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We have some baby rabbits recently brought in to the sanctuary and we're looking for good homes for them.
What is a 'good' home though? These are such easy pets to obtain - and to dispose of. Looking after rabbits is not as easy as is commonly thought. The 'good' home has to be from the point of view of the rabbit - not ours. How do you ensure that the pet you're taking in will have a home that will provide the right environment and be a 'rabbit heaven'. So often, it turns out to be the opposite - and many of these gentle little creatures are condemned to a life in 'rabbit hell'.
Think first about where and how the rabbit would live in the wild. Most of the time would be spent underground. Yes, rabbits do love a burrow. We can't provide Watership Down but we can organise dark dens where our rabbit will feel safe. As well as the closed in side of the hutch, ideally there will be several other opportunities for 'getting away' from it all. Behind terracotta plant pots, boards propped safely up against the wall, tunnels to scoot through or hide up awhile in and why not dig out and bury a lenth of drain pipe - in one end and out the other - is great fun.
You can't keep rabbits just in a hutch. They need lots of space and a securely fenced run is essential. The wire will have to be burried a foot underground so that the rabbit can't dig his way out ... (all that green grass the other side of the fence) and predators (cats, dogs and foxes) can't get in.
The hutch itself should be made of wood with a waterproof roof and two tier is best - an upstairs and a downstairs. Rabbits are clean creatures and will use a certain place for their toilet. If they don't have the space to do this they'll become stressed and possibly ill. Keeping them clean will be a much harder task. So a des res with several rooms is the answer - sleeping, eating, ladder to the downstairs toilet area, playroom, run.
A few paving slabs put down oustide the hutch gives a clean surface for your rabbit to sit on and so that you don't get muddy when you're feeding and looking after him. The rest of the run can be grass. If you can manage it, another run is an excellent plan, the rabbit can be alternated and one area rested whilst the grass grows back. If your rabbit home is very extensive this won't be necessary.
Pick an area of the garden that doesn't boil in the sun or be perpetually in the shade. Light shelter from trees is very pleasant for us and for our furry friends. Dappled sunlight through the trees is lovely. Rabbits are not that hardy and need a sheltered spot too. Not exposed to the wind, please.
Not too far away either, your rabbit friend is part of the family and likes to chat just like we do. Somewhere close to the kitchen door is best, so that you can socialize with him. It's a miserable life to be stuck down the end of the garden on your own all day. Rabbits kept without companionship don't become tame. Every time you go out, take a tit-bit, a slice of apple, a chunk of carrot. Your new pal will soon hop up to greet you.
If all this seems a lot of bother, don't get a rabbit at all. These lovely gentle animals are captive and rely on us for everything. In the wild they would have a completely natural life and wouldn't come near a human under any circumstances!
Part 2 tomorrow - feeding.
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