Frequently Asked Questions
General facts:
Average Life span: The average lifespan of a rabbit is generally 8-10 years old but this lifespan can vary depending on the lifestyle and health of the rabbit. A rabbit's lifespan may be shortened if they have chronic illness, poor diet, stressful life.
Are rabbits Rodents? No, rabbit are not actually a member of the rodent family. They belong in the order of Legomorphs (Meaning leaping mammals) along with hares and pikas. Further more, hares and Rabbits belong in the same family known as the Leporidae family.
What is the difference between Rabbits and Hares? Well, other than being a slightly different species, there are some physical characteristics that are interesting. One of the main characteristics that rabbits and differ in is the development of their young. Baby rabbits are born furless and blind. It takes them about a week give or take to grow a short coat in and longer for a full coat. In addition, their eyes don't often open till they are around 10 - 14 days old making them helpless until this point. Baby Hares are born fully furred with their eyes open. These babies are ready to go on the move after their born. As far as appearance goes, Hares tend to a little differently built but are similar in appearance to rabbits.
How many babies can a single rabbit produce in a year? There's no question why we use the term "breeds like a rabbit" to describe something that has a lot of babies. One buck has the capability of fathering hundreds of babies in a relatively short amount of time if given the opportunity. However, it's not as simple as this. There are a lot of things that can slow production down such poor weather (fall and winter usually), condition of both the buck and the does he's bred to, the genetics of those rabbits, how many does that buck is bred to, the survival rate of the babies (how many survive.)... In the wild, if rabbit populations have been known to explode when conditions are ideal. For example, rabbits became a very large issue in Australia in the 1800s when this invasive species was released into the wild. The conditions were ideal for their rapid increase in numbers and soon the population became out of control. This quickly became a widespread issue for the environment, crops...
How long have domestic rabbits been bred and where did they come from?
Domestic rabbits came from Europe over to the US originally. This is where they were bred and marketed for more than 1,000 years. Originally, rabbits were probably marketed for meat, wool, and pelts. Now, rabbits are raised for some of the same reasons in addition to companionship (pets), show (competition)...
Were all domestic breeds developed in Europe? No, not all breeds. In fact, there are several breeds that call the US their birth place including Mini Rex, Satins, Californians, the American... However, originally, there were likely several select breeds that came over from Europe and were developed into the many breeds we know today. I'm sure there are countries around he world that have developed their own unique breeds.
Can rabbits cause disease in humans? Previously, it was thought that rabbits didn't carry any communicable diseases to humans however, that is not exactly accurate. There are a few diseases that rabbits can pass to humans but these are rare occurrences mostly encountered when humans come in contact with wild rabbits. A couple disease conditions include Rabbit Fever (A rare disease also known as Undulant Fever typically obtained from handling wild rabbit), Salmonella..., various parasites (worms, fleas...) and fungal infections (Ring worm, yeast infections....). In addition, scratches or bites may cause opportunity for infection even if it's not from the rabbit itself. Normally, with proper care of your rabbits and proper preparation of meat, incidence of disease from domestic rabbits is very rare.
Rabbit manure is a good fertilizer: This is very true. It is actually one of the best untreated fertilizers your can find! It is high in nitrogen and easily composted in a relatively short period of time. You can even mix the manure strait into your garden. Rabbit manure creates rich dark dirt great for plants when allowed to decompose and worms tend to love this dirt which are also great for gardens.
How many babies does the average rabbit produce in a litter? This all depends on the size of the parents, genetics, and health condition of the doe, age of the doe.... Small rabbits generally have fewer babies. Larger rabbits generally tend to have larger litters. Sometimes medium sized rabbits can be unpredictable. Often, I find that first litters tend to be small and older does nearing the end of their production days tend to also produce small litters. Of course, does that are not healthy for any reason may not produce large litters or may not produce at all until their condition is corrected.
How many breeds are there in the US? There are are currently 48 breeds recognized by the American Rabbit Breeder's Association and many others that are being developed.
What are the proper titles for female, male, and baby rabbits? A male is called a buck, a female is called a doe and a newborn baby rabbit is called a kit. I usually use this title until after they are weaned. Young rabbits that are not yet adults are called Juniors and rabbits that are adults are called Seniors (no this does not necessarily mean they are old.).
When is a rabbit considered a adult? For most small breeds, a rabbit is considered fully mature at 6 months old. For many larger breeds, a rabbit is not considered fully mature until they are 8 months old. Any rabbit that is considered an adult is called a Senior. Any rabbit that is under 6 months old but old enough to be weaned is called a Junior.
What does it mean when a rabbit is considered an intermediate? For some breeds (Usually larger breeds or meat breeds) go through an extended time of development before they are considered fully mature and ready for breeding. This typically happens between the age of 6 months and 8 months. This stage is called the intermediate stage. It may also be referred to as the 6/8 stage. So, when a breeder says their rabbit is an intermediate or 6/8 doe, they mean the rabbit is between 6 and 8 months old. Once the rabbit has reached 8 months old, it can now be considered a Senior. As I mentioned in the previous question, some breeds don't need to go through an intermediate stage before they are considered fully mature. For these breeds, they are considered a Senior at 6 months old. Whether they are intermediates at 6 months or Seniors at 6 months depends on the breed. Confusing right?
What are the uses for rabbits? Rabbits have been used for a variety of needs throughout history. Originally, rabbits were probably mainly raised for meat production and pelts. Rabbit furs were probably a great use for gloves, hats... Today, a wide variety of breeds have been developed for different purposes. "Commercial" breeds are usually known for being meat producers. These rabbits have been bred over the years to not only yield ideal quantities of meat but to also yield ideal quality meat. These are typically medium to large breeds that are known for producing large fast growing litters. Good meat rabbits can reach 5Lbs in just 8 weeks or an equivalent for the smaller commercial breeds. This is ideal butcher weight and age. Other breeds are raised for fur or pelts. For example, Angora breeds are raised for wool production. These animals can produce some of the softest wool in the animal world spun into some of the finest quality yarn. In the past, many rabbits were raised for prime quality pelts used to make things like hand warmers, gloves, hats, decorative furs... However, today, there isn't as much of a demand and therefore, many breeders do not process pelts. Another purpose that rabbits are raised for is for show. Yes, like dogs or cats. Different breeding clubs host rabbit shows during certain parts of the year and specially trained judges are hired to judge these animals. Rabbits are typically judged according to standardized traits for that breed. They are judged on body conformation (called body type), fur quality, color quality and overall condition of the animal. Rabbits that not only demonstrate traits as close to the standard as possible for that breed but also show superior condition and health are selected to win. For many breeders, this area of raising rabbits has not only become a huge industry but also quite an addiction. Because of this large demand (and pet demand), many fancy breeds have been developed for unique interesting traits mainly for show purposes. The last major purpose that has become more popular in the last 100 years or so are pets. Many people enjoy having rabbits as family pets and back yard buddies.
What are the benefits to eating rabbit? Rabbits are actually a healthy alternative to other white meats like turkey and chicken. Rabbit meat is very similar in both taste and texture to chicken but leaner. This is a great meat for someone on a diet or someone who just wants to eat healthier. Because most rabbits are raised on a low scale basis, a lot of rabbit meat is often considered a limited item that is not always easy to get your hands on. Large scale rabbit meat opporations are few and far between making many meat programs smaller private operations. Many grocery stores don't carry rabbit meat making it even harder to find. Meat rabbits are generally easy to raise and raising them can be done in your back yard with just a few cages. Rabbit can be prepared just like chicken or in recipes like stew. It can even be turned into things like sausage so rabbit ends up being a good multipurpose meat that has good health benefits to your diet.
How much maintenance does a rabbit require? This often depends on the breed, health of that rabbit, and environment. In general, rabbits need the daily care of feeding, fresh water and possible cleaning up after their messes. They may need grooming on occasion, and other minor upkeep like clipping nails. Wooled breeds may need additional grooming to make sure their coat stays clean and mat free. They may also require shearing once in a while or removal of lose molting hair. Short coated breeds often don't require as much upkeep but also need grooming on occasion. Some rabbits may have inherited or chronic health issues that may require more maintenance. Environment can play a role in maintenance. If you live in an area that is very cold or very hot, you will need to come up with a way to deal with those challenges which might require some effort. Rabbits that live indoors may need additional upkeep. Especially if they are litter trained. In addition, if you plan on breeding rabbits, the level of maintenance will go up. For most breeders, there are many solutions that have been developed to lower the level of maintenance. For example, wire floors and dropping pans make cleaning easier and also keep the rabbit cleaner. Automatic water systems provide fresh water 24/7 which not only promotes healthy rabbits but also cuts down on the amount of daily work for the breeder.
What is a group of rabbits? This is called a herd. For example, if a breeder owns 20 rabbits, they have a herd of 20 rabbits. The term warren can also be used to describe a group of rabbits. However, I think this is more likely used to describe a group of WILD rabbits living in a community setting.
Can rabbits live together? Rabbits are normally fairly solitary animals meaning that most rabbits don't live together in a group situation. Most breeders don't keep multiple rabbits together for safety and health reasons. While a group of rabbits is called a herd, most rabbits don't live in an actual group like cows or horses. This term merely refers to the total number of rabbits owned by a single breeder. In most normal cases, rabbits live in their own hutches/cages. Does and bucks live separately and breeding does often also live separately from eachother. It's especially good to be very careful with bucks. Bucks are very territorial and can fight to the death so most breeders never house bucks together. Does with litters may attack another rabbit to defend her nest. There are a few exceptions to keeping rabbits apart. Some rabbits can live together if they are raised together, are fixed, or if they are young. Some rabbits may actually bond as lifelong friends while others may fight so it's very important to be careful when deciding to introduce 2 rabbits in a living situation. Most Bucks and does will breed rather than live together and does may get aggressive toward the buck if she is bred. In any situation, if have rabbits living together and they are showing aggression or dominating behavior to eachother, they should be removed and placed in separate cages.
What is a Rabbitry? This is basically the name of a rabbit farm or any breeding rabbit project and the place where you keep your rabbits just like a ranch is where cattle are raised.
What do I have to do to name my rabbitry? It's very simple. If you own rabbits and you breed them, this is enough to qualify your project as a rabbitry. You can name your rabbitry whatever you want and you can raise as many or as few rabbits as you want. You can even raise whatever breed you want. However, it does get slightly more complicated if you want to register your rabbitry with a club like ARBA. You have to pay and have unique name different from other registered rabbitries. So, if I have Wildriver Rabbitry registered with ARBA, no one else can also register a rabbitry named Wildriver Rabbitry. If you pick a unique name for you rabbitry, the chances for someone else also choosing that name is less likely. If you pick a common name like Hopper rabbitry, you might find 10 other breeders with Hopper rabbitry.
What is Body Type? This the shape or conformation of a rabbit's body. There are 5 basic body types known to all domestic US breeds. Commercial: A lot of meat breeds have been developed to have ideal body type for meat production so therefore, there was a large group of breeds that developed this body type viewed below. Compact: This body type is generally known in small breeds. Many small compact typed rabbits have traits very similar to commercial body type but the bodies are shorter and more compact. Other breeds demonstrate traits similar to a full arched (I'll cover this body type next) body but have very compact short bodies. Full Arch: These rabbits often appear very Hare like in body shape. They have long slim steam lined bodies with longer legs. Their backs are long curving in an arched shape hence the name full "arch". Semi Arch: This body type looks like something half way between a full arch body and a commercial body. The rabbit has a longer body with a lower, longer shoulder and the back rises in a hump over the hindquarters. Cylindrical: This is rarest of the body types. In fact, there is only 1 known breed with this type of body. The body is just as it's name suggests. They have a long flat bodies. These rabbits lay flat on the table with their bodies stretched out.
Average Life span: The average lifespan of a rabbit is generally 8-10 years old but this lifespan can vary depending on the lifestyle and health of the rabbit. A rabbit's lifespan may be shortened if they have chronic illness, poor diet, stressful life.
Are rabbits Rodents? No, rabbit are not actually a member of the rodent family. They belong in the order of Legomorphs (Meaning leaping mammals) along with hares and pikas. Further more, hares and Rabbits belong in the same family known as the Leporidae family.
What is the difference between Rabbits and Hares? Well, other than being a slightly different species, there are some physical characteristics that are interesting. One of the main characteristics that rabbits and differ in is the development of their young. Baby rabbits are born furless and blind. It takes them about a week give or take to grow a short coat in and longer for a full coat. In addition, their eyes don't often open till they are around 10 - 14 days old making them helpless until this point. Baby Hares are born fully furred with their eyes open. These babies are ready to go on the move after their born. As far as appearance goes, Hares tend to a little differently built but are similar in appearance to rabbits.
How many babies can a single rabbit produce in a year? There's no question why we use the term "breeds like a rabbit" to describe something that has a lot of babies. One buck has the capability of fathering hundreds of babies in a relatively short amount of time if given the opportunity. However, it's not as simple as this. There are a lot of things that can slow production down such poor weather (fall and winter usually), condition of both the buck and the does he's bred to, the genetics of those rabbits, how many does that buck is bred to, the survival rate of the babies (how many survive.)... In the wild, if rabbit populations have been known to explode when conditions are ideal. For example, rabbits became a very large issue in Australia in the 1800s when this invasive species was released into the wild. The conditions were ideal for their rapid increase in numbers and soon the population became out of control. This quickly became a widespread issue for the environment, crops...
