Life Span:  8-12 years + or –

Activity Level:  caged rabbits need a MINIMUM of four hours daily at liberty time.  Free roaming rabbits will adjust their own activity levels.

Rabbits are a preY species.  For this reason, they frighten easily and do not like being picked up.  NOT RECOMMENDED FOR CHIDREN IN GENERAL, BUT DEFINITELY NOT FOR CHILDREN UNDER 8 YEARS OF AGE.  MAY NOT BE INTRODUCED INTO HOMES WITH FERRETS OR SNAKES.  

Social Patterns:  rabbits lived in groups called warrens where they established social hierarchies.  Now that they live with humans they have included humans in their status, turf, and dominance calculations.  They have social etiquette systems that they also expect humans to participate in and are highly offended when their human fails to live up to expectations.  Rabbits need to socialize with other rabbits.  It is best to have a pair of bonded rabbits.  They are much happy and far less destructive to your home because they are focused on each other.  They can be blended into multiple animal families with proper introductions and supervision.

Normal Physical & Behavioral Characteristics:  Climbing, burrowing, digging, chewing, and thumping are all normal rabbit behaviors. Your house must be “rabbit proofed.”  Rabbits can be trained to follow the rules about living in a human habitat.  They do scent marking with urine and feces and “chin”  key objects to mark their turf.  Neutering eliminates much of the urine spraying. Fecal pellets, which are dropped individually here and there, are dry, odorless, and easy to pick up.  Rabbits can be litter box trained. They are most active at dawn and dusk making them a good match with a working adult’s schedule.  Diet is extremely important to good health and longevity.  They have finicky digestive systems making them a high maintenance companion animal.    Weaning:   4-6 weeks.  Puberty:  4-5 months in small breeds; 5-8 months in large breeds.

Rabbits communicate by grunting, thumping (alert/danger signal, and anger at something), using various body postures including mounting, tail positioning, signaling with ears, “bowing” to present for grooming, showing submission, and facial expressions.  They also use “nips” to tell you to move out of their way or to stop doing something.  This is frightening to children and interpreted as “biting.”  If a rabbit really wants to hurt you, you will end with a serious bite injury and a possible trip to the emergency room.

SPAY/NEUTER INFO: Rabbits can get pregnant with a second litter while they are still carrying the first.  The gestation period is 30-32 days. Litter size is 5-8 kits. (mean 6.5).  Do the math and then S/N your rabbits.    UNSPAYED FEMALES HAVE AN 85% CHANCE OF DEVELOPING UTERINE CANCER.

MOST COMMON PROBLEMS:  aggression to people and/or other rabbits, destructive behavior (digging into carpets, chewing wood and fabrics on furniture, tunneling into box springs), soiling in the house, jumping up on furniture, chewing electrical cords and eating books, fear of loud noises, disobedience.