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Question: Is there enough information available for new/prospective rabbit owners?

Yukarangz

New Kit
Okay, I'll admit, I'm here looking for an insight into the rabbit keeping community. I'm studying for a FdSc in Animal Behaviour, and one project I have to do is: 'Is there enough information available for new pet owners?".

My group are presenting on rabbits, and we need as many facts and opinions as possible. The main areas of concern we uncovered were:

Husbandry - grooming, nutrition and how the animal is treated. What kind of information do A) Breeders, B) Pet Shops and C) Rescue Shelters offer in terms of general rabbit care and welfare?

Housing - I noted that some pet shop near me had tiny cages, that I wouldn't house rats in, housing young rabbits. They were also filthy and bare. :censored: Is this a common problem? What message are these people sending to people who want a rabbit companion?

Veterinary Care - information on vaccines and other treatments, etc. Is there enough information being shared with new owners on this?

All advice, opinions, input, etc. are more than welcome. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and I hope I'm not imposing too much by posting this. :)

As an aside, I'd like a rabbit of my own one day, but it won't be for a while yet. I'd prefer a house rabbit to a hutch-housed rabbit and have heard that they can be litter trained.
 
I think information is very limited from most pet shops, and bad breeders. Good breeders tend to inform more, and generally rescue centres educate the most because of why they do what they do (rescue centres do it for the buns, whereas pet shops do it for the money, etc).
 
I think information is very limited from most pet shops, and bad breeders. Good breeders tend to inform more, and generally rescue centres educate the most because of why they do what they do (rescue centres do it for the buns, whereas pet shops do it for the money, etc).

This was my guess too, and from the research I've done so far, it seems to be holding true. Thanks!
 
This was my guess too, and from the research I've done so far, it seems to be holding true. Thanks!

Ha ha, awesome.

From my personal perspective I volunteer with a rescue, and have written and created an adoption pack that informs owners about diet, bonding with your bunny, bonding bunnies, when to seek a vet, how to find a rabbit savvy vet, what toys they like, how to make your accommodation rabbit proof (accommodation size is not my area, that's down to the rescue centre itself), pre and post operation care, how to litter train, different ways to feed and stimulate rabbits, and some other articles, I think. I also provide my contact details to any adopter and tell them they can contact me about anything rabbit related (even if its not to do with the rabbit/s we adopted to them), so I know any adopter from us has a very thorough education on the basics (and a bit more) of rabbit care. Oh, and I include the RSPCA 5 freedoms too.

I have articles in the pipeline about nail clipping and vaccinations and add to the pack quite regularly.

I do all this because I want the bunnies to have the best and for the owners to be competent and give the rabbit the best. I remember every single bun I have helped adopt out, and their owners, and each bunny is so important to me. i see them all as individuals who need a home, love, care, etc.

Just thought I'd add that :) Sort of goes along with what you said.
 
The Rabbit Welfare Fund is a good place for prospective new owners to start. They have lots of great leaflets, but unfortunately there is very little correct info avalible without going on the internet. Lots of petshops sell hutches far to small and have very little rabbit knowledge.

Sky-O I think its brilliant that you have gone to the trouble to provide adoptees so much support. :D
 
There is an overwhelming amount of, often conflicting, information out there. The main issue, in my view, is people getting the info at the wrong stage. Not when they consider a rabbit, not when they by the equipment, not when they get the rabbit, only when they have a problem and then only if they seek help.
 
I would say the the average 'rabbits for the kids' owner has only a very basic knowledge of rabbits - small hutches, fed on lettuce and muesli-type stuff and not let out much. This is seen time and again and going by the set-ups in _some_ small town pet shops then this is going to keep happening.

At least larger places like P@H (I know not everyone's favourite shop) are trying to inform their clients better and at least some small petshops are run by responsible people. Good rescues homecheck and hand out stuff too so that people will be prepared.

I don't think that the financial and emotional cost of owning rabbits is stressed enough (stressed being the operative word:lol: )

It is comparable to having children - at one end of the spectrum are people who push them out and leave them to fend for themselves pretty much and at the other are people devouring parenting books and trying their level best for their offspring.
 
Thanks, Sky-O,Tamsin, Amy and Lunar! This seems like a very friendly and open community. :) I would like to use some of your comments in the work possibly, or at least mention you in the acknowledgements. Would you prefer to remain anonymous ('The kind users of the Rabbits United Forum') or be included by name?
 
