Today, many families decide to take a rabbit as a pet. It is not surprising, since these sweet animals are also very intelligent, which makes them perfect housemates if they are provided with a proper education for coexistence.
If you are interested or have already welcomed one of these little lagomorphs, you may be interested in learning how to raise a rabbit. For this reason, here we want to help you in this process by providing you with the information you will need in this article.
Characteristics of rabbits
In order to educate our furry friend, we must first understand what attributes characterize him, since these will determine our way of relating to him.
- They are lagomorphs: rabbits are small quadruped mammals, that is, they stand on four legs, belonging to the order of lagomorphs, which are distinguished from rodents in the fact that they have two pairs of upper incisor teeth (rodents only they have a pair). In addition, they are from the Leporidae family, in the same way that hares are.
- Physical appearance: their physical appearance is characterized by having bodies covered with abundant hair with the most varied colors (white, brown, palomino…) present in a layer of homogeneous, diffuse or spotted color. These animals can weigh between 1 and 8 kilos depending on the breed of rabbit. They also have an oval head, round eyes and characteristic long ears of between 5 and 7 centimetres, as well as a small tail.
- They are herbivores: Rabbits are herbivorous animals and therefore can only feed on vegetables. They have teeth that allow them to gnaw on hard foods that are part of their diet, such as seeds.
- They are very sociable: rabbits also have strong legs with which they can dig and live in burrows where they are protected and in community with others of the same species, which makes them very sociable animals.
- They are prey: rabbits in their natural habitat are prey, which makes them agile, skittish and with very sharp hearing due to their long ears, which allows them to flee at the slightest sound that makes them suspect that a predator is stalking them.
- High reproductive capacity: also, due to their prey condition, they have a high reproductive capacity (and, therefore, proliferation), being the same female capable of giving birth to approximately 30 young rabbits per year (this is how we call the baby rabbits).
How to gain the trust of a rabbit?
As we have seen, due to their prey nature, rabbits tend to be rather fearful, which can lead to a more elusive or reserved behavior if we do not know how to properly relate to them. We must also take into account that there are more timid or tame rabbits depending on the breed, for example, Belier rabbits tend to be calmer compared to toy or dwarf ones. Still, each individual is unique and has their own peculiarities.
1. Be patient
Building a satisfactory relationship with our furry from the beginning is very important to be able to educate it and, for this reason, it is very important that when we want to teach a rabbit something we are patient, since learning is a process that requires time and, moreover, The use of punishment, scolding and yelling will not be beneficial at all for the welfare of the animal or for it to trust us, since the only thing we will achieve is that it is afraid of us. We must also bear in mind that a rabbit can take a few months to adapt to a new home and new people.
2. Let him get closer to you
When it comes to interacting with our rabbit, we must try to catch up, since these animals are small and generally will always be at our feet. Because of this, as we are taller, they can feel intimidated? For this reason, when you want to interact with him, try to sit near your bunny, on the floor or on the sofa, and let him come to you, since they are curious by nature and if you are patient he will come to inspect you.
3. Avoid sudden movements
When she gets close to you, resist the urge to pet her right away and let her explore you first so she learns that you are not a threat. Next, gradually interact with him avoiding sudden movements and initially caressing his body, since he may feel threatened if you touch his face, always using a soft tone of voice (remember that they have a very sensitive ear). Also, make sure to reward him with food that he likes (such as small pieces of carrot, apple, grass …), since thanks to positive reinforcement you will make him see you as someone trustworthy and to his liking.
4. Pick him up (carefully)
Once you have established a bond of trust and you see that he is not scared by your side, you can try to pick him up. Keep in mind that this can be a complicated step for him, since rabbits generally do not like to be restrained and the fact of being “in the air” can generate quite a fear, since it is usually predators that lift them from the air. Floor. For this reason, at the beginning we will hold him for a short time near the ground, and we will progressively increase the height and time, always rewarding him in the process with gifts and caresses if we see that he likes them.
How to train a rabbit to relieve itself?
To begin, we must bear in mind that rabbits are clean animals which like to have a specific space where they can relieve themselves. However, when they are small they still do not control their bowel movements and, therefore, they will defecate and urinate in all places. Also, if the rabbit is already an adult, it is advisable to consult a veterinarian about neutering or sterilizing it, since this could make its stools in unwanted places with the intention of marking its territory.
