INFO

Rabbits belong to the mammalian Order Lagomorpha, an order that includes hares and pikas. Once they were classified as rodents, owing to their gnawing incisors in the front of their mouths that grow continually throughout their lives. However, they were reclassified as a result of a study of the many differences between them and the rodents

Rabbits are important animals, since there are lot's about and the breed so readly and provide food for many predators (eg foxes). Rabbits were originally not from the British Isles, but were brought over by the Romans as a food source (so i have read

). It did not take long for the few that escaped to become a many that were useful to man as an additional source of food but later a burden to the farmer as a destructive pest. In the 1950s rabbits caused annually millions of pounds' worth of damage, a sum that in today's terms might be nearer half or even one billion.

Myxamatosis(see health page) subsequently ravaged the rabbit population in this and other countries, but it has since stabilised.Rabbits are one of the most common pets, ranked along with cats and dogs as the top favourites.

They are also classed as a children's pet,

although this is not wholly true: rabbits can be scratchy and ready to bite, and to ask a child to take full responsibility for the regular feeding, watering and particularly cleaning of a rabbit is expecting rather a lot and may i add you never be considered!!!!! There are many different breeds of rabbit, whose suitability varies according to breed some may never suit the pet life breeds such as the polish cute as it may be a pet it is'nt It may strike some people as surprising, but in fact the popular rabbit very very often suffers in captivity. Very often the young child loses its interest in the rabbit,

and then it falls to the parents to do the daily chores which i think it should.! This often results in a lonely rabbit in a confining hutch, sitting in its own mess because it doesn't get regularly cleaned out. Rabbits are social animals, they can be seen on an evening near there burrow when several sit together. They normally have a social structure based around the burrow and the dominant buck, something else that a solitary rabbit may miss. Again, although they take shelter in burrows, they do like to run about in the open, whereas captive rabbits are so often kept cramped in their hutches for days on end!

Rabbit food and water are very easy to provide, and reasonable hutches can be purchased from most pet shops. The requirements that most owners seem to miss are the need for exercise cage size and companionship. A good way around this is to obtain a pair of rabbits . Of course, if a mixed pair is obtained, then unless you really want to breed rabbits, neutering or spaying should be undertaken. something that should be taken into consideration if you plan on having your pets share a hutch or cage. The need for exercise can be met by having a large enclosure, one that can be covered if necessary. rabbits are prime victims of the huge population of foxes in this country. Make sure your hutch is secure. I dare say you will find the hardest part of keeping rabbits is the constant cleaning that is required of their hutch, ideally once a week more if possible. Rabbits, being herbivorous, do produce a lot of poo's, usually in the form of pellets which they then consume to redigest. If not cleaned out then the combination of bedding, poo's and uneaten food becomes a magnet for maggots which in turn can cause flystrike again see health page. Apart from being unpleasant for the rabbit, this also constitutes a nuisance to the neighbourhood and potentially a health hazard. Cleaning out once a week is quicker in the long run than spending hours trying to scrape out layers of encrusted muck where you have left it for a few weeks and will save all the vet trips too due to the flystrike and sore feet you bunny would then have. You may find that putting a layer of newspaper down first before the shavings makes cleaning easier, as you can then simply pull out the paper with all the old mess on top of it and roll it up i always use shavings on the floor with hay on top i do not use straw and only on a select few i use paper. i do find making sure the toliet corner has a good layer of paper covered in bedding of your choice is helpful sometimes rabbits can get used to a litter tray real easy!

well to round it up rabbits are more work than most people think and a lot of care should be taken before you dive head long in to taking one on! if you really want one i would always advise you buy from a good breeder or maybe get one from your local rescue center dont buy from pet shop's as you will just encourage backyard breeder's to sell and breed more for them!