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Over time, society’s attitudes towards different pet species has, and continues to, evolve. It wasn’t too long ago that many thought of cats as only good for keeping rats and mice under control. As pets, in many homes, they were 2nd class citizens compared with the family dog.
Now of course, most cats “rule the roost”, get the best chairs in the house and have the poor dog under their furry thumb! (if cats had thumbs that is).
We’re seeing the same trend with rabbits.
Many of us might recall rabbits as pets for the family’s young children. Often kept at the bottom of the garden in a small hutch, hard to handle and nervous around people. They might not have had much attention as a result. Many lived 4-5 years only (despite their life expectancy being 10-12 years).
A lot of owners are now discovering the potential of rabbits as pets. When everyone in the family is engaged and regularly interacting with them, rabbits are far more sociable and less stressed (they require socialising in the same way as dogs and cats). With positive interactions such as feeding treats and playing, rabbits actually behave a lot like dogs. They can be toilet trained, can play fetch and will seek out their humans for pats and lap time.
Nutrition has come a long way too. The constant supply of high-fat pellets that used to be typical, has been replaced with fresh grass and hay. This is better for their teeth, bowels and kidneys. Both life expectancy and quality of life are improved and common diseases like abscesses and fly-strike can be avoided.
As far as housing goes, the minimum legal standards in New Zealand only require a small hutch (too small to allow for normal behaviours or exercise). But many owners have seen the value in providing much bigger outdoor runs (or bunny-proof fences). These allow for access to ample fresh grass to graze, space to dig and opportunities to play. If you’ve ever seen a rabbit “bink” you’ll understand the joy in watching a happy rabbit play! (“binking” is the term for a rabbit jumping and throwing their legs in the air in delight).
And there are some upsides to rabbits that dogs cant match! Rabbits don’t bark and their poo is easy to clean up (and makes great fertiliser for the vege patch!).
So when thinking about choosing a family pet, give rabbits a second thought. For both the adults and the kids, rabbits make a great addition to the family.
As with dogs and cats, make sure your rabbit has a health check and vaccination at a young age. We also check for the common parasite “Coccidia” in a poo sample as this can be a real danger.
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