SEE HOW TO TAKE CARE OF A CUTE CREATURE

CARING FOR A BUNNY


Cute rabbit 

Taking care of a bunny is not as easy as it is said. This is because rabbits are self-sustaining animals who like their wild ancestors tend to hide the fact that they are sick and will leave you the caretaker clueless until the illness has reached an advance stage. In this article, I will be exposing some signs that could indicate that your rabbit is in trouble or is not being taken care of properly. In addition, you will learn a lot on rabbit care, rabbit health, rabbit feeding and rabbit hygiene.
Caring for a bunny
 

COMMUNICATION

Understanding how rabbits communicate will help you properly care for the needs of your rabbits. Below are some common signs rabbits use to communicate joy, fright etc.

Unhappy/scared Rabbits will show they are unhappy, shocked or warn of danger if they sense any; like when you make a sudden strange noise close to them by thumping their back feet (hitting their back feet on the floor to produce a thud thud thud sound). 

Fear: When you touch the rabbit and it grunts or squeaks(lets out a loud sound), it may be telling you it does not wish to be touched or it may be in pain when held wrongly, or it may be displaying behavior (This is my territory-back off). When forcefully picked from the ground, the rabbit may also squeal to express fear.
When content, your rabbit will purr, click or grind its teeth at a low volume (your young rabbits may not exhibit this behavior until at a later age). Loud tooth grinding, grunting or growling is a threat. Loud tooth grinding can also be an indication of pain. Extreme fright is usually demonstrated by a loud scream, similar to that of a child.

A happy bunny will not want to byte anyone, but may give you lick of gratitude. When he/she does this, feel privileged. His/her heart has been won.
A happy bunny will jump into the air, twist and then flick. 

Territorial marking is when your bunny leaves droppings all over the house and wees everywhere as well. This is his way of claiming ownership of his domain from other rabbits (whether there are any other rabbits around or not). Bunny must be de-sexed when it reaches the right age (removing hormones) to stop this.
 

HEALTH  

The health of the rabbit is very important in its development and interactions with humans. Taking care of a rabbit involves being able to quickly detect and fix health problems in rabbits before they can cause serious harm to the rabbit.
A rabbit’s stool should be firm and easy to sweep off. If you notice any changes or watery stool, it is a sign of illness. This can be caused by feed (low grade feed, wet leaves/greens) or intestinal problem. Withdraw feed and contact any rabbit expert near you as this symptom can lead to death.
Sudden changes in behavior may be indicative of medical problems rather than true behavior problems.

FEED

You must take care and ensure that leaves and vegetables given to the rabbits are not be too wet.
You can feed your rabbits any of the following in small quantity: Wheat, Sweet potatoes, cabbage, carrots, bread crumbs, banana, orange (without peels), Water melon fruit, peel and seeds, vegetable (Amaranthus), grass, banana leaves (for strong bones), groundnut (fresh/dried), garden egg, apple (without poisonous seeds), sun flower and seeds, rose flower. The list is endless. The principle is that when you want to feed your bunnies with something you are not sure of introduce it in bits. Watch out for changes in the bunnies’ poop, which should be firm. If so, continue giving it the new food. If not so, withdraw the new feed you introduced to it.       
Protein 25%      Fiber 19%          Carbohydrate 15% 


Sprouted fodder for the rabbit
Water – Your bunny should have fresh clean water the whole time. It is best for the bunny to have cold water but not ice cold during hot days and lukewarm water during cold days.

HYGIENE

Taking care of a rabbit involves a lot of hygiene for the rabbit, its environment. Helping the rabbit whenever it needs help to keep it in a hygienic state.
Rabbits generally do not need to be bathed. If your rabbit is dirty in only one area, only wash that area, as bathing a rabbit can be very stressful for the bunny.

Grooming is when the rabbit cleans itself by using its tongue to lick dirt from its body. Grooming is also seen when the bunny use its front feet to clean its face and long ears. This one behavior indicates your rabbit is comfortable with its environment.
 
Litter box: A good litter box that will not allow the rabbit come in contact with its urine and minimize odor from the droppings should be adequate for your bunny.
Sometimes the rabbit goes into its toilet and comes out smelling urine when you pick it up into your arms; not offensive to me though, it might be to you. This can be prevented by providing a good litter box for the bunny.  
In addition, lime, vinegar or salt can be sprayed in the litter box to prevent/control odor.
If available, line the litter box with straw, so that the urine is soaked and goes to the bottom of the litter box. The sides of the litter box should be a little high with only one side low so that the rabbit can easily go in through the low side and the high sides prevents urine from spraying outside.


handlimg rabbits  

HANDLING
Picking/Taking a rabbit – put your one hand under the bottom of the rabbit and the other under its breast.
  • Lift the rabbit up you
  • Support the rabbit with one hand under the bottom and one hand around the neck 
  • Hold the rabbit safe but not too tight 
  • If the rabbit starts jumping or falling, and you still wish to hold it, hold it tightly with one arm then use your other hand to stroke its head and chin lightly. It will relax in your arms, but may start struggling to be dropped after some time. Rabbits generally do not like to be held for too long. 
  • To drop the rabbit, go down a little so that the rabbit does not fall too long.

safely picking up a rabbit  
  • You can also pick the rabbit this way without hurting it – I prefer not to use this method for pet rabbits.
Never hit, slap or tease your rabbit, and do not hold it into you too long, it, might get aggressive of it.

  pet rabbits  

DISCIPLINE

Do not apply what you know about cats and dogs to your new rabbits. Rabbits are “prey” animals, which is quite different from “predatory” cats and dogs. Almost anything that moves can be a predator to your rabbit, including you. This means that your rabbit will instinctively be timid and easily frightened, and discipline is out of the question – your rabbit will simply not understand, and only become frightened and withdraw.

Litter training: This is teaching your rabbit to wee and poo in a specific location in the house. Rabbits usually like to use the corners of a room as their toilet. This is not a problem though, you can just 
provide a litter box (toilet box) in the corner your rabbit has chosen to be its toilet and it will always go there to do the job.
If the rabbit refuses to use the box, try putting some of the poo swept from the floor into the litter box; that will make the rabbit feel more comfortable to use the box when it smells and sees its own poo in it.

Unwanted behavior: your rabbit might not chew furniture, electric wires, rug, or books in the house. However, if it does, hitting it or slapping it will not help it learn that it has done sometime wrong. Be patient with the rabbit and place what it was chewing where it cannot reach, and provide the rabbit with alternatives as its teeth are constantly growing and need to be reduced. In this case, old newspapers or a clean untreated wood will do. Place this in the rabbits chamber (area) and allow it do its job.

Restricting movement: You might not want to grant the rabbit access to every part of the house. This may not pose any challenge to you or the rabbit. Once kept and fed properly in one part of the house, the rabbit will be content and remain their till….
The rabbit will only venture into other parts of the house in search of food after it has been starved. If this is frequent - the rabbit gets use to sneaking out of its chamber into other parts of the house comfortably. The rabbit has to be locked in its chamber for some time (1 week) and fed properly too to restore its former behavior.   

Life expectancy – Rabbits live 5-15 years depending on the breed.

Taking care of a rabbit: JF Rabbits Abuja, Nigeria.






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