Ok this is what i have written anyone any ideas, thoughts, suggestions????
Like i said it's not terribly good
Rabbits as Pets
Rabbits are great animals and are not only a pet but can become a beloved member of the family.
Many rabbits are bought from pet shops as children’s pets, this is fine as long as the adults buying the rabbit are prepared to pay for vet bills when needed, food and most importantly are prepared to look after the rabbit as a child can not be held responsible for a living animal. A rabbit should not be bought solely as a child’s pet but as a family pet, Children have a tendency to poke prod and mishandle small animals making them wary and sometimes aggressive. Rabbits are intelligent creatures and should be treated as such, not ignored at the bottom of the garden or trapped in a hutch day after day. You wouldn’t treat your dog this way so why a rabbit. Children should not be left to handle or care for a Rabbit alone they should have a responsible adult present at all times.
Many pet shop rabbits end up in rescue centres after the children loose interest and the parents are not willing to look after it.
There are currently 33,000 rabbits in rescues around the country and we would strongly urge anyone interested in owning a rabbit to visit there local rescue centre and if possible give one of the rabbits in rescue a loving home.
Below are a few things to consider when looking for a pet rabbit:
· Accommodation: One rabbit needs a hutch of 5ft long, 2ft wide and 2 ft high and preferably a run as well. Rabbits like to move, run, dig and play. They need enough space to do all these things and need to be let out of the hutch on a daily basis for some free moving playtime.
· Company: Rabbits are social creatures they crave attention and are best kept in pairs of one male and one female. Bare this in mind as neutering and spaying are critical to stop unwanted pregnancy’s, even brothers and sister will breed and should be kept separate until neutering has been done. Rescue centres will often have already neutered there rabbits cutting down on expenses to the new owner and unwanted litters. Rescue centres can also help you find a friend for you current rabbit or pair up a rabbit you would like to home.
· Diet: Rabbits need a high fibre diet; they should be fed a good pellet food as this stops selective eating, ad-lib hay and vegetables each day. They require fresh water daily either from a bottle or a bowl.
· Veterinary Treatment: Rabbits require vaccinating. There are two vaccines available for rabbits Myximatosis and VHD. VHD need to be once a year and Myxi every 6 months depending on the area you live in. Your vet can give you advice on this. Although some rabbits will only ever need to see the twice a year for vaccinations they can also suffer a number of problems which will need to be treated by a vet. These can include teeth, eyes, ears, tummy troubles and most commonly an infection called pasturella. Veterinary treatment for a rabbit can be anything from £10 to £600 so please do bare this in mind when looking for a rabbit.
· Grooming: Rabbits need grooming. They will need regular nail trims and brushing, as rabbits moult they will groom them selves but can get hair balls as cats do but in rabbits a hair ball is far more serious causing bloat or GI stasis which can kill if not treated immediately by a vet, grooming the rabbit daily will help them.
· Handling: Rabbits need to be handled carefully; they need constant support under their bottom and back legs and should be held to the body making them feel safe. If a rabbit feels unsafe it can and will kick out with it’s back legs and/or bite. This in turn causes the rabbit a lot of stress and the owner as they think there is something wrong with the rabbit.
· Lifespan: Many people think that a rabbit only live a couple of years, this is not true they can live up to 14 years possibly longer and you need to be prepared to have a rabbit for that amount of time.
Most importantly please make sure that a rabbit is really the right pet for your family, they take a lot of care and sometimes money but the rewards of owning a rabbit are huge! They can become your best friend.