How long have domestic rabbits been bred and where did they come from?
Domestic rabbits came from Europe over to the US originally. This is where they were bred and marketed for more than 1,000 years. Originally, rabbits were probably marketed for meat, wool, and pelts. Now, rabbits are raised for some of the same reasons in addition to companionship (pets), show (competition)...
Were all domestic breeds developed in Europe? No, not all breeds. In fact, there are several breeds that call the US their birth place including Mini Rex, Satins, Californians, the American... However, originally, there were likely several select breeds that came over from Europe and were developed into the many breeds we know today. I'm sure there are countries around he world that have developed their own unique breeds.
Can rabbits cause disease in humans? Previously, it was thought that rabbits didn't carry any communicable diseases to humans however, that is not exactly accurate. There are a few diseases that rabbits can pass to humans but these are rare occurrences mostly encountered when humans come in contact with wild rabbits. A couple disease conditions include Rabbit Fever (A rare disease also known as Undulant Fever typically obtained from handling wild rabbit), Salmonella..., various parasites (worms, fleas...) and fungal infections (Ring worm, yeast infections....). In addition, scratches or bites may cause opportunity for infection even if it's not from the rabbit itself. Normally, with proper care of your rabbits and proper preparation of meat, incidence of disease from domestic rabbits is very rare.
Rabbit manure is a good fertilizer: This is very true. It is actually one of the best untreated fertilizers your can find! It is high in nitrogen and easily composted in a relatively short period of time. You can even mix the manure strait into your garden. Rabbit manure creates rich dark dirt great for plants when allowed to decompose and worms tend to love this dirt which are also great for gardens.
How many babies does the average rabbit produce in a litter? This all depends on the size of the parents, genetics, and health condition of the doe, age of the doe.... Small rabbits generally have fewer babies. Larger rabbits generally tend to have larger litters. Sometimes medium sized rabbits can be unpredictable. Often, I find that first litters tend to be small and older does nearing the end of their production days tend to also produce small litters. Of course, does that are not healthy for any reason may not produce large litters or may not produce at all until their condition is corrected.
How many breeds are there in the US? There are are currently 48 breeds recognized by the American Rabbit Breeder's Association and many others that are being developed.
What are the proper titles for female, male, and baby rabbits? A male is called a buck, a female is called a doe and a newborn baby rabbit is called a kit. I usually use this title until after they are weaned. Young rabbits that are not yet adults are called Juniors and rabbits that are adults are called Seniors (no this does not necessarily mean they are old.).
When is a rabbit considered a adult? For most small breeds, a rabbit is considered fully mature at 6 months old. For many larger breeds, a rabbit is not considered fully mature until they are 8 months old. Any rabbit that is considered an adult is called a Senior. Any rabbit that is under 6 months old but old enough to be weaned is called a Junior.
What does it mean when a rabbit is considered an intermediate? For some breeds (Usually larger breeds or meat breeds) go through an extended time of development before they are considered fully mature and ready for breeding. This typically happens between the age of 6 months and 8 months. This stage is called the intermediate stage. It may also be referred to as the 6/8 stage. So, when a breeder says their rabbit is an intermediate or 6/8 doe, they mean the rabbit is between 6 and 8 months old. Once the rabbit has reached 8 months old, it can now be considered a Senior. As I mentioned in the previous question, some breeds don't need to go through an intermediate stage before they are considered fully mature. For these breeds, they are considered a Senior at 6 months old. Whether they are intermediates at 6 months or Seniors at 6 months depends on the breed. Confusing right?
What are the uses for rabbits? Rabbits have been used for a variety of needs throughout history. Originally, rabbits were probably mainly raised for meat production and pelts. Rabbit furs were probably a great use for gloves, hats... Today, a wide variety of breeds have been developed for different purposes. "Commercial" breeds are usually known for being meat producers. These rabbits have been bred over the years to not only yield ideal quantities of meat but to also yield ideal quality meat. These are typically medium to large breeds that are known for producing large fast growing litters. Good meat rabbits can reach 5Lbs in just 8 weeks or an equivalent for the smaller commercial breeds. This is ideal butcher weight and age. Other breeds are raised for fur or pelts. For example, Angora breeds are raised for wool production. These animals can produce some of the softest wool in the animal world spun into some of the finest quality yarn. In the past, many rabbits were raised for prime quality pelts used to make things like hand warmers, gloves, hats, decorative furs... However, today, there isn't as much of a demand and therefore, many breeders do not process pelts. Another purpose that rabbits are raised for is for show. Yes, like dogs or cats. Different breeding clubs host rabbit shows during certain parts of the year and specially trained judges are hired to judge these animals. Rabbits are typically judged according to standardized traits for that breed. They are judged on body conformation (called body type), fur quality, color quality and overall condition of the animal. Rabbits that not only demonstrate traits as close to the standard as possible for that breed but also show superior condition and health are selected to win. For many breeders, this area of raising rabbits has not only become a huge industry but also quite an addiction. Because of this large demand (and pet demand), many fancy breeds have been developed for unique interesting traits mainly for show purposes. The last major purpose that has become more popular in the last 100 years or so are pets. Many people enjoy having rabbits as family pets and back yard buddies.
What are the benefits to eating rabbit? Rabbits are actually a healthy alternative to other white meats like turkey and chicken. Rabbit meat is very similar in both taste and texture to chicken but leaner. This is a great meat for someone on a diet or someone who just wants to eat healthier. Because most rabbits are raised on a low scale basis, a lot of rabbit meat is often considered a limited item that is not always easy to get your hands on. Large scale rabbit meat opporations are few and far between making many meat programs smaller private operations. Many grocery stores don't carry rabbit meat making it even harder to find. Meat rabbits are generally easy to raise and raising them can be done in your back yard with just a few cages. Rabbit can be prepared just like chicken or in recipes like stew. It can even be turned into things like sausage so rabbit ends up being a good multipurpose meat that has good health benefits to your diet.
How much maintenance does a rabbit require? This often depends on the breed, health of that rabbit, and environment. In general, rabbits need the daily care of feeding, fresh water and possible cleaning up after their messes. They may need grooming on occasion, and other minor upkeep like clipping nails. Wooled breeds may need additional grooming to make sure their coat stays clean and mat free. They may also require shearing once in a while or removal of lose molting hair. Short coated breeds often don't require as much upkeep but also need grooming on occasion. Some rabbits may have inherited or chronic health issues that may require more maintenance. Environment can play a role in maintenance. If you live in an area that is very cold or very hot, you will need to come up with a way to deal with those challenges which might require some effort. Rabbits that live indoors may need additional upkeep. Especially if they are litter trained. In addition, if you plan on breeding rabbits, the level of maintenance will go up. For most breeders, there are many solutions that have been developed to lower the level of maintenance. For example, wire floors and dropping pans make cleaning easier and also keep the rabbit cleaner. Automatic water systems provide fresh water 24/7 which not only promotes healthy rabbits but also cuts down on the amount of daily work for the breeder.
What is a group of rabbits? This is called a herd. For example, if a breeder owns 20 rabbits, they have a herd of 20 rabbits. The term warren can also be used to describe a group of rabbits. However, I think this is more likely used to describe a group of WILD rabbits living in a community setting.
Can rabbits live together? Rabbits are normally fairly solitary animals meaning that most rabbits don't live together in a group situation. Most breeders don't keep multiple rabbits together for safety and health reasons. While a group of rabbits is called a herd, most rabbits don't live in an actual group like cows or horses. This term merely refers to the total number of rabbits owned by a single breeder. In most normal cases, rabbits live in their own hutches/cages. Does and bucks live separately and breeding does often also live separately from eachother. It's especially good to be very careful with bucks. Bucks are very territorial and can fight to the death so most breeders never house bucks together. Does with litters may attack another rabbit to defend her nest. There are a few exceptions to keeping rabbits apart. Some rabbits can live together if they are raised together, are fixed, or if they are young. Some rabbits may actually bond as lifelong friends while others may fight so it's very important to be careful when deciding to introduce 2 rabbits in a living situation. Most Bucks and does will breed rather than live together and does may get aggressive toward the buck if she is bred. In any situation, if have rabbits living together and they are showing aggression or dominating behavior to eachother, they should be removed and placed in separate cages.
What is a Rabbitry? This is basically the name of a rabbit farm or any breeding rabbit project and the place where you keep your rabbits just like a ranch is where cattle are raised.
What do I have to do to name my rabbitry? It's very simple. If you own rabbits and you breed them, this is enough to qualify your project as a rabbitry. You can name your rabbitry whatever you want and you can raise as many or as few rabbits as you want. You can even raise whatever breed you want. However, it does get slightly more complicated if you want to register your rabbitry with a club like ARBA. You have to pay and have unique name different from other registered rabbitries. So, if I have Wildriver Rabbitry registered with ARBA, no one else can also register a rabbitry named Wildriver Rabbitry. If you pick a unique name for you rabbitry, the chances for someone else also choosing that name is less likely. If you pick a common name like Hopper rabbitry, you might find 10 other breeders with Hopper rabbitry.
What is Body Type? This the shape or conformation of a rabbit's body. There are 5 basic body types known to all domestic US breeds. Commercial: A lot of meat breeds have been developed to have ideal body type for meat production so therefore, there was a large group of breeds that developed this body type viewed below. Compact: This body type is generally known in small breeds. Many small compact typed rabbits have traits very similar to commercial body type but the bodies are shorter and more compact. Other breeds demonstrate traits similar to a full arched (I'll cover this body type next) body but have very compact short bodies. Full Arch: These rabbits often appear very Hare like in body shape. They have long slim steam lined bodies with longer legs. Their backs are long curving in an arched shape hence the name full "arch". Semi Arch: This body type looks like something half way between a full arch body and a commercial body. The rabbit has a longer body with a lower, longer shoulder and the back rises in a hump over the hindquarters. Cylindrical: This is rarest of the body types. In fact, there is only 1 known breed with this type of body. The body is just as it's name suggests. They have a long flat bodies. These rabbits lay flat on the table with their bodies stretched out.
How many kinds of rabbit fur is there? There are 5 known types of rabbit fur. Normal: Long smooth guard hairs over a softer finer undercoat. These coats are normally fly back meaning that they snap back into place if you brush your hand backwards against the way coat lays. There are many breeds with this type of fur but the lengths, texture and thickness can vary from breed to breed. Satin: The basic appearance is that of a normal coat except that Satin fur has a unique trait making the coat extra shiny and intense in color. Each hair is hollow giving the coat a silky glossy look with a smooth soft feel much like Satin. This coat is also a fly back coat. It is found on 2 breeds including Satins and Mini Satins. Rex: This coat is very unique. The guard hairs are short, fine, and the same length as the undercoat. This coat stands up instead of laying down like the normal and satins coats. The texture of this coat resembles a soft, dense, velvet like feel. Since these coats stand up, they are not considered fly back coats. There are 3 main breeds with rex fur including Rex, Mini Rex, and Velveteen Lops. Wool: Wool is also very unique. This fur has long fine guard hairs with long dense soft undercoat creating a very long fluffy soft coat. This wool makes some of the loveliest, softest yarn on the planet making this wool highly desirable to many spinners. Wooled breeds include 4 breeds of Angoras, American Fuzzy Lops, and Jersey Woolies. Maned: This type of fur is still fairly new here in the US. Rabbits with a maned coat have long wool like fur around their head, chest, and sides while the fur on the back is normal short fur. This gives them the look of a male lion's mane. There is currently only one known breed with this type of coat called the Lionhead.
Nutrition
Nutrition: Probably one of the most important parts of raising rabbits. Rabbits are vegetarians. More than that, they have sensitive digestive systems so they can't just eat anything as long as it is not meat. Rabbits need a steady diet that keeps their digestive systems balanced while providing the best nutrition for their needs as possible. Many animal feed companies have put a lot of thought and effort into formulating a pellet feed that not only provides the basic nutritional needs for rabbits but they also have designed different formulas for different nutritional needs including show formulas, breeding formulas... Breeding formulas usually have higher protein content for nursing does and growth of litters. Show formulas may have a range of additives for maintaining weight and condition of the animal. Most feeds are alfalfa based. The health and over all condition of your animal is mainly dependent on what you feed your rabbits and how much you feed them.
How much should I feed everyday? This really depends on the breed and overall size of your rabbit. Some breeds gain weight more easily while others require a much higher energy diet in order to maintain weight. It's important to distinguish your rabbit's needs. In general, smaller breeds naturally don't need to eat a lot and larger breeds require more food per day. Small breeds are also more prone to obesity. Because of this, most breeders feed a measured amount per day to avoid issues with obesity in their animals. This is also necessary for some larger breeds when attempting to maintain their weight for show or breeding. There are a few breeds out there that may require unlimited access to food in order to maintain body weight. Many highly energetic breeds or long thin bodied breeds tend to require more nutrition in order to maintain body weight. Whatever the need, it's important not to overfeed your rabbit. Over feeding can lead to a number of health, breeding, and body condition problems. Growing juniors often require more food than a grown adult because of their growth rate and need in extra energy. Once a rabbit becomes fully grown, it is important to really monitor their weight and body condition. You want to feed your rabbit for weight and body maintenance now, which may require less food. Whenever does are nursing a litter, their food intake should be increased in order not only feed their demanding litter but also in order to maintain their own weight. It may be a good idea to keep feeding your doe increased amounts of feed for a couple weeks after the babies are weaned if she appears to have lost some weight while raising her litter.
