Facts about Rabbit


Here are some cool facts that you may or may not know already.
Rabbits are pretty interesting , cute and cuddly creatures with some uniqueness to their own trait.

Rabbits sleep 90% of the with their eyes open!


Yes, Rabbits have inner membrane in their eyes which acts as a secondary layer allowing them to sleep while their eyes are opened. This helps them to be alert ALWAYS!!!

They are stubborn and highly territorial

Many thinks that rabbits are cute, cuddly and soft in nature but the fact is they are Stubborn and territorial.
When you leave two males or two females in your backyard there is 99% chance that one will die when you wake up.
This is one of the reason the rabbits are kept in separate cages. Rabbits choose around 600 sq-mts of land and always defend them other intruders.
They are stubborn too, when they get a snack which is tasty than their normal food then they will starve and wait for the next time you give them that tasty snack.
Its very difficult to make the rabbit eat hay when it gets the taste of Carrot or Alfalfa.

Rabbits mortality rate is high at young age

Most of the rabbits die at the young age as they could not adapt either to the climate or food or due to predators.
Rabbits mortality % will be around 40% from the day they born to 3 months of their age.
The rabbit that does not have access to water will likely to die in a week or 2. Change in diet also kills the rabbit.


Can bear icy cold but cant bear hot climate

Their over coat is made of think wool that protects them from chilling weather but useless against heat.
They need proper ventilation to escape the heat.

Rabbit mother does not give you clue whether she is nursing !

You wont be able to notice a rabbit giving milk to their kits. In fact you will feel she has totally abandoned her babies and left them die, But that's their actual strategy.
Mother rabbit does not want any predators to follow her and end up in her nest.


Rabbits are Active at night   

They are night creatures and spend most of the time grazing during the night and early morning to avoid being hunted down.

Male rabbits are more attached to human than female   

Male bunnies love roaming around your feet while the female concentrates on their food.

Guidelines and Tips for Raising Rabbits at home (Must Read)



Tips for Buying Rabbit(s):

The first question you have to ask your self before buying rabbit is ->
Am i going to breed the Rabbit and like to sell the Babies?
or
I need the Bunny as my pet just like a Dog?

Well, If you are planning to be a breeder then:
  • Choose 1 male and 2-3 Female Rabbits
  • Make sure that Male should not be a lower breed than Female i.e. Female is from a Giant breed and male is a dwarf in that case female will take down the male and there could be a chance of injury or loosing your male.
  • Its good to choose same breed rabbit to avoid genetic disorders.
  • Never choose more than one male in your colony.


If you are planning to be a Pet lover then:

  •  Try to choose only one rabbit to keep in your house.
  •  Preferably Male, as the males can be more attached to humans than females you will not feel boring.
  •  Male rabbits prefer circling around your feet unlike females which concentrates only on eating and digging burrows.

Tips for Homing your Rabbit:

Now next question will be whether you are going to keep the bunnies indoor or outdoor?

In fact keeping bunnies outdoor is much safer option for both bunnies and you!
The reason is they can inhale fresh air and you wont get allergic to any of their mites.

If you are keeping them outdoor then make sure that cats cannot stick their paws inside their cage.
And the cage is kept under good shade cause Rabbits cannot bear heat but they do well in extreme cold.


If you are preferring to keep them indoor make sure that your cage has a detachable tray for easy waste removal.


The cage should be filled with tiles / wooden board at least for 1.5 square feet to avoid them getting sore on their feet.

Tips for handling your Rabbit:

Never lift your rabbit by their ears as that will hurt them very badly and chances of getting hair-line fractures on their ear bones.
It should be lifted with the support of their body weight to keep them in comfort zone.



Tips for Feeding your Rabbit:

The rabbit that does not have access to clean water will die within a week especially younger ones.
Always check whether they have plenty of water to drink.

Rabbits hate and avoid dirty water, If the water is stinky it wont lick even a drop from it no matter how thirsty they are.

The best kind are those that are placed on the side of the cage on the outside and face into the cage.This is better because the rabbit can not knock it over. The bottle should be cleaned out and fresh water should be supplied every day.


