Cleaning

Keeping your rabbit pen clean is the best way to control disease. Your rabbit depends on you to keep it healthy.


Clean cages and equipment help prevent diseases in rabbits. Sanitize the equipment every month or whenever your rabbit has had a disease. Use a chlorine bleach solution to sanitize.


Put 1 cup of bleach in 1 gallon of water. After you have removed the fur and manure from the cage with a wire brush, put some of the chlorine bleach in a spray bottle and spray the entire cage. Let it dry before you return the rabbits to the cage. If the cage has a wooden floor, it needs to be cleaned every day and sanitaized every week. Other disinfectants can be used, but make sure they will not irritate the rabbits.


Cleaning Tips

You can clean the feeding and watering equipment daily with a milder bleach solution (1/4 cup bleach to 1 gallon water). Clean the hutches and cages at least once a week with a stronger bleach solution (1 cup bleach to 1 gallon water).


Let your equipment dry in the sun. Direct sunlight is also a disinfectant.


Use a vacuum or a stiff bristle brush to remove loose fur on cages and other equipment before it becomes a problem.


Disease can also come from using old cages or nest boxes discarded by other breeders or former rabbit enthusiasts. Do not use equipment from these sources until they are disinfected with bleach and direct sunlight.


Source: 4-H Cooperative Curriculum System BU-6069 What's Hoppening?

External Parasites of Rabbits

It's important to know how to recognize and control ear mites, mange mites and fleas. These parasites can cause serious problems in a herd of rabbits.

Ear Canker or Ear Mange

Ear canker is caused by common ear mites (psoroptes cuniculi). The mites live in the ear canal and damage the skin. A brown, waxy material covers the inner ear. This encrustation is dried blood, cellular debris, keratin and mites in various stages of development.


An effective treatment is to remove the encrustation with a cotton swab soaked in mineral or vegetable oil. Allow some of the oil to run into the ear passage. Repeat this procedure in four days. A 0.25 percent suspension of Lindane in mineral oil is an affective medication. Ivermectin has proven to be very effective at controlling ear canker. Inject 0.20 cc if Ivermectin just beneath the skin at the nape of the neck. Remember all your rabbits need to be treated if you find an infected animal. Sanitation is important for control.


Mange

Mites cause the skin to become dry, scaly, irritated and itchy with hair loss in the affected areas. Treat with a powder containing 0.25 percent Lindane. The best control method is good sanitation.


Fleas

Rabbit, dog and cat fleas occasionally have been reported on rabbits. There are four stages in the life cycle of a flea - egg, larva, pupa and adult. The eggs are deposited in nesting material and cracks of the nest boxes. The eggs hatch into larvae that form the pupae from which the adult emerges. Treat the rabbits by dusting with a commercial preparation of Pyrethrum or Rotenone. Properly destroy nesting materials and wash the nest boxes using bleach (1 cup bleach to 1 gallon water). Keep cats and dogs away from all rabbit supplies, especially nesting materials.


Source: 4-H Cooperative Curriculum System BU-6069 What's Hoppening?

Rabbit Management Tips

Cage

An all-wire cage for a 6-7 lb. rabbit should be at least 2 feet wide by 18 inches high by 2 feet long. You'll need a sitting board 6-8 inches square or larger to prevent sore hocks and feet.

Temperature

Outside cages need a shady roof and protection from rain, wind, drafts, dampness and direct sun during the hot summer months. To cool a rabbit, put a gallon jug of frozen water in the cage. Put long wet towels on the sides of the cage. Dampen the roof with cool water.

Cleaning/Sanitation

Remove all droppings from the cage every day. At least once a month, clean and disinfect the cage and tray. Use a mild bleach solution (1/4 cup bleach to 1 gallon water or 1 tablespoon bleach to 1 quart water). Rinse well.

Feed

Rabbits need a balanced diet to grow and reproduce. Feed them a commercially prepared 14%-16% protein rabbit pellets daily. The amount fed will vary with the age, weight and activity level of each animal. Five to six ounces will usually keep a mature New Zealand rabbit not in production in good condition. Small breeds need two to three ounces of pellets. Small amounts of fresh hay and grain may also be given. Feed a doe and her litter all they will eat each day. (Feed the doe only two to four ounces the first day after kindling to prevent caked udders.) Give weaned bunnies all they will eat.

Do not overfeed or let uneaten rabbit pellets stay in the dish day after day. Store the feed in a water/air tight container away from the sun and moisture so the pellets keep their nutritional value.

Check to see if a rabbit is being fed enough or too much by feeling the skin covering the ribs and back bone. If it's too thin, feed it more; if too fat, feed it less.

Water

Rabbits need plenty of fresh, clean ice-free water each day. Clean the crock or water bottle every few days with a mild bleach solution and warm soapy water. A doe and her litter will drink about a gallon of water a day.

Source: 4-H Cooperative Curriculum System - BU-6069 What's Hoppening?

Parts of a Rabbit

Belly - the lower part of the body, abdomen. From the bottom of the last rib to the pelvis. Contains the intestines.

