawn or vegetables such as spring greens, carrot and tops, radish tops, pak choy, celery, and cucumber. (see also the section on herbs and wild plants). Limitations must be placed on feeding high calcium vegetables such as parsley, spinach, watercress and dandelions. Too much of these vegetables and your bun will be visiting the vets with cystitis, sludgy bladder or kidney stones.
Baby rabbits should be fed small pieces of the good vegetables (I start mine on blackberry leaf, greens and carrot) one at a time to avoid upset bottoms or more serious problems such as mucoid enteritis, a killer of rabbits from 8-14 weeks old.
Hay comes in many forms these days. Alfalfa, Timothy, and Meadow Hay, and now Freeze-dried grass. Your rabbit NEEDS this stuff, not only for his teeth but to speed up his dietary tract, to keep those currents flowing.
Brands of rabbit that UKPR members have tried and reccomend are;
Burgess Excel rabbit pellets - can upset some bun's tums as has higher oil content, but available in many petshops
Allen and Page Natural Rabbit pellets - organic, certified by the vegetarian society and high in fiber but difficult to get hold of. See www.allenandpage.co.uk for suppliers.
Russel Rabbit Mix - can encourage selective feeding (bun only eats tasty bits and so does not get full vitamins and minerals from feed) but some buns do well on it)
|
Dandy and his girl, Flopsy
To view Dandy's online journal, go to www.livejournal.com/users/dandybun |
|
Herbs
Rabbits get sick, just like we do. Of course all our rabbits have access to vetinary attention when they are ill, but there are a few herbs and wild plants that can be fed to our buns to keep that vet away:
Fennel, Marjoram and Mint are all herbs that should be fed daily to your rabbit to calm his digestive tract and avoid gas attacks.
Bramble Leaves: A good handful of these leaves should again be fed on a daily basis. They are full of fibre and are astringent therefore ensuring that the food passes quickly through the digestive tract. Bramble leaves will also stop diahorea in an otherwise bright eyed and bushy tailed rabbit who has perhaps over indulged on rich spring grass or yummy vegetables. They are also well worth feeding during a course of antibiotics as sometimes this can upset their tummies. Raspberry and Strawberry leaves are also good but are not so effective with a case of the runs.
Common Yarrow or Achillia is a must for a rabbit that has had cystitis; This plant is a urinary tract antiseptic and diuretic. I feed this daily to my rabbits to ward off this rather painful illness.
Sticky Weed or Cotton lavender are plants that will stop kidney stones from forming.
Dandelions are high in calcium and should be fed sparingly. However these leaves are excellent for tempting a rabbit back into eating after a dental operation for instance.
They are diuretic so be careful if you are tempting a rabbit back into eating after an illness such as GI Stasis, plenty of water should be given along with the leaves in this case.
Parsley is a diuretic and a laxative so again be careful using this herb.
Thyme expels worms. Rabbits are quite prone to pin worms these are rather small and show up as very small white dots in your rabbits droppings. It is well worth as a precaution just running your hand down a spring and collecting the tidy leaves once a month.
Lavender small pieces can be used for kidney stones, but is generally good for hanging round your rabbits room especially if he is stressed. I always put a few sprigs in amongst the hay in my carrier when bun goes to the vet.
WILD PLANTS:
Sticky Weed is a prolific perennial weed, available all year through and very useful for feeding on a daily basis to ward off kidney stones. It is diuretic and therefore, helps to flush out the kidney.
Avens (or Geum) is astringent and helps digestion.
Chickweed is a good sauce of vitamins and minerals, and has analgesia properties. Excellent for the older rabbit with a touch of rheumatism.
Coltsfoot This is a plant that has a reputation as a curer of coughs and chest complaints. Unfortunately it is only available from spring to autumn.
Mallow this family is available all year is astringent for the digestive tract, but is also known for its expectorant properties and therefore, useful for the respiratory system.
Plantains there are two members of this family. The taller ribbed spike version is available all year round, whilst the rounded flat leaf variety is only available late spring to early autumn. This is an excellent weed to feed on a daily basis they have antimicrobial properties, enabling the body to resist and fight off infections.
