Copyright of Jan at Sedgey Stud                                         This page was last updated  22/09/2003

Rabbit Care click on the following links to go to the relevant detail

Diet  - Daily feed  weaning onto new foods   introduction of vegetables   treats   other notes

Health  - Poo  Teeth  Toe Nails  Vaccinations  Neutering  Weight  Fly strike  Sneezing

Housing - Hutch  Bedding

First Aid Kit

Diet

Daily, I feed each of my rabbits with:-

Although they don't look very appetising, the rabbit pellets are a concentrated, complete food which contains all the necessary nutrition, protein and vitamins required,  to which should be added fibre in the form of hay and fresh vegetables to provide a full and balanced, healthy feeding regime. If you wish to provide a 'better looking' dried mix, make sure that the rabbit eats everything in the dish before adding new otherwise he may only eat the 'best bits' and will not be getting a complete, balanced diet, this is known as selective eating and must be avoided. Remove any left over remains from the floor of the hutch as it may go mouldy and will be bad for the rabbit if he tries to eat it. Do not overfeed, and do not keep refilling the bowl as it becomes empty.

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Weaning

All my kits are weaned onto the above diet. During my weaning process, I add a pro-biotic to the water to help balance the good bacteria in the gut (supplier can be found in my links page). With each kit that I sell, I include a weeks supply of the above named rabbit pellets, mixed with readi-grass. If you cannot buy the same type of food, or wish to use another dried complete mix, or even another brand of rabbit pellet, you MUST wean the rabbit off my food onto yours over a period of at least 7 days.  If you do not do this, the sudden change in diet could cause your rabbit to be ill, or even die. The following is the method that I suggest:- 

Day 1, provide the rabbit with a small portion of the food that I supplied only (together with lots of hay and fresh water). Day 2, give 90% my food, 10% yours, Day 3 give 80% mine, 20% yours and so on until the rabbit is eating only the food that you will be purchasing in the future. If during this weaning process, the rabbit appears to have diarrhoea, constipation, looks in pain or off-colour, take away all dried food and feed HAY ONLY for a couple of days (and water). Then try the whole process over again. If you run out of my pellets then please contact me and I will send you a further supply. You could purchase a pro-biotic to put in the water during the weaning process. If you ever decide to change the food that you give, you must do this weaning process again.

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How to Introduce Vegetables to Rabbits over 12 weeks of Age

Every breeder will tell you different, this is a personal choice, but I prefer not to give any of my rabbits vegetables until they are at least 12 weeks old.

From the age of 12 weeks onwards, you can start to introduce vegetables very slowly. The following is the method that I use successfully:- 

Day 1, give a small piece of carrot (approx. 1 inch), if all is well 24 hours later (i.e. no diarrhoea) then on day 3, give another small piece. Continue giving a small chunk every other day until you are happy that the rabbit isn't suffering any side effects. Take away any remaining vegetable at the end of each day. If the rabbit does show signs of diarrhoea, or constipation or pain or looks off colour etc.. take away any remaining vegetable straight away and cease the introduction for another week. If all is well, do exactly the same with a different type of vegetable the following week, i.e. a very small leaf of Kale. Follow the every other day rule. Eventually, over a period of a few weeks or anything up to 3 - 4 months (you can't rush these things) you will be able to gradually increase the size of vegetable, and the amount until the rabbit is able to eat a handful of various vegetables each day. Again, you could add a pro-biotic to the water during this process. If you intend giving a variety of vegetables every day, then reduce the dried food accordingly but do not reduce the amount of hay given.

Once your rabbit is established with vegetables, he will readily demolish carrots, carrot tops, kale, cabbage, spinach, sprouts, radish, peas, beans, beetroot, celery, turnip, mint, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, nasturtiums, etc.. Don't stick to one vegetable as they all have different nutritional values.  The above rule also refers to fresh grass.  Vegetables should be given in their raw state and not cooked or frozen.

Lettuce should NOT be given to rabbits (particularly young kits under 4 months of age) as it contains a substance called laudanum which can be harmful and even fatal (although one  leaf every once in a while may be beneficial to lactating mums)

Any plant/flower that is grown from a bulb should not be given to rabbits as they are poisonous.

