It’s Rabbit Awareness week 18th – 26th of June 2016!
To mark this national event Calder Vets are celebrating bunnies by offering not just a week but one whole month of free nurse health checks for your pet Rabbits.
During the month of June we want to help you look after your fluffy friend in the best way possible and we have lots of advice that our nurses here at Calder Vets would love to share with you.
We thought we would share a few of our top tips for bunnies!
Rabbits are undoubtedly a popular choice of pet for young children, but they do require lots of looking after – there is much more to it than popping them in a hutch in the garden and feeding and cleaning them occasionally. Here are some of the key things you need to do to ensure your rabbit is happy and healthy.
-
Regular health checks
This goes for all pets and during the month of June, Calder Vets are offering free rabbit health checks with our experienced Pet Health Advisor. Call one of branches today to book an appointment
-
Rabbits need balanced diets for healthy teeth
Rabbits need a balanced diet, with a mixture of dark green leaves, good quality pellets and a plentiful supply of hay.
This is on a need to gnaw basis – excuse the pun! Rabbit teeth never stop growing so they need constant access to hay and specially produced chews and blocks to keep their teeth in shape.
-
Keep a clean hutch
It sounds like a very basic requirement, but it’s vital that you keep your rabbit’s hutch clean. That means cleaning it out every day to help their fur and skin stay clean and to keep potentially dangerous parasites like flystrike at bay.
-
Vaccinate your rabbit
Rabbits must be vaccinated annually against the killer virus myxomatosis and viral haemorrhagic disease. These are serious illnesses that can really hurt or kill your pet, so be sure to vaccinate them to keep them safe.
-
Bunnies love company
People don’t realise that rabbits are incredibly social animals and if left without appropriate company and things to do for a long time they can suffer. Many owners keep a rabbit alone in a hutch, but this leads to a miserable lifestyle for rabbits. Rabbits have complex social needs and are happiest when kept with another friendly rabbit- therefore; rabbits should ideally live in a friendly pairs or group. However, keeping the wrong pairings together can lead to unwanted kittens (baby Rabbits) and/ or fighting. Neutering is recommended to prevent unwanted babies (kits)
-
Environment
In the wild Rabbits territory is equivalent to around 30 tennis courts. Running around such large areas every day keeps wild rabbits fit and healthy, so be sure to give your pet Rabbit plenty of opportunity to exercise. Rabbits should not be confined to a hutch.
We Are a Rabbit Friendly Practice!
Calder Vets are proud to be included on the Rabbit Friendly Vets List. We support the Rabbit Welfare association and Fund (RWAF)– Educating Rabbit owners and promoting Rabbit Welfare. For more information, visit the RWAF website.
You can read more about Rabbit Awareness Week here.
Are you celebrating National Rabbit Awareness Week this year too? We’d love to hear about it or see pictures of your furry friends on Twitter and Facebook!
News