Additional nutrition: For most rabbits, it's a good idea to feed hay as a supplement everyday with their feed. However, be careful, certain types of hay can be fattening such as alfalfa, oat hay.... I recommend feeding grass hay (also known as orchard grass hay) or timothy hay. In general, hay provides a good source of fiber to promote digestive health. This is an especially good idea during stressful times, when your rabbit is not eating well, or while your rabbit molts. Rabbits may not eat well if they are stressed or sick. Hay is a good incentive to get them to eat. Wool blockages can also develop while they are molting which can really mess up their digestion. Hay often helps move things through during this time helping prevent blockage. Hay is also a very good supplement for babies starting eat food and for newly weaned youngsters. Hay should not be given as a replacement for feed unless the rabbit is sick and will not eat it's regular feed. Hay does not provide all of the nutrients a rabbit needs.
Treats: There are many great treats you can offer your rabbit. Rabbits may enjoy a variety of vegetables, greens, fruit, seeds and grains. The main thing to remember is to always feed treats in moderation and the second thing to remember is to be careful what exactly you feed. While there are a variety of tasty tidbits out there, there are a few to avoid that can work havoc on your rabbit's digestive system. Remember, rabbits have sensitive digestive systems. A few fruits and veggies to avoid include iceberg lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes. These often upset the gut causing diarrhea. Rabbits like a variety of naturally growing plants but be careful. Some plants are poisonous so if you don't know if it's edible, don't feed it to your rabbits. If you notice that the treats you feed your rabbits cause digestive issues or any other adverse reactions, stop feed it to them. Seeds and grains are usually ok. A few to avoid include corn (like the kind found in bird feed or squirrel feed) and striped sunflower seeds. Corn can cause digestive issues depending on the rabbit or the corn and striped sunflower shell pieces can be sharp which can become suck in your rabbit's throat or gut.
Herbal remedies: Yes, herbs can be fed to your rabbits. I don't have a lot of knowledge about their benefits and if there are any that could be dangerous to your rabbit but there are many that can be fed to your rabbit supposedly with a variety of health benefits. A few helpful herbs you can feed your rabbits include Raspberry leaves or raspberry leaf tea (This is supposed to induce or ease giving birth), mint leaves (this is supposed to help dry up a doe's milk after her litter is weaned and may help settle a rabbit's stomach.), Fresh Lavender (Supposed to ease giving birth and maybe even calm the rabbit), Fresh Parsley...., dandelion (as long as it's true dandelion. There are some look alikes that are poisonous so be careful. In general, if it's hairy/fuzzy leafed, it's probably not a true dandelion so don't feed it.), blackberry leaves, carrot tops (Just make sure they are not queen ann's lace. These may look similar to wild carrot tops but they aren't! If they tall with a big white flower on top, they are probably not wild carrots.).
Things to avoid!: Rabbits are not goats so to speak so they cannot digest everything under the sun. They cannot digest most inorganic substances like plastics, fibers (synthetic or natural since they can't even digest their own fur), linoleum, twine, synthetic rope, yarn (remember, no fibers), carpet (fibers again) and even certain types of finishes on wood may not be good for them. THESE THINGS CAN KILL A RABBIT! Remember, rabbits are mouthy critters. They will eat or try anything and everything including your carpets, stuffed animals, and maybe even plastic toys that may be laying around. Whatever you give your rabbit something to snuggle with or play with, either make sure it is edible or make sure it cannot be chewed up and destroyed. Metals are usually fine (as long as they aren't sharp, rusty, powdery or flaky), and untreated wood (watch out for for this stuff! It is toxic.) is usually fine. Watch out for plastic twine that often come around bales of hay or potentially dangerous things that might be hidden on potential rabbit toys. In other words make sure that anything you give your rabbit can either be eaten and digested or cannot be destroyed. A few edible and affordable things your rabbits can have are wood, cardboard (as long as it isn't printed on or as long as it doesn't have that slick colored surface), anything made with hay or straw, and plain paper (no ink). Cardboard, boards, ceramics, or hard material that cannot be eaten are great for solid resting mats. Rabbits love to tear things up so old toilet paper roles or paper towel roles stuffed with hay or treats is a fun activity for a bored bunny.
How much should I feed everyday? This really depends on the breed and overall size of your rabbit. Some breeds gain weight more easily while others require a much higher energy diet in order to maintain weight. It's important to distinguish your rabbit's needs. In general, smaller breeds naturally don't need to eat a lot and larger breeds require more food per day. Small breeds are also more prone to obesity. Because of this, most breeders feed a measured amount per day to avoid issues with obesity in their animals. This is also necessary for some larger breeds when attempting to maintain their weight for show or breeding. There are a few breeds out there that may require unlimited access to food in order to maintain body weight. Many highly energetic breeds or long thin bodied breeds tend to require more nutrition in order to maintain body weight. Whatever the need, it's important not to overfeed your rabbit. Over feeding can lead to a number of health, breeding, and body condition problems. Growing juniors often require more food than a grown adult because of their growth rate and need in extra energy. Once a rabbit becomes fully grown, it is important to really monitor their weight and body condition. You want to feed your rabbit for weight and body maintenance now, which may require less food. Whenever does are nursing a litter, their food intake should be increased in order not only feed their demanding litter but also in order to maintain their own weight. It may be a good idea to keep feeding your doe increased amounts of feed for a couple weeks after the babies are weaned if she appears to have lost some weight while raising her litter.
Additional nutrition: For most rabbits, it's a good idea to feed hay as a supplement everyday with their feed. However, be careful, certain types of hay can be fattening such as alfalfa, oat hay.... I recommend feeding grass hay (also known as orchard grass hay) or timothy hay. In general, hay provides a good source of fiber to promote digestive health. This is an especially good idea during stressful times, when your rabbit is not eating well, or while your rabbit molts. Rabbits may not eat well if they are stressed or sick. Hay is a good incentive to get them to eat. Wool blockages can also develop while they are molting which can really mess up their digestion. Hay often helps move things through during this time helping prevent blockage. Hay is also a very good supplement for babies starting eat food and for newly weaned youngsters. Hay should not be given as a replacement for feed unless the rabbit is sick and will not eat it's regular feed. Hay does not provide all of the nutrients a rabbit needs.
Treats: There are many great treats you can offer your rabbit. Rabbits may enjoy a variety of vegetables, greens, fruit, seeds and grains. The main thing to remember is to always feed treats in moderation and the second thing to remember is to be careful what exactly you feed. While there are a variety of tasty tidbits out there, there are a few to avoid that can work havoc on your rabbit's digestive system. Remember, rabbits have sensitive digestive systems. A few fruits and veggies to avoid include iceberg lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes. These often upset the gut causing diarrhea. Rabbits like a variety of naturally growing plants but be careful. Some plants are poisonous so if you don't know if it's edible, don't feed it to your rabbits. If you notice that the treats you feed your rabbits cause digestive issues or any other adverse reactions, stop feed it to them. Seeds and grains are usually ok. A few to avoid include corn (like the kind found in bird feed or squirrel feed) and striped sunflower seeds. Corn can cause digestive issues depending on the rabbit or the corn and striped sunflower shell pieces can be sharp which can become suck in your rabbit's throat or gut.
Herbal remedies: Yes, herbs can be fed to your rabbits. I don't have a lot of knowledge about their benefits and if there are any that could be dangerous to your rabbit but there are many that can be fed to your rabbit supposedly with a variety of health benefits. A few helpful herbs you can feed your rabbits include Raspberry leaves or raspberry leaf tea (This is supposed to induce or ease giving birth), mint leaves (this is supposed to help dry up a doe's milk after her litter is weaned and may help settle a rabbit's stomach.), Fresh Lavender (Supposed to ease giving birth and maybe even calm the rabbit), Fresh Parsley...., dandelion (as long as it's true dandelion. There are some look alikes that are poisonous so be careful. In general, if it's hairy/fuzzy leafed, it's probably not a true dandelion so don't feed it.), blackberry leaves, carrot tops (Just make sure they are not queen ann's lace. These may look similar to wild carrot tops but they aren't! If they tall with a big white flower on top, they are probably not wild carrots.).
Things to avoid!: Rabbits are not goats so to speak so they cannot digest everything under the sun. They cannot digest most inorganic substances like plastics, fibers (synthetic or natural since they can't even digest their own fur), linoleum, twine, synthetic rope, yarn (remember, no fibers), carpet (fibers again) and even certain types of finishes on wood may not be good for them. THESE THINGS CAN KILL A RABBIT! Remember, rabbits are mouthy critters. They will eat or try anything and everything including your carpets, stuffed animals, and maybe even plastic toys that may be laying around. Whatever you give your rabbit something to snuggle with or play with, either make sure it is edible or make sure it cannot be chewed up and destroyed. Metals are usually fine (as long as they aren't sharp, rusty, powdery or flaky), and untreated wood (watch out for for this stuff! It is toxic.) is usually fine. Watch out for plastic twine that often come around bales of hay or potentially dangerous things that might be hidden on potential rabbit toys. In other words make sure that anything you give your rabbit can either be eaten and digested or cannot be destroyed. A few edible and affordable things your rabbits can have are wood, cardboard (as long as it isn't printed on or as long as it doesn't have that slick colored surface), anything made with hay or straw, and plain paper (no ink). Cardboard, boards, ceramics, or hard material that cannot be eaten are great for solid resting mats. Rabbits love to tear things up so old toilet paper roles or paper towel roles stuffed with hay or treats is a fun activity for a bored bunny.
Grooming:
What is involved in the basic grooming? Basic grooming needs may vary depending on the owner, environment, individual rabbit. When a rabbit is molting, it is often a good idea to groom your rabbit to remove the loose fur. How exactly is this done. Well, it often depends on the fur. You can brush your rabbit but this may not help short coats. If you prefer brushing, make sure what you use will not hurt your rabbit. Slicker brushes have sharp ends, which can hurt your rabbit's skin so use these very sparingly and be extremely careful. Sometimes with the shorter coats, wiping down your rabbit with a damp hand is all that is necessary. The dampness of your hand will collect the loose dead hair pulling it out of the coat without fur flying everywhere. Remember not to overdo the wetness. You don't need to soak your bunny. :) Some owners like to do a little more than just brushing. Some like to actually wash the coat. This can be done but be very careful if you do decide to wash your rabbit. Rabbits can go into shock if the temperature or the water is too extreme. Rabbits don't tend to like getting wet and bathing can cause your rabbit a lot of stress. Just like bathing any pet, make sure that the soap you use is animal friendly. If at all possible, keep your rabbit clean without a bath. Sometimes dry soaps are better (unless your rabbit decided to role in a mud puddle or some such thing.). Nail clipping is a big part of raising rabbits. Their nails are continuously growing so they will eventually become long and sharp. If you're inexperienced, find others to help you or clipping could end in injury for you or the rabbit.
What about grooming and conditioning for show? This could probably be a huge article due to the fact that grooming and condition, while they're related, are 2 different things and everyone seems to have different ideas on what methods are best. The overall goal breeders want to achieve is a clean well groomed coat with a healthy well finished look and feel. The most ideal coat is known as a prime coat. This is when the coat is at it's peak in health and growth. The rabbit is no longer moulting and the coat has not begun to die. It is well groomed and well conditioned showing a nice resilience. One of the many challenges to a well groomed rabbit is keeping that coat clean. Spraying, poor living conditions and many others contribute to frustrations in keeping the coat clean. Pee stains can be a big challenge that breeders can deal with even if the rabbit's living conditions are kept pristine. Remember, rabbits are animals and animals are great at sabotaging a clean coat. Another potential issue to watch out for are fur mites. Fur mites can greatly effect a rabbit's coat condition. If your rabbit's coat moults all the time and skin seems flaky or even thing in areas (especially around the neck and belly) and always looks dull and rough, you should check for mites. Not only are mites nasty little critters that can cause fur loss (they can actually cause bar spots), they are itchy and rabbits will try to scratch at certain irritating areas. Some rabbits can become so itchy that they will actually wound themselves from scratching. Rabbits can easily be treated for mites which I will go into later. Another possible issue that can plague your rabbit's coat are those little nasty fleas. fleas usually come from other animals like cats, dogs... If you have an indoor rabbit sharing their space with other pets, watch their coat. If the rabbit is acting itchy and doing a lot of scratching, it might have fleas. In this case, you'll need to treat your rabbit for fleas. Ears are another thing to pay some attention to. Ears can get wax build up or residual ink residue after tattooing so just keep in mind that a simple cleaning may be needed once in a while. On a more serious not, rabbits can get ear mites. This is can become a serious health issue because it can actually damage a rabbit's inner ear or cause a rabbit to damage themselves. You won't actually be able to see mites crawling around but some classic signs include shaking the head and ears, digging at the ears, scratch marks in the ear (from the rabbit digging and damaging their ear.), dark waxy formations at the base of the ear (this is from the mights and it's very irritating to the rabbit.) and maybe even bleeding at the base of the ear (probably due to the rabbit digging at it.). Ear mights can be treated several different ways which I will cover later. As far as conditioning goes, there are a lot of different methods out there to condition your rabbit's flesh and fur. As far as fur condition, a healthy diet contributes to healthy skin and healthy fur. There are commercially made conditioning formulas out there but I prefer a simpler diet. I prefer to give my rabbits oats and sunflower seeds as a natural conditioning supplement. I like to thing oats help maintain flesh condition and soften to skin. Sunflower seeds provide natural oils for the coat. Vitamin supplements can be given to help supplement their diet. DON'T OVER CONDITION. This is very important. One of the most classic mistakes is that breeders over condition. What does this mean? When rabbits are overly conditioned, this tends to cause premature moulting, which can be a huge frustration when your rabbit is supposed to hit the show tables soon. Other things that can play havoc with your rabbit's coat condition include feed changes (sometimes changing a brand or formula can cause moulting and other temporary conditioning issues.), over grooming (this can either start pulling healthy prime coat out or, weirdly enough, induce moulting.) and weather changes. If you're like me, I live in an area that can have some weird weather patterns certain times of the year. Some days are warm which causes moulting and then other days can be down right cold which can halt the process of moulting. At this rate, moulting can be continual for several months and there's nothing you can do about it if you're rabbits don't live in a temperature regulated barn.
