Rabbits can make great pets, but it is important to know about their specific needs if we are going to consider giving one a home.

On today's episode, Danielle Patterson and Terri Cook from the Columbus House Rabbit Society join us to talk about all the things rabbits need to have a happy, healthy life. We will discuss their food, housing, reproduction, and diseases.

Do you have a bunny or think a bunny could be in your future? You won't want to miss this!

For more information about rabbits, follow their Facebook and Instagram pages, or visit columbusrabbit.org

Welcome to the Animal Welfare Junction.

This is your host, Dr.

G.

And our music is written and produced by Mike Sullivan.

Today we have a fun, , podcast episode.

We're gonna be talking about bunnies, all sorts of rabbit stuff,

and we have two great people from the Columbus House Rabbit Society.

Danielle and Terri.

Welcome so much and thank you for being here.

Thank you.

Thank you for having us.

First to start, how about you guys introduce yourselves and let people

know what your background is and kind of what led you to where you're at

today with the House Rabbit Society?

Danielle, do you wanna

kick it off?

Sure.

Um, I'm Danielle Patterson and I'm the chapter manager for

Columbus House Rabbit Society.

And, um, for me, I've always been, I've always been interested in

rabbits since like a very young age.

I was drawn to them, I guess, out of all the animals.

I got involved actually , right before Columbus House Rabbit Society was actually

formed, um, I was reaching out, , looking for, , um, help with, , a neighbors

rabbit that I was gonna try and help with.

And that's when I, um, got in touch with, um, the lady who started Columbus

House Rabbit Society, Carol Curry, and she's the one who helped guide me.

Like, this is where you should go and what you need to do.

So, um, and that was well over 20 years ago.

Wow.

So it's been a while.

Yeah.

And you're doing a great job with it.

I mean, it's a really good program.

So, welcome, Terri, how about you

tell us about yourself.

Hi, um, I'm Terri Cook and I am the board president with

Columbus House Rabbit Society.

I started with rabbits in the nineties.

, we got a rabbit as our first pet, , as a couple, and we couldn't have, we were

in an apartment, couldn't have a dog.

Um, my husband's allergic to cats.

And we saw Furry Bunny, we did all the things you're not supposed to do.

Bought it on impulse at Easter from a pet store.

Um, uh, eventually he got sick and I went looking for help and that's how I found.

Uh, Carol and the precursor to the Columbus House Rabbit Society

back in the late nineties.

Uh, she started with, Hey, you wanna help fold some brochures?

And I said, yes.

And the rest is history.

Excellent.

Well,

welcome.

Uh, you know, like what you said when I was young, when I was

about probably like nine, 10 years old, I kind of wanted a bunny.

And, you know, like we went to a pet store, uh, at the mall.

And I got a really small rabbit, and I think that it was just not old enough.

So I got that bunny, it passed away.

, I had taken it to a veterinarian and the veterinarian said, I

think this bunny is too young.

Make sure that you get a bigger bunny.

And then that bunny was a little bit bigger, same pet store.

And then that bunny also passed away and the veterinarian had done a stool

sample and said, oh, it has parasites.

So how about you don't get bunnies from that place anymore and

get bunnies from another place?

And going to this other place, it was kind of like, this was in Puerto Rico.

It was kind of like a tractor supply type place, but much more educated, right?

So the people that were there told me about, Hey, you're not

supposed to just feed him pellets.

You're not supposed to do this.

You're not supposed to do that.

So I ended up with a bunny that I was able to better care for

because I was better educated.

And that bunny.

was two bunnies.

Those two bunnies lived a longer, healthier life.

So that's one of the things that I wanna share with our listeners today is

the do's and don'ts of having a bunny.

Cuz a bunny's not a small dog or cat, they have their own needs.

They have their, their own differences.

So we wanna make sure that people make the right decision in getting

a bunny for their family and then also in maintaining it and caring

for it as a long-term commitment.

So, Let's start with kind of the simple thing.

So how about bunnies and their food?

What kind of foods should they be eating?

regularly.

so I always like to say generally bunnies, um, their daily diet will

consist of like three components.

So number one, most important component of a rabbit's daily diet is gonna be hay.

So it's unlimited access to hay.

They can eat as much of it anytime of the day or night they want.

, So when we talk about hay, um, it's a grass hay.

Usually the most popular grass hay will be Timothy Hay.

Um, there are others, you know, um, orchard, mountain grass, oat Rome,

pretty much anything except alfalfa.

So you don't wanna feed alfalfa to, um, like adult rabbits.

Alfalfa is used like in very um, Certain circumstances like nursing

mothers and, you know, very small babies, but anyone outside of

that should not have alfalfa, hay.

Um,

and

what is the reason for not feeding them

alfalfa?

Um, it's very high, like in calories.

