🐰 Rabbit Care Sheet 

Rabbits are affectionate, intelligent, and playful pets that can form strong bonds with their humans. With proper care, they can live long, happy lives both indoors and outdoors.

✅ Quick Facts

• Lifespan: 8–12 years (some live longer!)

• Size: Varies by breed (1–6+ kg)

• Temperament: Social, curious, and gentle

• Best kept: In pairs or groups – they are very social animals

• Ideal for: Families, adults, older children (supervision always recommended)

🏠 Housing & Environment

Indoor Housing (Recommended):

• Large cage, pen, or free-roam area

• Minimum enclosure size: 1.2m x 1m, with time outside the cage daily

• Use a litter tray filled with rabbit-safe litter (e.g., paper-based pellets)

• Provide hiding places, tunnels, toys, and safe chew items

Outdoor Housing:

• Hutch must be weather-proof, predator-proof, and insulated

• Should be raised off the ground with a sheltered sleeping area

• Attach to a run or exercise pen with space to hop and stretch

Bedding & Cleaning:

• Use hay, straw, or paper-based bedding

• Clean litter tray and spot clean daily

• Full cage clean weekly with rabbit-safe cleaner

🥗 Diet & Nutrition

The Golden Rule:

🌿 80% Hay, 🥬 15% Vegetables, 🍎 5% Pellets & Treats

Daily Essentials:

✔ Unlimited fresh hay (e.g., meadow, timothy) – crucial for digestion and teeth
✔ A variety of leafy greens – spinach, kale, parsley, coriander, silverbeet
✔ 1–2 tablespoons of high-quality rabbit pellets
✔ Fresh water in a bowl or sipper bottle

Occasional Treats:

• Apple slices (no seeds), banana, carrot, berries (in moderation)

❌ Do NOT Feed:

• Iceberg lettuce, potato, onion, garlic, avocado, chocolate, dairy, bread

🧠 Social Needs & Enrichment

• Rabbits need daily interaction and mental stimulation

• They thrive in bonded pairs – single rabbits need lots of human attention

• Provide toys: cardboard boxes, tunnels, safe wooden chews

• Rotate toys and rearrange their environment to keep things fun

• Allow daily exercise in a rabbit-safe indoor or outdoor area

🧼 Grooming & Hygiene

• Brush weekly (daily for long-haired breeds)

• Trim nails every 4–6 weeks

• Clean scent glands if needed

• Never bathe a rabbit – spot clean only if necessary

🩺 Health & Vet Care

Signs of a Healthy Rabbit:

✔ Bright eyes, clean nose and ears
✔ Normal eating and toileting
✔ Curious, alert, and moving easily

Watch For:

❗ Lethargy, not eating/drinking
❗ Diarrhoea or small, dry droppings
❗ Teeth grinding, hiding behaviour
❗ Runny nose, laboured breathing

📍 Always take your rabbit to a rabbit-savvy vet for check-ups and emergencies
💉 Vaccinations for Rabbit Calicivirus (RCD/VHD) are recommended annually in NZ

🧾 Essential Supplies Checklist:

☑ Spacious cage or hutch
☑ Hay rack with unlimited hay
☑ Quality rabbit pellets
☑ Fresh vegetables
☑ Food and water bowls or bottles
☑ Litter tray
☑ Chew toys, tunnels, hideouts
☑ Brush and nail clippers
☑ Companion rabbit or lots of human interaction

🐰 Fun Facts:

• Rabbits "binky" (jump and twist mid-air) when they’re happy!

• Their teeth never stop growing – that’s why hay and chews are vital

• They are clean animals and can be litter trained just like cats!

 

With the right care, rabbits are loving, interactive, and endlessly entertaining pets. Whether kept indoors or outdoors, they need space, enrichment, and lots of love.