2LearnOryctolagus cuniculus
Rabbit
The domestic rabbit descends from the European rabbit and is kept for meat, fur and wool and as a companion. Rabbits breed quickly and turn forage into lean meat efficiently. Breeds range from dwarf pets to large meat breeds and long-haired Angoras kept for…
Keeping
How it is kept
Kept for
- Meat
- Fibre
- Companionship
- Mature weight
- 1.5–5.5 kg
- Lifespan
- 8–12 years
- Gestation
- 31 days
- Temperament
- Social and easily frightened; gentle once used to handling
- Forage
- Need constant access to hay or grass, which should make up most of the diet. Add fresh greens and a small measured amount of pellets.
- Housing
- A large, secure hutch joined to a run, with room to hop, dig and stand up straight. Protect them from predators, heat and damp.
- Good to know
- Rabbits are happiest in neutered pairs or groups. Their teeth grow all their lives, so a high-fibre diet is essential. They hide illness well, so a rabbit that stops eating needs a vet promptly.
Breeds
Rabbit breeds
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