The Beginner's Guide to Rabbit Care

Your rabbit's home should be well-ventilated, dry and draught-free to avoid illness, and they should always have access to their exercise run or pen, as rabbits are most active overnight and in the late evening/ early morning. If you are keeping outdoor rabbits, thermal and waterproof covers can help to keep your bunnies sheltered.

Rabbits are prey animals and need a place to hide when they become anxious or scared, such as cardboard tunnels or igloos. They should also have plenty of comfortable and edible bedding, such as dust-free bedding hay.

Rabbits are also very clean and will happily use it as their sole bathroom spot if given a litter tray. You should clean your rabbit’s designated bathroom spot once daily and clean their entire enclosure once a week to ensure they stay clean and healthy. 

Letting your bunnies have the run of a room or the entire house is possible. You can do this with supervision or leave them out all the time. This is great for bunnies as it allows them to exercise as much as they want. However, this isn’t always possible.

If you wish to have free-range rabbits in the house, ensure nothing is within reach. Rabbits will chew wires and practically anything else, and knock things over. So, make sure everything is out of reach and that they have plenty of toys to chew and play with. You can even give your rabbits a cat-scratcher to keep them entertained. For furniture, you’ll want to get an anti-chew spray to discourage them from nibbling.

Free-range rabbits will still need somewhere to hide and sleep, so you will still need an enclosure. Even though they are out most of the time, the rabbit cage should still be large enough for three hops across, allow them to stand up, and have a hideaway space.

Rabbits produce two types of droppings. You will notice the hard, dry pellets, but they also produce more moist pellets that they tend to eat. These moist pellets are called cecotropes and are an integral part of your rabbit’s diet. Rabbits can’t extract all the nutrients from their food through the first stage of digestion. So they produce these moist pellets to consume and get the vital nutrients, protein and fibre they didn’t absorb the first time. Don’t be concerned if you catch your rabbit eating them after they’ve been dropped or even straight from their bum. 

The best way to gain a rabbit’s trust is to interact with them on their level.  Simply sit on the floor with your rabbit. Be quiet and still, letting your rabbit come to you. Sudden movements will cause your bunnies to run, as they get scared easily. As long as you regularly sit with them and are patient, they will become curious and warm to you. You can encourage this by offering them treats when building this trust.

Rabbits are social, and so do enjoy interaction and petting. Most will like to be stroked on top of their heads and behind their ears. So when your rabbit has warmed to you and is calm, start by petting them in these areas. 

Here are the key things to remember when handling a rabbit: 

• Be gentle 
• Be patient 
• Be safe

When rabbits are in fearful situations (such as being picked up by a human), it can trigger a fear response that displays itself as lots of frantic wriggling to try and be free and back on solid ground.  This can quickly lead to the rabbit being dropped, causing damage to their fragile spine or even fatally injuring them.

This is why, when first trying to pick up your rabbit, you should do so while sitting on the ground so they don't have far to fall if they do manage to wriggle free. Here are some other things to remember when holding your rabbit: 

• Hold them firmly but gently, ensuring one hand supports their back while the other supports their hind quarters, keeping all four of their feet against your body at all times. Do not dangle your rabbit as it can cause injury to their spines. 
• Do not hold them too tightly, as this can stress your rabbit out and cause them to try to flee. Hold them with enough restraint that they’re secure, but if they don’t want to be held, don’t force them; gently and quietly put them back on the floor. 
• Supervise any children when they are holding a rabbit to ensure they are doing so correctly and are not harming the rabbit. 
  Never pick them up by the ears. This can be incredibly stressful for your rabbit and potentially injure it. 

Building trust with your rabbit is all about making them feel safe and secure, so you can build up their trust in you. Never force your rabbit into being held if it doesn’t want to, and always take into account your rabbit's age, health and temperament before trying to handle them. 

n addition to having your rabbit checked routinely by a vet, you should know how to check their health yourself to ensure everything is as it should be, particularly by regularly checking their eyes, ears, claws, and teeth. You should be checking your rabbits: 

• Please check your front teeth and nails at least once a week, as they can grow very quickly. If you notice either of these parts is overgrown or misaligned, consult your vet. 
• Check your rabbit's rear end twice daily for any signs of urine staining or stuck droppings, which can attract flies that lay eggs on your rabbit, resulting in flystrike, which can be fatal. 
• Skin and fur, and parasite protection as advised by your vet (usually monthly, as with the Advantage Spot-On Flea Treatment for Rabbits).
• You should also groom your rabbit’s coat regularly, especially during moulting seasons if you're unsure how, speak with your vet. 

