Josh and I have two rabbits, Jack and (Fertile) Myrtle. After being our pets for about one
year, they have grown into very large adult meat rabbits. They give us
compost for our garden and entertain themselves with toys. And by toys I mean inexpensive items like cardboard. They are friendly to pet and jump around when I walk out the door in the morning. Mostly, they are adorable and low
maintenance.
Rabbits eat a high-fiber diet including a lot of hay, which
is recommended for their GI tract and teeth. Rabbit teeth
grow continuously about 3mm per week; a nice way to maintain pearly whites at
all times. Chewing the hay helps
to wear down the rabbit’s molars. Luckily
my sister and her husband are willing to give us an endless supply of alfalfa
grass hay, which the rabbits love.
Jack and Myrtle also eat pellets and of course, fresh green vegetables. A surprising fact is that rabbits are
not to eat too many carrots, as this orange vegetable is high in sugar. They need access to water 24/7. Since we live in the Northeast, we had
difficulty with their water bottles freezing over the winter. So we invested in two heated bottles - cheap
on Amazon and worth every penny.
Last year, Josh handcrafted their hutch. Yes, I am that convincing. Jack
and Myrtle live in separate crates so we don’t end up with sixty rabbits. Their gestation period is 28 DAYS (not
40 weeks). The blue piece of
plastic on the floor of their cage is to avoid “sore hocks” as rabbit feet are
not made to stand on metal all day.
Josh also built two nesting
boxes, which we filled with hay over the winter during the
negative temperature nights. Fortunately
rabbits prefer the cold rather than hot, humid weather. Jack and especially Myrtle love their nesting
boxes. Since rabbits think like
prey, the boxes give a sense of security.
Their hutch is located over our compost pile so the rabbit
dropping and left over hay eventually get mixed in with our other household
organic waste. Some people keep
their rabbits inside the home and actually litter train them – I don’t have
time for that.
So, rabbits are basically our favorites! If you would like a rabbit, let me
know….I am dying to let Myrtle have babies at least once.
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