Can I give my rabbits baths? While there are different opinions on this, here is mine. I personally try to avoid bathing my rabbits for 2 very important reasons. 1. Rabbits are sensitive and giving baths can actually be dangerous. You need to be careful. First off, a sudden change in temperature can actually put a lot of stress on a rabbit's body. Putting rabbits a hot bath may actually not be good for their body temperature and putting them in cold water may lower their temperature significantly. You don't want your rabbit overheating or becoming chilled. These can both be death sentences. You may like a nice hot bath but rabbits may not have the same ability to adjust to certain temps like you do. Secondly, it can be scary for a rabbit. For all they know, they are going to drown, which is pretty scary. Rabbits don't understand what is going on. This can put a lot of stress on them. Thirdly, there is risk for injury. For example, if your rabbit freaks out and tries to jump away in a panic, this could cause injury. Think about the soap you're using. How do you know that it is safe to use on a rabbit? If you're not sure if the soap is ok, don't use it. FYI, if you must bath your rabbit, try to find a puppy soap with natural ingredients that are extra gentle to the skin like shampoos with oats... Don't get soap in the ears, eyes or up the rabbits nose. This could cause some serious irritations or maybe even respiratory issues. Of course, you don't want the rabbit inhaling water up their nose in the first place. They breath through their nose so we don't want to suffocate them or cause major respiratory irritation. Finally, I find soap/shampoo and water can be harsh to the coat condition. If you want your rabbit to be shown, don't bath them. Not only can bathing strip natural oils from the rabbit's coat, it can temporarily mess up the coat texture and resilience of the coat. It may cause irritation to the skin causing dandruff and hair loss. Most breeders try not to involve bathing in their rabbit's grooming unless absolutely necessary. When might it be necessary? I've only done it a couple of times. This was usually because the rabbit got into mud or had some sort of emergency health issue that needed to be addressed. It's highly recommended in cases where there are fleas, in heat stroke cases, some forms of injury where soaking and cleaning is recommended, or the rabbit is excessively soiled or dirty.
How do I clip my rabbits nails? Ever been frustrated when you try to clip your rabbit's nails and the rabbit just won't cooperate? You may be doing incorrectly. Many rabbits won't voluntarily hand you their foot while you take 10 minutes to give their nails a manicure. Most will also not voluntarily lay on their back while you clip their nails either. There are several ways of doing this. 1. With one hand, hold your rabbit by the scruff and ears and with the other hand, flip them onto their back. Keep a steady grip on the scruff the whole time to keep them secure. With your other hand, clip away. Sometimes rabbits will try to scratch you in attempts to flip over (especially if they're young or not used to being on their back.) so it may be necessary to have a helper hold down their hind legs. Another method includes turning the rabbit over on their back and wedging them between your legs. This can help immobilize them but sometimes I find that they can still wiggle out of my vice so if the rabbit is being very difficult, using a helper may be necessary. Now, for the details. Don't clip into the pink areas. This is the quick (where the blood supply is.) and will not only hurt and bleed, the nail may not grow back so be careful. What kind of nail clippers should you use? My favorite clippers are dog clippers. They are sharp, accurate and easy to use.
What about cleaning vents? First off, what are vents and where are they on the rabbit? Vents are like cent glands located on each side of the rabbit's genitals. They look like 2 slits on each side and may have a brown build up inside. They also often produce a strong odor. The build up is just like ear wax building up in your ears and may need to be cleaned. This can be done with dropping mineral oil into or around the gland and letting the skin and build up soften. Then, with a q-tip, the build up can be removed (will usually just slip out). Thats it! This build up is not usually a big deal unless it looks like that rabbit may have something going on in the gland or the odor is strong.
What about grooming and conditioning for show? This could probably be a huge article due to the fact that grooming and condition, while they're related, are 2 different things and everyone seems to have different ideas on what methods are best. The overall goal breeders want to achieve is a clean well groomed coat with a healthy well finished look and feel. The most ideal coat is known as a prime coat. This is when the coat is at it's peak in health and growth. The rabbit is no longer moulting and the coat has not begun to die. It is well groomed and well conditioned showing a nice resilience. One of the many challenges to a well groomed rabbit is keeping that coat clean. Spraying, poor living conditions and many others contribute to frustrations in keeping the coat clean. Pee stains can be a big challenge that breeders can deal with even if the rabbit's living conditions are kept pristine. Remember, rabbits are animals and animals are great at sabotaging a clean coat. Another potential issue to watch out for are fur mites. Fur mites can greatly effect a rabbit's coat condition. If your rabbit's coat moults all the time and skin seems flaky or even thing in areas (especially around the neck and belly) and always looks dull and rough, you should check for mites. Not only are mites nasty little critters that can cause fur loss (they can actually cause bar spots), they are itchy and rabbits will try to scratch at certain irritating areas. Some rabbits can become so itchy that they will actually wound themselves from scratching. Rabbits can easily be treated for mites which I will go into later. Another possible issue that can plague your rabbit's coat are those little nasty fleas. fleas usually come from other animals like cats, dogs... If you have an indoor rabbit sharing their space with other pets, watch their coat. If the rabbit is acting itchy and doing a lot of scratching, it might have fleas. In this case, you'll need to treat your rabbit for fleas. Ears are another thing to pay some attention to. Ears can get wax build up or residual ink residue after tattooing so just keep in mind that a simple cleaning may be needed once in a while. On a more serious not, rabbits can get ear mites. This is can become a serious health issue because it can actually damage a rabbit's inner ear or cause a rabbit to damage themselves. You won't actually be able to see mites crawling around but some classic signs include shaking the head and ears, digging at the ears, scratch marks in the ear (from the rabbit digging and damaging their ear.), dark waxy formations at the base of the ear (this is from the mights and it's very irritating to the rabbit.) and maybe even bleeding at the base of the ear (probably due to the rabbit digging at it.). Ear mights can be treated several different ways which I will cover later. As far as conditioning goes, there are a lot of different methods out there to condition your rabbit's flesh and fur. As far as fur condition, a healthy diet contributes to healthy skin and healthy fur. There are commercially made conditioning formulas out there but I prefer a simpler diet. I prefer to give my rabbits oats and sunflower seeds as a natural conditioning supplement. I like to thing oats help maintain flesh condition and soften to skin. Sunflower seeds provide natural oils for the coat. Vitamin supplements can be given to help supplement their diet. DON'T OVER CONDITION. This is very important. One of the most classic mistakes is that breeders over condition. What does this mean? When rabbits are overly conditioned, this tends to cause premature moulting, which can be a huge frustration when your rabbit is supposed to hit the show tables soon. Other things that can play havoc with your rabbit's coat condition include feed changes (sometimes changing a brand or formula can cause moulting and other temporary conditioning issues.), over grooming (this can either start pulling healthy prime coat out or, weirdly enough, induce moulting.) and weather changes. If you're like me, I live in an area that can have some weird weather patterns certain times of the year. Some days are warm which causes moulting and then other days can be down right cold which can halt the process of moulting. At this rate, moulting can be continual for several months and there's nothing you can do about it if you're rabbits don't live in a temperature regulated barn.
Can I give my rabbits baths? While there are different opinions on this, here is mine. I personally try to avoid bathing my rabbits for 2 very important reasons. 1. Rabbits are sensitive and giving baths can actually be dangerous. You need to be careful. First off, a sudden change in temperature can actually put a lot of stress on a rabbit's body. Putting rabbits a hot bath may actually not be good for their body temperature and putting them in cold water may lower their temperature significantly. You don't want your rabbit overheating or becoming chilled. These can both be death sentences. You may like a nice hot bath but rabbits may not have the same ability to adjust to certain temps like you do. Secondly, it can be scary for a rabbit. For all they know, they are going to drown, which is pretty scary. Rabbits don't understand what is going on. This can put a lot of stress on them. Thirdly, there is risk for injury. For example, if your rabbit freaks out and tries to jump away in a panic, this could cause injury. Think about the soap you're using. How do you know that it is safe to use on a rabbit? If you're not sure if the soap is ok, don't use it. FYI, if you must bath your rabbit, try to find a puppy soap with natural ingredients that are extra gentle to the skin like shampoos with oats... Don't get soap in the ears, eyes or up the rabbits nose. This could cause some serious irritations or maybe even respiratory issues. Of course, you don't want the rabbit inhaling water up their nose in the first place. They breath through their nose so we don't want to suffocate them or cause major respiratory irritation. Finally, I find soap/shampoo and water can be harsh to the coat condition. If you want your rabbit to be shown, don't bath them. Not only can bathing strip natural oils from the rabbit's coat, it can temporarily mess up the coat texture and resilience of the coat. It may cause irritation to the skin causing dandruff and hair loss. Most breeders try not to involve bathing in their rabbit's grooming unless absolutely necessary. When might it be necessary? I've only done it a couple of times. This was usually because the rabbit got into mud or had some sort of emergency health issue that needed to be addressed. It's highly recommended in cases where there are fleas, in heat stroke cases, some forms of injury where soaking and cleaning is recommended, or the rabbit is excessively soiled or dirty.
How do I clip my rabbits nails? Ever been frustrated when you try to clip your rabbit's nails and the rabbit just won't cooperate? You may be doing incorrectly. Many rabbits won't voluntarily hand you their foot while you take 10 minutes to give their nails a manicure. Most will also not voluntarily lay on their back while you clip their nails either. There are several ways of doing this. 1. With one hand, hold your rabbit by the scruff and ears and with the other hand, flip them onto their back. Keep a steady grip on the scruff the whole time to keep them secure. With your other hand, clip away. Sometimes rabbits will try to scratch you in attempts to flip over (especially if they're young or not used to being on their back.) so it may be necessary to have a helper hold down their hind legs. Another method includes turning the rabbit over on their back and wedging them between your legs. This can help immobilize them but sometimes I find that they can still wiggle out of my vice so if the rabbit is being very difficult, using a helper may be necessary. Now, for the details. Don't clip into the pink areas. This is the quick (where the blood supply is.) and will not only hurt and bleed, the nail may not grow back so be careful. What kind of nail clippers should you use? My favorite clippers are dog clippers. They are sharp, accurate and easy to use.
What about cleaning vents? First off, what are vents and where are they on the rabbit? Vents are like cent glands located on each side of the rabbit's genitals. They look like 2 slits on each side and may have a brown build up inside. They also often produce a strong odor. The build up is just like ear wax building up in your ears and may need to be cleaned. This can be done with dropping mineral oil into or around the gland and letting the skin and build up soften. Then, with a q-tip, the build up can be removed (will usually just slip out). Thats it! This build up is not usually a big deal unless it looks like that rabbit may have something going on in the gland or the odor is strong.
Housing and Sanitation:
The Basic Housing set up: There are many ways to "house" your rabbits but here are a few basics you should know about. Wild rabbits may be adapted to living in the wild where they will deal with the environment and all it's wear and tear but domestic rabbits are often less able to deal with the natural environment. For these reasons, it's often not the greatest idea to keep them in situations where they are open to the environment. Domestic rabbits don't generally deal with extreme environmental condition such as rain and snow. If a rabbit gets wet and cold, they can easily get sick or die of hypothermia. Equally, rabbits generally don't deal with heat very well. Rabbits cannot sweat like a human or pant like a dog so they must rely on breathing and circulation to help keep their bodies cool. Sadly, this is only effected to a certain point. Once the temperature peaks 90+ Fahrenheit, rabbits may have trouble keeping themselves cool. In addition, exposure to direct sun for long periods of time can make the situation worse. Rabbits can easily become overheated developing heat stroke. This can easily end in death. Another issue that can result is heat exhaustion and dehydration. Either of these can cause illness and death.