Thanks, Sky-O,Tamsin, Amy and Lunar! This seems like a very friendly and open community. :) I would like to use some of your comments in the work possibly, or at least mention you in the acknowledgements. Would you prefer to remain anonymous ('The kind users of the Rabbits United Forum') or be included by name?

Personally I'm happy to be mentioned by name (if you want like my full name or whatever then feel free to PM me).
 
I think it's very easy to find information on rabbit keeping.

But finding decent, reliable information of how to properly care for a rabbit took me years to find :roll:
 
Unfortunatly, rabbits are considered to be cheap, easy to run pets for children that are fine to be kept in a ridiculously tiny 3 foot hutches at the bottom of the garden. Most pet shops don't really know anything about rabbit care.

Rescues are by far the best. They offer information to prospective owners, they often already neuter and vaccinate animals, bond them, and homecheck. In the case of the RSPCA, they will sell an adequately sized hutch and run for a very reasonable price.
 
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My biggest gripe is the lack of information about hutch and run dimensions. I think if we could change just one thing about how rabbits are cared for - that it became widely known just how much space rabbits require - this would be it. As a new rabbit owner I grossly underestimated the amount of space rabbits need; I bought a 5ft hutch for my two medium-smallish bunnies, thinking I was being generous! I watched them take 4 hops down my 8ft run and nearly reach the other end.

They're now in a shed with a 15ft run. Whenever people express surprise (and non-rabbit owners always do), that I keep my rabbits in a shed, I ask them if they would put a dog in a hutch, and when they say no, I tell them it's the same difference.

The British Rabbit Council do not help. Their website is recommending hutches bought from pet shops without any detail about the recommended dimensions. Most pet shops sell 4ft hutches as suitable for rabbits and so according to the BRC website, these are fine. I remember being completely confused when I first got my rabbits; I had the BRC recommending one thing and the RSPCA something completely different. I thought the BRC were correct (because I'd previously owned guinea-pigs and had presumed that rabbits needed the same amount of space only proportionally bigger), and that maybe the RSPCA were just being excessive.

I and another person (that I know of) have contacted the BRC and asked them to change their website details, to no avail.

I find that pet shops generally sell only 4ft and 3ft hutches. I have no idea why, when surely they would make more money from a bigger hutch? I can only presume that storage space and lack of availability from their suppliers are to blame. My first rabbit was from a pet shop and the owner admitted that his hutches were too small, but still would have sold it to me for my rabbit.

Whenever I come across an online company who is selling a 3ft or 4ft hutch as suitable for a rabbit, I email them with the RSPCA and RWAF recommended dimensions (6'x2'x2') and request that they no longer advertise the hutch as suitable for rabbits. I average about twice a week.
 
There is enough information, and it is out there, BUT in my experience, the reliable information comes from sources less likely to be accessed by new and prospective owners.

The sources likely to be used for research by new owners are often those that are less reliable. Pet shops being the obvious one, but books are risky too especially when they're out of date - my college runs and animal care course and some of the rabbit books in the college library are decades out of date!

When I got my first rabbit I researched rabbits' care in some books from my local library and they weren't at all useful, I didnt find out about vaccinations, spaying or proper hutch size till I joined this forum.

There is a very good book called "Stories Rabbits Tell" which goes some way to explain how the misconception about rabbit care have arisen.
 
I think if people get their buns from a rescue there is plenty of information as most require a homecheck and ensure you know the basics and a little more on bunny care before you can leave with an animal.

There is plenty of good quality information online if you can be bothered to read it.

Pet shops on the whole can be really rubbish at providing decent information but I think that it's made worse by the fact that a lot (not saying all) of people who use pet shops to buy animals haven't bothered to do any research and expect the pet shop to tell them everything they need to know a little like cooking instructions on ready meals.

I think maybe pet shops need to buck up their ideas a little and the general public needs to stop blaming others for their shortcomings. I researched rabbit care for 10 years before I finally got my 2. Admittedly most of that time was because I wasn't allowed pets at my parents house then at uni but I still made sure I did a lot more reading for the 6 months before I got mine as I knew it was a serious plan then not just a nice idea for the future or an impulse buy.
 
Thanks for all the information, guys. I'm currently following up some of your advice and it will REALLY help to bulk out my project... I chose rabbits because it seems like they get a raw deal when compared with cats and dogs, in this country at least.

Thanks again! Good luck with the buns, all. I may be back in the future. :)
 
I had to do the exact same project last year,
and i'm on the same course =]

What college you at?
 
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