Regardless of whether you are starting to raise rabbits as simply pets or for meat purposes, the fact that they should be well-cared for does not change. Accordingly, whatever your reasons may be, you need to understand the basic necessities and essentials you should pay attention to when it comes to raising rabbits:
- Build the hutch properly – just as you would want your chicken feeders Australia in a proper coop and proper chicken nesting boxes, you also want your rabbits to be in a well-made, properly spaced hutch. Rabbits do not need a lot of space, but this does not mean you should force them to live in cramped conditions. Whenever possible, try to make the animal house as large as you can afford. The basic hutch for a grown rabbit is a box-like compartment that measures around 3ft x3ftx2ft (respectively, length, width and height) usually. The hutch should be connected to the nesting box and should also be easy for you to access when it comes to periodic maintenance and cleaning.
- Buy feeders and waterers – your rabbits will need a dedicated rabbit water feeder (or simply, a waterer) and a food feeder. You can actually have a can or a large bowl for each purpose, but you can also go the other way and invest in a commercially manufactured pro feeder and waterer with drip facilities. Or, you could also try your hand at do-it-yourself feeders and waterers that are quite easy to build. Whichever method you use, you want to make sure that there is a fresh source of food and water for your rabbits constantly.
- Look into the health of the rabbits – to understand whether a rabbit is doing alright or not, you will have to first have an idea of what a healthy rabbit looks like, weighs like and acts like. To this end, know that different breed varieties will have different states of normalcy to them, so make sure to properly study what ‘normal’ means to each variety. Furthermore, understand how to properly treat your rabbits, avoiding harming behaviour such as lifting your bunnies from their ears.
- Keep track of the weather – your rabbit hutches will most definitely be outdoors, which means you will also have to keep track of the weather to ensure your furry critters won’t die of climate stress. Remember that it is easier for rabbits to die due to higher temperatures rather than due to low temperatures, so make sure to carefully consider shady and cool locations for their hutch. Conversely, if you tend to have harsh winters, make sure that the hutch is shielded from snow and winds as well. For more information, please click here.