Um, so they'll, they'll gain weight, um, too much weight pretty quickly on that.

And then we'll say like, the second component of their daily

diet will be, um, pellets.

Um, and it's limited generally based on, um, their, their body weight.

and generally about a quarter cup pellets, um, per like five to six pounds

of rabbit weight is sufficient for them.

You definitely want to limit the pellets.

, To force them to kind of eat the hay, because otherwise, if you

just give them all the pellets they want, they'll probably fill

up on pellets and not eat the hay.

The hay is extremely important because it helps with their digestive system.

It help keeps things moving, but it's also good.

It helps, um, a rabbits have to file down their teeth so it helps

keep their teeth filed as well.

So limiting the pellets, then that'll kind of force them to eat, you know, more hay.

And then, um, the third component of a rabbit's daily diet w will be,

um, like salads or some veggies.

Um, so it's like lettuces, like, um, romaine lettuce, leaf

lettuce, um, endive, um, escarole, um, herbs like, um, cilantro.

Um, some dandelion.

Um, you just definitely wanna stay away from, , vegetables that cause, um, gas,

you know, like broccoli or , cabbage.

Definitely stay away from those type of vegetables.

And aside from that, should they be eating any vitamins, taking

any vitamins or anything like that?

Or is that not necessary?

As long as they have a good complete diet,

as long as they have like a round, a nice round of diet, you

know, they can get the vitamin.

Is that they generally, that they need from, you know, their hay and their

pellets and the, and the pellets too.

I forgot to mention, we do recommend going with a Timothy based pellet,

, as opposed to an alfalfa based pellet and just a plain pellet.

Like you don't need any seeds, treats, nuts or anything like that

mixed in with the pellets either.

, there are some companies like I know, um, Oxbow, um, and maybe Science

Selective, that will make, , kind of some vitamin treats, like made

with, , like some Timothy Hay.

So, um, those are perfectly fine too.

What are things that people should stay away from giving bunnies that could

be potentially toxic or harmful to them?

One example that I can think of is I was doing surgery once on a bunny and when I.

When I went to open the bunny up, it was very jaundiced, which it's

basically means that it's very yellow.

And afterwards I asked the owner what the food that the bunny was eating, and

she was giving the bunny dog food because the bunny loved to eat with the dogs and

they, she thought that it was a bonding experience and she had no idea about it.

So why is that not okay?

And what are other things that may not

be okay?

Well, rabbits are vegans to start with, so any sort of, um, animal

protein is not a natural food for them.

So like your cat food and your dog food, I mean, they're, they're carnivores, so it's

just a whole different dietary system.

I mean, you, you definitely obviously wanna watch what they

eat, , and just, really keeping it kind of limited to like the,

the hay, you know, their pellets.

You know, you don't wanna share like , human, , food, especially anything

processed with them, obviously.

, for a treat, you know, you can give, , fruit as a treat.

So meaning like a little slice of banana, you know, a little slice of apple,

you know, or pair, um, a baby carrot.

You know, but outside of, you know that definitely nothing, you

know, no meats, no human processed foods or, or anything like that.

so speaking of hay, some people get hay and straw confused, right?

So what is the difference between hay and straw and what is straw actually used for?

I guess I would say the best way to, I would say

differentiate between straw and hay.

Like straw is gonna be like more yellow, very shiny.

Whereas when you're talking about hay, it's a lot fresher.

So it should be, you know, green.

You wanna think about, hay, I guess another way to, um, as a bulk item.

So if you buy it like online, like from, , chewy or Amazon, , the more

you buy it one time, the cheaper it is.

So you don't want to purchase like a small little 16 ounce, you

know, bag of hay for your rabbit.

You know, they're gonna go through quite a bit of it.

So you wanna think about it as a bulk item.

So like ox bow will sell, um, like a 25 pound box of, you know, Timothy hay.

And for a single rabbit that is not, , too much or you know, too

much to buy at one time, as long as you don't get the hay wet, , it, it

will last like months and months.

Like you'll be able to use all of it before it will,

you know, it doesn't go bad.

so that's one thing I always like to tell people too.

Um, you know, cuz the more you buy the cheaper it is

and it's not going to perish.

One of the things that I did with my bunnies that if I had another

bunny I would not do, is that they lived in a cage with the wire floor.

What are gonna be the best ways to house a rabbit?

, and then you know what kind of bedding they should have and litter boxes?

So we have our bunnies housed in a four by four exercise

pen, , like you would use for a dog.

, it gives them plenty of space to move around on the, you know, floor space.

It gives them the height.

Uh, they're typically three feet high.

So they can fully stand up.

Um, there's no lid usually unless you have jumpers.

, but there's plenty of room for them to stand up, move around, stretch out.

, we can put their litter box right inside that pen.

We usually put some sort of.

