What do rabbits need?
The Scottish government legislation for rabbit welfare imposes the need for all rabbits to have all 5 of their essential welfare needs met. These include:
- Environment - the need for a suitable environment and place to live.
- Diet - the need for a suitable diet.
- Behaviour - the need to express normal behaviour.
- Companionship - the need to consider your pet’s social needs.
- Vet care - The need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
Environment - Housing
Rabbits need as much space as possible 24/7. The desire of a rabbit is to have enough territory that they can create safe areas, shared community space for exercise and areas to use for toileting. Being most active late at night and early morning, having as much space during the night as they do during the day is vital and they should never be closed away into a small space, especially at night.
How big?
The minimum size a rabbit should have access to 24/7 is 10x6ft and at least 3ft in height.
Indoors: a room which can be bunny proofed is the ideal situation. Being free range in the house is also excellent if you can manage all the bunny proofing. Otherwise, a large puppy pen can be set up for unsupervised times but should still be at least 6ft in size. If they at home, a great way to keep an eye on them when you aren't there is a surveillance camera which you can connect to your smart phone or tablet.
Outdoors:
Housing Recommendations:
How big?
The minimum size a rabbit should have access to 24/7 is 10x6ft and at least 3ft in height.
Indoors: a room which can be bunny proofed is the ideal situation. Being free range in the house is also excellent if you can manage all the bunny proofing. Otherwise, a large puppy pen can be set up for unsupervised times but should still be at least 6ft in size. If they at home, a great way to keep an eye on them when you aren't there is a surveillance camera which you can connect to your smart phone or tablet.
Outdoors:
- The best combo for outdoors is a shed/Wendy house with run/aviary attached or large dog kennel style. This works out cheaper than a quality hutch and provides more space and shelter. They can be insulated and weather proofed for the winter and kitted out with more enrichment and even different levels can be put in. We do not recommend the use of hutches at all.
- Any permanent outdoor space MUST be fully predator proof and on hard flooring/slabs. Mesh must be at least 16g galvanised steel.
- A great way to expand your set up you have already or attach a run is to use Runaround systems. They encourage warren tunnelling behaviour and help them to feel safe in between housings. Visit runaround.co.uk
Housing Recommendations:
- Bespoke hutch and run covers - http://m.g.ebay.co.uk/itm/181774466317?nav=SEARCH
- Ellie Bo heavy duty 80cm Indoor pen - https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Dog-Houses-Kennels-Pens/Ellie-Bo-Modular-Exercise-Whelping-Pieces/B00JR6ZMQA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1500836952&sr=8-2&keywords=Ellie+bo+pen
- Connection tunnel and run kits - runaround.co.uk
- Bespoke rabbit hides and furniture - manorpethousing.co.uk Animal Adventure Pods
- Rabbit Indoor surveillance camera - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XJ5CWB8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1500831456&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=Pet+wireless+camera&psc=1
- Bespoke large outdoor housing -
- Rabbit safe outdoor/indoor paint for sheds/hides - Cuprinol Garden Shades
Acceptable Outdoor Housing (pictures below)
Unacceptable OutdoorHousing (pictured below)
Toys
There are lots of great simple toy ideas you can give your rabbit to encourage them to play and be active. Pet shop rabbit toys can often be harmful and toxic.
Toys you can give your rabbit:
Tunnels, tents, balls, kids stacking toys, step stools, ball pits, wooden castles, treat ball, cat trees.
Visit our One Hop Shop here to purchase safe, suitable toys for rabbits.
Toys you can give your rabbit:
Tunnels, tents, balls, kids stacking toys, step stools, ball pits, wooden castles, treat ball, cat trees.
Visit our One Hop Shop here to purchase safe, suitable toys for rabbits.
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Diet
Bowls or water dispensers should always be used for water. If using a bottle, bowls should also always be available. Studies show that rabbits drink far more from a bowl as this is more natural.
A rabbits diet is extremely important for their long term health. They should be grazing on hay or grass all day. 90% of a rabbit diet should be good quality feeding hays and grasses. Rabbits are fibrevores so must be fed a diet rich in fibre to help their gut move continually. If any complete pellets are to be given, we recommend cold pressed pellets and fibre sticks, these should be treated as a multi vitamin and given in small amounts as a supplement (ie one tablespoon).
Rabbits are natural foragers and should be working and searching for their food. This keeps them more active and makes them work for their food a bit more. Feeding food in bowls only encourages laziness and resource guarding.
Feeding options:
1. Scatter feeding by either throwing food into their enclosure, by creating a foraging box or ball pit and scatter the food inside.