There are 28 teeth in a rabbit's mouth, although you’ll likely only notice the four large incisors at the very front (though they have six incisors in total, a smaller one is found on each side of the upper front incisors, which you might see as well). 

Much like rodents, rabbits’ teeth continue to grow continuously throughout their life and must be worn down so they remain at the correct length and don’t cause your rabbit any pain or discomfort. The best ways to ensure your rabbit’s teeth are cared for include: 

• Provide them with a high-fibre diet and plenty of things to chew on, such as grass, leafy vegetables, and nuggets. 
• Check their front four teeth regularly at home and have their teeth checked by your vet routinely as well. All it takes is one misaligned tooth to throw your rabbit’s health off course entirely, and realignment can only be performed by a trained veterinary practitioner. A vet can also note if your rabbit shows any signs of dental injury or disease. 
• Provide safe and suitable toys for them to chew on that don’t have any small parts that could be a choking hazard. The best toys, such as small pet chew sticks and other gnawing toys, should have smooth edges and be naturally sourced.

You can learn more about caring for your rabbit's teeth in our Guide to Rabbit Dental Care.

Neutering is the term given to the surgical procedure to prevent male or female rabbits from reproducing. For males, this means removing their testicles, which is called castration. For females, the ovaries and womb are removed, which is called spaying.

There are a number of benefits for spaying and neutering your rabbits, including: 

• No risk of accidental pregnancy (especially if you are keeping a mixed pair or group of rabbits). This is highly recommended as a female and a male are often the best pairing. Otherwise, you will get more rabbits than you bargained for!
• Improves socialisation.
• Reduces the risk of cancer, especially in females who are prone to uterine cancer early in life. It can also reduce the risk of womb infections or mammary (breast tissue) cancers in females. 
• Better temperaments, particularly in male rabbits, as the testicles are the main source of the hormone testosterone. After neutering, male rabbits tend to be less aggressive to other rabbits and won’t try to chase or mount their companion. 
• Better house training, as neutered rabbits are less likely to exhibit scent-marking behaviours like spraying. 
  Reduces the risk of false pregnancies in females, which can cause hormonal behaviours such as nest-making and aggression towards owners and other rabbits. 

What is in your rabbits' enclosure is as important as its size, as rabbits need to have things to do and toys to play with throughout the day to keep them entertained and mentally stimulated. Rabbits are intelligent creatures, so a good range of rabbit toys will help to keep them from getting bored, stressed, or not exercising an appropriate amount, which can lead to obesity if not monitored.

Fill your rabbit's enclosure with plenty of toys, a hideaway or two and even some platforms for them to run and explore throughout the day without letting the space get too crowded. Rabbits like to run and even perform what’s known as a ‘Binky’. This is a form of behaviour where a happy rabbit, stimulated and content with its surroundings, will jump with all four feet off the ground and twist in mid-air playfully and adorably. Other signs that your rabbit is happy and content include: 

• Lying with a relaxed posture and all four feet tucked beneath them.
• Lying with their body relaxed and extended with their front legs poking forward, and their back legs spread out behind them. 
• Sleeping in what is known as the “Flop” - a rabbit that feels completely safe and secure, will throw itself onto its side to sleep. This can be alarming, and they sometimes look dead when sleeping in this position, but they're absolutely fine!

To keep your rabbit entertained, it’s important to allow them to perform their natural behaviours such as chewing, digging, chin marking, and investigating. This doesn’t mean you need to go out and spend a fortune on rabbit toys. They’re just as happy playing with cardboard and shredded paper (make sure no harmful chemicals have been used) as they are wooden enrichment toys, although buying them the odd rabbit-safe toy will certainly be a plus. 

It’s important to change up your rabbit’s enclosure and toy selection occasionally to remove anything they’ve chewed to an unsafe level (anything small enough for them to swallow or showing sharp edges) and give them a new environment to explore. This will keep them from becoming bored, stressed or even angry. If you’re unsure if your rabbit is content, keep an eye on their behaviour. While every rabbit is unique and has its own set of quirks, the general signs of a stressed or unhappy rabbit include: 

• Crouching low to the ground with body tensed, ears wide apart and large, dilated pupils. 
• Spending a lot of time hiding away.
• Thumping their back legs on the ground
• Standing tense with their mouth open, ears back and teeth bared. 

Knowing what each of your rabbits’ behaviours means can better equip you to handle them. If they’re worried, try to find the root cause. This could be anything from other pets or children in the home to loud noises such as building work, or even just that they are shy and would rather not be handled.