Vinyl flooring down, , to protect our, our own floor, and then maybe some

rugs for traction for the bunnies.

, but they can have , their litter box, their hay, their food and

water bowl, you know, whatever.

They've got to like hide in their little house or bed or something.

Um, their toys, everything's can be contained in that four by

four pen and it makes it easy to.

Sort of contain whatever rabbits can be messy with their hay

and their, you know, whatever.

Um, but all that will be contained within that pen, and then you can

let them out and have playtime in your rabbit proofed bunny safe room.

, but all that sort of mess just sort of stays in that area.

It also makes it easy to, if you've got something going on in your house

or people coming in and out, , it gives them a safe place to stay and not be.

Underfoot or be bothered by, you know, activity in the home.

and what's gonna be the best thing for people to put in their

litter boxes and how hard is it to get them trained to use a litter box?

Rabbits are kind of like cats.

They kind of take to it naturally.

Um, we use a wood stove pellet.

, it's like that pellet fuel for stoves that you buy at like T S U and Renards.

The, , pet equivalent is equine pine, and the only difference is usually the

price, , because it says equine, but it's, it's a pelleted hard pelleted,

kiln dried, , wood, and it absorbs the moisture and turns into sawdust basically.

, but we usually, , I, I put newspapers on the bottom and then put a layer

of the wood stove pellets and then put the hay right on top of

it, and the hay draws them in.

They spend a lot of time in their litter box, nibbling the hay grooming,

, hanging out, doing their business.

A lot of 'em will pick one particular corner of the litter box to use as their

bathroom, and then they have the other end of where they have their hay So

it's just sort of a multipurpose, area.

So, so as

opposed to like with cats, uh, we try to keep their litter boxes

really far away from their food and water bunnies are completely opposite.

They,

they, they don't have a problem with it at all.

Um, I know because that also brings me to the fact that

bunnies eat their night poop.

So, and a lot of people do not know about that.

So can you guys tell us what that is and

why they do it?

There you go, Danielle.

Oh, I get to talk

about the, the bunny poop.

Eating poop.

Excellent.

So rabbits have actually two kinds of, you know, poop.

One, they're fecal pellets, which are like the little round balls that you see.

Um, And then they have their, the other poop is called cecotropes

or like their night poop.

So, , not to intentionally gross anybody out, but usually they

will eat their, their cecotropes directly out of their anus, and it

has very rich vitamins for them.

So you normally won't even see the cecotropes.

But, um, or they're night pellets.

But if you do, they're like usually very teeny tiny, and they're kind

of like clustered almost like in a little like little grape, um, cluster.

And they're very soft and smushy and they're very smelly.

So they look, they look and smell completely different than

their regular, um, fecal pellets.

And a lot of times if people are seeing a lot of those, it usually

means there's something off in the diet, like they're overfeeding pellets.

They're getting too much protein in their diet.

, and so they might need to tweak some of their dietary, habits.

What is the one thing that people need to get used to or, or plan

ahead, is that rabbits, as we mentioned, they're long term, responsibility.

So what is the average lifespan of a bunny?

Eight to 12 years is what we generally tell people.

Um, I've had a 13 year old, , you know, just veterinary medicine has

come so far from, you know, back in the nineties when I was searching for

answers, you know, for my first rabbit.

So many things are different now and there's just so much technology and

so much more knowledge that rabbits are typically living longer, which is.

Wonderful.

Um, but people just don't expect that.

I think people think that rabbits are sort of like hamsters or Guinea

pigs or, you know, those other small animals that o only live a

couple of years and then surprised.

You know, your kid is 10 years older and you still have the rabbit, and what are

you gonna do when they go to college?

And people aren't prepared for that.

So that's, that's the one thing we try to impress upon people is

that it really is a long-term pet.

And you need to be aware that if you're getting a pet, you know, or a rabbit for

your 10 year old, but when that child is 20, you might still have that rabbit.

Well, and we cannot expect little kids, especially to be

the primary, , have the primary responsibility of caring for any animal,

but also in particularly a rabbit.

I have a friend that recently, her daughter had a birthday and some family

members gifted the child a rabbit without talking to the parents and thankfully,

The parents are responsible pet owners, and they have two other rabbits, so they

know how to deal with it, and you know it.

It's not as bad as it could have been, but it was kind of like, oh, here's a cute

little rabbit for your birthday without asking, so please, anybody listening out

there, please do not give rabbits without talking to people first and making sure

that it is okay because it is not okay to gift life things, especially to other

people.

That plays into our Make My Chocolate Campaign, um, which is our Easter

campaign where we try to raise awareness about rabbits as gifts at Easter because

a lot of people associate, you know, Easter bunnies in, you know, putting

a cute bunny in a basket or having pictures taken with their kids and

you know, cute little baby bunnies.

And then everybody wants baby bunnies and they don't really

know what they're getting into.