2. Use a treat dispensing ball which they have to roll to get their pellets out. This encourages exercise and playing.
3. Hand feeding. This is particularly good for training and encouraging interaction and bonding with the owner.
Hays & Grasses:
There are so many varieties of hay and you may be left wondering which is best? There are feeding hays and bedding hays. Bedding hay is brown/golden and not very nutritious. The first thing you must consider is the level of fibre as rabbits need the most amount of fibre possible. Timothy hay has the highest fibre content so this is the hay which should be given as the bulk of their diet. Things to look for in good hay is; thick, long strands, stalky and greenish in colour. You can also get hays with added foliage, flowers etc added and nice thick green oat hay is also appreciated by Bunnies. Once your Bunnies are given good quality hay, you will have a very hard find getting them to eat anything else. They will also have excellent big golden poops! Learn more about hay here.
Treats:
The best treats for rabbits are the ones as natural as possible. The best diet is one close to their wild ancestors. Dried and fresh foliage, herbs, branches, flowers etc is the best. Forget the "supermarket" veg! Veg is rich, high in sugar and is equivalent to giving your children lots of sweets. Instead, go out and pick them a few dandelions, rose petals and willow or apple branches. This will be delicious for them as well as good for their gut and teeth. Avoid colourful, shop bought treats and fruit. Home grow some herbs such as parsley, basil, coriander, mint and dill as a healthy, tasty alternative to veg.
Rabbits cannot digest seeds or corn and can be fatal for them so should NEVER be given. Other TOXIC foods include: Onions, Yoghurt Drops, Muesli, Avocado, Bread, Dairy.
Recommendations:
Forage:
Hay:
A rabbits diet is extremely important for their long term health. They should be grazing on hay or grass all day. 90% of a rabbit diet should be good quality feeding hays and grasses. Rabbits are fibrevores so must be fed a diet rich in fibre to help their gut move continually. If any complete pellets are to be given, we recommend cold pressed pellets and fibre sticks, these should be treated as a multi vitamin and given in small amounts as a supplement (ie one tablespoon).
Rabbits are natural foragers and should be working and searching for their food. This keeps them more active and makes them work for their food a bit more. Feeding food in bowls only encourages laziness and resource guarding.
Feeding options:
1. Scatter feeding by either throwing food into their enclosure, by creating a foraging box or ball pit and scatter the food inside.
2. Use a treat dispensing ball which they have to roll to get their pellets out. This encourages exercise and playing.
3. Hand feeding. This is particularly good for training and encouraging interaction and bonding with the owner.
Hays & Grasses:
There are so many varieties of hay and you may be left wondering which is best? There are feeding hays and bedding hays. Bedding hay is brown/golden and not very nutritious. The first thing you must consider is the level of fibre as rabbits need the most amount of fibre possible. Timothy hay has the highest fibre content so this is the hay which should be given as the bulk of their diet. Things to look for in good hay is; thick, long strands, stalky and greenish in colour. You can also get hays with added foliage, flowers etc added and nice thick green oat hay is also appreciated by Bunnies. Once your Bunnies are given good quality hay, you will have a very hard find getting them to eat anything else. They will also have excellent big golden poops! Learn more about hay here.
Treats:
The best treats for rabbits are the ones as natural as possible. The best diet is one close to their wild ancestors. Dried and fresh foliage, herbs, branches, flowers etc is the best. Forget the "supermarket" veg! Veg is rich, high in sugar and is equivalent to giving your children lots of sweets. Instead, go out and pick them a few dandelions, rose petals and willow or apple branches. This will be delicious for them as well as good for their gut and teeth. Avoid colourful, shop bought treats and fruit. Home grow some herbs such as parsley, basil, coriander, mint and dill as a healthy, tasty alternative to veg.
Rabbits cannot digest seeds or corn and can be fatal for them so should NEVER be given. Other TOXIC foods include: Onions, Yoghurt Drops, Muesli, Avocado, Bread, Dairy.
Recommendations:
- Treat dispensers, puzzle toys, snuffle mats, treat ball.
- Book about Foraging for rabbits by Twigs Way - shop.rabbitwelfare.co.uk
- Tasty treats - here
- Water Dispenser - here
- Pellets - Marriages cold pressed here and Fibafirst sticks here
Forage:
- One Hop Shop (our BBBB website shop)
- Galensgarden.co.uk
- Twigandburrows.co.uk
- Twigandnibbleshop.co.uk
Hay:
- Us at BBBB
- Timothyhay.co.uk
- Healthyherby.co.uk
Vet Care
One of the MOST important thing to do for your rabbits is to find a rabbit savvy vet! Not all vets are able to treat rabbits, they should be exotic trained as rabbits are classed as small exotic mammals. There are only a handful of vets in Scotland that can properly treat rabbits. You should be taking your rabbits for regular health checks.