Proper Environmental conditions: While wild rabbits may be adapted to the various conditions of the outdoor environments, many domestic rabbits are not. Most domestic rabbits require some sort of protection against the natural elements. While rabbits due have fur, they can be sensitive when it comes to being exposed to extreme situations such as snow, extreme wind, rain, freezing temps. If you've ever dealt with rabbits, you'll know that most domestic rabbits down maintain their own body heat very well when they become chilled. Exposing your rabbit to cold temperatures and rain could cause hypothermia and death. Of course, snow or extreme cold can also be a death sentence. So, keeping your rabbit sheltered from the weather is essential. A simple hutch with 3 sides and a roof is often sufficient from keeping out wind, rain, and light snow but if you live in an area that gets snowed in during the winter, strong destructive wind speeds and/or extremely low temperatures (below freezing), you might want to consider a different option to offer further protection. Indoor rabbitries are a great way to avoid environmental fatalities as well as reducing the amount of maintenance to keep your rabbits healthy during these harsh conditions. If you live in an area like I do that sees a lot of rain 6 months out of the year, fortifying the roofing to your sheds/hutches to help prevent leaks and even utilizing covers for the front of your hutches in case of storms blowing rain in are essential. Rabbits can usually handle an occasional mild freeze. Just make sure your rabbits have a well insulated hutch, plenty of food, and that they have access to unfrozen water. However, if you have litters during this time, you may want to put your litters in a warm area during the coldest parts (usually at night) because litters are especially sensitive to the cold. Due to their small body size, thin coats and helpless state, they are the first to freeze. This can be hugely frustrating for a breeder because we put a lot of work into our animals so that we can have a successful breeding program. On another extreme, high temperatures can also cause a lot of issues with the health of your rabbits. Unlike dogs, rabbits don't pant and unlike people, they cannot sweat. Rabbits can only handle so much heat before their body temperature rises too high. Rabbits can quickly develop heat exhaustion and stroke. In a well setup rabbitry, it is essential to have some preventative measures in place to keep your rabbits from overheating. There are many different methods including swamp coolers, misting systems, fans, air conditioning (expensive, I know.)... Some basic measures you can take is to keep the air in your rabbit area circulating as much as possible. Large shop fans are great for this. Vents are also very helpful. Remember, hot air rises so having some way for it to escape out is essential. Otherwise, this could trap all that heat inside your barn. In areas where temperatures regularly peak over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, your rabbits probably shouldn't be exposed to these temperatures. A barn/garage set up with some sort of effective method at regulating heat is probably your best option.
Sanitation: This is a very important topic because this can make or break a good breeding program. Good sanitation does not just involve cleaning and disinfecting things even though this is a good part of keeping a sanitary environment, it also depends on the living conditions and setup of your rabbitry. Moisture is something that you need to consider. If your rabbitry does not have good ventilation, this helps promote moist environments and moisture promotes growth of bacteria and mold. It also promotes humidity which can increase temperature. Most microorganisms thrive in warm temperatures. of course, bad ventilation also leads to stagnant air. This promotes build of ammonia which is not good to breath in. So, my first tip is to provide good ventilation. This can include vents, windows, doors... Fans can help pull in fresh air and pull out the old air promoting dryer conditions and cleaner air. Cage setups can have an effect on how sanitary the conditions are and how much work is required to keep conditions sanitary. Any time you have cages on top of eachother (whether this be stacking cages or hanging cages in double layers.), you have to consider the risk for the waste from the rabbits above contaminating the cages below. While trays pretty much prevent this from happening 90% of the time, rabbits have an uncanny way of getting that pee out of the tray. Using urine guards can help direct that poop and pee into the tray and let me tell you, they are worth the extra money. This can be achieve with slanted roofing to catch the waste and direct it away from the cage below. Another method of setting up cages is to have longer cages separated into compartments. While this may be a great way to go, keep in mind that rabbits in these compartments will be in close contact with eachother, which is a great way to quickly spread infection from rabbit to rabbit resulting in possible issues with epidemics. Solid dividers can help create some form of isolation from one rabbit to the next and they're worth it! These not only help keep rabbits from being easily exposed to the next, they can also prevent unwanted fighting or spraying between rabbits. If a rabbit does happen to show signs of illness such as sneezing, it can't sneeze on it's neighbor... Metal or other indestructible materials for dividers are great because they can easily be disinfected. Remember, if you have cages back to back, rabbits may need dividers especially because rabbits usually pee and poop in the back of their cage, which could end up going into the other rabbit's cage. Creating an isolated environment is relatively easy with outdoor hutches. Naturally, most hutches only have a few compartments per hutch so one hutch is naturally pretty isolated from the next. A way to ensure better isolation between rabbits in the same hutch is to use solid dividers between each compartment instead of wire. Wood is common but keep in mind that rabbits can chew through wood eventually creating holes so try to use a hard wood. The materials used on the walls and floors of your rabbitry matter especially since rabbits are messy and may get pee and poop where you don't want it. For example, dirt floors may be a cheap way to go but don't promote sanitary conditions. For one, it turns to mud when it gets wet and turns to dust when it's dry. Who wants to breath in dust from the dirty floor of a rabbit barn? Not me. Wood may help prevent dust but it also rots when it is moist for a long period of time (which can happen in a rabbit barn.). Wood and moisture don't generally get along. Cement is a good option but may stay moist longer promoting moist unsanitary conditions. On the other hand, it does make spraying and disinfection easy! Don't forget to seal it or you'll have floors to repair. Also consider your walls. I can't tell you how many times I had to scrub down wood walls. It's not fun and pee doesn't like to come off. Sheet rock is probably not a great idea unless you want to replace it every once in a while from urine and/or moisture damage. I most often suggest finding some sort of sinthetic cover for the inside of your walls so that your walls are not only moisture resistant, they are easy to spray and disinfect. Of course, not everyone has the option of customizing their rabbitries so some good tips include putting down vinyl flooring, plastic or rubber mats, keep your cages away from the walls but if you must have cages up against the walls, put boards or some other protective surface behind the cages that can be removed and cleaned. Pest control is another potential sanitation issue. Mice/Rats and Flies are probably some of the worst pests you can deal with because they are great carriers of disease and can be hard to eradicate. Of course, if you have an outdoor rabbitry, pests can be hard to prevent since they can fly or walk right into your rabbit area but you may be able to help control pest problems more easily in an indoor rabbitry. Insulate and seal your barn as much as possible. If you have vents and windows, cover them with screens. Use of fly spray and traps work great. Reducing the amount of sitting waste can also reduce the fly population. The longer waste sits, the more opportunity flies have of reproducing. Here's how flies can spread disease. Flies are attracted to urine and feces which they use to reproduce by laying their eggs in it. These eggs hatch into maggots and then mature into flies, mate and repeat the process. If the poop and pee carry disease causing organisms, the flies can act like carriers landing on the rabbit, it's food, it's cage and any other object in the rabbitry exposing other rabbits to these potentially harmful microorganisms. Not only do flies help spread disease in this way, there are biting flies that can carry disease and parasites as well as flies that lay eggs under the skin. Rats and mice can be very dirty little critters and can multiply almost better than rabbits. They are experts at hiding their nests and invading what you thought were secure storage areas. Not only can they carry diseases and parasites delivering them to your rabbits, they can carry fleas and ticks. They are pros at contaminating and spoiling feed, bedding (hay, shavings...) and equipment. They can destroy buildings by ruining electrical fixtures, foundation, and walls... They have been known to bite other animals (chewing toes off of rabbits...), eat your rabbit's food and steal baby bunnies right out of nest boxes if they are hungry enough. In other words, you don't want them around. Of course, if you have an open style rabbitry, you can't possibly prevent them from coming around but you can control the population to try and reduce possible damage. There are some ways you can also detour them. For example, don't leave your feed out in the open. Trash cans and other storage bins are great ways to keep mice out. The same can be done with hay. Traps and poison can help. Dirt floors can promote convenient burrows and direct access right to the source of their food. This can also be a good access point for other unwanted visitors like snakes, gophers...
What types of disinfectants are safe to use for cleaning? Most standard disinfectants you use in your house will work for cleaning rabbit equipment. The cheapest and most effective is still regular old Bleach. Bleach can be diluted with water and then sprayed on any surface to remove or kill most microorganisms. A 1:10 (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) or something more concentrated like 1:5 solution should work just fine. Any time you use bleach or bleach products, make sure you rinse whatever you are disinfecting well. Bleach is a strong chemical that can irritate skin, eyes, the respiratory tract, and should not be ingested. Using pure bleach is not more effective than diluted bleach. In it's pure concentrated state, molecularity, bleach is bound up with other bleach compounds leaving it unable to effectively do it's job with microorganisms. Water helps free up the bleach so it can react better with the microorganisms. Length of time given for the bleach to do it's job also matters. A few minutes is usually more than enough but bleach begins to decompose losing it's effectiveness when it is exposed to the environment and will no longer be effective if allowed to dry. So, soaking something in bleach longer is not always beneficial. NEVER USE BLEACH DIRECTLY ON RABBITS! It's sad that I should even have to say this but yes, I have come across situations where people ignored warning labels and thought this was ok. If you are not supposed to get it on you, you shouldn't be putting it on any other living creature. Never use bleach in an area with poor ventilation. If you must use it inside, open windows, doors, run fans... Preferably use it outside if you must disinfect rabbit equipment. Other products that can be effective include lysole or any non bleach product proven to be effective at disinfection. I don't suggest using professional strength sterilizing chemicals unless you are well educated in it's use.
Is vinegar effective as a disinfectant? I don't know for sure if it's truly effective or not but I do know that it has abilities to remove calcium build up on cages and trays (You know that white hard build up you find where your rabbit pees that won't come off? Yep, that's calcium deposits from the urine.) and can be used to help remove stains. However, I would do some additional research on it's abilities to disinfect before using it.
What about sterilization? Yes, there is a difference between disinfection and sterilization. Sterilization is the complete destruction of all living organisms (often including spores...) but disinfection may not (remember, most bleach products say 99.99%, not 100%). In hospitals, simple disinfection may not be enough to kill some microorganisms that have formed resistance to disinfecting agents so in some cases, sterilization is a necessary precaution. This is done by pressure, steam, heat... In a rabbitry, disinfection is usually sufficient. Complete sterilization would be very difficult and pointless since the rabbits themselves are major carriers of microorganisms. However, you can sterilize small things with heat (flame...) like a needle or a knife for extra precaution if necessary.
The scoop on pests. A "pest" is generally anything that is not welcome in your rabbitry and could potentially do harm. There are many critters that can be considered pests such as flies, ants, ticks, bees/wasps, spiders, fleas, mosquitoes, termites.... Rats/Mice, Gophers, bats, birds, cats, dogs, squirrels, weasels, snakes, skunks, opossum, foxes, racoons, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions and many others. Some pests such as rats/mice, gophers, birds, ants... are often attracted to an easy source of food. If they are hungry enough, they will tear open feed bags spoiling feed and will make themselves perfectly at home sharing the feeder with your rabbits. Of course, rats and mice are very dirty creatures. They will pee and poop anywhere including hour rabbit's food, bedding... Rats have been known to bit rabbits, cause wounds such as bitten off toes, eat kits or even steal them out of their nests if aggressive and hungry enough. They can carry parasites (worms, mites...), fleas, ticks, harmful bacteria or viruses, fungal infections... Not to mention that they breed like crazy. It doesn't take long for rats and mice to multiply when they have a good food source. bees/wasps can be a problem because they can not only be aggressive toward you, they can be aggressive toward your rabbits increasing the risk for bee stings. While spiders can help keep the bug population down, some spiders are poisonous and could really do harm to you or your rabbits. Not to mention, you have to clean up their messes (old webs.). There is no question about fleas being bad. After all, fleas were the main carriers of the plague. Just like that situation, they can be carriers of other diseases. They are often carried into your rabbitry by other animals like rats/mice, bats, dogs, cats, racoons.... and can spread blood born pathogens to your rabbits. Not to mention that they can cause fur loss, skin irritation... Mosquitoes are other nasty little biters that can carry blood born diseases from other animals to your rabbits. A couple nasty diseases that have been documented in domestic rabbits from mosquitoes include the West Nile Virus, Myxomatosis, and Listeria. Ok, termites may not directly hurt your rabbitry but they have been known to produce toxins and can damage your hutches/rabbit barn. Bats may chose your rabbit barn as a convenient perch. Their poop can be highly unsanitary (and stinky!) and they can carry diseases that can be passed on to your rabbits via flea, tick, or mosquito bites. I covered some of the various fly issues earlier in another topic but will retouch some of the points. Flies multiply by laying their eggs in rotting things, old food, poop/pee, or even infected wounds. The eggs hatch into maggots relying on these things as their food source. When they mature, they turn into flies and repeat the process. During their breeding processes, flies of course pick up bacteria (sometimes harmful) and transfer them to wherever they land which can be anything including food (nice thought huh?). In a rabbitry where poop and pee is abundant, fly populations can often multiply quickly increasing the chances for spread of disease from one rabbit to the next. Not to mention that any open wounds (hopefully there aren't any) can be infected this way. There are species of flies that bite (horse/dear flies) and can infect your rabbit with various diseases and causing damage. Other flies like the bot fly can lay their eggs under the rabbits skin where their larva will remain until mature enough to turn into a fly. In some areas, snakes can be a threat. Snakes have been known to eat young rabbits and can come into a rabbit barn to seek a cool place to hide. If they are poisonous, they can be life threatening to you and your rabbits. Animals like skunks, raccoons, opossum are perfectly capable of killing and eating a rabbit if they want to and they just may try if they are desperate. You might be surprised at how crafty these creatures can be if they are motivated. Even coyotes, bobcats or other larger predatory animals may jump at a chance for some free meat if they are bold enough. Don't be fooled. Dogs or more than capable of causing some real damage to your rabbitry. If a dog is motivated, it can even tear open cages to get to the rabbit inside. Feral cats can also be a threat to your rabbits. If a cat is motivated enough, they can do some damage. They may not be able to open the cages but they may be able to grab legs and harass your rabbits. Birds don't usually physically damage your rabbits as long as they are safely in their cages but they can compete with your rabbits for food. Even domestic birds like chickens can get into your rabbits food. Birds can be some major carriers of disease or parasites. They can carry mites, worms, cocci, bacterial infections such as salmonella and E.coli, viral infections... Birds can be very messy getting into feed and spreading it around, pooping on your equipment which can cause major contamination... So, how do you ensure protection from these various pests? 1. Don't provide easy access to animals. If you have a barn, keep the doors and windows securely shut and locked at night or whenever you're not around. If you have dirt floors various poisons and traps can be set up for mouse and rat control and watch for signs of digging/holes around the inside and outside of the building. Seal up your rafters to prevent bats, birds and other critters from coming in. Cover you windows with screens and don't leave doors open for long to help prevent bugs from coming in. If you have dirt floors, there is a good chance you won't be able to keep all bugs out but at least you can try to keep flies and mosquitoes away. If you have hutches, keep them in a fenced in area where predators will have to really work to get to them. Make sure your hutches are sturdy, wire is secure, and doors are well secured. Keep your hutches somewhere that you can keep a good eye on them during most times of the day and can see them at night if you want to check in. Don't leave our rabbits unattended in exercise pens on the ground for long periods of time (especially not at night.). Having watch dogs or even barn cats (as long as they are kept healthy) isn't a bad idea as long as you can trust them not to cause harm to your rabbits themselves.