Chest - the front part of the body between the forelegs and neck, the breast.

Cheeks - the sides of the face below the eyes.

Forehead - the front part of the head between the eyes and the base of the ears.

Hind (rear) leg - the foot, hock, stifle (knee) and hip joint.

Hindquarters - the rear part or section of the body; includes the loin, hips, hind legs and rump. From the last rib back.

Hip - the joint that attaches the hind legs to the trunk of the body.

Hock - the joint in rabbits that is like the ankle in man. The joint below the stifle.

Knee - the second joint of the hind leg - connects the thigh to the leg. Also known as the stifle.

Loin - that portion of the back on each side of the vertebrae from the last rib posterior to the hip joint.

Neck - connects the head to the body.

Nostrils - the two openings of the nose leading to the internal structures of the head.

Ribs - the curved portions of the sides immediately back and under the shoulders and above the belly.

Rump - the upper, rounded part of the hindquarters.

Shoulders - the upper joint of the foreleg, connecting it to the body.

Source: 4-H Cooperative Curriculum System - BU-6069 What's Hoppening?

Get a Hold on It

It is essential to know how to pick up and carry a rabbit. Rabbits can scratch or bite when they do not feel protected.

Use a stuffed rabbit to practice picking up a rabbit. When you are ready, show your parent how you do this with a live rabbit.

Removing from a Cage

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  Put the palm of your right hand under the middle of the belly and lift.


• 
  
  Take the rabbit out of the cage with the rear first and the head last.


• 
  
  When the rabbit is out of the cage, put your left hand around the rear legs.

Picking up a Rabbit

• 
  
  With the rabbit facing you, place your right hand under its chest and stomach.


• 
  
  Balance the rabbit on your right hand and lift it up a little.


• 
  
  Place your left hand under the rear of the rabbit until the rump is resting on your hand.


• 
  
  Move the rabbit forward until its head is securely tucked under your left arm.


• 
  
  Remove your right hand or gently lay your right hand on the back of the rabbit for added safety while moving.

NEVER lift or carry a rabbit by its ears or legs; you could injure it.

Source: 4-H Cooperative Curriculum System – BU-6069 What’s Hoppening?

Rabbit Breeds and Ideal Weight Groups

The 4-H Show in Delhi, Louisiana is for 4-Class ONLY (Jr. Buck/Doe and Sr. Buck/Doe)

4-Class Rabbit Breeds
Small (2 to 6 lbs.)	Medium (over 6 to 9 lbs.)
American Fuzzy Lop Britannia Petite Dutch Dwarf Hotot Florida White Havana Himalayan Holland Lop Jersey Wooly Mini Lop Mini Rex Netherland Dwarf Polish Silver Tan	American Sable Belgian Hare English Angora English Spot French Angora Harlequin Lilac Rex Rhinelander Satin Angora Silver Marten Standard Chinchilla
6-Class Rabbit Breeds
Large (over 9 to 11 lbs.)	Giant (over 11 lbs.)
American American Chinchilla Beveren Blanc de Hotot Californian Champayne D’Argent Cinnamon Creme D’Argent English Lop New Zealand Palomino Satin Silver Fox	Checkered Giant Flemish Giant French Lop Giant Chinchilla

The American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) Standard of Perfection contains most all the breeds.

Source: 4-H Cooperative Curriculum System – BU-6069 What’s Hoppening?

Terms You Need to Know

4-Class--Jr. Buck/Doe and Sr. Buck/Doe = 4 classes

6-Class--Jr. Buck/Doe, Intermediate Buck/Doe and Sr. Buck/Doe = 6 classes

Broken--A rabbit that has any recognized breed color in combination with white and that carries the breed pattern

Class--Age at which the rabbit is shown: Junior, Intermediate, Senior

DQ (disqualification)--One or more deformities or blemishes that renders the rabbit ineligible for competition and/or registration. (DQs can correct themselves. For example, rabbits can be disqualified for a broken tooth, abscesses, under/over weight, ear/fur mites, etc.--all of which are conditions that the rabbit can move past.)

Faults--Imperfections within the breed or variety. A fault is a condition that's not serious enough for a DQ., such as long in type, flat, molting, etc.

Intermediate--A rabbit between six and eight months of age in the heavy weight breeds, known as 6-class animals

Junior--A rabbit under six months of age

Pedigree--A written record of a rabbit's lineage for three generations that contains the rabbit's birthday, variety, and ear number

Registration--The official recording of a rabbit and its pedigree that has been approved by a licensed registrar

Senior--A rabbit over six months of age for 4-class rabbits and over eight months of age for 6-class rabbits

Solid--A rabbit that basically carries the breed color throughout its entire body. This can include selfs, shaded selfs, ticked, wide banded, agouti, pointed whites, etc.

Variety--The color the rabbit is. For example, black, opal, broken, etc.

Source: rabbitweb.net

If you know any other terms you'd like us to post, make a comment and we'll post them for you.