Feed rabbits from your own backyard:
Some plants grows faster and easy to maintain which gives dual benefit i.e. for you and your bunny!!
Banana plant :
  1.  Easy to grow and maintain.
  2.  Banana leaves can be fed unlimited to rabbits due to their high fiber content.
  3.  Banana peels can be a tasty snack for your bunnies and Banana fruit will be a good treat also.
Tapiaco Plant (Maravalli/Kelviragu):
  • One of the fastest growing plant and easy to plant in any climate.
  • The stick can be used to regrow the plant easily.
  • Plug leaf by leaf (Old ones first) rather than cutting off the entire branch so that you wont run out of leaves any time.
Sunflower Plant:
  • Sunflower plants are taller and provides sufficient food for your rabbits.
Alfalfa Plant:
  • Alfalfa is a legume and can be grown in varying climatic conditions.
  • Alfalfa is high in protein and helps your bunny gaining weight
  • They grow faster and regrow even faster after each cut.
Other plants which can also provide feeding values are 
  • Rose plant
  • Brinjal plant
  • Chilly plant
  • Spinach
  • Bermuda grass
  • Wheat crop
  • Maize crop





                        











Rabbits in my Garden










Rabbit - Health and medicine

Rabbit – Health issue & Medicine Section:
There are few health related issues that can occur anytime when you raise a rabbit.
Most of the time out door rabbits suffer more than indoor.
All these medicines are available in local medical shops who sell medicines for humans and animals.


 Tips:
  •  Use 2-3 drop of apple cider vinegar in half litter bottle with water.
  •  Clean the cage often. 
  •  If cage floor is too much urinated then use apple cider vinegar + water and spray them on it and clean.
  •  Do not leave waste over food in cage.
  •  Do not keep rabbit in sun/heat (Rabbits can survive intense cold but not heat)
  •  Let them outside for sometime so that they can play and build their muscles.



Deworming - Vaccination:

To prevent your rabbits from getting affected from parasites such as Mites and Worms you need to give them Ivermectin 0.04ml per kg of your rabbit.
Need to give this once in 4 month, orally in mouth. (The bottle cost jus 30rs)



















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GastroIntestinal Stasis:

GI stasis in rabbits is a deadly condition in which the digestive system slows down or stops completely.


Causes:
The slowdown of the digestive system can be caused by:
·         A high starch, low fiber diet
·         Lack of exercise
·         Stress 

               Symptoms:
                          Eats very less (Loss of appetite)
                          Faecal pellets will become smaller.

                Prevention:
          Feed high fibre diet such as Hay, Grass, Crops.
          Minimize vegetable diets like Cauliflower leaves, Cabbage, etc...

Treatment:
0.5 ml of Paediatric Aristozyme drops orally ( drop through syringe without needle in mouth)
Only once in a day and Continue till it feels better (Max 4 days).




















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Mites(Parasitic Insects):

The most common type of rabbit mites are called cheyletiella and cannot be seen with the naked eye. They may also be referred to as 'mange' mites.
   

Causes:
If not treated the rabbit will die in 20-30 days:

                 Symptoms:
·         High Irritation and scratch.
·         Loss of Fur.
·         Dry Scales.

                 Prevention:
  •    Rabbits kept inside houses are less likely to be affected.
  •    If the Rabbit is kept outside then Cage should be cleaned every one or two days.
  •    Cage should have holes to let urine and poop fall down.
  •    Clean the cage with spray of - (1 spoon of Apple cider vinegar + quarter litter of water)  
  •    Rabbit ears should be cleaned every month with Cotton + Water or Spray of Apple cider Vinegar.


Treatment:
Take Ivermectin IP 1% using syringe 0.04 / 0.05 mg per 1 kg of rabbits weight and give it orally ( drop through syringe without needle in mouth)
The same should be continues for 3 times every 14 days.
 





If the Rabbit is severely affected the apply Benzyl Benzoate on the infected areas twice a day till the wound heals.





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Sore Hoax:

Causes weights to form on rabbit hind (back) legs.


Causes:
Dirty weights forming on their feet.

                Prevention:
This occurs when the rabbits are left in iron cages / meshes.
Keep Tiles / Solid materials one half side of the cage for them to rest.

Treatment:
Need to approach Vet.


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Dysentery: Lose Motion

 

Intestinal disturbance in rabbits is the result of stress or underlying diseases.