Secure your feed, bedding and other soilable supplies somewhere secure that will not tempt critters. Use feeders and water containers that don't offer easy contamination. For example j-feeders with lids are a great way to help keep feed fresh and most animals such as birds and mice can't open the lids. Water bottles and autowater systems can help keep unwanted contamination out of your rabbit's water. 2. Find out if there is a particular pest problem in your area. If so, take according actions to help combat these issues. For example, if your area has issues with roaming dogs and feral cats, you might want to consider and indoor rabbitry rather than outdoor hutches. You may just be putting out a sign that says come and get it by putting out a bunch of hutches with rabbits in your yard. If you live in a very isolated area where you might have issues with coyotes, bobcats, foxes... I might also consider a barn setup or at least some electric fencing around the rabbit area and a way to keep a close eye on them.
I live in a well populated neighborhood and am afraid my neighbors won't like the smell. What can I do? Well, sadly if the neighbors start complaining about the smell, there isn't any easy solution. You need to play it safe though. Things can quickly go the wrong way and you don't want a legal battle on your hands. Personally, I don't ever suggest having a large number of rabbits if you live in a busy neighborhood. This is just bagging for legal problems as many people don't want to smell a farm when they step out their back door (I personally don't mind but.... you get the idea). Besides, there may be regulations set in place that you may be breaking if you live in a busy residential area. Before you jump into a major rabbit project, you should really find out what the rules are in your area as the the number of animals allowed and other regulations that may involve your animals. There are products that you can put in your rabbit's water that can help reduce the odor but may not completely remove it. There may be types of bedding or additives that can be added to trays or under hutches that may help reduce the odor. Burying your rabbit's waste can help control the smell and fly population. For small scale rabbitries, you may even be able to remove the waste in trash bags and take it to the dump. Keeping your rabbitry neat and clean, and keep your rabbits healthy and well groomed. If your neighbors see that you take good care of your animals and how much you care about them, they may be less likely to cause you trouble or feel worried about the situation.
How many cages do you suggest if I want to maintain a certain number of rabbit? One of the questions you should be asking is how strict are you about the number of rabbits you want to have? You might be surprised at just how hard it might get to stick to your limit once you really get into raising rabbits. If you want to have a good working rabbitry that is within your limit, you're going to have to be strict.
Proper Environmental conditions: While wild rabbits may be adapted to the various conditions of the outdoor environments, many domestic rabbits are not. Most domestic rabbits require some sort of protection against the natural elements. While rabbits due have fur, they can be sensitive when it comes to being exposed to extreme situations such as snow, extreme wind, rain, freezing temps. If you've ever dealt with rabbits, you'll know that most domestic rabbits down maintain their own body heat very well when they become chilled. Exposing your rabbit to cold temperatures and rain could cause hypothermia and death. Of course, snow or extreme cold can also be a death sentence. So, keeping your rabbit sheltered from the weather is essential. A simple hutch with 3 sides and a roof is often sufficient from keeping out wind, rain, and light snow but if you live in an area that gets snowed in during the winter, strong destructive wind speeds and/or extremely low temperatures (below freezing), you might want to consider a different option to offer further protection. Indoor rabbitries are a great way to avoid environmental fatalities as well as reducing the amount of maintenance to keep your rabbits healthy during these harsh conditions. If you live in an area like I do that sees a lot of rain 6 months out of the year, fortifying the roofing to your sheds/hutches to help prevent leaks and even utilizing covers for the front of your hutches in case of storms blowing rain in are essential. Rabbits can usually handle an occasional mild freeze. Just make sure your rabbits have a well insulated hutch, plenty of food, and that they have access to unfrozen water. However, if you have litters during this time, you may want to put your litters in a warm area during the coldest parts (usually at night) because litters are especially sensitive to the cold. Due to their small body size, thin coats and helpless state, they are the first to freeze. This can be hugely frustrating for a breeder because we put a lot of work into our animals so that we can have a successful breeding program. On another extreme, high temperatures can also cause a lot of issues with the health of your rabbits. Unlike dogs, rabbits don't pant and unlike people, they cannot sweat. Rabbits can only handle so much heat before their body temperature rises too high. Rabbits can quickly develop heat exhaustion and stroke. In a well setup rabbitry, it is essential to have some preventative measures in place to keep your rabbits from overheating. There are many different methods including swamp coolers, misting systems, fans, air conditioning (expensive, I know.)... Some basic measures you can take is to keep the air in your rabbit area circulating as much as possible. Large shop fans are great for this. Vents are also very helpful. Remember, hot air rises so having some way for it to escape out is essential. Otherwise, this could trap all that heat inside your barn. In areas where temperatures regularly peak over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, your rabbits probably shouldn't be exposed to these temperatures. A barn/garage set up with some sort of effective method at regulating heat is probably your best option.
Sanitation: This is a very important topic because this can make or break a good breeding program. Good sanitation does not just involve cleaning and disinfecting things even though this is a good part of keeping a sanitary environment, it also depends on the living conditions and setup of your rabbitry. Moisture is something that you need to consider. If your rabbitry does not have good ventilation, this helps promote moist environments and moisture promotes growth of bacteria and mold. It also promotes humidity which can increase temperature. Most microorganisms thrive in warm temperatures. of course, bad ventilation also leads to stagnant air. This promotes build of ammonia which is not good to breath in. So, my first tip is to provide good ventilation. This can include vents, windows, doors... Fans can help pull in fresh air and pull out the old air promoting dryer conditions and cleaner air. Cage setups can have an effect on how sanitary the conditions are and how much work is required to keep conditions sanitary. Any time you have cages on top of eachother (whether this be stacking cages or hanging cages in double layers.), you have to consider the risk for the waste from the rabbits above contaminating the cages below. While trays pretty much prevent this from happening 90% of the time, rabbits have an uncanny way of getting that pee out of the tray. Using urine guards can help direct that poop and pee into the tray and let me tell you, they are worth the extra money. This can be achieve with slanted roofing to catch the waste and direct it away from the cage below. Another method of setting up cages is to have longer cages separated into compartments. While this may be a great way to go, keep in mind that rabbits in these compartments will be in close contact with eachother, which is a great way to quickly spread infection from rabbit to rabbit resulting in possible issues with epidemics. Solid dividers can help create some form of isolation from one rabbit to the next and they're worth it! These not only help keep rabbits from being easily exposed to the next, they can also prevent unwanted fighting or spraying between rabbits. If a rabbit does happen to show signs of illness such as sneezing, it can't sneeze on it's neighbor... Metal or other indestructible materials for dividers are great because they can easily be disinfected. Remember, if you have cages back to back, rabbits may need dividers especially because rabbits usually pee and poop in the back of their cage, which could end up going into the other rabbit's cage. Creating an isolated environment is relatively easy with outdoor hutches. Naturally, most hutches only have a few compartments per hutch so one hutch is naturally pretty isolated from the next. A way to ensure better isolation between rabbits in the same hutch is to use solid dividers between each compartment instead of wire. Wood is common but keep in mind that rabbits can chew through wood eventually creating holes so try to use a hard wood. The materials used on the walls and floors of your rabbitry matter especially since rabbits are messy and may get pee and poop where you don't want it. For example, dirt floors may be a cheap way to go but don't promote sanitary conditions. For one, it turns to mud when it gets wet and turns to dust when it's dry. Who wants to breath in dust from the dirty floor of a rabbit barn? Not me. Wood may help prevent dust but it also rots when it is moist for a long period of time (which can happen in a rabbit barn.). Wood and moisture don't generally get along. Cement is a good option but may stay moist longer promoting moist unsanitary conditions. On the other hand, it does make spraying and disinfection easy! Don't forget to seal it or you'll have floors to repair. Also consider your walls. I can't tell you how many times I had to scrub down wood walls. It's not fun and pee doesn't like to come off. Sheet rock is probably not a great idea unless you want to replace it every once in a while from urine and/or moisture damage. I most often suggest finding some sort of sinthetic cover for the inside of your walls so that your walls are not only moisture resistant, they are easy to spray and disinfect. Of course, not everyone has the option of customizing their rabbitries so some good tips include putting down vinyl flooring, plastic or rubber mats, keep your cages away from the walls but if you must have cages up against the walls, put boards or some other protective surface behind the cages that can be removed and cleaned. Pest control is another potential sanitation issue. Mice/Rats and Flies are probably some of the worst pests you can deal with because they are great carriers of disease and can be hard to eradicate. Of course, if you have an outdoor rabbitry, pests can be hard to prevent since they can fly or walk right into your rabbit area but you may be able to help control pest problems more easily in an indoor rabbitry. Insulate and seal your barn as much as possible. If you have vents and windows, cover them with screens. Use of fly spray and traps work great. Reducing the amount of sitting waste can also reduce the fly population. The longer waste sits, the more opportunity flies have of reproducing. Here's how flies can spread disease. Flies are attracted to urine and feces which they use to reproduce by laying their eggs in it. These eggs hatch into maggots and then mature into flies, mate and repeat the process. If the poop and pee carry disease causing organisms, the flies can act like carriers landing on the rabbit, it's food, it's cage and any other object in the rabbitry exposing other rabbits to these potentially harmful microorganisms. Not only do flies help spread disease in this way, there are biting flies that can carry disease and parasites as well as flies that lay eggs under the skin. Rats and mice can be very dirty little critters and can multiply almost better than rabbits. They are experts at hiding their nests and invading what you thought were secure storage areas. Not only can they carry diseases and parasites delivering them to your rabbits, they can carry fleas and ticks. They are pros at contaminating and spoiling feed, bedding (hay, shavings...) and equipment. They can destroy buildings by ruining electrical fixtures, foundation, and walls... They have been known to bite other animals (chewing toes off of rabbits...), eat your rabbit's food and steal baby bunnies right out of nest boxes if they are hungry enough. In other words, you don't want them around. Of course, if you have an open style rabbitry, you can't possibly prevent them from coming around but you can control the population to try and reduce possible damage. There are some ways you can also detour them. For example, don't leave your feed out in the open. Trash cans and other storage bins are great ways to keep mice out. The same can be done with hay. Traps and poison can help. Dirt floors can promote convenient burrows and direct access right to the source of their food. This can also be a good access point for other unwanted visitors like snakes, gophers...
What types of disinfectants are safe to use for cleaning? Most standard disinfectants you use in your house will work for cleaning rabbit equipment. The cheapest and most effective is still regular old Bleach. Bleach can be diluted with water and then sprayed on any surface to remove or kill most microorganisms. A 1:10 (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) or something more concentrated like 1:5 solution should work just fine. Any time you use bleach or bleach products, make sure you rinse whatever you are disinfecting well. Bleach is a strong chemical that can irritate skin, eyes, the respiratory tract, and should not be ingested. Using pure bleach is not more effective than diluted bleach. In it's pure concentrated state, molecularity, bleach is bound up with other bleach compounds leaving it unable to effectively do it's job with microorganisms. Water helps free up the bleach so it can react better with the microorganisms. Length of time given for the bleach to do it's job also matters. A few minutes is usually more than enough but bleach begins to decompose losing it's effectiveness when it is exposed to the environment and will no longer be effective if allowed to dry. So, soaking something in bleach longer is not always beneficial. NEVER USE BLEACH DIRECTLY ON RABBITS! It's sad that I should even have to say this but yes, I have come across situations where people ignored warning labels and thought this was ok. If you are not supposed to get it on you, you shouldn't be putting it on any other living creature. Never use bleach in an area with poor ventilation. If you must use it inside, open windows, doors, run fans... Preferably use it outside if you must disinfect rabbit equipment. Other products that can be effective include lysole or any non bleach product proven to be effective at disinfection. I don't suggest using professional strength sterilizing chemicals unless you are well educated in it's use.
Is vinegar effective as a disinfectant? I don't know for sure if it's truly effective or not but I do know that it has abilities to remove calcium build up on cages and trays (You know that white hard build up you find where your rabbit pees that won't come off? Yep, that's calcium deposits from the urine.) and can be used to help remove stains. However, I would do some additional research on it's abilities to disinfect before using it.