A rabbit savvy vets should:
Rabbit Savvy Vets in Scotland: (this is updated regularly as vets move practices) * last updated 5/8/21
Emergency reasons to see a rabbit savvy vet NOW:
Rabbits are prey animals who do very well to conceal their illness from us therefore we must do our best to be aware of any changes to our rabbits bodies or behaviour. By recognising problems early, you can help solve the issue before it gets too serious. One of the best ways to keep an eye on their internal health is by observing their urine and faeces.
Urine: rabbits can pee all sorts of colours from clear to bright red. This can change depending on what they have eaten. All colours are normal however look out for any white urine or chalky deposits in the urine. This is a sign of too much calcium and can quickly turn into kidney and bladder issues.
Faeces: Rabbits have 2 types of poo.
A rabbit savvy vets should:
- Have a separate kennelling area for rabbits only and should always tell you to bring your pair/group when coming in instead of just one.
- Have a good neutering success rate. Their statistics of losing a rabbit under anaesthetics should be under 1% and should have a good track record.
- Always offer pain relief and after care after a neutering.
- Never tell you to fast a rabbit before surgery.
- Have one or a few particular Rabbit specialist vets within their surgery that are qualified in exotics.
- Should recommend BOTH vaccinations (myxo, VHD1 & VHD2) annually. If any of them say they are "not necessary", find a new vet.
Rabbit Savvy Vets in Scotland: (this is updated regularly as vets move practices) * last updated 5/8/21
- Eileen at Taylors Vet Catkin
- Laura & Madonna at Ark Vets
- Royal Dick Vet School Edinburgh
- Lawries Vet Cumbernauld
- Julie at Vets4Pets Hamilton
- Martin at ICU vet Edinburgh
- Alison at Ardene House Aberdeen
- John at A&G Vets Bonnybridge
Emergency reasons to see a rabbit savvy vet NOW:
- Not moving, limp
- Change/loss of appetite
- Small or fewer poos
- Broken bones or legs
- Collapse
- Mouth breathing
- Runny eyes/nose/coughing/sneezing/wheezing
- Fly strike
- Blood in urine
- Dribbling/wet fur around mouth
- Haemorrhage
- Fitting
- Screaming
- Bad wounds
- Diarrhoea
- Lumps or growths
Rabbits are prey animals who do very well to conceal their illness from us therefore we must do our best to be aware of any changes to our rabbits bodies or behaviour. By recognising problems early, you can help solve the issue before it gets too serious. One of the best ways to keep an eye on their internal health is by observing their urine and faeces.
Urine: rabbits can pee all sorts of colours from clear to bright red. This can change depending on what they have eaten. All colours are normal however look out for any white urine or chalky deposits in the urine. This is a sign of too much calcium and can quickly turn into kidney and bladder issues.
Faeces: Rabbits have 2 types of poo.
- Droppings - droppings tell you a lot about a rabbits health. You want to be looking for lots of large golden poos that crumble when pressed. They should look like lots of tiny bits of hay compressed. Few, small, dark or misshapen droppings is a sign there is something up. It could be a change in diet or they may have gone into gut stasis. If you see poos stringing together with hair, they can have a blockage in the gut with fur. This is common when they are moulting. Groom them everyday to get rid of excess fur and give plenty of hay and water to flush their gut out.
- Caecotrophs - wet shiny poo. This is normally produced early morning and night. This should be eaten straight from the anus as rabbits take their vitamins back from them. If you see them and they have not been eaten this can indicate their diet is too rich. Cut back on pellets and fresh food and increase hay consumption.
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Typical Rabbit Urine Colours
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Vaccinations
Rabbits are suceptible to 3 viruses in the UK: Myxomatosis, VHD1, VHD2.
ALL rabbits BOTH indoors and outdoors require vaccinations to all 3 viruses annually. These viruses can be picked up and spread quickly and easily regardless where your rabbit lives.
ALL rabbits BOTH indoors and outdoors require vaccinations to all 3 viruses annually. These viruses can be picked up and spread quickly and easily regardless where your rabbit lives.
Wellbeing
Rabbits are sentient beings that require a gentle approach, as a prey herd species they are fragile and susceptible to many health issues and will often tolerate abuse due to their nature which can be traumatic and lead to learned helplessness.
- Harnesses - Safety is paramount and harnesses are not safe to use on any rabbits due to their skeletal structure and way they naturally exercise. Baby Blue Bee Bunnies do not recommend the use of collars or harnesses on rabbits.
- Clothing - Dressing rabbits up in any form of clothing (out with medical post op vests) is stressful and restrictive to rabbits and should never be done. Rabbits do not like to feel trapped and putting clothing on them can make them feel defensive and vulnerable and extremely stressed. Even if a rabbit will tolerate this, it is not enjoyable nor kind. Baby Blue Bee Bunnies do not recommend dressing rabbits up in any form of clothing.
- Trancing - Trancing ie "placing a rabbit on it's back" causes a rabbit to play dead and makes them stressed and terrified. This should never be done to a rabbit.
