Care Tips for Keeping Domestic Rabbits
Domestic rabbits are not only kept for companionship as pets, but also as commercial animals to produce meat and fiber. Over 50 breeds of rabbits are currently recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association, with the Holland Lop, Mini Lop, Mini Rex, Dutch and the Netherland Dwarf as the most popular breed choices for pets. Sizes of breeds also vary, with the smallest breeds capped at 2.5 lbs to giant breeds like the Flemish Giant that can weigh more than 20 lbs. With proper care and diet, rabbits can make sociable and affectionate pets for your family and can live for eight or more years.
Before getting your first rabbit, you should be well-prepared with supplies. The list below covers the essentials, which should all be available from your local pet or farm store.
- A cage or hutch
- Carrier
- Good-quality rabbit pellets (like Home Fresh®)
- Litter box with absorptive material
- Hay and a hay holder
- Food bowl
- Water bowl or bottle
- Grooming brush and nail clippers
- Chew toys or other enrichment
Additional supplies can also be beneficial to your rabbits such as treats, a playpen, cardboard boxes for hiding, scratch mats and fresh veggies (in moderation).
Exercise options for your rabbits
Adequate housing is important for your rabbit's physical and mental wellbeing. While rabbits are small animals, they still require space for exercise and natural behaviors and should not be fully confined to a small cage. And since rabbits can be litter-trained (more on this in a later section), many owners choose to have them free-roam in designated rooms. While this type of set up is not possible for all owners, it is still important to give them the ability and space to exercise. If your rabbit is typically caged, consider getting a playpen or setting up a gated area to use on a regular basis.
The perfect housing for your rabbit
For rabbits that will be mostly confined, there are a few factors to consider when selecting a cage or hutch. First is spacing; a single rabbit needs at least six square feet of floor space with a vertical height tall enough to allow them to stand on their hind legs. This recommendation for spacing is in addition to access to a larger exercise area for regular periods of time. If your rabbits are housed in pairs, provide extra space.
In addition to space, consider the construction of the rabbit enclosure. Wooden hutches are often more aesthetically pleasing as compared to wire caging, but rabbits may chew on accessible wood. Wooden surfaces are also porous and more difficult to clean than plastic or metal. Take into consideration the flooring of the enclosure as well—wire floor caging is a sanitary way to keep your rabbit separated from waste, but this type of flooring is less comfortable and has the potential to cause injury to paws if not well maintained. Solid flooring is more comfortable for your rabbit and allows the use of bedding but needs to be cleaned more frequently. A good compromise is to add a solid surface, such as a wooden board or cardboard box, to part of a wire-floor cage.
While it is typically much safer to house rabbits indoors, they can also be successfully raised outside. The key is adequate protection. Protection comes in two forms—safety from predators and the environment. If you choose to house your rabbits outdoors, their hutch must be fully enclosed to prevent harm from predators like dogs, cats, raccoons and hawks. And while the extent of necessary 'predator' protection is much lower for indoor-housed rabbits, remember that they still need to be protected from other pets (and small children) and dangers (like chewing on electrical cords) that could cause them harm.
An outdoor enclosure must also provide protection from extreme temperatures and weather elements like rain, snow and wind. Because rabbits cannot sweat, they are at high risk for heat stroke during hot summer weather. This makes sun protection/shaded areas and air flow critical for outdoor housing. Excessive rain and wet conditions in outdoor areas also create the perfect environment for parasites and bacteria. When rabbits are raised indoors, environmental control is a major advantage (air conditioning, heating) to keep rabbits comfortable. So, while outdoor housing for rabbits is possible, it typically requires a higher level of experience and care to be successful.
Litter boxes and cage enrichment for rabbits
Rabbits are very clean by nature and will do their best to keep their living quarters clean. Many rabbits will choose one corner of their living area as a designated bathroom. You can encourage this behavior by placing a litter box in that corner. The litter box can be filled with absorbent bedding material or shredded newspaper and topped with hay (rabbits like to eat while doing their business). Avoid using cat litter or wood shavings in the litter boxes, as these can cause respiratory (from dust) and digestive issues (if they eat it).