What about sterilization? Yes, there is a difference between disinfection and sterilization. Sterilization is the complete destruction of all living organisms (often including spores...) but disinfection may not (remember, most bleach products say 99.99%, not 100%). In hospitals, simple disinfection may not be enough to kill some microorganisms that have formed resistance to disinfecting agents so in some cases, sterilization is a necessary precaution. This is done by pressure, steam, heat... In a rabbitry, disinfection is usually sufficient. Complete sterilization would be very difficult and pointless since the rabbits themselves are major carriers of microorganisms. However, you can sterilize small things with heat (flame...) like a needle or a knife for extra precaution if necessary.
The scoop on pests. A "pest" is generally anything that is not welcome in your rabbitry and could potentially do harm. There are many critters that can be considered pests such as flies, ants, ticks, bees/wasps, spiders, fleas, mosquitoes, termites.... Rats/Mice, Gophers, bats, birds, cats, dogs, squirrels, weasels, snakes, skunks, opossum, foxes, racoons, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions and many others. Some pests such as rats/mice, gophers, birds, ants... are often attracted to an easy source of food. If they are hungry enough, they will tear open feed bags spoiling feed and will make themselves perfectly at home sharing the feeder with your rabbits. Of course, rats and mice are very dirty creatures. They will pee and poop anywhere including hour rabbit's food, bedding... Rats have been known to bit rabbits, cause wounds such as bitten off toes, eat kits or even steal them out of their nests if aggressive and hungry enough. They can carry parasites (worms, mites...), fleas, ticks, harmful bacteria or viruses, fungal infections... Not to mention that they breed like crazy. It doesn't take long for rats and mice to multiply when they have a good food source. bees/wasps can be a problem because they can not only be aggressive toward you, they can be aggressive toward your rabbits increasing the risk for bee stings. While spiders can help keep the bug population down, some spiders are poisonous and could really do harm to you or your rabbits. Not to mention, you have to clean up their messes (old webs.). There is no question about fleas being bad. After all, fleas were the main carriers of the plague. Just like that situation, they can be carriers of other diseases. They are often carried into your rabbitry by other animals like rats/mice, bats, dogs, cats, racoons.... and can spread blood born pathogens to your rabbits. Not to mention that they can cause fur loss, skin irritation... Mosquitoes are other nasty little biters that can carry blood born diseases from other animals to your rabbits. A couple nasty diseases that have been documented in domestic rabbits from mosquitoes include the West Nile Virus, Myxomatosis, and Listeria. Ok, termites may not directly hurt your rabbitry but they have been known to produce toxins and can damage your hutches/rabbit barn. Bats may chose your rabbit barn as a convenient perch. Their poop can be highly unsanitary (and stinky!) and they can carry diseases that can be passed on to your rabbits via flea, tick, or mosquito bites. I covered some of the various fly issues earlier in another topic but will retouch some of the points. Flies multiply by laying their eggs in rotting things, old food, poop/pee, or even infected wounds. The eggs hatch into maggots relying on these things as their food source. When they mature, they turn into flies and repeat the process. During their breeding processes, flies of course pick up bacteria (sometimes harmful) and transfer them to wherever they land which can be anything including food (nice thought huh?). In a rabbitry where poop and pee is abundant, fly populations can often multiply quickly increasing the chances for spread of disease from one rabbit to the next. Not to mention that any open wounds (hopefully there aren't any) can be infected this way. There are species of flies that bite (horse/dear flies) and can infect your rabbit with various diseases and causing damage. Other flies like the bot fly can lay their eggs under the rabbits skin where their larva will remain until mature enough to turn into a fly. In some areas, snakes can be a threat. Snakes have been known to eat young rabbits and can come into a rabbit barn to seek a cool place to hide. If they are poisonous, they can be life threatening to you and your rabbits. Animals like skunks, raccoons, opossum are perfectly capable of killing and eating a rabbit if they want to and they just may try if they are desperate. You might be surprised at how crafty these creatures can be if they are motivated. Even coyotes, bobcats or other larger predatory animals may jump at a chance for some free meat if they are bold enough. Don't be fooled. Dogs or more than capable of causing some real damage to your rabbitry. If a dog is motivated, it can even tear open cages to get to the rabbit inside. Feral cats can also be a threat to your rabbits. If a cat is motivated enough, they can do some damage. They may not be able to open the cages but they may be able to grab legs and harass your rabbits. Birds don't usually physically damage your rabbits as long as they are safely in their cages but they can compete with your rabbits for food. Even domestic birds like chickens can get into your rabbits food. Birds can be some major carriers of disease or parasites. They can carry mites, worms, cocci, bacterial infections such as salmonella and E.coli, viral infections... Birds can be very messy getting into feed and spreading it around, pooping on your equipment which can cause major contamination... So, how do you ensure protection from these various pests? 1. Don't provide easy access to animals. If you have a barn, keep the doors and windows securely shut and locked at night or whenever you're not around. If you have dirt floors various poisons and traps can be set up for mouse and rat control and watch for signs of digging/holes around the inside and outside of the building. Seal up your rafters to prevent bats, birds and other critters from coming in. Cover you windows with screens and don't leave doors open for long to help prevent bugs from coming in. If you have dirt floors, there is a good chance you won't be able to keep all bugs out but at least you can try to keep flies and mosquitoes away. If you have hutches, keep them in a fenced in area where predators will have to really work to get to them. Make sure your hutches are sturdy, wire is secure, and doors are well secured. Keep your hutches somewhere that you can keep a good eye on them during most times of the day and can see them at night if you want to check in. Don't leave our rabbits unattended in exercise pens on the ground for long periods of time (especially not at night.). Having watch dogs or even barn cats (as long as they are kept healthy) isn't a bad idea as long as you can trust them not to cause harm to your rabbits themselves.
Secure your feed, bedding and other soilable supplies somewhere secure that will not tempt critters. Use feeders and water containers that don't offer easy contamination. For example j-feeders with lids are a great way to help keep feed fresh and most animals such as birds and mice can't open the lids. Water bottles and autowater systems can help keep unwanted contamination out of your rabbit's water. 2. Find out if there is a particular pest problem in your area. If so, take according actions to help combat these issues. For example, if your area has issues with roaming dogs and feral cats, you might want to consider and indoor rabbitry rather than outdoor hutches. You may just be putting out a sign that says come and get it by putting out a bunch of hutches with rabbits in your yard. If you live in a very isolated area where you might have issues with coyotes, bobcats, foxes... I might also consider a barn setup or at least some electric fencing around the rabbit area and a way to keep a close eye on them.
I live in a well populated neighborhood and am afraid my neighbors won't like the smell. What can I do? Well, sadly if the neighbors start complaining about the smell, there isn't any easy solution. You need to play it safe though. Things can quickly go the wrong way and you don't want a legal battle on your hands. Personally, I don't ever suggest having a large number of rabbits if you live in a busy neighborhood. This is just bagging for legal problems as many people don't want to smell a farm when they step out their back door (I personally don't mind but.... you get the idea). Besides, there may be regulations set in place that you may be breaking if you live in a busy residential area. Before you jump into a major rabbit project, you should really find out what the rules are in your area as the the number of animals allowed and other regulations that may involve your animals. There are products that you can put in your rabbit's water that can help reduce the odor but may not completely remove it. There may be types of bedding or additives that can be added to trays or under hutches that may help reduce the odor. Burying your rabbit's waste can help control the smell and fly population. For small scale rabbitries, you may even be able to remove the waste in trash bags and take it to the dump. Keeping your rabbitry neat and clean, and keep your rabbits healthy and well groomed. If your neighbors see that you take good care of your animals and how much you care about them, they may be less likely to cause you trouble or feel worried about the situation.
How many cages do you suggest if I want to maintain a certain number of rabbit? One of the questions you should be asking is how strict are you about the number of rabbits you want to have? You might be surprised at just how hard it might get to stick to your limit once you really get into raising rabbits. If you want to have a good working rabbitry that is within your limit, you're going to have to be strict.
Getting Started
I want to start breeding rabbits but want to start right. Are there tips to choosing the right rabbits?
There are many many tips to choosing the right stock for your breeding program but first, I feel I should start out by addressing a few things. First, a question you should ask is what purpose do you want to raise rabbits for? Pets, Meat, Show, all of the above? Pet quality is probably by far the easiest. Most good pet quality rabbits are bred for temperament and cute appeal. It doesn't matter what breed (they can even be crosses), color, or size, just about any rabbit can be a pet. These rabbits don't require pedigrees and stock can be found at just about any pet store. I started off with pet store bunnies. They were mutts but they were fun. These rabbits are what got me interested in raising and showing rabbits. However, if your aim is to start off with show rabbits, there are some things you should know. First off, not any rabbit can be shown. A good show rabbit must have characteristics that meet certain breed standards. This is partially what judging is for. This is where having purebreds and pedigreed stock is of value. This is where body type (conformation), fur quality, condition, color quality, health and vigor become very important. When we raise rabbits for show, we are focusing on the improving our breed's characteristics in order to promote animals with superior ideal traits. Pedigrees not only offer proof of purebred lineage, they can tell you what blood lines they came from, their ancestor's show history, size, and can even offer clues as to what kind of genetics (such as color) your rabbits carry. This is all important information that can aid a good breeding program. If you have no pedigrees, you have no way of knowing your rabbit is truly purebred in the first place. Why is being a purebred so important. Purebred breeding helps ensure that your rabbit not only shows correct characteristics for that breed but can also produce those characteristics. Now, keep in mind that just because a rabbit is a purebred, this does not guarantee your rabbit will show good quality traits for that breed and does not guarantee that rabbit will produce those good quality traits. This is what can make raising rabbits both challenging and fun. Genetics are not perfect so you will not get perfect carbon copies. This is why the quality of what you start with is so important. There are both good examples and bad examples of every breed out there and it's your job to learn what traits are ideal and what are not ideal and breed accordingly. What you start with can effect the future of your entire breeding program so learning is essential. Learning about quality (ideal traits) early on can benefit the future of your breeding program. The definition of a good meat program may vary slightly depending on who you talk to and whether you want to show or not. There are many meat breeding programs that don't involve showing or pedigrees. These animals are purely bred for ideal meat production and they may or may not be purebred. In fact, crosses such as altex are known as some of the best meat producers available. There are also many breeders who breed for both meat and show such as myself. While we breed for ideal meat characteristics, we also breed for ideal show animals as well. Interestingly enough, some of these traits go hand in hand. Good body type is essential in both meat and show stock. Some meat breeders may tell you that there are a few differences but in general, good body type and flesh condition are both essential to good meat production and good traits for show. After all, showing is based around presenting animals with ideal traits for that particular breed. If the breed is a commercial breed, these traits should reflect an animal with good meat/commercial characteristics, which will be evaluated on the show tables. Showing is a great way to learn about these ideal traits.
Are there breeds that are "easier" to start off with than others? In general, all breeds can have their challenges. Some my be more challenging than others due to traits, blood lines, popularity... You should carefully consider all these points before you jump into something. Most importantly, find a breed you like. Don't pick based on popularity or "easiness" because easiness is all relative. If you're having a lot of challenges with a certain breed, maybe it's just not the right breed for you. Keep in mind that learning can be challenging at first. There are may things to learn about raising rabbits and most breeders will tell you that there is always something to learn even after years of raising them. Learning takes time and patience.
Are there some things I can do to prepare before I start investing in stock?
My biggest suggestion is research! Talk to experienced breeders about the breeds you're interested in. Some questions that may be helpful to ask include questions about general care (such as any special grooming requirements, cage size requirements, any possible health issues specific to that breed that you may come across), questions about temperament, questions about breeding (litter sizes...), questions about possible disqualifications.... If you have a chance to personally talk with breeders, have them give you some tips on type, fur, color... Even if you don't plan on breeding for show, it's always helpful to talk with other breeders. Look online! The internet is a huge resource however, be aware that not everything you read will be helpful. There is still a lot of false information out there. Read books. Again, there can still be a lot of false information in books too. I remember when I first started raising rabbits, I read several books on rabbit raising basics that I now wish I had never read. Much of the information in those books was useless and some of it, incorrect. I'll admit, most of what I learned came from personal experience (mostly what not to do) and advise from knowledgeable breeders. Invest in joining clubs. These can be very supportive in getting you started. ARBA is probably the best club to join. The American Rabbit Breeders Association is our national rabbit club. This is the organization that creates all these breed standards I've been talking about ,host shows and many other essential functions. ARBA is a great resource for information and learning as well. I would highly suggest getting your hands on a copy of ARBAs handbook to raising rabbits. This guide covers much of the basics and is accurate! I would also highly suggest getting a copy of ARBA's Standard Of Perfection. This is a guide that includes the standards for every breed, basic rules for showing..., definitions of terms that may be used in the show and breeding world.... I can't imagine any successful breeding program without this handy book. I use this handbook all the time when evaluating my own stock even after years of raising rabbits. Lastly, I would do my shopping. Don't just go out and buy stock from the first breeder you come across. Take your time and really look around. Always keep in mind that you may not find the "perfect" rabbit. In fact, I don't think any of us have found the perfect rabbit or ever will but this doesn't mean you have to settle with whatever you can find. If you don't find what you're looking for right away, don't worry, you have time. Just keep looking and something will eventually come along.
