When Easter shopping this year, please don’t buy live rabbits, chicks or ducks as gifts for the children in your lives. Each year thousands of baby animals are purchased. Those that manage to survive beyond a few days, weeks or months are often abandoned in the woods or given up to shelters.
Many people think that rabbits are low maintenance pets with short life spans that make great pets for children. Nothing can be further from reality. Rabbits have a life expectancy of 8 to 10 years. They are high maintenance pets which require as much care as dog or cat – if not more. This responsibility should ultimately rest with an adult not a child. Rabbits are fragile creatures who do not enjoy being picked up or cuddled; they are easily frightened by loud noises or sudden movements.
For the family that is willing to make a long term commitment of 10 years with active parental supervision and participation in the ongoing care of the rabbit, consider adopting an adult rabbit from a shelter or a rabbit rescue. Otherwise, go with a chocolate bunny!
Here are some pointers from the House Rabbit Society for those who are serious about making a rabbit a part of the family:
Housing: Bunnies need a roomy indoor cage that is approximately four times the size of the adult rabbit. The cage should not have a wire bottom, as the wire can cause sores on the rabbit's feet. There should be room for a litterbox, toys, food and water bowls.
Playtime: Rabbits need plenty of exercise and should be allowed at least 30 hours out-of-cage running time in a rabbit-proofed area of the home per week.
Outdoors: Rabbits should never be left outdoors unsupervised. They can , literally, be frightened to death when approached by predators such as dogs, cats, raccoons and owls. They can also dig under fences to escape.
Litter Box: Rabbits, once spayed or neutered, will readily use litterboxes that are place in one corner of the rabbit's cage; the rabbit's running space should contain at least one additional box. Use dust-free litter--not the clumping kind, and no softwood shavings.
Diet: Bunnies need fresh water, unlimited fresh, grass hay, 1-2 cups of fresh vegetables, and a small serving (1/4 c per 5 lb. rabbit) of plain rabbit pellets each day.
Health: Like dogs and cats, rabbits should be spayed or neutered. The risk of uterine cancer in unspayed female rabbits is alarmingly high., and unneutered males are likely to spray. ……By the way, the Potter League spays or neuters all our rabbits prior to adoption.
Grooming: Rabbits shed their coat 3-4 times per year; use a flea comb and brush away excess fur.
A person who chooses a baby rabbit as a pet must:
- Have lots of time, and a household that can withstand some chewing, and a stable residence.
- Expect an unneutered/unspayed baby will spray urine on the walls. Know that neutering/spaying (at four to six months) will stop the problem.
- Expect accidents when baby forgets the location of the litterbox.
- Allow the energetic young rabbit at least 30 hours a week of free time outside her cage.
- Know the cute baby will soon be an adult rabbit and may have a different personality.