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Treats

Your rabbit will appreciate treats, but do not give daily as the sugar content can make them fat and prone to heart disease. Maybe once a week or fortnight, you could give any one or two of the following:-

one weetabix, one digestive or a rich tea biscuit, a small slice of apple (no pips), one strawberry, a piece of banana, a piece of toast or bread dried out in the oven, a few strips of baked potato peel. although this is not a treat, I like to give them a nice small block of clean, unpainted/unvarnished/unstained wood to nibble at too to help keep their teeth in tact.

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Other Feeding Notes

Do not over feed dried pellets or mix. It could compact inside his tummy, and too much protein could make him ill. If your rabbit does seem off colour with either diarrhoea or constipation, a couple of raspberry or blackberry leaves may help, but if he is sitting hunched up, at the back of his hutch, maybe grinding his teeth, not eating or drinking, then get him to a 'rabbit friendly' vet immediately! Usually in these circumstances, if he gets to this stage, his illness is advanced and has gone undetected (they tend to hide it well) and he could die within 24 - 48 hours without professional attention. You will soon begin to get a feel for how much your rabbit eats each day, and his personality  etc. if anything changes suddenly at any time, keep a close eye on him!

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Health Issues

Poo

Do not confuse diarrhoea with caecotrophs. A rabbit excretes waste products in the form of solid, round, brown pellets, which is what we find on the floor of the hutch, this is normal (and makes good compost for the garden). He is also capable of producing another type of product, known as caecotrophs, which contains proteins and vitamins, which he eats as soon as it is passed (yummy!), again, this is normal. This looks like a softer mass of poo,  similar in shape to a bunch of grapes, and looks slightly wet. You will not see this often, as it is usually passed early in the morning or late at night, and eaten straight away. If you often do find it lying on the floor of the hutch, it is possible he is being overfed, or is too obese to reach to eat it as it is passed. If what you see is soft, gooey poo, stuck to the rabbits bottom and fur, and is very wet, sticky and smelly, and sometimes with a mucous, this is bad news and needs to be investigated if it doesn't clear up within a day or two. You must clean him too as this could attract flies.

Young rabbits (up to 10/12 weeks old) can be prone to stomach problems, brought on by various causes: stress of being taken away from it's mother or/and siblings, travelling to a new home, pet shops, change in diet, too much dried food in the diet, infection of the gut, bacteria etc. Symptoms may be referred to as Mucoid Enteritis / Bloat / Gastric Stasis, etc.. The cause is not always known as more research is required. Post Mortems can be carried out by the vet should the rabbit die as a result. If you find your rabbit lethargic, not eating and/or drinking, has diarrhoea or constipation, has a bloated stomach which may sound 'sloshy', has a mucous discharge, and may be grinding his teeth (a sure sign of pain), then you MUST get him to a vet immediately. He will need to be given fluids and a possible injection to help to get his gut working again. Sadly, death is all too common from these symptoms, and frustratingly, not enough is known to try to prevent as opposed to cure the symptoms. Adding pro-biotic at this age will help to balance the good and bad bacteria in the gut (as do pro-biotic yoghurt drinks for us humans).

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Teeth

A rabbit's teeth grow continuously throughout it's life, nibbling on hay and fibrous vegetables such as grass and carrot tops, etc. helps to keep the teeth in shape. All my kit's teeth are checked from young, and I will not sell you a rabbit with teeth that are not properly aligned (I do not breed with any rabbits that produce misaligned teeth (malocclusion).

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Toe Nails

A rabbits toenails grow continuously throughout his life too. You should clip the toenails on a regular basis so that they do not get overgrown. Allowing exercise on concrete ground will help to keep them down. Your vet can show you how to do this at first, you have to make sure that you do not cut them too short as you may damage the 'quick' of the nail and cause it to bleed and pain. It is a job that can easily be done at home.

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Vaccinations

There are 2 vaccinations that should be organised with your vet. One is for myxomatosis, and the other is Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD). The vaccines can be given from 10 - 12 weeks of age, and then annually thereafter. A gap of approx 2 weeks should be left between the 2 different vaccines.