Rabbits have natural urges to dig and chew. Chew toys made for rabbits can be purchased, but DIY alternatives like cardboard boxes and toilet paper tubes are just as appealing. They may also enjoy digging for treats in a box filled with straw or hiding in a tunnel.
Rabbit nutrition and diet tips
The most important component of a rabbit's diet is fiber. They have a unique digestive tract that requires higher levels of fiber than other monogastric (single stomach) animal species to keep their digestive tract healthy and functioning. In fact, the digestive system and dietary needs of the rabbit are very similar to horses. While complete and balanced rabbit feeds, like Kent's Home Fresh rabbit products, are formulated to meet all nutrient requirements for rabbits, it is highly recommended to always provide supplemental forage to your rabbits. Timothy hay, oat hay and orchard grass are the best forage options for your rabbit. While alfalfa is a nutritious and commonly the #1 ingredient in most rabbit pellets, it's not the best option as a free-fed forage and should be avoided if possible. Not only can supplemental forage boost gut health, it also keeps your rabbit entertained and can aid in maintaining a healthy body weight, as forage is less nutrient dense than pelleted feed.
The next critical nutrient to consider is protein. Most complete rabbit feeds will be formulated to contain 16% protein, as this is the minimum level established for growing kits. However, your rabbit may need more or less protein depending on their life-stage and activity level. For example, Home Fresh Top Hutch contains 18% protein and is specially formulated for show rabbits, lactating does and growing kits with higher nutrient needs. For most pet rabbits, a 16% protein diet like Home Fresh Pro Hutch is the ideal choice to meet their nutritional needs for maintenance.
The amount of feed your rabbit will consume is highly dependent on their life-stage. Growing kits and lactating does have high nutrient requirements and should be allowed free-choice access to pelleted feed. Adult rabbits (most pets) and gestating rabbits should be limit fed pellets as directed on the feed label to prevent over-eating and obesity. However, these are guidelines and every rabbit has unique needs and may require a different feeding routine.
Don't forget to provide clean, fresh water for your rabbits at all times. For treats, fresh leafy greens like kale, spinach and lettuce (but avoid iceberg variety) are ideal. Other veggies and fruits can also be given as healthy treats—but be sure to give these in moderation to avoid digestive issues from the high sugar content.
General rabbit care and handling tips
Your cleaning routine will depend on your rabbit's setup. It's easy to dump out the catch pan on a wire floor cage, while areas with solid flooring will need more attention. If your rabbit is a regular litter box user, plan to clean out the litter box every few days and the rest of the area on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. If your rabbit does not use a litter box, then the entire area will need to be cleaned more frequently. When cleaning, plan to move your rabbit to another safe area to avoid contact with cleaning products and to reduce stress. This is the perfect opportunity to let them exercise while refreshing their living quarters.
The best and safest way to pick up your rabbit is by supporting their front-end with one hand and their backend with the other. Failure to do so can result in spinal injuries to the rabbit, especially if they start thrashing to escape. Never pick up a rabbit by their ears; this can cause very serious injury. Always be sure to educate children on proper animal handling techniques and supervise them to prevent potential injury to both humans and your rabbits. Accidents like dropping a rabbit can cause serious and irreparable injury.
Other care tips include brushing your rabbit regularly with a soft brush to remove excess fur and keep their coat in good condition. Brush from the back of the head down to the tail. Depending on their activity level and habits, rabbits may also need regular nail trimming and dental care. It's also a good idea to spay or neuter your rabbits, not only to prevent unintended breeding, but for long term reproductive health and life expectancy and to reduce unwanted behaviors (like urine spraying and aggression). Always consult your veterinarian for any health and care related questions.
