Bunnies aren't for Easter

It's Easter Sunday and that can mean only one thing to many people - chocolate eggs!  Sadly the Easter Bunny is yet to be handed his P45 and rabbits are still being treated as an Easter gift for the kiddies too. 

I love my rabbits and as much as they are a joy they are not simple pets.  It's one of my bug bears: people who have never shared their life with a rabbit naively think it's an easy pet to keep and it's this mis-education that means every Easter countless rabbits are bought for the festive fad and then forgotten about by the next month.  There will be people who continue to love and nurture their bunny and provide all that their bunny needs but more times than not, these poor rabbits end up forgotten at the bottom of the garden or dumped at a local rescue already bursting at the seams with furries.

Rabbits are not cheap pets and if you think they're cheaper and easier to keep than a dog or cat, think again.  There's two vaccinations that rabbits need every year (in some regions, twice a year) for protection against deadly myxomatosis and Viral Haomorrhagic Disease (or VHD).  Then there's the neutering for the hormones (rabbits are very territorial, may bite and/or scratch) and to protect against the 80% risk of uterine cancer.  A must to prevent pregnancies.  Vet consultation fees are also generally more expensive compared to that of a guinea pig.

Housing is another issue that many people still don't heed advice on, and often it's not helped by the lack of or the select advice given by pet shops.  That cage they're trying to sell you?  Absolutely no way is that enough space to keep a rabbit 24/7.  What the assistant won't tell you is that you really must give additional space for a rabbit to freely run.  Let it out free rein into the garden, or in a room of the house.  Rabbits have huge hind legs and they have a right to run as much as it's the done thing to let a dog run off it's lead.

Diet.  Feed a good dry food as the base but this by no means is all you provide.  Daily fresh water, some cabbage or spring greens.  Hay.  I have lost count how many times I find myself telling people that hay is simply not just a bedding material.  Many people do not even buy hay for that purpose, only putting straw down as a cage substrate.  24/7 access to clean hay (or grass) is absolutely imperative to a rabbit's diet (and a guinea pig's) and must always be provided - probably even more importantly than the dry food.  Without proper roughage a rabbit is very much likely to develop a condition called malloclusion which is when the ever growing teeth are neglected and continue to grow abnormally.  Forget the hay and you may find yourself paying those hefty vet bills for corrective dentistry.

Oh, and rabbits need company so multiply twice all advice above.

So you want something different to a chocolate egg this year?  Then go to a church Easter service.  Go for a walk and appreciate the spring flowers.  Buy gummy sweets that look like rabbits.  An even better idea - what you would have spent on an egg - or that bunny you wanted to buy on the spur of the moment because it looked so frigging cute - donate to a charity that rescues bunnies and in the process of feeding a bunny without the huge 10 year cost you'll get a feel good feeling that surely Easter is all about.

Who on earth decided that rabbits are for Easter anyway?  Living out in the countryside I see rabbits in the fields and at the road verges all year long so it's not as if they come out of hibernation once the daffodils proclaim it's Easter.

Share the word - rabbits are not for Easter - they're for life!

For more rabbit advice check out - Rabbit Rehome, Rabbit Welfare and MakeMineChocolate websites.

Becky x