Shepherd's Purse this is another plant that is astringent and should be given at the first signs of scouring. The plant can easily be dried so you can feed it all year round.
Sow Thistle my rabbits adore this rather prolific plant. No known health properties.
Trefoil and Vetch both are members of the pea family and are a good source of vitamins and minerals.
For more information on feeding wild plants to your rabbits, there is a booklet available from Orchard Vets on 01794 830288. The book, Rabbit Nutrition costs £6.00 plus postage.
|
|
Spaying and Neutering
For good bunny health buns need to have quality vet care and should be spayed and neutered for them to stay healthy. This also prevents them from having hormonal and behavior problems. Never expose bunns that have not been spayed and neutered to each other. Male buns will fight. Female buns will bite males trying to mount and can cause injuries! Not to mention the obvious that you don't want to end up with unwanted litters...
Males can be neutered from 2 months old, and females from 4-6 months (depending on the breed and size of the bun). Neutering will prevent testicular cancer in males, and unwanted male behaviour such as spraying, agressiveness and other sexual behaviour. It is even more important to have females spayed as by the age of 3, unspayed female buns have a massive 80% chance of getting uterine cancer. Spaying your female bun will prolong her life. Find a vet that is rabbit savvy. Ask around, check out our group for suggestions in your area. Remember not all vets have experience with complex animals such as bunnies so don't be afraid to question your vet. The operation for males is less stressful than for females. Males will be sore the first day after the operation, but will feel better in one or two days. Females need more care after a spay. They need warmth (hotwater-bottle), a pain kille (usually metacam) and lots of tlc. An after op check for both males and females is done 5-7 days after the operation. Stitches are sometimes external and will be removed at the check-up, or, becoming more common, incisions are glued to prevent the bunny removing their stitches.
Homes
Rabbits can be housed either in the traditional hutch or inside the home as a house bunny. Some house bunnys live free range, without a cage and some have a cage that they spend some of the day in (often when not supervised). Be advised whether hutch or cage they need to be able to stretch fully in all directions in their cages and hutches leaving enough room as well for food and water crocks, litter pans, and toys! They also need exersise! Out of confinement time to run about and play we suggest at the very least 5 hours a day if not free range. Of course a free range bun is best, but for those that cannot have bun about free range all the time be advised for us to be happy and emotionally healthy we need interaction and playtime when you are home. Bunnys are very social souls contrary to the belief of some and get depressed with no interaction from people or other buns.
Housing arrangement vary, with some free range in the house, some with some confinement in the house, some living outdoors in a hutch with access to a run and some rabbits even live in their own shed!
Clean living areas: Keeping living areas clean is a must. Fly strike (maggot infestation) is terrible and cleanliness prevents it. Keep droppings cleaned up, don't let un-eaten food sit in hutches to draw flies, and removed soiled bedding everyday. Rabbits who have litter trays in a hutch or in the house need to have this kept clean. Urine contains ammonia is a caustic substance. Not a good thing for buns tiny respiratory systems! Use only bedding and litter that is bunny safe! Some bedding and litters can cause respiratory problems. Just because it is safe for cats does not make it safe for buns! A good litter for trays is wood pellets. Soft wood shavings can cause liver problems in buns due to chemicals conatined in them. Shredded paper, or bun safe litter are better safer options. Also, some owners use carpet, newspaper and blankets as bedding in hutches. This needs to be washed regurarly.
Buns are sensitive to heat more than anything. If your bun is outside and the weather is hot use a plastic soda bottle filled with water and put in the freezer. Using 2 or more bottles means you can rotate them put these frozen bottles the our cage to keep them cool. Rabbits also like to play with them and lay up against them. Not keeping your bun cool can lead to heat stroke.
The cold weather is just as much a problem to rabbits living outside. Garden fleece, old blankets and shed heaters all help to keep the hutch warm. Please check water bottles during a cold spell to ensure they are not frozen.
|
Bigwig Bunn
Bigwig is the proud owner of a two-foot called Michelle |
Tinker
|
|
