Rabbit Care: What Britain’s Bunnies Really Need
International Rabbit Day lands on 26 September, and it is a good excuse to talk about an animal that tends to get overlooked. Rabbits are one of the UK’s most popular pets, and they are also one of the most misunderstood. Good rabbit care looks almost nothing like the version most of us grew up with, which involved a small wooden hutch at the bottom of the garden and a handful of muesli mix.
The good news is that once you know what modern rabbit care involves, they are wonderful company. Clever, funny, full of personality, and capable of forming a real bond with the people who look after them.
Company Comes First
Company is the single biggest thing in rabbit care. Rabbits are social animals who, in the wild, live in groups. A rabbit kept on their own is a lonely rabbit, and loneliness in rabbits shows up as depression, aggression and a shortened life.
The recommendation from every UK welfare body is that rabbits should be kept in bonded pairs or small groups. A neutered male and neutered female is usually the easiest pairing to make work. Bonding takes patience and should be done gradually on neutral ground, and it is worth doing properly rather than rushing.
Guinea pigs are not a substitute. They have different diets, different body language and different disease risks, and the old habit of housing them together is now firmly discouraged in modern rabbit care advice. The RSPCA’s rabbit advice is clear on this.
Space, and Rather a Lot of It
Space is where traditional rabbit care falls down. A hutch is not a home. It is, at best, a bedroom.
Rabbits need room to:
- Take at least three consecutive hops
- Stand fully upright on their back legs without their ears touching the roof
- Stretch right out when they sleep
- Run properly, and build up some speed
The widely accepted minimum in the UK is a living space of at least three metres by two metres, with a height of one metre, available around the clock. That sounds like a lot until you see a rabbit binky, which is the joyful mid air twist they do when they have room to build up speed. It is worth every square foot.
A converted shed or a secure walk in run attached to sleeping quarters works well. So does a house rabbit setup, provided you have bunny proofed the cables. The Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund has practical housing plans if you are building something.
Rabbit Care Starts With Hay
Hay is the single most important part of rabbit care. Around 85 per cent of a rabbit’s diet should be good quality hay or fresh grass. Not a bit of hay for bedding, but a pile the size of the rabbit, every single day.
There are two reasons. The first is digestive. A rabbit’s gut needs constant fibre moving through it, and if it stops, they develop gut stasis, which is a genuine emergency. The second is dental. Rabbit teeth grow continuously throughout their lives, and the side to side grinding of chewing hay is what keeps them worn down. Without it, teeth overgrow and cause painful spurs that need veterinary treatment.
The rest of the diet is straightforward:
- A daily handful of leafy greens
- A small, measured portion of quality pellets, not muesli style mixes
- Fresh water always available, ideally in a bowl rather than a bottle
Muesli mixes are worth avoiding because rabbits pick out the sugary bits and leave the fibre behind, which is exactly the wrong way round.
The Rabbit Care Health Checks That Matter
Rabbits are prey animals, which means they hide illness brilliantly until they are very poorly indeed. So much of it is simply knowing what normal looks like for yours, so you spot the change early.
Not Eating Is an Emergency
A rabbit who has not eaten or passed droppings for twelve hours needs a vet the same day. This is not something to sleep on.
Check Their Bottom Daily in Warm Weather
Flystrike happens when flies lay eggs on a soiled or damp rear end, and it can become fatal within hours. Daily checks are a non negotiable part of warm weather rabbit care. September still counts, especially in a mild autumn.
Vaccinations
Rabbits need annual vaccination against myxomatosis and both strains of rabbit haemorrhagic disease. Indoor rabbits included, because these can be carried in on clothing and by insects.
Rabbit Care While You Are Away
Rabbits are creatures of routine and they do not travel well. Being moved to a strange place, put in a carrier or handled by a stranger is genuinely stressful for them, and stress in rabbits has real physical consequences.
The kindest option is almost always for rabbit care to carry on at home, with someone coming in to look after them. Our small animal care service covers exactly this.
On each visit a sitter will:
- Top up hay and fresh water
- Check droppings and appetite
- Clean the toilet corner
- Give that all important bottom check
- Spend some quiet time with them so they are not alone all week
If you have a houseful of different animals, our pet sitting service takes care of everyone in one visit.
Marking the Day With a Rabbit Care Audit
If you want to do something for International Rabbit Day, the most useful thing is probably an honest look at how yours are living. Is their space big enough? Do they have company? Is there enough hay? Are the vaccinations current? Any one of those, improved, makes a real difference to a rabbit’s life.
We Love Pets Is Here to Help
If you would like a hand with rabbit care while you are away, find your local We Love Pets branch and speak to the team. Plenty of our sitters keep rabbits themselves, which tends to show.
And if caring for animals sounds like the job for you, have a look at our franchise opportunities. Happy International Rabbit Day from everyone at We Love Pets!
