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bunnies
BUNNY INFOevil bunnies
INFOnon-bunny stuff
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| BUNNY INFO |
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Listen up bunny fans this is top class info the bunny commands you read it all Rabbits are not rodents. Rabbits and hares are Lagomorphs. Rabbits have 6 incisor teeth where rodents like Guinea Pigs and Rats have only 4. In rabbits the top jaw has two pairs of incisors - a small subsidiary pair behind a larger front pair - and the rabbit can chew side to side like a cow chewing the cud where the rodent cannot. Again in contrast to rodents they have long erect ears, kangaroo like hind legs, and a scut of a tail. The Belgian Hare is a rabbit. Rabbits are indigenous only to the Iberian Peninsula but now enjoy a world-wide distribution due to man. Bred originally for meat and fur (coney) the wild rabbit in some areas is so numerous that it is regarded as a pest. There are more than 30 The male rabbit is called a buck. The female is called a doe and has 6 teats. The doe is larger. The young are called kittens, and as with baby cats, their eyes open at about 10 days of age, their ears at about 12 days. The smallest breed is the Netherland Dwarf Rabbit which weighs just about 1 Kg. when fully grown, and one of the largest is the Flemish Giant Rabbit which weighs in at about 8 Kgs. - twice the size of the average cat. The standard design of a rabbit hutch dates from pre-Victorian times when rabbits were bred to supplement the diet and the hutch was an extension of the pantry. The rabbit is by nature a night browsing herbivore, lying up in its burrow by day. They are naturally communal animals, and although very adaptable, it is difficult to see how a rabbit can be happy in a hutch 24 hours a day. The Victorian dinner rabbit was after all so kept for a relatively short period of time, but modern pet rabbits often face many years of solitary confinement in their small cell. A properly kept hutch may provide shelter from the elements and predators such as urban foxes, but on it's own must not be regarded as adequate living quarters for a pet that deserves much better. Entire male rabbits should not be kept together as they are likely to fight. Entire does and bucks should be housed separately for obvious reasons. Does reared together from weaning can be kept together. Ideally rabbits should be housed in small groups so that they can engage in normal social activity. They should have an exercise area the size of a garden, a living room, or at any rate a great deal bigger than a hutch, in which to spend the majority of their time, with perhaps an old piece of drain pipe and a rock or two to mimic their natural habitat. There is no good reason why male and female rabbits cannot be neutered and spayed to prevent breeding, fighting, and aggression. Neutering costs the same as for a cat, and is essentially the same in all other respects. Rabbits can be and frequently are house trained. Why stick the poor rabbit outside in a box with perhaps a guinea pig for company, when it is possible to provide a balanced social life with others of it's own species and some room in which to move around as they might in nature? Gestation (pregnancy) 30 - 33 days Litter Size 4 - 12. Average 7. Weaning Age 7-8 weeks. From 50 days. Average Life Span 8 - 12 years. Heart Rate is around 220/min. Normal Temperature 37-39.5oC 101-103 oF. Average Daily Water Intake 100ml./Kg.bodyweight Sexual Maturity 16 - 24 weeks Rabbits suffer heat stroke and often death when the ambient temperature reaches 28oC. There was only one day this year (June 8th.1993) when that was the case, but there were 11 such days in 1990, and an average recent year would have about 6. On these days in the absence of shelter rabbits die. The temperature will reach 28oC artificially under glass (greenhouses, cold frames, patio doors) and rabbits trapped there or in an unventilated hutch are at risk. The greatest danger to rabbit kittens is the buck. They don't mix. The greatest danger to adult rabbits is the slack owner. Rabbits left in a hutch not checked daily and thoroughly cleaned at least twice weekly are unable to avoid contaminating their nether regions with faeces. This attracts flies in summer which lay their eggs on the soiled fur. The eggs hatch into larvae (maggots) which feed on the flesh below. The rabbit is not equipped like the cat and dog to rid itself of the danger and unable to cope with this unnatural situation frequently perishes even with treatment, so late in the day does the owner spot what has happened. Rabbits front teeth (incisors) grow continuously, like toenails. They are used for gnawing, and are meant to wear down against the opposite tooth. If the opposite tooth is broken, missing, or in the wrong place it's opposite number will overgrow - sometimes curling back into the mouth with unpleasant results, and sometimes merely preventing the rabbit from eating properly. In either case the teeth need treatment. See a Vet. Rabbits are vegetarians, and have a great ability to digest fibre that the rest of us cannot. To do this they digest the food twice, eating their own droppings - a vice in other animals but normal in the rabbit. Many people with their brains in neutral think it "cute" to have a rabbit that eats unusual foods such as potato crisps, chocolate, and so on. A good rule of thumb is that if it doesn't grow naturally on a Spanish/Portuguese hillside then in all probability it is not suitable. Food for rabbits is best bought as a complete balanced diet food in sealed packets. If bought as a scoop from a bin there is no way of knowing what if any contamination it contains. Some rabbits are sold with a ring around the ankle. If so take it to the Vet to have it removed before rather than when it becomes too tight. A truly horrible and fatal disease of rabbits is Myxomatosis. It is spread from rabbit to rabbit by flea bites. There is now a good vaccine available once again, and all rabbits having access to public open spaces, City Farms, shows, trips to the country, or breeders premises should have an annual "shot". The cost is around £12.50 per shot. Don't pick rabbits up by the ears. If God had meant the ears to be a handle He'd have joined them together at the tips. Rabbits nails need to be clipped when they don't get enough exercise, or when they are very old and slow down. Sometimes they may need to be clipped if they live on carpet. In short then, if you have a rabbit as a pet - how much fun is it for the rabbit? |
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