So we created the make Mind back campaign to educate people on what

it really means to take on a rabbit.

Please don't give a live animal to somebody who is

not prepared to take it on.

It should be a family decision.

It should be a family pet rather than an impulse.

Or a gift.

And

one, one thing too is that rabbits are kind of delicate

and some children may not be.

Ready for handling a rabbit.

What would you say to somebody that has small children that is interested

in getting a rabbit As far as making sure that it is the right pet for their

family and how to get kids used to.

Dealing

with rabbits.

We've had plenty of people that have, you know, small kids

and rabbits at the same time.

Um, it's a matter of teaching kids boundaries.

, we had a friend that, you know, they had their four by four pen

and that was Frankie's space.

And when I reached over the pen to pet Frankie, I.

The three year old scolded me because that was Frankie's space

and I did not ask permission.

Amazing.

That's perfect.

But I mean, that's, that's what you Yeah, that's a great way to do it.

You know, just teach kids the boundaries.

, a lot of times I would have kids when they came to my house, they would sit on

the floor and, you know, in a circle if there's enough of 'em or whatever, and

I'd put the rabbit in the middle, and then the rabbit would go up to the kids.

You know, they're, they're as curious about the kids as the

kids are about the rabbit.

Um, so just sort of not, not so much handling and picking up being on the,

the rabbits level and interacting on the floor and not, not reaching and grabbing,

but letting the rabbit come up to them.

Uh, but I, I mean, I think it can be done.

I.

Obviously

just resp being responsible.

Having being responsible as a parent.

Mm-hmm.

Um, and again, that's the same as with puppies and kittens as well.

Just responsibility in general.

So what are the things that people need to be prepared for as far as

like grooming, nail trimming, those, those kind of things that rabbits may

need to have done on a regular basis.

So for like nail trimming, I mean we basically use, you know,

cat nail clippers, so it's nothing special or anything like that.

Um, and you know, we'll use, um, a pen light to help us, um, see the

quick, so you don't cut the quick, we'll use like the pen light to

shine underneath the rabbit's nails.

If they're white, it's usually pretty easy to see the quick, as opposed

to, you know, the darker nails.

That's when.

Um, the pen light can come in handy.

And then as far as like for grooming, like you can use like anything,

, like, , soft, um, brushes, nothing.

Like with, , wool or steel, too harsh.

A rabbit skin is very delicate, so you just have to be careful with it.

Um, but again, we would use too like cat combs.

Um, some of the bigger teeth, cat combs you can use for rabbits.

So are rabbits, good pets to have around other pets?

Can rabbits coexist with cats and dogs?

Yep.

Rabbits can absolutely, um, coexist with, you know, cats and dogs.

Um, it'll depend on, um, that particular rabbit and then that particular dog or

cat, but it is not, I'll say, it's not unheard of for, you know, rabbits to

have, um, you know, a dog or cat friend.

And sometimes they can be the one to rule the, the house as well.

Yeah.

When we.

When we used to bring, you know, the bunnies in for surgery, we were always

really careful to try to keep the bunnies away from the cats because

of the whole prey and and predator.

And we've noticed that the bunnies could not care less about

the cats that are

around.

And the cats don't really seem to be upset about it.

Like they're not looking at them like they're wanna eat them.

They're more curious more than anything.

So I think that they have come generationally a very long way as well.

Uh, so if somebody has.

A bunny and wants to bring another bunny into the home.

What are gonna be the recommendations for acclimating them to each

other?

What we usually do is we have, um, we'll have somebody bring their

existing bunny in, and then we'll have several bunnies for that bunny to meet.

And we do like mini speed date.

Um, so we'll do, we'll, you know, all very supervised.

We set up a pen and we are in there with the, with the rabbits.

And we'll introduce the two rabbits and set a timer for, you know,

10 minutes and just sort of very hands on, see how they interact.

A lot of bunnies.

will just sort of be curious and sort of go up and sniff

the, you know, the other one.

Um, on occasion we've just had absolute.

disinterest we've had, , fur flying.

what are you thinking?

Putting this, this rabbit in with me.

Um, we've also had love at first sight.

Love at first sight is extremely rare.

, and people who get it are very lucky.

, typically it's, it's a process and we, once we find a rabbit that seems

to be compatible, if the person decides to adopt, we tell them.

To set up two pens so that the rabbits can see each other, but have some sort of

like a two by four or some sort of barrier so the pens can't be pushed together.

So they can't touch noses.

And I've had bunnies, , nip the end of somebody else's nose and

we've ended up with stitches.

So we try to avoid those situations.

Just they can see each other, they can smell each other.

Um, get used to the seeing the movements of the other rabbit without

actually interacting physically.

Um, and then continue brief dates at home in a neutral space so that.

