Care For Rabbits in the Summer

Rabbits are very playful, fun, and intelligent creatures, and they're adorable as well. If you're a parent that was tempted (perhaps at Easter) to purchase a rabbit as a pet for your children, be aware that they require a great deal of care, and they are very sensitive creatures.

With summer heating up, be aware that rabbits are extremely sensitive to the heat, and if they don't have a way to cool off, they can die. There are many ways, however, to help them cool down, if you have an outdoor bunny. One great way is to fill a 2 liter soda bottle with water, freeze it, and place it next to your bunny's favorite resting spot. (Depending on how hot it is outside, you may need to change it every couple of hours.) Also, make sure to always have plenty of water available to your bunny, preferably in a dish. (Ceramic crocks work well since they're tough for bunnies to knock over.) This way, they can put their feet or ears in the water, which is another way to help them cool off.

Bunnies are creatures of habit, so if you're traveling with your bunny, make sure to have all of his or her favorite toys, treats, and food. Changing food can upset a bunny's stomach, oftentimes causing diarrhea, which can quickly dehydrate a bunny (and can lead to death). Make sure to keep the routine as close to normal as possible, and this will help your bunny travel.

Another thing to keep in mind: never EVER leave your bunny in a car. On an 80 degree day, within just a few minutes, the car can heat up to over 120 degrees. Keep your bunny safe - if you go to a restaurant, make sure it's pet friendly. It doesn't take long for animals to overheat with temperatures like that.

Use common sense when taking care of your pet, and remember that with a thick fur coat, bunnies don't do well in heat at all. If you have an outdoor bunny, take the necessary precautions to keep your bunny healthy and happy. Take care of your pet, and you'll be able to enjoy his or her companionship for 12 years or more.

Sophie loves animals, especially bunnies, and has spent years caring for them. She enjoys spending her time reading about animals, and learning new bunny care tips.

Amazing Facts About Rabbits

By discovering just a few basic facts about rabbits you can amaze your friends with that knowledge, which will help you get to know your rabbit friends better. A female rabbit is a doe and a male is given the title of buck. The length of pregnancy for a doe is only about a month, and when she gives birth it is called kindling. Kittens, or Kits, is the term given to the newborns, and the average litter is about 4 to 8 kits in size. The kits are born deaf, blind and without fur, so they are completely dependent on their mother for survival.

Caring for rabbits is not really too difficult, especially when you consider that the mothers will do most of the work for you when it comes to raising their infants. She will pull fur from her body to make their nest nice and warm. The doe will feed her litter once or twice per day, for about five minutes each time. Rabbit milk is one of the richest milks found in mammals.

Rabbits groom themselves as a general rule. This keeps them neat and tidy, but self-grooming also comes with a negative consequence. All types of rabbits, similar to cats, can produce hairballs from swallowing their own hair. This is why it is important to feed them hay regularly. Hay helps prevent the formation of hairballs by cleaning out their digestive tract of the hair they may have swallowed. Another fact about rabbits is that their teeth continue to grow no matter what age they attain. For this reason, it is very important to feed them hard foods, to help them wear down their teeth. Allowing their teeth to grow too long can take away their ability to eat normally.

The American Rabbit Breeders Association recognizes more than 45 breeds and they have over 30,000 members who work hard promoting these various types of rabbits. Some rabbit breeds can grow to be as large as 20 pounds, while smaller breeds can tip the scale at a mere two pounds.

Caring for rabbits is becoming quite the popular hobby these days. Believe it or not, in the United States alone, there are more than 5,000,000 rabbits being kept as pets in over 2,000,000 homes. 

These joyful little creatures love to run and jump and twist in the air. They adapt well to living indoors or out. But when living indoors it is important to be on the alert, as they will chew on furniture or electrical cords. They see these items as food to be eaten. Chewing on furniture will not be very pleasing to their owner, but chewing on electrical cords will not be very pleasing or fun for their owner or for them.

Here are more amazing facts about our little furry friends. 

They produce two different kinds of droppings. The most common type is what is usually seen, the dry circular "bunny beans" that are thrown into the garden as fertilizer. But rabbits also have a soft dropping with a bad smell called a cecotrope. The amazing aspect to this is that they usually eat the cecotropes as a way to get all the possible nutrients from their food. It may not seem like a tasty treat to you, but bunnies have no qualms about it.

These active animals do most of their running around at sunup and sundown, which classifies them as crepuscular. They do best when they are out of the hot weather and can suffer from heatstroke if they cannot cool off in the sanctity of shade. They prefer to stay safe in a corner of their cage if they sense that predators are near. If you have ever heard the term "scared as a bunny rabbit," it is because they can literally be frightened to death.

Some more interesting facts about rabbits: Domestic rabbit meat is all-white and very nutritious. It has less fat than chicken, pork or beef and is easily digested, even by people on special diets. A single doe weighing only 10 pounds can produce 320 pounds of meat in a single year. Plus, it can produce it in a very small area. As a comparison, a single cow will require two acres of land to produce the same amount of meat.

There are many other amazing facts about rabbits. They can jump very high, up to 36 inches or more. Some people train their pet rabbits to jump on a leash and then compete in a sport called Rabbit Hopping. They are quite an amazing animal. I am sure you can now see why people all over the world are enjoying the hobby of raising rabbits.

Joshua Harding has an extensive history with rabbits. If you would like to discover more amazingfacts about rabbits, or find insightful reviews of products regarding caring for rabbits, you can visit Joshua's fun and informative web site at facts-about-rabbits.com.