Before you Adopt a Rabbit - Sarah Spenser

Rabbits are social creatures and need company of their own kind and therefore should be kept in pairs.

Environment – are you going to keep your rabbit outdoors or indoors – each rescue centre will have its own ideas about this – some will approve or indoor rabbits and some will not – speak to your local centre first to find out what their policies are.

Rabbits need a lot of space. Hutches / cages should be as big as possible with a minimum guide being that the rabbit should be able to make 4 full hops across its hutch before reaching the wall and they should be able to stand fully upright on their hind legs without hitting the roof.  

Most people still keep their bunnies outside in a hutch and therefore this needs to be raised off the ground and be fully waterproof. Site the hutch away from direct, full sunlight and sharp draughts. Many people place their rabbit hutches inside sheds to shelter them from the elements. Please do not ever place the hutch in a used garage – car fumes are not good for bunny. Bunnies kept in hutches should have daily access to an exercise area or run. This too should be as big as you can make it – again, most rescue centres will have their own requirements and guidelines in this respect so check out what they are first.  In the winter it can be hard to allow your bunny access and again, a bunny shed provides a very good solution. If your hutch is situated in the shed then no matter what the weather you can pop open the door and your bunny can have exercise in the shed all day long – some people go further and add a catflap to the shed leading to an outdoor run so that the bunny can chose whether to be inside or outside. PLEASE ensure that all outside enclosures for rabbits are fully secure – a fitted lid and secure base so that bunnies cannot dig out and predators cannot dig in.

Indoor bunnies need just as much exercise as outdoor bunnies and therefore they will need access to a fully bunny-proofed room for at least 2 hours every day.

Expense – fairly cheap to run - food in the form of dried pellets plus daily supply of fresh fruit and veg. Jabs for myxi and vhd once or twice a year depending on area and neutering are essential. On top of this you will have your unexpected vet bills in case of injury or illness.

Care – depending on the type of rabbit you get – long haired rabbits will require regular daily or every other day grooming. All rabbits need their eyes, teeth and claws checking on a weekly basis – teeth and claws may require regular trimming. Keep a close eye on your bunnies bottom to ensure that it is clean and dry – if you notice a build up of poo in this area remove it immediately to prevent the risk of fly-strike.

Temperament – obviously all bunnies are different and each will have its own individual temperament however it should be noted that most rabbits are fairly timid and, as prey animals, most do not really like to be picked up – in the “wild” if they were lifted from the ground this would usually mean they were about to die! However, a lot of rabbits do like a stroke and groom from their human and will come to you for this purpose. They are very playful and inquisitive and lots of fun to watch. They are quite easily frightened so keep them out of the way of noisy children and busy areas of the house or garden.

Life Expectancy – average around 8 years – Please bear this in mind when thinking of homing a rabbit – especially if it is meant to be as a pet for a child, in this time most children will lose interest and it will be left to the adult to take full responsibility of the rabbit.

Things to get BEFORE bringing a rabbit into your home

Hutch / Cage    
Run            For exercise outside of the hutch
Food bowl x 2        One for dry mix and one for fresh feed
Water bottle x 2    Best to have to in case you break one or one freezes during the winter
Bottle snug    not essential but VERY handy to prevent bottles freezing in the winter helping keep water cool in the summer
Bedding    Hay / Straw
Litter tray    the amount of trays depends on your set up – you will want at least 1 in the hutch or cage plus 1 in any free running area or run
Toys    Plant pots, balls, toilet roll tubes, tunnels, old phone books – things they can dig in, chew on, throw about, jump on to or hide under
Newspaper    A staple for any hutch! Get lots in before bunny comes home because you really will get through it!
Food    It is best to stick with whatever the rescue centre is feeding at first – rabbits stomachs are very sensitive to change and any change in diet or introduction of new foods needs to be done slowly by mixing small amounts of the new food in with the old food.

The rescue centre will undoubtedly want to do a home check before agreeing to let you adopt one of their animals – they will want to see these items in place at the home check.