The bunny coming in is not entering a space that is the

territory of the existing rabbit.

Um, rabbits are territorial by nature and a lot of them do not

like sharing their space initially.

So, but, um, it's a process.

And some of those dates, , could be, you know, quick and.

Sort of extend, you know, however long they'll last.

We always tell people to end it on a positive note so that the next

time they're together, the the initial memory isn't Last time I

saw you, I was fighting with you.

, I've done that before and it's a very long and painful process.

So, um, but you know, usually, usually we can, , find a pretty good match to

start with and set people up for success.

And if for some reason they get home and that rabbit is not working out

with the, you know, the rabbit that they adopted, we are willing to work

with them and try different rabbits.

, sometimes people will bring in two rabbits that they've adopted on their own and

they just are at an impasse and need help.

So we can offer advice and that kind of thing, but that's sort of

the process.

Is there a benefit having, if you have a bunny of one particular sex getting

the same or a different, is there any difference as far as the likelihood

of aggression or compatibility?

We usually say the female, female bonds are the hardest.

, just because, you know, The girls are always the boss.

, usually male female is, is the easiest, although we've had plenty

of male, male pairs that are just, you know, it's a bromance and they're

just happy, you know, being bud.

, but usually male, female pair pairs are the easiest to bond.

And you guys spay and neuter all your bunnies prior to adoption, correct.

yeah, absolutely.

Spaying and neutering rabbits is just as important as, as spaying and

neutering, you know, cats and dogs serves, you know, multiple purposes.

, obviously, , helps with overpopulation.

You know, rabbits are the third most surrendered animals into

shelter, , right behind cats and dogs.

So it's population control and.

, obvi with rabbits.

One of the true things you'll hear about them is, you know, breed like rabbits.

Yes, rabbits are meant to breed very easily, well, very quickly.

And, um, large litters, um, they can give birth, you know, every month to a litter.

So, s spay and neutering with rabbits is extremely important for that reason.

Um, Also like health-wise, um, it, it's very beneficial for them.

So for females, they're very susceptible to ovarian cancer as

early as, you know, two years old.

And just as time goes by, especially for the females, their risk for

getting ovarian cancer increases.

, so it's a health reason for that.

Also, , You know, it helps with litter box habits too.

, once we, , spay or neuter a rabbit, they really, if they're not already,

they will definitely hone in on their litter box, just, , going in the box

and using it very naturally to them.

, and, , spaying and neutering helps with the hormones as

well, so it makes, , bonding.

, , Much.

Uh, well, I'll say definitely easier, like before, , like even if

you wanted to try and bond same sex rabbits, I mean, definitely everybody

has to be spay or neutered before attempting, bonding to, so there's,

um, you know, different, different reasons that we, adopt, uh, only spay

and neutered rabbits and recommend rabbits getting spay and neutered as

well.

Yeah.

And less common.

But recently we had a bunny that had, , a mammary tumor that that is not a very

common occurrence, but it can happen.

And that is also something that can be prevented.

And a few times we've had some uterine infections also not super

common, but that can be seen and that can be life-threatening.

So what is the age that they can start having babies?

Females.

Usually after four months, we get really nervous, um, if they're housed with males,

] , because the males are viable at something crazy like between eight and 12 weeks.

So as soon as the, as soon as they start acting hormonal or, , the testicles

descend in males, , we need to, to.

Look at getting them fixed.

Females,

typically, we, we say to wait six months, , just to make sure that they are fully

grown physically, , and make it easier on the, the vets, , to get in there and work.

, but yeah, , they grow up fast.

Yeah, yeah, definitely from my perspective as a veterinarian, , the

females, it's so much easier for us and it's so much easier for them to

get spayed at six months or later.

And it's just the size of the uterus in relation to the, to

the size of the bunny, right?

The rabbit.

So the uterus is so small in a tiny baby rabbit.

That you end up having to make a huge incision to find it.

And there's just so much trauma and so much heat loss and so much

more anesthesia time, as opposed to when they're six months old.

Everything is, you know, they're, they're preparing to be able to have

babies so that uterus gets really large and it just comes out to the surface

and it makes everything a lot easier.

And you mentioned Danielle, they have big litters, so what's the

average litter size of a rabbit?

. , Danielle: it can be anywhere, like,

be like up to like, you know, 12, 13.

Um, and usually, , the more litters they have, then the bigger they

become, the, they have more babies in as they have more litters too.

So, yeah, I mean, it's not uncommon.

, we, um, have picked up strays before and like, you know, they'll give birth

two days later and it's like eight rabbits and it's like, oh my gosh.

Yeah.

And you said that they can have, um, like every month they can have a litter Is.

Are they like cats where it's during a season or can they do this all year round?

It's all year round.

The fun never ends.

The

fun never ends.

So like eight to 12.

Babies a month for 12 months.

