This is supposed to be a happy time of year, right? Spring arrives, the days lengthen, and Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ while Jews celebrate Passover. What's not to be happy about?For rabbits, Easter means turmoil. Certain unscrupulous breeders remove young bunnies too early from their mothers and sell them as dwarf rabbits. A few months later, purchasers realize that their supposedly small rabbit has grown large. Others sell the small breeds to pet stores. The clerks at these businesses know little about proper bunny health. This sometimes results in ill bunnies not receiving proper vet care. Worse yet, rabbits tend to hide their illnesses until they become life-threatening.
People tend to assume that rabbits are for children and that they eat only lettuce and carrots. This is far from the truth. Rabbits need good grass hay to wear down their ever-growing teeth. They also require leaf lettuce and other greens, not iceberg lettuce. Carrots have far too much sugar in them. The digestive system of a rabbit isn't geared to use large amounts of carbohydrates. The wrong sort of bacteria grow explosively when bunnies eat too much carrot and the toxins these microbes release can kill the host animal.
Additionally, commercially-manufactured rabbit food tends to be filled with seeds and other inappropriate foods. Corn and seeds can cause impactions in the intestine and eventually kill rabbits. Even alfalfa pellets can be bad for bunnies if given exclusively.
Rabbits are shy creatures with delicate bone structure. Children play too rough with them, sometimes causing their beloved pet to die. Dogs are far better for kids since they can withstand rough play.
Conscientious parents also have a problem finding good information on rabbit care since far too many ill-informed authors have written misleading books on the subject. Many of these publications are meant for breeders, not for those who want to have pet rabbits.
Where can a person turn for proper information? The House Rabbit Society is thee place to go for correct and abundant information on the care of house bunnies. The site is packed with tips on every aspect of care for these unique animals.
My When a Man Loves a Rabbit (Learning and Living With Bunnies) memoir contains good rabbit care information as well as examples of good and bad practices. Check out the book links on the left side of this page for details.
When I worked at the nursing home, we once had a rabbit which may not have been the best choice of a pet for nursing home residents because as my supervisor told me when she introduced him to me, you need to be careful how you pick up a rabbit or you'll break its back.. I hesitated to pick him up and show him ti residents because I was afraid I would do just that.
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