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- The best places to find and adopt a rabbit
- The gear and daily care needed to make sure that he settles in at home
- Feeding, grooming, and taming tips to keep your rabbit healthy and happy
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Meet the Rabbit
Rabbits are among the most beloved of small animals. Their long ears, expressive faces, and spry behavior have made them popular pets worldwide since their domestication hundreds of years ago.
Domesticated rabbits are bred to be docile, predictable, and comfortable around people, which makes rabbits excellent pets for people willing and able to provide the care rabbits need to thrive. They’re clean, long-lived, and they can be very affectionate and playful companions.
Appearance
Over centuries of domestication, many different breeds of rabbit have developed as a result of selective breeding. There are currently 47 recognized breeds of domestic rabbit
distinguishable from one another by aspects of their
appearance: size, fur type, ear type, and color and pattern.
- Size: Depending on the breed, rabbits can weigh anywhere from under 3 pounds (1 kg) to 20 pounds (9 kg). Unlike most mammals, female rabbits are usually larger than males.
- Fur: Rabbits come with different types of fur, depending on the breed. Normal fur is the most common and has two layers: an undercoat and an overcoat. Rex fur is short, stands upright, and feels like velvet. Satin fur is strikingly soft and lustrous. Angora fur is long and fluffy and is often used to make clothes.
- Ears: The various breeds of domestic rabbit have a range of ear sizes from small to large, including lop ears that fall to the sides of the head rather than stand straight up.
- Color/pattern: Purebred rabbits are available in dozens of colors and coat patterns, and mixed breeds offer an even greater variety.
Natural History
Rabbits live all over the world in a variety of habitats,
including the Arctic tundra, high-elevation mountain peaks, pine forests, deserts, open grasslands, and tropical forests. Rabbits adapt well to their natural environment—for
example, the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), who lives in regions with snowy winters, molts into a white coat in the fall and a brown coat in the spring. Many species are also very good swimmers and readily enter water and swim dog-paddle style to escape a predator.
Rabbits in the Wild
A number of predators hunt wild rabbits, and two of the rabbit’s most conspicuous features—his long ears and long, jumping hind legs—evolved to help him evade these predators. A rabbit’s keen sense of hearing alerts him to potential danger, and he can swivel his long ears around to track the direction of a sound. His long hind legs, flexible back, and powerful hindquarters allow for rapid bursts of speed and quick changes in direction when running.
Rabbits are herbivorous, and in the wild they eat seedlings, buds, and young leaves off a variety of different plant species, depending on the time of year. In the fall and
winter, they usually eat the bark of bushes and trees and nibble on grass, while in the spring and summer they eat flowering plants.
Rabbit Behavior
Rabbits are emotive, interactive pets. An especially affectionate and playful rabbit will nudge you for attention and petting, lick your hand, or even groom your hair as a sign of acceptance and affection. Some follow their owners around the house, getting underfoot in their attempt to stay close. Others can be territorial, timid, and easily frightened, or generally inactive. A rabbit’s behavior depends not only on his natural temperament but also on his environment and the way his owner cares for him.
Body Language
Rabbits display a variety of behaviors in response to different stimuli. Recognizing and understanding your pet’s body language will help you develop a bond with him, as well as tame and train him.
The following are some common rabbit behaviors and what they usually represent.
- Biting: Biting is a sign of dominance or a warning that the rabbit wishes to be left alone. It can also be a reaction to frightening stimuli.
- Dancing: If your rabbit jumps, twists in midair, races around, or leaps on and off furniture, he’s in a very happy and playful mood.
- Freezing low to the ground: A rabbit who freezes is trying to hide from something that’s scaring him.
- Licking: If your rabbit licks you, he’s likely trying to groom you—this is a sign of affection.
- Nudging: If your rabbit nudges you, he’s seeking your attention, usually either for petting or feeding.
- Rubbing his chin on objects: An attempt to mark his territory.
- Screaming: If you ever hear your rabbit scream, he has almost certainly been badly hurt. Screaming indicates an emergency situation, and your pet will likely require veterinary attention.
- Thumping: When your rabbit thumps his hind legs against the floor, it serves as either a warning of potential danger or an indication of anger.
Territorial Behavior
Wild rabbits mark their territory and their young with scents produced from their chin, anal glands, and inguinal glands (groin glands). Pet owners sometimes notice their rabbits scent-marking by rubbing their chins on the floor, pieces of furniture, or even the owners themselves. People can’t detect the scent produced by these glands, but it serves as a signal to other rabbits who might be nearby.
Dominant rabbits mark their territory much more than subordinate ones do, and spaying or neutering your rabbit reduces the occurrence of this behavior.
Keeping Multiple Rabbits
Rabbits are social animals who typically enjoy each other’s company. Two rabbits who have been properly introduced will form a strong bond over their lives as they groom, play, and rest together.
If you decide to keep a male and female together, expect your female to have babies constantly unless you have her spayed or the male neutered. You should consider spaying or neutering even if you only keep a single rabbit and regardless of its sex. Altered rabbits are calmer, friendlier toward people, less territorial, and generally make better pets. They also tend to live longer than their intact counterparts.
How to Introduce Two Rabbits
Rabbits in the wild establish clear territorial boundaries and dominance hierarchies among themselves. Pet rabbits still have these instincts, and their behavior can sometimes lead to dangerous fights if two rabbits kept together don’t get along. Even littermates or two rabbits who grew up together might begin fighting once they reach sexual maturity. (Spaying or neutering your pets can reduce this aggression.)
It can take patience and persistence to get two rabbits to like each other, but properly introducing any new pets according to the following tips can help to prevent fighting.
- Use neutral territory: When introducing a new rabbit to your existing one for the first time, do so in neutral territory (someplace your existing pet hasn’t marked yet). A small room in your home that your rabbit doesn’t enter, such as the bathroom, can work well. This prevents your first rabbit from feeling that the new arrival is encroaching on his territory.
- Supervise carefully: Observe the interaction between the two rabbits. Aggressive ones will put their ears back, growl, and box each other with their front feet. If the interaction escalates to chasing and biting, you must separate them.
- Go slowly: Continue introductions over several days under close supervision until you see that all parties are getting along well. Don’t try to rush the process or expect instant success.
- Don’t assume success: Not all rabbits will bond. If you’re bringing a new rabbit into your home, it’s best to acquire him on a trial basis so that you can return him if the situation doesn’t work out.
Rabbits and Other Pets
It’s possible for some dogs and cats to befriend a rabbit, which can make a multiple-pet household run much more smoothly. At the very least, any other pets you have should be able to tolerate your rabbit’s presence without chasing or harassing him. If you always have to worry about your rabbit’s safety, both you and your pet will be stressed.
Introduce other pets to a rabbit slowly and carefully, so he feels safe the entire time. Even after your pets have met, never leave your rabbit alone with a cat or dog.
| Text & Photos Copyright © 2007 TFH Publications, Inc. | Acknowledgments & Disclaimer |
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