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Neutering

If you are planning on keeping your rabbit as a pet only, or keeping 2 or more rabbits together, then it would be wise to consider having them neutered. A pet doe will benefit from this as it will reduce her chances of cancer in later life. You will benefit from having your pet buck rabbit neutered as he may start to spray like a tom cat once he reaches 5 - 6 months of age. Keeping a pair together will both benefit from being neutered also as obviously it will stop the risk of them breeding, and it will also stop them 'harassing' each other, the latter applies to pairings of the same sex too. The operation can be done from 4 months of age for bucks, obviously it is a bigger operation for the doe. Please note, if you are keeping a male and female together, the buck can still be fertile for a few weeks after the operation so you must keep them separated. It is possible for rabbits to start breeding from as early as 4 months, so prior to the op, you should keep them separated.

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Weight

A healthy, adult dwarf lop rabbit will weigh approx 5 lb

a mini lop approx 3 1/2 lb, and

a Netherland Dwarf is approx 2 lb. Weigh your rabbit occasionally and get to know what is normal, if his weight dramatically changes, have it checked out by your 'rabbit friendly' vet.

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Fly-Strike

In hot weather, flies may be attracted to your rabbits hutch. It may be wise to use a fly mesh screen to prevent flies from entering the hutch in the Summer months. The flies will be attracted to back end of the rabbit, and may well lay eggs in the fur, which hatch out into maggots. The maggots will burrow and eat into the skin of the rabbit. This is a particularly nasty problem, and you must keep a daily check on your rabbit during the susceptible months, and he must be kept clean and dry. If he does succumb to this, you must get him to a vet straight away. It is possible to cure this, but if it does go unnoticed the rabbit may be better to be put to sleep. A preventative treatment can be purchased from the vet.

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Sneezing

If the rabbit starts to sneeze and appears to have a heavy discharge from his nose, check the inside of his front paws to see if they are matted (like a dirty handkerchief) then isolate him from any other rabbits and seek veterinary attention. It is possible he could have a bacterial infection known as Pasteurella, or more commonly known as Snuffles and is extremely contagious to other rabbits. Antibiotics can be given to stabilise the symptoms, but it is possible that he could become a long term carrier, so therefore should not be used for breeding.

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Housing

Hutch

The hutch or cage that the rabbit lives in should be the biggest you can possibly afford. For one Dwarf Lop, the size should be no less than 2' deep, 4' wide and at least 18" high. A darkened sleeping area is not really necessary as it will get used as a toilet mainly. The outdoor hutch should be draught proof, and damp proof. The roof should be felted, and preferably all round felted. It should stand on legs at least 2 - 4" off the ground. During the winter you should cover the front up with old carpet to stop the inside getting wet. Rabbits can withstand cold temperatures but not damp conditions. If possible, position the hutch in a shed or garage during the colder months (so long as the garage is not being used by a car, as the fumes may kill him). During the summer months, cover the mesh door with a fly screen mesh. A cage inside the house should be positioned away from direct sunlight coming in through windows, and away from radiators. Do not use the indoor cages that have clear plastic lids as it will become like a greenhouse during the summer.

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Bedding

I put a thick layer of wood shavings on the floor of my hutches. I buy the large bales from my agricultural supplier for £5 a bale. You can use shavings, peat, straw, shredded paper, pelleted cardboard, hemp as used for horses etc.. Do not use sawdust as it is too fine and can irritate the rabbit's eyes. Do not use cat litter as it can swell up inside the rabbits tummy or he could choke. Do not use newspaper as the ink can be poisonous if nibbled in large quantities.

The 'toilet corner' should be cleaned daily, and the hutch should be cleaned out thoroughly weekly. Once you have removed all the old bedding, spray the hutch with a pet disinfectant, allow to dry before adding new bedding and returning the rabbit. Do not use Jeyes Fluid. Bleach can be used by diluting it to 5% bleach/95% water and then put into a spray bottle. Once the new bedding is in, you can spray with a pet friendly insect repellent spray during the summer months.

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First Aid Kit