Bunnies

The most common reaction from people seeing them is "they can't be real" or "they look just like stuffed toys". Everyone really falls in love with these bunnies. You have never felt a softer fur than this. I first saw an Angora rabbit about 20 years ago when a contestant on “The Price is Right” was holding one, and fell in love with the unique beauty of these animals. It wasn’t until I was fortunate enough to own one a few years ago that I discovered what treasures they really are.

Centuries of breeding these rabbits for their fur has resulted in the most complacent pet you’ll ever meet. They will sit for hours on somebody’s lap, being brushed or just loved; with no complaints from either party.

Angoras usually have a very calm and friendly temperament, which makes them easy to handle and fun to own. Because of their cuddle-bug personality, children love them but they do require a responsible adult to care for them as they are a higher maintenance animal. The rabbit must be brushed on a very regular basis or will become matted, and therefore they would die if left in the wild. Or you can give your bunny a hair cut to make maintenance a lot easier. Their coats are brushed or clipped to harvest the Angora hair, which is used to make your angora sweater. (Angora sheep produce Mohair wool). This is the second warmest natural fiber out there (1st is the Musk Ox) and so very soft and cuddly.

Rabbits can very easily be litter trained. They do like to chew however, and should have a safe cage to live in when you are not there to supervise. They make wonderful pets for seniors who may find a cat or dog too much to look after; for the apartment dweller whose lease doesn’t allow some pets; or for the teen who wants a more “funky” different type of pet. They are friendly, interactive animals who will bring many hours of delight by their antics. The life span is about 7 – 10 years.

They love climbing and enjoy a cat “condo”, play with baby toys, cardboard tubes or boxes, balls and dog toys. They are quiet pets, inexpensive to keep, and so very loving!

If you are considering opening your heart and home to a rabbit, I would strongly recommend you consider the Angora breed.

Food:

Rabbit pellets are their main source of diet. They must also have an endless supply of hay, although this lasts quite a long time. And fresh water of course.

I give my bunnies oats as a special treat and they love it! Also I will pick grass or alfalfa (not from the lawn mower as there may be residue of fertilizer and sprays) – I give them willow twigs to chew on, as their teeth need things to chew. Some other treats include; bananas, apples, oranges, carrots, melons, plums, grapefruits, peaches, corn, spinach and dark greens, all in moderation of course. A variety of food can give them different nutrients. They need some pineapple once a month or so to help prevent wool block. Do not feed brassicas (cabbage, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.)Lettuce has no nutritional value, and is usually offered when its gone "off" and not for human consumption so avoid that too.

Breeding;

Oh, the heartache that has been caused by this. It’s not as easy as I expected. Males and females should not be kept together, as this may cause a pregnant female to miscarry. That happened to us once. One morning we discovered dead babies in the middle of the pen! We had five times where I put the two together, marked off on the calendar 29 days later when we should have babies, and waited, and waited; only one of those five times resulted in babies, but they all died three days later.

The six time was lucky. I had two girls deliver the same day; Ruby had four and Pumpkin had eight kits. Two died but I was thrilled to have lots of little ones. My camera got a good workout, my friends got tired of all the cute bunny pictures, friends brought their kids over to see the babies, and I was amazed at how quickly they grew.

Learning about genetics, fur color names, and rearing baby bunnies is quickly becoming a hobby of mine.

As with cats and dogs, it is recommended to spay or neuter your bunny if you are not planning to breed to reduce aggressive behavior and the chance for such things as ovarian cancer as well as unwanted litters.

Litter training.

Your bunny will soon find one corner of the pen to use as a bathroom. If you place a small litter box in that corner, bunny will soon start to use the litter box. When she is comfortable using this, then you move the litter box to where you would like it to be, and bunny will seek out, and use, the litter box. There will still be accidents, don’t scold bunny as they don’t learn the same your other pets do.

Bunny’s poop should be little pellets. If they are held together to look like a string of pearls, your bunny has wool block. Feed only pineapple for a couple of days to clear this up.

Rabbits are in a way “ruminants” although they do not have multiple stomachs like cows do. Instead, they produce a special kind of feces (usually in the early morning hours) that are much softer, we almost never see these - they look much like a bunch of grapes. These are eaten by the rabbit almost immediately and digested for a second time. This is how they re-process the food they eat to get more of the nutrients out.