So y'all can do the math.

And that's a lot of rabbits.

Rabbits.

Um, so one thing that separates the males and the females is going

to be the tissue around the neck.

And a lot of people don't understand what that is and how

that pertains to males or females and what kind of things that means.

So can you explain to us what that is?

In females, that's where she pluck the fur to make her nest.

So especially in unfixed females, that's gonna be probably a larger area.

It doesn't necessarily mean that the rabbit is fat.

It's just, that's where the extra fur is gonna come from to line

that nest and make it, you know, everything, all nice and cozy.

Um, once the rabbits are fixed, usually that goes down quite a bit.

Um, but it doesn't necessarily go away.

I've had plenty of rabbits that, you know, maintain a, a healthy

dewlap, , even though they are fixed.

, it just gives 'em a little nice pillow to lay on.

, and then I've had male rabbits that have.

A nice little thick collar, and it's his dude lap.

Um, and you know, like I said, he's not, he's not overweight.

It's just where he has some excess fur and he's very handsome.

So when do the baby rabbits , get old enough that they

start eating on their own and not needing to be with Mom anymore?

mine started eating pellets at about three weeks, , on

their own, not exclusively.

They were still nursing, , but they did start tasting hay and pellets,

, because we had, you know, everybody together and mom's in there with

plenty of hay and pellets on our own.

So it was just sort of a commun bowl.

, but I think we pulled the boys off at about, Eight weeks, uh, because they

started acting hormonal and they were eating more pellets and hay than nursing.

, but I know with, my one litter, , she nursed for quite a, a long time, but just

because she could, um, there was no reason she was with her, her female babies and,

we've had other bunnies that came in.

Gosh, they were rescued at about three weeks and they

didn't, they didn't have a mom.

, so they were eating hay and pellets right from the get-go.

Um, and they seem to be doing well.

They're about eight, eight to 10 weeks old now, so they're doing well.

Okay.

So really early on compared to other animals, they start,

yeah, they start eating solids, like their regular rabbit food.

Yep.

Um, what's the, what's the youngest that you would adopt them out

or that people should be able to

adopt them?

Well, we don't adopt anybody who's not fixed, so males have to be at least.

Probably three months old by the time we get 'em fixed and ready

for adoption, and the females are gonna be at least six months old.

So nobody, nobody younger than that is going out our door.

. Dr. G: Let's go into some of the common

problems and diseases with their rabbits.

So we've already talked a little bit about problems if they get food that is not.

Proper.

Now, another common issue that people need to be aware of is like gut stasis.

So can you explain what that is and why that is a problem and what kind of things

people can do to monitor and correct it?

Yeah, rabbits have very sensitive GI tracts, so probably one of

the most common things that a rabbit can get was called GI stasis, gastrointestinal

stasis, , so you might notice that the rabbit like, is not, , eating as

much a or as eat, like finishing their pellets as fast as they usually do.

Or they're, um, like kind of sitting hunched in their

litter box when they're not.

They don't usually spend time in there.

They may look kind of painful.

They can actually do a little like, Teeth grinding to show pain.

, and if say like you would offer them, you know, their favorite treat when

they would normally come running, if you offer that same treat, if they're in GI

stasis, they'll just like turn their nose at it and won't, , won't do anything.

So with that, you can get, you can give like, , ga GasX

tablets, , that can help just to get their, , GI tract to going again.

, you can't also do like, , little bunny massages or can put them on

like a warm heating pad to help, , get things going again in their stomach.

Depending if you have on hand, sometimes we'll do like IV fluids

to help get things going again.

, but it's, it's definitely something you want to be aware of, um, because.

If you, if the rabbit, it isn't back on track within, you know, 12 to 24

hours, you definitely wanna seek, you know, medical care because it can become

a serious situation with them very quickly cuz it can be then difficult

to get their GI track moving again.

One of the

things that we're we're really strict about is that when rabbits come

in for spay and neuter, we keep 'em for a while to make sure that they are eating

and they are going to the bathroom, and that their poop is solid, so that we know

that everything is moving in the right.

In the right way and that at least their GI tract is healthy to maintain

'em before and after surgery.

Um, so what other problems?

I know that we see some issues with their teeth.

So what's the deal with rabbit teeth and why is it, why does it become a problem?

Well,

their teeth are constantly growing, so that, and that's, um, why

the hay is really important because the hay helps to keep the teeth worn down.

, sometimes the teeth are not aligned properly and can grow points, which

can grind or, , poke into their, , soft tissues and their mouths.

, cause, , cuts and ulcers like, , on their tongue or their cheek, , which

in turn makes them not wanna eat, which in turn can, you know, gi stasis.

So it's sort of everything is, is tied together.

, Stasis usually doesn't occur just on its own.

They're usually a reason.

, a lot of times it can be teeth.