                   Prevention:
  Keep the cage clean and do not overfeed.
  Do not change the diet suddenly (Ex: Whole week full of grass and suddenly changing to Cauliflower)

Treatment:
Cut ¼ of AMOXY tablet and mix with water give drops orally ( 2 drop through syringe without needle in mouth)
Only once in a day and Continue till it feels better.



Tonic (optional):
  • This is optional; if you like you can get Pet Glow solution (available in Vet Medical shops) 0.5 ml per adult rabbit mix in water and feed them through syringe. (They will drink easily)



  
Rabbit – Exercise:
They should be let out for at least an hour a day either in garden or on terrace.
They should be able to stretch their legs and they love playing in area large enough to run.

Indoor Rabbit - Litter-Toilet box training


How to Setup and Train rabbits to use Litter box:







1. How to setup a litter box at you home?
  •  The easiest way to setup the litter box is to take a Household tray of size min 18" * 12" (inches).
  • Fill with Hay (Timothy/Bermuda/Oat).
  • Fill low quality below and high quality on the top so that your rabbit loves chewing while peeing.
  • Some people also use One Row of Sand and on the top of the sand with Hay. This actually helps absorbing the urine.
2. How to make it work?

Its not hard for litter training your bunny! But at the same time its not easy too.
Generally Rabbits are not fast learners as Dogs but definitely better than a chicken.

You have to encourage your rabbits to use the Toilet gradually.

  • Choose the place to put your litter box! Best option is to choose the place where they love to poop.
  • Most poop at the corner of the room.
  • Now add some Eatables in and around the box.
  • Put some high quality Hay inside the box and add little of carrot, so when they eat they poop.
  • The smell of their poop attracts them to the litter box and makes them poop again in the same place.
  • Repeat the procedure.
  • If you still find difficulties then gather all the poop your rabbit dropped in your room and put them all in the box.

Thanks for reading.




Indian way of feeding rabbit


  Rabbit Healthy feeding - Indian style:

Indian style of raising rabbit will be quite different from western as the food supply you get differs from region to region.
You cannot find a Timothy hay or any other western hay that most of the post shows you to feed rabbits.

If you are from India and raising a rabbit as pet / for farm below will help you for sure.

Bermuda Hay is equivalent of Timothy hay which is available plenty in India

(*Maravalli - Tapioca)     [*The other font is Tamil language]


Can give in less amount குறைந்த அளவு கொடுக்க முடியும்

  • Apple (ஆப்பிள்)
  • Banana (வழை பழம்)
  • Beans (பீன்ஸ்)
  • Mango (மாம்பழம்)
  • Tomatto (தக்காளி)
  • Pine Apple
  • Ocimum tenuiflorum/Tulasi Leaves (துளசி)

Composite protein food (Only for Rabbits above age 2 months):

2 Adult Rabbit : 

Mix 250 gram Bermuda Hay (Finger size cut) + 1 spoon of soaked Wheat Bran + 1 spoon of soaked Maize Bran + 1 spoon of soaked Groundnut oil cake.


கலப்பு  தீவனம்  ( 2 மாதங்கள் மேலே உள்ள முயல்கலக்கு  மட்டும்)

2 - பெரியமுயலுக்கு:   இவைகளை கலந்து போடவும் 
250 கிராம் விரல் அளவு வெட்டியா கயிந்த்த அறுகம் புல் +
1 ஸ்பூன்  ஊறவைத்த  கோதுமை தவுடு  +
1 ஸ்பூன்  ஊறவைத்த மக்காச்சோளத்  தவுடு  +
1 ஸ்பூன் ஊறவைத்த  கடலை புண்ணாக்கு 

Refer below for protein levels:
http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd8/1/muir.htm

Should not give     (கொடுக்க கூடாதது)


  • ·        அரிசி (Rice)
  • ·        சாதம் (Rice Meal)
  • ·        ஆரஞ்சு (orange)
  • ·        ஆப்பிள் விதை (Apple Seed)
  • ·        தேங்காய் (Coconut)
  • ·        அழகு பூச்செடி (Exotic flower plants)
  • ·        கோதுமை (Wheat)
  • ·        நெல் 
  • ·        தானியம் (Grains)
  • ·        கிழங்கு (Potatoes)
  • ·        சப்பாத்தி (Chapathi)
  • ·        ரொட்டி (Rotti/Bread)
  • ·         (Bun)