Caring for Your rabbits

Origin

Rabbits are not considered part of the rodent family, but rather belong to the lagomorph family.

Life Span

Rabbits have an average life span of 5-10 years.

Physical Characteristics

Sexing

To properly sex a rabbit, the distance between the anus and the genital opening is measured. Males have a space twice the distance of females.

Behavioral Characteristics

In general, rabbits are very cute and popular pets that do tend to get sick once in a while, and when they do, it is usually severe. They can bite hard. Your rabbit should feel safe and not try to bite with routine handling. Never abruptly awaken your rabbit, as they can scare easily and bite if not approached carefully and gently. It is best to house your rabbit alone and away from your other pets. He or she will feel safer this way.

Making your rabbit feel safe

Here are some of the conditions that can help rabbits feel safe.

Controlled Environment (people, other animals, cage and room they are in)
Consistency (handling, diet, schedule)
Love and Attention (gentle handling, attention)

Here are some things that may make some rabbits feel unsafe.

Loud noises
Indifference (handling them with out talking to them)
Inconsistent surroundings
Traveling
Inconsistent diet
Dirty environment
Inconsistent handling
Startling while sleeping

What happens if a rabbit becomes afraid?

There are three basic reactions rabbits can have to fear.

Fight
Flight
Freeze

All rabbits will react in one of these 3 ways to fear. These are characteristics that are a result of instinct and the genetic code. There are no bad rabbits. If a rabbit is afraid enough it may bite (fight response to fear). Even if we don’t like an animal’s behavior (and the behavior is “bad”), the animal is not bad. Of the three responses rabbits can have to fear, let’s look at each one and see how they affect our rabbit.

Fight

This is one way rabbits react to fear. This presents itself in the form of chewing or biting. These animals are not bad, they are simply afraid, and this is how they deal with it. Unfortunately, it can be challenging in a household to have rabbits that react to fear with a fight response. Since they are simply afraid (just like rabbits who react with freeze or flight), if we are emotionally hurt or offended and fight back (hitting, yelling, etc), this will only make them more afraid.

Freeze

Rabbits that freeze stay very still. Sometimes they even hold their breath for long periods of time. They can continue chewing or stop chewing. If you see this (and you probably will), just notice it. If you are observant you will start to notice what you can do to help your rabbit feel less scared.

Flight

This is when a rabbit feels unsafe and runs away. Some rabbits freeze first, then, when the time is right, they run away. Since rabbits can run from fear, chasing them makes them more afraid, so if you can it’s best to give them the space and let them come to you. Some rabbits will do this quickly; some may not come to you for weeks to months (or longer). But it always helps to know it’s not you but simply that your rabbit is afraid. Don’t feel bad or guilty or wrong, just notice when your rabbit is the least afraid and interact then.

The way rabbits operate

When a rabbit is afraid they can react in any of the three ways we discussed, but there are several interesting points.

Whichever way they respond (based on instinct), they will probably always respond this way. This is why it helps to know your rabbit.
They can respond in more than one of these ways. For example, some rabbits will always follow this pattern: they become afraid and they run (flight), then, as they become even more afraid, they eventually get afraid enough to go to the next level (fight or freeze).

Usually fight is the last part of their pattern, but once you know their pattern you can always predict it. This is vital information because you can notice where your rabbit is, and you can make changes to help your rabbit feel more safe (such as putting your baby down, picking your baby up, stopping petting your rabbit, or changing the environment).