, sometimes we see the, the misaligned front teeth, , the malocclusion.

Those, , have to be trimmed too if they continue to grow and be misaligned.

We've seen that occasionally, but not so much.

I mean, it seems to more, more be the cheek teeth that are the big issue.

Um,

that's where they get the abscesses,

correct.

Yeah.

Where, yeah, because the teeth don't, don't meet correctly

and don't wear down correctly.

And a lot of times if we get strays in that have had poor diets or just

been sort of surviving on whatever they can find, um, a lot of times

if we can get in and get a dental done, And get 'em on a proper diet.

Usually the diet of the hay and the right pellets will help keep those worn down.

So other common problems that we see with rabbits are

going to be parasites, both intestinal and external parasites.

So first, let's talk about intestinal parasites.

What are the common intestinal parasites that we find in rabbits?

You wanna talk about worms Danielle

have about the poop, and now you talk about the poop

worms.

Look at that.

You, you have more experience with the worms.

Terry, I'll let you handle this one.

Whoa.

Yeah.

So, um, the first thing I noticed was, , when you look at a litter

box, um, everything should.

Generally look pretty uniform from one day to the next.

Um, you know, fecal pellets are usually a nice firm, , brown, round.

Pellet.

, a lot of times if there's intestinal parasites, their poop will get mushy

or misshapen or smell really bad.

Um, I had one bunny that was riddled with worms and you could hear his

stomach like grumbling from across the room just because there was

so much going on inside his gut.

, a lot of times you don't see the worms.

, But you'll know something is, is up.

So if you do testing that sometimes they'll show up.

A lot of times we treat, just sort of prophylactically because we

think that's go what's going on.

, but you know, they do the test and it comes back inconclusive.

Or you don't actually see the physical worms in the litter.

, sometimes you do, sometimes you see a tape worm.

Those are really interesting, kind of in a gross way.

, but um, yeah, worms are fun.

Yeah.

And in my experience, like with small bunnies, especially people that

go out purchasing bunnies from pet stores, we get a lot of coccidia.

And that will cause the stool to be really mushy and their, the hair

around underneath their tail gets really sticky and you just, you can

see that it's not, it's not healthy.

So how about the , external parasites, both fleas and mites, what kind of

things can we expect to hopefully not find but can find in our bunnies?

Yep, we, um, so when we catch, you know, stray rabbits, um, you

know, um, we can definitely find fleas.

Um, and even more recently now, we've also been finding ticks on rabbits.

Um, you have to be very careful about what you give.

, anything that you give rabbits, especially medications, because

their GI tract cannot handle much.

At all in terms of any medication, whether it's antibiotics or like flea medication.

So we always say, , the medication should be prescribed by a veterinarian.

So it has to be like, um, revolution.

So revolution is safe for rabbits.

So you do not want to just go to a pet store and buy any over the counter,

, dog, cat, flea medication because if you would put that on a rabbit, there's

a very high probability that you will kill it in a very short period of time.

So if you think, , your rabbit might have, , fleas.

Or mites, or ticks, definitely take it to your, um, veterinarian so they

can be examined and then they can give you, , it's a prescription so they

can give you the proper medication, you know, to treat, uh, your rabbits

and revolution.

Uh, for people that have dogs and cats, like there's a new product, the Revolution

Plus that is not okay for rabbits.

Uh, right.

Yeah.

We do not use Revolution Pro plus on rabbits.

No.

Right.

So I

just don't want people to hear revolution and then

think, oh, my rabbit has flees.

I, you know, we can use Revolution.

There is a difference between puppy kit and revolution, regular

revolution, and then revolution.

Plus, they're different products.

So as they mentioned, always check you with your veterinarian

before applying things.

Uh, how about like mites?

What kind of mites would they, can they

get.

It's usually like ear mites.

, so you can see , flaking or like cake, like caking kind of in the ear.

So that's, that's indicative the of the ear mites.

, which generally, , we would treat too with, , like a revolution.

And not every ear problem though is gonna be mite, right?

So we have seen some rabbits with ear problems and respiratory problems

that can cause head tilts and can cause some pretty serious diseases.

So all of those things, you know, as, as well, if you think that your

rabbit has an ear problem, don't think as, or assume immediately that it's

just mites and go out to the store and buy something and just put it in

their ears because they could have something more, more significant.

, One thing that some people don't know is that rabbits can

make really loud noises, right?

Like they can I, the loudest rabbit that I have ever heard

was a one and a half pound dwarf.

Oh yeah.

Screaming.

I thought that there was a pig.

I thought there was a potbelly pig in the lobby and I was in the back

and this thing was screaming so loud.

So how common is it and wanna kind of things make a bunny scream.

It's the worst sound

ever.

I think it is the worst sound.

I had a rabbit that had nightmares and would scream in his sleep.

