Maintenance and care of a decorative rabbit at home for beginners
Rabbits are popular pets, not capricious in caring, characterized by a calm and affectionate disposition. Keeping a decorative rabbit is not difficult, you just need to feed it correctly and fully, regularly carry out hygienic and disinfection procedures, do not forget about vaccination and prevention of helminthiasis. In the absence of care and poor-quality feeding, the pet becomes seriously ill, it may even die.
Rules for choosing an animal
There are a large number of decorative rabbits, so it can be difficult to choose the right pet. Advice for novice breeders: when choosing a breed, first of all pay attention to the nature of the animal and the cost of its maintenance. A rabbit is chosen according to the following criteria:
- the degree of affection and friendliness;
- reaction to strangers;
- activity;
- the size of the individual;
- the state of the immune system, the degree of susceptibility to diseases;
- exactingness to care.
You should not choose a dwarf rabbit if the family has small children. While playing with a miniature animal, children can inadvertently injure him.
You can ask the seller about the features of the decorative breed. The buyer should observe the cubs being sold. Appearance and behavior can tell a lot about an animal's health. A healthy rabbit looks energetic, moves briskly, his fur coat is shiny, there are no bald spots and flea marks on it. You should run your hand over your torso to check for injuries and swelling. The abdomen should not be hard.
Popular breeds
Usually rabbits are bred for meat and fur, but selection experiments have led to the appearance of decorative breeds, representatives of which are distinguished by their cute and original appearance. About 50 decorative breeds have been created, many of which are characterized by a variety and uniqueness of colors.
The most popular decorative breeds:
- The Fold Dutchman is a rabbit with long drooping ears, a compact body and short legs. An adult weighs about 1.8 kg. The popularity of the breed is due to the variety of colors, soft and lively character, the absence of genetic pathologies.
- The decorative Angora is a gentle, teachable, calm pet with an unusually fluffy coat. An individual weighs up to 2 kg. The only difficulty in maintaining is the need for regular cleaning and combing of the coat.
- Dwarf - a miniature pet weighing up to 1.2 kg, looking like a bunny at any age. The pet has a neat rounded body shape, a relatively large head, short ears, large eyes.Each rabbit has an individual character: calm or playful, inquisitive or meek.
- The dwarf ram is a rabbit with an original appearance. Due to the rounded shape of the muzzle and drooping ears, the head of the animal resembles the head of a ram. Compared to other breeds, these rabbits are quite large, weighing about 2.7 kg, have a strong body with well-developed muscles. Dwarf rams are loved for their playfulness, affectionateness, lack of fear of people.
- Rex is a large decorative rabbit weighing up to 4.8 kg. The popularity of the American breed is due to the special structure of the short coat: there are no hard guard hairs, due to which the fur coat looks and feels like velvet. These rabbits are friendly, but they choose the person who pays more attention to them.
- Hermelin, aka the Polish rabbit, is a miniature pet with snow-white fur, weighing up to 1.3 kg. He is loved for his good looks: rounded muzzle, short ears, expressive eyes.
Conditions for keeping a decorative rabbit
Bunny rabbits are sensitive to direct ultraviolet light, heat, dampness and draft. They should be kept at temperatures from +18 to +20 ° C and air humidity of about 50%. To keep a decorative pet in an apartment does not require many things. Must be purchased:
- cage (so that the animal does not feel cramped, its length should be at least 1 m);
- a bowl (you should take a voluminous one made of metal or ceramic so that it is difficult for the pet to turn it over);
- a drinking bowl (you need to buy one that attaches to the rods of the cage, since the rabbit will turn the bowl of water over);
- tray (it is advisable to take with a lattice overlap so that the animal does not stain its paws);
- a house for rest and sleep;
- carrying for travel to the veterinary clinic;
- brush for wool;
- clipper.
You also need to purchase litter for the tray, always woody, not flavored. The bedding in the cage is selected from straw or sawdust, laid with a layer 5-8 cm thick.
The tray filler is changed and the cells are cleaned every 2-3 days. A warm aqueous vinegar solution is used as a disinfectant. Chemicals should not be used, they can harm the health of the animal.
