Pellets

Rabbits are generally fed a pelleted feed available from pet stores, supermarkets, and farm suppliers. An interesting fact is that pellets were once primarily used by the breeders who needed inexpensive food.

Hay

Of course, we all know that rabbits need some hay. If you make sure there is enough hay in the hutch, this should prevent the digestive problems that rabbits often suffer from. Additionally, it provides a number of necessary vitamins and minerals at a low food energy cost. Rabbits enjoy chewing on hay, and always having hay available for the rabbit may reduce its tendency to chew on other items.

Treats

Rabbit food also comes in the form of treats.   Don’t overdo the treats though, as they are bad in large quantities. In pet stores, you will often find that a lot of the treats are full of carbs and high in sugar. If an owner is determined to feed the rabbit treats, the best treat to provide it with is fruit.

It is useful to know which fruits are most acceptable for feeding to rabbits, and these are things like Kiwi, Berries and Banana, although do make sure that the pips are removed first.

Fruits or other treats must be given in moderation, as rabbits easily become overweight and suffer health problems.   Their diet should consist of no more than half a tablespoon of fruits or treats per day.

However, fresh fruits should not be given to rabbits under the age of 4 months because their digestive systems are not always developed enough to handle the fruit. If you don’t follow these rules, you could have a dead bunny within 48 hours, which is very sad.

Another tip worth noting is that lettuce isn’t all its cracked up to be – it actually shouldn’t be fed to rabbits because it has very little nutritional value and could also cause death.

Cecal pellets

Do not be alarmed if you see your rabbit eat some of his faeces. These are called cecal pellets, and are a vital part of his diet. A rabbit needs to stay healthy, and cecal pellets help to give your bunny a good supply of vitamin B12. Due to the design of the rabbit’s digestive system, they cannot extract some vitamins and minerals directly from their food, so that is why they eat faeces. This is perfectly normal though.

Technorati Tags: animals, pet food, pet rabbit, pets, rabbit food, rabbits

Parents will often get a rabbit specifically as a pet for their child. Your child looks at you with those big eyes and says "please" and the rabbit comes home.But rabbits are different from cats or dogs and do not react the same way to child behavior.

Rabbits have abilities that evolved in the species over thousands of years.They’re quick, have sharp claws and teeth, and an flight response that propelss them to flee at the first sign of danger. But those very aids to the rabbit can be harmful to the child.

When a rabbit feels threatened it may bite. Rabbit teeth and jaws are powerful enough to cause a very nasty wound to a child. Teach the child to stay alert, not to startle the rabbit, and keep its hands and arms away from teeth. Both parties will be happier, and so will you.

Rabbits have powerful hind legs. When possible they’ll use them to run away at top speed. When they can’t flee, they’ll fight. But the claws on their hind feet, even trimmed, can rip a nasty gash in a child’s hand, arm or face. To reduce the odds, teach the child not to stress or startle the rabbit. Approach slowly, don’t hold the rabbit when it squirms, and never yell or squeal in its presence. Those ears are large for a purpose!

Children need to be taught how and when to hold a rabbit (and how and when not to). Rabbits rarely enjoy being held firmly, and then only for short periods.Rabbits often enjoy human company, sitting beside someone and being gently stroked.Usually, though, it is best to stay away from the ears which are a natural magnet for children. The rabbit uses those for survival and interfering with them will sometimes produce stress.

Rabbits can see almost 360 degrees around. An eye is located on each side of the head giving them a wide angle of view. But because of the placement, they have a blind spot about 10 degrees wide just below the chin. The rabbit compensates for the lack of depth perception we have from stereoscopic vision by moving its head. They judge the distance of objects by parallax (the two different views gained from two different angles).

Teaching a child about the rabbit’s visual and auditory systems helps them understand how the rabbit approaches the world. That makes it much easier to explain why some things are safe and others are potentially harmful or stressful to the rabbit.

But beyond physical safety for both the rabbit and the youngster, there are many helpful lessons to learn.

Rabbits can be trained to perform a number of amusing behaviors. Helping the child to do that, involving it in the training, benefits both the rabbit and the child. The rabbit perceives the child as a companion and the child learns to develop skills that apply to many situations: patience, gentleness, careful observation and so on.

Find more information on rabbits at LuvMyRabbit.com

Technorati Tags: behaviour, care, care and feeding pet rabbit, caring for, pet rabbit, Pet Rabbits, taking care of