1. Add a corner piece to the rabbit cage
To educate your rabbit to relieve itself in a suitable place, we will begin the learning process by providing it with a corner large enough in its cage, with a specific substrate, so that we encourage it to relieve itself in the right place. In case we observe that it raises its tail with the intention of urinating and defecating outside the corner, we will take it to take it to it, as long as the rabbit has no problems in being held in your arms. On the contrary, if it has a more scary character, we will avoid catching it so as not to generate a stressful situation.
2. Place your stool in the corner
When our colleague does his needs out of place, we will collect them with a cloth or toilet paper to place it in his corner, so that he relates that space with the smell. And in addition, we will thoroughly clean with a specialized urine product (which you can buy in a pet store) the places where you have erroneously defecated or urinated in order to erase the odor traces and prevent you from doing it again in the same place. In the same way, as the rabbit will go to its corner piece because of the smell, it is important that when we wash its corner and fill it with clean substrate, we mix it with a little of the old one to preserve the smell and not confuse it.
3. Reward him when he relieves himself in the corner.
Finally, it is also important that we try to educate our furry through positive reinforcement. Therefore, every time we see that he does his needs correctly, we will award him at the moment with a prize that we know he likes, such as his favorite food or caresses. In this way, we will get him to associate the behavior we want with a positive situation and will repeat it more frequently.
How to teach a rabbit not to bite?
Although it is popularly believed that rabbits are peaceful animals, since they are not predators, they can surprise us and manifest aggressive behaviors such as biting us. If your rabbit has ever displayed this behavior, it may have scared you into thinking that it cannot be rectified. Now, it is possible to teach your rabbit not to bite, but for this you must first know the reason why it has bitten you. Let’s take a look at the most common reasons:
1. My rabbit bites out of fear
As we have discussed, rabbits generally fear being handled because they are prey. For this reason, if the animal has not yet gotten used to us, it will flee. On the contrary, if he feels cornered without the possibility of fleeing (for example, if we hold him in our arms), it is very likely that he will react by biting us.
Also, if we have tried to “educate” our rabbit through aggressive strategies such as physical punishment or yelling, it will clearly be afraid of us and will try to defend itself with the bite. In these cases, it is important that we take the time to befriend our rabbit, so that it loses its fear and learns to trust us.
2. My rabbit bites in pain
If your furry did not have problems when you were related to him, but has made a sudden change in behavior becoming aggressive when you touch him, it is very likely that he has experienced or is experiencing pain.
That is, it may have been the case that you accidentally hurt him and related to the bad experience. In this case, we will have to dedicate time to make him understand again that we are his friend and that we are not going to hurt him again.
Or also, it may be that you have pain as a result of some pathology or injury. In this case, it is important to quickly take him to the vet so that he can detect it.
3. The rabbit is angry and bites
Your rabbit may have a rebellious attitude because their well-being is not fully covered. For example:
- You are not comfortable in your accommodation.
- Because he’s locked up in his cage for a long time.
- Because you need to run, dig, jump, socialize, and interact with your environment.
- Because if it doesn’t get out of the cage, it can’t stretch properly.
- Because you don’t pay attention to them and they feel lonely and angry.
If any of these situations occurs, our rabbit will feel frustrated and can react aggressively. In addition, rabbits that cannot stretch properly can develop physical pathologies that cause pain.
It must be taken into account that their social needs are covered, since rabbits need to be in company to feel safe. For this reason, a lonely rabbit will feel more nervous and may be aggressive accordingly. To solve this situation, if the animal spends many hours alone, we should consider that it lives with another rabbit.
4. My rabbit bites because it protects something valuable
Some rabbits can bite when we get close to something that is valuable to them, such as:
- Their territory (usually their cage).
- Your food bowl.
- Another rabbit to be your friend.
For the rabbit, it is necessary to protect this element and it may see us as a threat. Consequently, with the intention of defender or can we bring bite the hand, for example.
Once again, we must generate a bond of trust from the beginning in our rabbit to prevent this situation from occurring. In these cases, to rectify this behavior, we must gradually get closer to this element that the rabbit wants to protect, and reward it as we get closer and do nothing to us. We must be very patient, since depending on the individual, the learning may take a few days. And we will have to act progressively, avoiding forcing the situation, as it could bite us again and perform bad learning again. In case he hurts us again, we must avoid scolding him at all costs because we will only achieve the opposite effect to what we want, since we will become an even greater threat.
5. Why does a rabbit bite? – Hormones
Rabbits can display aggressive behavior towards us or other rabbits usually in the spring, which is the natural breeding season for rabbits. This aggression is hormonal and indicates a normal desire to defend your territory and drive away any rival.
If we have ruled out the above causes, it should be taken to a veterinarian, as this behavior must be reduced by neutering or spaying.
