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THE RABBIT
rabbits make excellent pets and are very entertaining.
rabbits are herbivores/vegetarins which means they dont eat meat.
A rabbit can be purchased from a number of different places e.g pet shop, breeder, adds in newspapers, internet.
Male rabbits tend to be more friendly than females
The rabbit comes in many colours and breeds to choose from and depending on breeds they can look very different in appearance e.g. an angora rabbit has wool like fur but a dutch has very short smooth fur and my personal favourite the lionhead has a mane like a lion and long fluffy fur.
im gonna tell you about lionheads :)
the lifespan of a rabbit is an average of 8 years but some have lived longer.
LIONHEADS :
FOOD DAILY:
1 bowl of wagg bunny brunch
1 handful of grass/hay
small amount of treats
selection of fresh fruit and vegetables (bananas,strawberries and grapes are sweet to rabbits and should be limited
im usually £2.00 for 1kg
rabbits are not allowed :- lettuce, bread, tea leaves and a plant called nightshade all these will kill your rabbit. :(
ACCOMMODATION FOR RABBITS:
I tend to keep my rabbits outside but rabbits can be an indoor pet too, the
majority of rabbits live in a hutch with a feeding compartment and a bed compartment, but there are a wide range of different styles of hutches to choose from.
I clean my rabbits every week at the weekend which is the best way but they do need to be done at least every week.
I use sawdust and hay for my hutches but straw is also used.
A small shovel and brush should be used to take out the dirty bedding and disfinfectant sprayed and left to dry before new bedding goes in :)
My sawdust costs 2.90 a bag
hay £5 which does 3-4 weeks
GROOMING:
My lionheads tend to need more grooming than most rabbits because of their long fur.
Grooming my rabbits is done daily to keep their fur in best condition :)
Most rabbits should be groomed at least once a week and have an all over health check and if needed nails trimmed as well.
MEDICAL ATTENTION:
rabbits need 2 vaccines
1. maximatosis
2. VHD
and flea treatment every 3 months
EXERCISE :
Rabbits need exercise just like you to keep healthy so to the best thing for your rabbit is to let it out of the hutch daily but always make sure it is in an enclosed area from which your rabbit cannot escape.
A rabbit run is best for exercising your rabbit and they usually start at around £25-30 and can go up to hundreds of pounds depending the size and material you want it to be :)
TRAINING :
Rabbits like cats and dogs can be trained to perform some tricks :)
I have managed to get 2 of my 5 rabbits to come when called and to eat out of my hand but there is a wide variety of tricks you can teach :)
Rabbits can also like cats be litter trained, and like dogs with a special rabbit harness are able to be walked with a lead.
BREEDING :
When thinking of breeding be serious because you need to find homes for each new rabbit and from experince sometimes it can be hard because one of my females had 11 kits.
Rabbits have no periods and are only pregnant for 28-35 days
From experince on breeding rabbits the most amazing thing happened with my very first litter, my doe smokey had her kits right in front of me which can be rare but to see it is unbelieveable :0
Right now one thing before i go is always remeber :-
RABBITS ARE FOR LIFE NOT JUST FOR EASTER THINK FIRST THAN AFTER GETTING ONE A FEW WEEKS LATER!
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