What kind of information should every pedigree have? Before you go out and invest in your first pedigreed stock, we should go over the basic information that every pedigree should include. Every complete pedigree should have at least 3 generations (the parents, grand parents, and great grand parents.) in addition to your rabbit's information. Your rabbit's information should at least include it's breed, variety, sex, date of birth, weight (or at least a place to put their weight information) and ear number. Each of the parents, grandparents, and great grandparents should include the name of the rabbit, ear number, variety (color), and sex (usually indicated by a title such as sire or dam), the generation (such as grand or great grandparent.). Addition information for your rabbit may include genetic information, and show records (such as winnings or legs.), registration numbers and grand champion numbers. NOTE: If you rabbit is registered and has a grand champion certificate, you should get that information with your pedigree. If the rabbit has a registration number in its right ear, that rabbit is registered and the there should be official paperwork for that registration that should be provided with the rabbit. If it did not come with your rabbit, you should get it from the breeder. This paperwork should stay with the rabbit even if the breeder's name is on the paperwork as the owner. This only means they were the owner at the time of registration. It does not mean they still own the rabbit or the paperwork for that rabbit. Additional information provided for the rabbit's ancestry (parents, grandparents...) may include genetics, wins, date of birth, registration numbers, and grand champion numbers. A pedigree may even contain more than 3 additional generations. The breeder's information is essential. A breeder's information may include a rabbitry name, the breeders name, contact information, a signature and any other relevant info. If the breeder does not provide a name or contact info, it may be helpful to obtain that info at time of sales. You can never be too careful when purchasing rabbits and may need to contact them in case something happens. If your pedigree is missing any of the basic required information, you should obtain it preferably before you purchase the rabbit but this contact info can help you if you realized there is some information missing. NOTE: Weight is helpful and necessary for registration however, it is not otherwise required information. Sadly, this is probably one of the most common pieces of missing information on pedigrees.
How do I know the information on a pedigree is accurate. Well, sadly, this is not guaranteed. Anytime you buy a rabbit you run the risk of inaccuracies being in the pedigree that the breeder may not even be aware of. Always look over your pedigree thoroughly and if anything looks off, don't be afraid to ask the breeder about it. If something seems fishy with what you are looking at and you don't feel the breeder is being honest, don't take chances. You can always find a different rabbit. There can be many discrepancies in pedigrees that may have been a mistake on the breeder's part so it's a good idea to let them know. It may be a simple fix. However, if you are dealing with a breeder who you feel is being dishonest, it's a good idea to get a second opinion. Of course, these are rabbits. You aren't investing in a car or a house but serious discrepancies in the pedigree can ruin a good breeding program. Not only does it complicate things for your records, it can effect your reputation as well. Who wants to start off with bad information? Not me. While I like to think that most breeders are honest, there are those who will cheat to get ahead, which can include falsifying pedigrees or even fabricating. Sadly, sometimes this kind of thing does happen, which can take the fun out of this hobby so it's always a good idea get a second opinion if you're not sure.
Is there any kind of a directory where I can confirm blood lines? ARBA has a wonderful breeder directory but this may not always help. Sometimes the titles used in front of the rabbit's name don't list the breeder or rabbitry's name (some rabbits won't even have a title) and if it does, ARBA only lists breeders and rabbitries that are registered with ARBA and not every breeder or rabbitry will be registered. So, if you don't find breeder or rabbitry info on ARBA's directory, that does not mean the breeder/rabbitry is fake. There could be many simple reasons why you can't find the rabbitry or breeder's info. A very common one is that the breeder is not registered with ARBA or that they no longer raise rabbits, especially if you're looking at older lines. Sometimes it's good to ask some of the older more knowledgeable breeders about blood lines. Even if they don't recognized the blood line, that doesn't mean it's fake. To make things more complicated, if the breed is fairly popular, there could be a lot of breeders out there that may raise or have once raised the breed, which can make tracking information difficult. Be very careful when investigating or accusing someone of supplying falsified pedigrees. You should be 100% sure the pedigree is false and you need to be sure the breeder even knew about it before accusing. Many times, breeders don't know about it themselves and may appreciate being informed. Remember, tread carefully whether you're new or not. Sadly, in there are those who may not have have good intensions. If someone tells you that your pedigree is false, be very aware that there are trouble makers out there that will stir things up simply because they can. Make sure anyone you ask for advise is not only very experienced but honest.
How do I know what breeders are best to buy stock from? Well, this generally takes research and recommendations. I try to keep a very open mind with breeders. There are a lot of good breeders out there who you can get good stock from that may not necessarily be one of the top breeders. I don't necessarily believe in only buying stock from "top" (meaning breeders who have the best reputations or show records around) breeders. I try to encourage supporting all breeders and cultivating good relationships with other local breeders. There is a good chance you will get something nice from these top breeders but they may not be the only ones with good lines. In fact, some of the top breeders may have some of the same blood lines and chances are, you can find some nice quality animals from them as well. Some of the newer breeders or those who have smaller rabbitries may even have stock from these "top" breeders that you can work with. A very good tip is not to base your idea of a good animal solely on blood lines or who the rabbit came from. Even the best blood lines have the potential of producing poor quality. Instead, try to learn how to base your judgment of a good animal on quality. Try to focus on finding those traits that your herd needs or that will give you a good start. In general, ask around about who will get you started with some great rabbits. Keep in mind that some breeders would rather have your business than point you to someone they know will set you up with good stock. In this case, having a good idea of what you want or need is a good idea.
Are there breeds that are "easier" to start off with than others? In general, all breeds can have their challenges. Some my be more challenging than others due to traits, blood lines, popularity... You should carefully consider all these points before you jump into something. Most importantly, find a breed you like. Don't pick based on popularity or "easiness" because easiness is all relative. If you're having a lot of challenges with a certain breed, maybe it's just not the right breed for you. Keep in mind that learning can be challenging at first. There are may things to learn about raising rabbits and most breeders will tell you that there is always something to learn even after years of raising them. Learning takes time and patience.
Are there some things I can do to prepare before I start investing in stock?
My biggest suggestion is research! Talk to experienced breeders about the breeds you're interested in. Some questions that may be helpful to ask include questions about general care (such as any special grooming requirements, cage size requirements, any possible health issues specific to that breed that you may come across), questions about temperament, questions about breeding (litter sizes...), questions about possible disqualifications.... If you have a chance to personally talk with breeders, have them give you some tips on type, fur, color... Even if you don't plan on breeding for show, it's always helpful to talk with other breeders. Look online! The internet is a huge resource however, be aware that not everything you read will be helpful. There is still a lot of false information out there. Read books. Again, there can still be a lot of false information in books too. I remember when I first started raising rabbits, I read several books on rabbit raising basics that I now wish I had never read. Much of the information in those books was useless and some of it, incorrect. I'll admit, most of what I learned came from personal experience (mostly what not to do) and advise from knowledgeable breeders. Invest in joining clubs. These can be very supportive in getting you started. ARBA is probably the best club to join. The American Rabbit Breeders Association is our national rabbit club. This is the organization that creates all these breed standards I've been talking about ,host shows and many other essential functions. ARBA is a great resource for information and learning as well. I would highly suggest getting your hands on a copy of ARBAs handbook to raising rabbits. This guide covers much of the basics and is accurate! I would also highly suggest getting a copy of ARBA's Standard Of Perfection. This is a guide that includes the standards for every breed, basic rules for showing..., definitions of terms that may be used in the show and breeding world.... I can't imagine any successful breeding program without this handy book. I use this handbook all the time when evaluating my own stock even after years of raising rabbits. Lastly, I would do my shopping. Don't just go out and buy stock from the first breeder you come across. Take your time and really look around. Always keep in mind that you may not find the "perfect" rabbit. In fact, I don't think any of us have found the perfect rabbit or ever will but this doesn't mean you have to settle with whatever you can find. If you don't find what you're looking for right away, don't worry, you have time. Just keep looking and something will eventually come along.
What kind of information should every pedigree have? Before you go out and invest in your first pedigreed stock, we should go over the basic information that every pedigree should include. Every complete pedigree should have at least 3 generations (the parents, grand parents, and great grand parents.) in addition to your rabbit's information. Your rabbit's information should at least include it's breed, variety, sex, date of birth, weight (or at least a place to put their weight information) and ear number. Each of the parents, grandparents, and great grandparents should include the name of the rabbit, ear number, variety (color), and sex (usually indicated by a title such as sire or dam), the generation (such as grand or great grandparent.). Addition information for your rabbit may include genetic information, and show records (such as winnings or legs.), registration numbers and grand champion numbers. NOTE: If you rabbit is registered and has a grand champion certificate, you should get that information with your pedigree. If the rabbit has a registration number in its right ear, that rabbit is registered and the there should be official paperwork for that registration that should be provided with the rabbit. If it did not come with your rabbit, you should get it from the breeder. This paperwork should stay with the rabbit even if the breeder's name is on the paperwork as the owner. This only means they were the owner at the time of registration. It does not mean they still own the rabbit or the paperwork for that rabbit. Additional information provided for the rabbit's ancestry (parents, grandparents...) may include genetics, wins, date of birth, registration numbers, and grand champion numbers. A pedigree may even contain more than 3 additional generations. The breeder's information is essential. A breeder's information may include a rabbitry name, the breeders name, contact information, a signature and any other relevant info. If the breeder does not provide a name or contact info, it may be helpful to obtain that info at time of sales. You can never be too careful when purchasing rabbits and may need to contact them in case something happens. If your pedigree is missing any of the basic required information, you should obtain it preferably before you purchase the rabbit but this contact info can help you if you realized there is some information missing. NOTE: Weight is helpful and necessary for registration however, it is not otherwise required information. Sadly, this is probably one of the most common pieces of missing information on pedigrees.
How do I know the information on a pedigree is accurate. Well, sadly, this is not guaranteed. Anytime you buy a rabbit you run the risk of inaccuracies being in the pedigree that the breeder may not even be aware of. Always look over your pedigree thoroughly and if anything looks off, don't be afraid to ask the breeder about it. If something seems fishy with what you are looking at and you don't feel the breeder is being honest, don't take chances. You can always find a different rabbit. There can be many discrepancies in pedigrees that may have been a mistake on the breeder's part so it's a good idea to let them know. It may be a simple fix. However, if you are dealing with a breeder who you feel is being dishonest, it's a good idea to get a second opinion. Of course, these are rabbits. You aren't investing in a car or a house but serious discrepancies in the pedigree can ruin a good breeding program. Not only does it complicate things for your records, it can effect your reputation as well. Who wants to start off with bad information? Not me. While I like to think that most breeders are honest, there are those who will cheat to get ahead, which can include falsifying pedigrees or even fabricating. Sadly, sometimes this kind of thing does happen, which can take the fun out of this hobby so it's always a good idea get a second opinion if you're not sure.
Is there any kind of a directory where I can confirm blood lines? ARBA has a wonderful breeder directory but this may not always help. Sometimes the titles used in front of the rabbit's name don't list the breeder or rabbitry's name (some rabbits won't even have a title) and if it does, ARBA only lists breeders and rabbitries that are registered with ARBA and not every breeder or rabbitry will be registered. So, if you don't find breeder or rabbitry info on ARBA's directory, that does not mean the breeder/rabbitry is fake. There could be many simple reasons why you can't find the rabbitry or breeder's info. A very common one is that the breeder is not registered with ARBA or that they no longer raise rabbits, especially if you're looking at older lines. Sometimes it's good to ask some of the older more knowledgeable breeders about blood lines. Even if they don't recognized the blood line, that doesn't mean it's fake. To make things more complicated, if the breed is fairly popular, there could be a lot of breeders out there that may raise or have once raised the breed, which can make tracking information difficult. Be very careful when investigating or accusing someone of supplying falsified pedigrees. You should be 100% sure the pedigree is false and you need to be sure the breeder even knew about it before accusing. Many times, breeders don't know about it themselves and may appreciate being informed. Remember, tread carefully whether you're new or not. Sadly, in there are those who may not have have good intensions. If someone tells you that your pedigree is false, be very aware that there are trouble makers out there that will stir things up simply because they can. Make sure anyone you ask for advise is not only very experienced but honest.
How do I know what breeders are best to buy stock from? Well, this generally takes research and recommendations. I try to keep a very open mind with breeders. There are a lot of good breeders out there who you can get good stock from that may not necessarily be one of the top breeders. I don't necessarily believe in only buying stock from "top" (meaning breeders who have the best reputations or show records around) breeders. I try to encourage supporting all breeders and cultivating good relationships with other local breeders. There is a good chance you will get something nice from these top breeders but they may not be the only ones with good lines. In fact, some of the top breeders may have some of the same blood lines and chances are, you can find some nice quality animals from them as well. Some of the newer breeders or those who have smaller rabbitries may even have stock from these "top" breeders that you can work with. A very good tip is not to base your idea of a good animal solely on blood lines or who the rabbit came from. Even the best blood lines have the potential of producing poor quality. Instead, try to learn how to base your judgment of a good animal on quality. Try to focus on finding those traits that your herd needs or that will give you a good start. In general, ask around about who will get you started with some great rabbits. Keep in mind that some breeders would rather have your business than point you to someone they know will set you up with good stock. In this case, having a good idea of what you want or need is a good idea.