Oh, wow.

When I first wrap it.

Yeah.

That was, that was quite a rude awakening.

Um, it was horrifying.

. Most of my rabbits aren't.

They'll make little soft noises.

Um, but I have one right now that is very vocal.

, he likes to squeal.

He likes to grunt.

, he whimpers, , if you look at him wrong, you don't have to do anything to him.

He just, he just is, , very dramatic.

And one

thing that I know that I should not, it should not make

me happy, but it just makes me smile anytime that they thump.

Or they get angry.

So what kind of things will make it, is it just when they're upset and really angry?

Because in my experience, that's what it is.

They're mad that they're in the cage and that they're not at

home and they just start thumping

really loud or from being startled.

Or if something isn't right with, you know, their environment.

Or if they hear a noise that you know is unfamiliar or a smell that's unfamiliar.

, there are lots of rabbits that don't like the smells of cooking.

, I have a friend that every time she cooks, one of her rabbits will thp at her.

, so yeah, hopefully she doesn't

take it too personally.

No.

For people that, that are interested.

It's not every veterinarian is comfortable seeing rabbits.

So do you guys have resources for individuals on how to be able to find

veterinarians that are rabbit friendly?

Yeah.

Terry,

do you wanna say?

Yeah.

Well, on our website, we do have a list of veterinarians that we

either recommend personally or our, , close members have recommended.

, usually they've gone through some sort of, Screening process.

, hrs provides a list of questions that you can ask your veterinarian and,

you know, guidelines on what kind of responses you should get, , for

people or vets who have seen or, not every vet, every vet who says they

see rabbits, sees enough rabbits.

, to really have that experience.

, so we tend to lean towards the vets that we know, have a lot of experience

and, network with other vets and keep up with their education and go

to conferences and, , we're, we're really lucky in central Ohio to have

a really good veterinary community.

, we've got several vets that are just top notch in the country.

, and not a lot of places are that fortunate, so we

count ourselves very lucky.

And we do have a list of several vets on our website.

Excellent., what's the, what's the website where people

can find this information at?

That is columbus rabbit.org.

. And speaking of the website, you guys are having a huge celebration

this year, 2023 marks 20 years of the Columbus House Rabbit Society

chapter.

So what are you guys doing to

celebrate?

We actually, , we had a paint and sip, , fundraiser earlier this year

at one of our, , local breweries.

And then coming up we have, , it's actually, , it's , here for the

Hops fundraiser and it's at, , Hills Market in Columbus, and it's on,

, May 17th from, , six to 8:00 PM.

And let's see.

We also have a fundraiser, , with, , Kendra Scott, , the

jewelry store at Easton.

And that is on, let's see, Saturday, May 13th, that we will

be at, , the store at Easton.

And we'll have, , one of our foster rabbits with us.

His name is Dewey, and we will be there from, , 11 to one o'clock.

Excellent.

And is there any cool things, swag like shirts, things like that, that

people can, can get to, to support

you guys?

We had a really fun, um, 20th anniversary logo designed and we just rolled

out our bonfire t-shirt campaign.

. The link to that is available on our website and.

We look forward, I think we're gonna do some other additional pieces, um,

probably through our Cafe Press store.

, we're gonna have, , special ornament made later this, this year, , and just,

, you know, things throughout the year.

So we're excited.

And people can get a lot of information on your Facebook page.

You guys are very active on Facebook, Columbus House Rabbit

Society on Facebook, right?

, that's, that's all really cool, exciting stuff.

I'm really excited for you guys.

Uh, it's a great resource even for myself as a veterinarian.

I have.

Used the resources that you guys have and especially with our clients.

You know, as you mentioned it, it's not just seeing rabbits,

it's knowing a lot about rabbits.

Me personally, I'm really comfortable spaying and neutering rabbits.

I know some of their diseases, but anything else, I'd rather somebody else

that has more experience in internal medicine deal with things like that.

So great information from from both of you.

I really appreciate that you took the time to be here and

educate everybody on rabbits.

Is there anything that we forgot to talk about or that you want to, to say

in closing to our, to our listeners

? , if somebody wants to, is interested

what should they do?

So on, , our web website, which is columbus rabbit.org.

, under the adopt section we have an adoption application.

, so you can just, , fill that out electronically.

It'll come to us.

And then one of our, , volunteers, , will call you, you know, to talk about your

application and talk about rabbits.

And then we, can set up then an appointment for, , you to meet

some, , some rabbits to possibly adopt.

Excellent.

And in on Instagram, you guys also post pictures of the rabbits

that are for adoption, and I love seeing the, the rabbits on that.

So follow them on Facebook, Instagram, columbus rabbit.org.

And thank you again so much for, for spending time and to everybody

that's listening, thank you for listening and thanks for caring.

Thank you.

Thank you, Dr.