Hygiene procedures
Taking care of a decorative rabbit is easy. They comb it out once a week, during the procedure they check for fleas and skin diseases. It is not worth bathing the animal, this procedure is a great stress for him. If the fur is stained, then only the dirty area is washed, being careful not to splash water on the ears and muzzle. After washing, the animal is wrapped in a terry towel until the coat dries. Do not blow dry the washed rabbit hair. The noise of the device will scare the animal, and the flow of hot air can burn the delicate skin.
Also, care includes checking the ears for parasitic lesions every 2 weeks, examining the paws for tumors and ulcers. The claws should be cut off as they grow, it is advisable to entrust this procedure to a veterinarian.
Acceptable and unacceptable food
The diet of a decorative pet includes:
- meadow hay;
- fresh grass (in the summer they pluck in an ecologically clean area, in the winter they buy wheat grain for germination);
- vegetables and tops (carrots, zucchini, pumpkin);
- tree and shrub branches (apple, pear, raspberry, aspen);
- fruits and berries (apples, pears, watermelon and melon peels, grapes).
The water is changed daily, even if it is not all drunk. The rabbit is fed 3 times a day.
You can not treat a decorative animal:
- sweets and pastries;
- fermented milk products;
- citrus and other exotic fruits;
- plums;
- onions and garlic;
- human food.
Grain and cabbage are given to the rabbit in a minimum amount. Grain feed is saturated with carbohydrates, when consumed excessively, causes obesity, and cabbage provokes flatulence. Chalk and salt stone are placed in the cage. These are sources of mineral elements for the animal.
Diseases and compulsory vaccinations for rabbits
Since decorative rabbits are the result of selection, their immunity is quite weak, and some breeds are prone to genetic diseases and complications associated with anatomical features.
Most often, decorative rabbits have:
- viral hemorrhagic disease;
- pasteurellosis;
- myxomatosis (sign - nodules on the body);
- infectious rhinitis;
- inflammation of the bronchi and lungs (due to inappropriate temperature conditions and draft);
- diarrhea and flatulence (due to unsanitary conditions and poor quality nutrition);
- inflammation of the genitourinary system (sign - blood in the urine);
- conjunctivitis (a consequence of unsanitary conditions);
- helminthiasis, accompanied by diarrhea and a sharp weight loss;
- flea damage;
- lesion with a skin mite (sign - bald patches on the coat);
- ingrown teeth into the cheeks;
- tumors of the uterus in females.
It is impossible to treat an animal on your own; a veterinarian should deal with this. For prophylactic purposes, the pet is vaccinated at a certain frequency. The first time from the hemorrhagic virus is vaccinated at the 6th week of life, the second injection is done after 3 months. Further, they are vaccinated against hemorrhagic disease once a year.
The animal is vaccinated against myxomatosis for the first time at 10 months of age. Further, the vaccination is done 2 times a year from April to October, when insects that carry the infection are active. Preventive etching of worms is carried out every 2-3 months.
If you take good care of a decorative rabbit, then it will live 7-9 years.
Sexual questioning in rabbits and reproduction
Ornamental rodents reach sexual maturity by the 3-4th month of life. If breeding is not planned, then individuals of different sexes must be resettled. The sexual activity of a rabbit is determined by several signs:
- aggressive and agitated behavior;
- increased physical activity;
- ignoring the tray;
- the desire to mark corners (typical for the male);
- the desire to equip the nest (typical for the female).
For mating, the female is attached to the male. It cannot be otherwise, since the gentleman will be carried away by the examination of unfamiliar territory, he will not bother to pay attention to his girlfriend. In the process of mating, animals mate in several approaches. The knitting is repeated every other day. If there is no need to breed decorative animals, then it is advisable to castrate the male. Then he will behave calmly, stop marking corners.
Is it worth walking on the street
It is not necessary to walk your decorative pet rabbit, but if you wish, you can take it out on the lawn during the warm season. For a walk, they choose a clear day when there is no strong wind. They walk the pet on a special rabbit leash.
But even if the rabbit does not leave the house, it must not stay in the cage without leaving, otherwise obesity and skeletal pathologies cannot be avoided. The animal must be released daily so that it frolic and run on the floor.
