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Rabbits are social animals and it would be wise to purchase two rather than one. Two females (does) will be the best choice as two males (bucks) will end up fighting. For obvious reasons a male and female would not be suited if you don’t intend to breed.
When purchasing a dwarf rabbit it would be best to purchase from a reputable breeder. Many a rabbit has been sold as a “dwarf” and ended up a “giant”. The best option is if both parents are on view. One can also tell by the length of the ears, a dwarf rabbit has very short ears. When they are babies their ears look almost like those of a cat. A fully-grown dwarf rabbit’s ears should not be longer than 5 cms.
It is possible for a female rabbit to have babies every 28-33 days (hence the saying “breed like rabbits”). If you intend to breed leave a male and female together for 20 days then remove the male. If you don’t remove the male he will impregnate the female right after she has given birth. Within 4-5 weeks you will have another litter of rabbits. A sure sign that the doe is about to give birth is when she starts to pluck fur from her abdomen. The fur is used to line the nest as baby rabbits are born without fur and with their eyes closed. The doe nurses her young once in 24 hours, sometimes twice. The doe also leaves the nest and does not lie with her young. Five days after birth short hairs start to form on their bare skin. Their eyes open around 10 days after birth and their ears start to become erect. At 2weeks of age they have a fluffy coat and one can clearly distinguish what colours they are, except in the case of the Himalayan (read more under breeds). When they reach 3 weeks they will venture out of the nest and even try and nibble on a pellet. By 4 weeks they will start to eat solid foods, suitable foods are dwarf rabbit pellets and a little oats. I prefer not to give greens at this age as they can upset their stomachs. Babies are ready to leave between the ages of 6-8 weeks. If the babies are especially small then 8 weeks would be the ideal age to leave their mothers.
FEEDING
Use good quality dwarf rabbit pellets, sold at most pet stores. This forms part of their diet and must be fed daily. I have found that feeding too many vegetables causes diarrhoea and makes the rabbits urine smell very strongly. Give small amounts of parsley, carrots, cabbage and apple. I stay away from spinach and definitely stay away from lettuce. I prefer to use stainless steel dishes as plastic are a breeding ground for germs and easily chewed by the rabbits. Fresh water must be available at all times; I find that bottles attached to the cages works the best. I also add Protexin once a week to their water (more info on the guinea pig page). Rabbits are also fond of grazing on hay or straw if housed in a cage without access to green grass. The ideal is if they can graze on green grass this helps prevent problems with their teeth and should actually form 80% of their diet.
HOUSING
A bigger cage is always better a good estimate is around 4 times the size of the rabbit. The wire mesh must not be bigger than 1inch square (2.5cm) otherwise newborn babies will fall through the wire or get stuck. There should be a roomy nesting box, which can be lined with straw or hay. Teach your rabbit to use a litter box from a young age; this helps to keep the cage fairly clean. Line the cage with newspaper and then spread hay or straw, one can also use shavings (pine shavings) but I find it sticks to the hair of the angora rabbits. You can add logs etc. to make the cage more interesting for the rabbit. They are also fond of sitting on top of things, just make sure that if the cage is open on top that they can’t jump out. They also like to hide away in PVC plumbing pipes. Remember that rabbits burrow underground, so if the cage doesn’t have a bottom and is placed on soil they will burrow their way out. Always remember to place the cage in a shady spot that is draft free and protected from the rain.
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