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Your favourite rabbit keeping myths

catxx

catxx

Mama Doe
So I made this for Rabbit Residence last week and put on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, it got 5,000 views on FB, 200 likes on Instagram, I class that as success and I think the info was right?!

So would like to do another one or two but my mind has gone blank, what are your "favourites"?

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Rabbits don't need space! So many people are amazed that Lopsy even has a run, let alone a tunnel to the grass! They seem to completely disconnect wild rabbits with domestic rabbits, and as soon as you say 'well, rabbits like to run and jump and eat in a big open field' they're all like 'oh, of course!' :roll: There's a pervading view that they just sit and wait for... I dunno! But it's still rife.

ETA: maybe it's just the fact that they think domestic and wild rabbits are so different: what's good for wild rabbits is alien to housebunnies, outdoor domestics etc.! Weird.
 
Rabbits don't need/want/like company of their own kind. Trying to explain the neccessity to people is like banging your head against a brick wall!
 
Rabbits can free-range, unsupervised, with perfect safety.
I have a neighbour who lets her rabbits run around on spare ground next to her house every day. There are dogs, and foxes in the area, but they don't seem to come to harm and she's so proud of herself she's been on the local facebook page bragging.
 
All fab ideas!! Thanks guys!

Yes the running loose unsupervised is a worry for me too. The amount of times I've been doing events for the rescue and people have told me, proudly, how their rabbit has loads of space in the garden every day, while no one is around, urgh!
 
My cousin has an allotment, where there are a lot of rabbits, I was very upset to find out that he was planning to go and shoot rabbits at the allotment...

I was furious as you can imagine. I posted on his FB post (where he had stated he would be shooting them) and said it was completely unacceptable to shoot innocent animals and that there would be females with babies to get back to and he would be probably shooting mothers...

he came back with ''Rabbits are vermin, they carry diseases and only breed in the winter''

I mean, seriously?

I told him that they breed all year round and he said ''They are the most fertile in the winter so they have had their babies by the summer'' what the hell?

I mean as if its not disgraceful enough that you are considering going to shoot rabbits for no good reason, you haven't got a bloody clue what you are talking about!? You know I find a lot of people like hunters have no understanding of the animals they are killing at all, they really couldn't give a damn as long as they get to kill something!
 
Think my favourite is that rabbits are cheap pets. They might only cost £20 to buy but I don't even want to think about how much Ferg has cost me over 2 years. Even just the weekly veg/hay/litter tray stuff costs a fortune, never mind the vet bills!
 
Grrrr, just recalling all the :censored: is making me mad. Most frequently I come across rabbits as cheap pets / childrens pets / males can't live together / eat mainly carrots ... people seem most surprised rabbits use litter trays but not a myth as such cos most people (non bunny folk) haven't even considered they might. My friend offered me her bereaved guinea pig to live alongside my bunnies recently & she is a massive animal lover (though clearly not that clued up)
 
Rabbits like being held/cuddled/stroked and (much much worse) bathed.

What about trancing ... ? Ahhhhhh
 
Sarah1991 said:
My cousin has an allotment, where there are a lot of rabbits, I was very upset to find out that he was planning to go and shoot rabbits at the allotment...

I was furious as you can imagine. I posted on his FB post (where he had stated he would be shooting them) and said it was completely unacceptable to shoot innocent animals and that there would be females with babies to get back to and he would be probably shooting mothers...

he came back with ''Rabbits are vermin, they carry diseases and only breed in the winter''



I mean, seriously?

I told him that they breed all year round and he said ''They are the most fertile in the winter so they have had their babies by the summer'' what the hell?

I mean as if its not disgraceful enough that you are considering going to shoot rabbits for no good reason, you haven't got a bloody clue what you are talking about!? You know I find a lot of people like hunters have no understanding of the animals they are killing at all, they really couldn't give a damn as long as they get to kill something!
Click to expand...

That's on the internet somewhere. Wild rabbits have a slightly different breeding pattern. Not saying its true, but I read it too.

How would you recommend people get rid of rabbits that are eating everything they had grown?
 
Sarah1991 said:
he said ''They are the most fertile in the winter so they have had their babies by the summer''
Click to expand...

He is actually correct I'm afraid! They could in theory breed all year round, but they don't. Wild rabbits do have a breeding season, around July the males' testicles retract back into their bodies and females aren't receptive to mating. They start to become frisky and breeding again in the middle of winter so that the first babies are born around early spring. Domestic rabbits don't follow the same pattern - presumably at least in part because they get a constant supply of food and sustenance all year round, so they don't need to work on a cycle in the same way as wild rabbits. The fact that they are dumped into a hutch together with no way of escaping each others attentions probably also contributes!!

For me probably the biggest myths are about diet - carrots, lettuce, bread, muesli mix etc, companionship, and space.
 
Muesli mixes with dried bits of apple are great as it gives bunny everything they need in one bowl - I heard this one last week as someone was buying a bunny for her young child - which also brings up no.2 rabbits are good 1st pet for children - no! and finally no.3 rabbits are easy - no they just can't 'voice' their mistreatment & are easy to neglect :(
 
Rabbits can't be house-trained.


That one drives me mad! :censored: Ludo has never had a single accident, poop or wee! Yet people assume I live in a house knee-deep in rabbit poo!
 
Hesperus said:
Rabbits can't be house-trained.


That one drives me mad! :censored: Ludo has never had a single accident, poop or wee! Yet people assume I live in a house knee-deep in rabbit poo!
Click to expand...

And even if they couldn't be litter trained that doesn't mean you can't clean up after your pets! I think that annoys me even more when people assume your house must be covered in poop because you have rabbits and other pets. It's mainly the illogical part of it that gets me, like even on RU i've had people be like 'oh you have indoor ducks? Your house must stink!' :roll: Yes because poop can't be picked up :lol:
 
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