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Originally Posted by t walgamuth
thanks lbz.
i couldnt find my rabbit book. i probably did feed a little too much bread. never had a clue it might be bad for him. occasional bannana too, and that is not recommended. but mostly i gave him the pellets, veggie scraps and dandelion greens. mostly pellets.
i don't let the grand kids play with them unattended. rabbits don't like being picked up by their abdomines and the correct way is by the scruff of the neck.
i think most animal folks agree that rabbits arent all that bright.
what is a rescue rabbit? i am picturing life guards or st benards here, but i suppose it is orphan pets?
my new zealand red only lived seven years and she was skinny and feeble when she died. and she never lacked for food, being a nice plump little gal when she was only four or five.
that web site has one recommendation that i question. leaving a rabbit outside and bringing it in at night will make it miserable at least here. it is cold out there and if you bring them inside in the winter they suffer from the heat with their winter coats.
oh and i cant get them to eat hay at all. i thought it would make a great change of pace for them but they snub it for the pellets.
tom w
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tom, rabbits will eat hay, they need it in order for their digestive systemt to work properly.
Like all animals, humans included, rabbits will pass up what is good for them for what is bad for them. If they have a steady diet of pellets they will, as you found out, pass up on hay. Cut back on the pellets and feed them hay.
The hay must be fresh, however. We don't buy it in bulk, we just buy enough so that it won't get all brown and yucky.
check out the site below for info on the best supplier of timothy hay:
http://www.oxbowhay.com/Shop/showProduct.sp?PRODUCT_NO=35
A rescue rabbit is one that has been rescued from a shelter. Every year, around Easter, well meaning parents buy bunnies for their kids. In a couple of months, when the kids get tired of their new pets, the poor rabbits end up in shelters. If the rabbit is lucky (no pun intended) he will end up in a no-kill shelter and will be tehre until someone rescues him. If he is not lucky, the shelter will euthanise (sp?) him after sometime has elapsed w/o a rescue.
You can pick up a rabbit by the scruff ONLY if you immediately cradle him in your arms and hold him securely. Rabbits are prey animals and predators whohunt rabbits will bite them on the neck and pick them up by the scruff. so when you pick up a rabbit by the scruff he thinks he has been snatched by a bobcat or whatever. The rabbit will kick furiously in an effort to free himself. That is how they get hurt. So when you pick them up, you must hold them securely in your arms.
Rabbits are for the most part healthy, resilient animals. But because they are prey animals they are good at masking or hiding when they are sick or ill. I guess it is a survival skill. So a healthy rabbit may just drop dead and leave you wondering what happened.
One thing to watch in a rabbit is their stool. If they don't poop every day, that means that something has gone very wrong with their digestive system and they can die very quickly from septic shock.
I have learned a lot about rabbits from my duaghter and from one of our vets, who is an expert on pocket pets. If you lived in the "left" coast I'd recommend her to you.
I don't want to come across as fanatical on this issue, but i guess that I am. We have been given stewardship over our animal companions, so we owe them a duty to take good care of them.
Incidentally, I am convinced that rabbits have a sense of humor. We had a rabbit that loved to play games, including hide and seek games. He was a good rabbit who died far too young. I still miss that rapscally wabbit.
Our rabbits are indoor rabbits. They don't sweat, so their cooling system is their ears. That is why rabbits who live in hot climates have large ears, for cooling, while rabbits who live in colder climates have smaller ears.
tom, i am glad that you are seriously reading on this subject and that you are becoming more informed about rabbits (or any other companion animal). I'd expect no less from you.
Good luck.