Is a rabbit the right pet for you?
Any pet you take in to your home is a commitment to caring correctly for that animal’s entire
life. For a rabbit that could be anything from 5 to over 10 years. Proper care doesn’t just involve correct feeding
and cleaning out but also time spent with him, grooming him and being able to provide vet care. Please consider carefully
if you have the time and commitment for such a responsibility.
Veterinary fees can be expensive. There are yearly vaccinations for VHD and Myxomatosis. Serious
consideration should be given to having your pet rabbit neutered to prevent many reproductive cancers.
Also please consider where you are keeping your rabbit.
Outdoors in a large sound and secure hutch out of direct sunlight, wind and rain, with several
hours exercise each day in a secure run. Perhaps you want him as a house bunny in which case you must consider the type of
housing, the rabbit’s safety regarding electrical wiring, carpets etc, all of which can be chewed and cause harm.
Rabbits require adult supervision, they are not toys.
Rabbits are social creatures they enjoy company either human or another rabbit. If you have a bonded
pair they will groom each other however it will still be your responsibility to groom them. Although they are naturally clean
animals your rabbit will require grooming for just a few minutes each day and more so at moult time. Rabbits will ingest some
of their fur whilst grooming, but do not have a natural ability to cough/vomit up hair balls like cats, which can lead to
digestive problems (sometimes fatal).
If you are going to litter train your rabbit, be sure to use a safe product such as wood pulp in
a large enough litter tray .
Is a rabbit an ideal pet for a child?
No! Unless supervised by an adult.
Young children have little understanding of a rabbits needs and they can’t
read bunny signals well. Young children want to pick the rabbit up and cuddle it. They don’t understand that for a rabbit
losing contact with the ground is a fearful experience. Excited children squealing with delight is a wonderful sound to a
parent but quite frightening to a rabbit.
The rabbit will bite, struggle, kick out and possibly injure the child in an attempt
to get back to the ground.
Then what happens? The child loses interest and the poor bunny lives out the rest
of its days cooped up in its cage with no affection or interaction. Boredom sets in the rabbit becomes stressed, fearful or
destructive.
Alternatively, an opposite sex bunny friend is added to the equation. Not a great
idea unless the buck is neutered and proper bunny bonding is established first.
Some parents have this need to let their children witness the miracle of creation!
For heavens sake why?
What will happen to all the babies? Will they find new homes? Or like so many others
will they find their way to the rescue centre? If not a cute enough to rehome then condemned to death.
Sensibly, a child supervised is fine.
Sit on the ground and let the bunny smell, climb over and sit on your child. Have
a tasty morsel to bribe the bunny closer. The adult should carry the rabbit to and from the hutch.
Why should I neuter my rabbit?
Neutering your pet bunny is the kindest thing you can do. Don’t forget the
most placid bunny has the potential to turn in to an extremely hormonal teenager. Dependant on the breed of rabbit, any time
after 3 months you may start to notice a change in its character. Your baby boy bunny may start spraying you or his surroundings
with urine or may become territorial and bite or box you as you enter his hutch. Your little girl bunny may start nesting
and have a psuedopregnancy. Her need to kindle may make her aggressive.
If you are to have 2 bunnies then the best combination is a male and female, ideally
a pair from the same litter with at least the buck being neutered. If you are introducing two opposite sex adults to each
other please remember that bonding can be more difficult and in some instances may not work. Rabbits are actually quite fussy
about who they bond with. Two bucks will fight, even if neutered.
Two doe siblings can be raised together but there is no guarantee they will stay
friends forever, especially as their teenage hormones kick in. It would be best to have them both neutered.
Whatever combination you select it is advisable to have both rabbits neutered, as
mentioned in our health section, to protect their long term health.
Once rabbits have had fights even neutering may not guarantee they will become a
bonded pair again. So get them spayed before this has a chance to develop.
Please do research about rabbits, there is so much information on the internet and of course we can offer
you answers to any questions you may have too!
We do not charge extra if you wish to have your rabbit BRC rung. As the rings cost less than
£1 each. However, it is the new owners responsibility to send off the transfer card and pay a fee to the BRC which is
currently £3.50.
We do not breed to make money. Any rabbit you may purchase from us are simply
surplus to our requirements to improve and continue our show lines. Any monies made from the sale of our rabbits will
go straight back into the husbandry costs of maintaining a healthy herd. Our feed bill alone is over £50 per month and
that doesn't include vegetables/herbs/hay/straw/hemp/shavings & vet bills!
We do not condone inbreeding, our rabbits out crossed regularly.We will not ask
you to 'rescue' our rabbits and we do not tolerate people who mass buy-in rabbits and breed them, only to be discarded
and sold on once they have proved non profit making. Our rabbits are selected carefully in the first instance for excellent
health, sound character and as close to BRC standard as possible from well known established exhibitors and we pride
ourselves that ours are bred to the same high standards.
We aim for quality not quantity!
We do not sell starter kits, to us this is impulse buying and we like to think people
have thought carefully about owning a pet rabbit.
We are always here to freely offer advice to anyone, not only those who may have purchased
a rabbit from us. Our commitment is to our rabbits, to ensure they are going to be loved and well cared for.
We hope you don't mind if we ask you questions, we are only making sure our rabbits
go to good homes.
