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NAVIGATION
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HISTORY OF THE HOUSE RABBIT
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The first recorded house rabbit was in 1799 and was kept by John Lawrence, Louis xiv had a pet rabbit and Napoleon kept one when he was in prison.The House Rabbit Society was founded in California in 1988 and has 7,000 members in America. Our version is The House Rabbit Association and there web site is the place to go for advise on house rabbits.
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House rabbits can live in any kind of home with people.Its vital however to think of their safety. Things like staires wiring flooring need to be thought of. Will you be happy to have an indoor cage in your house? are you prepared for little poos on the floor ? Once your rabbit is trained you may be able to get rid of the cage all together. There arnt many rabbits that can be completely house trained, most will use their litter trays for their wee .You must be aware of the wear and tare on your home a rabbit can make, while not as bad as a puppy furniture and curtains can be ruined in a second. Think how many rooms you are going to give over to your rabbit and the kind of flooring it has. Many rabbits have a hard time trying to walk on lamanate flooring. This would mean making carpet trails your bun can use to get around on. Your wiring, cables, need to be protected so run them through plastic tubbing to protect them from being chewed. Other pets in the house should be thought about as well. Some dogs say the working breeds are not good with rabbits. Most cats are not a problem however, mine is scared of big rabbits but will groom a smaller one.Every one in the house needs to be aware that things may have to be slightly different, such as dont leave things lying around on the floor that your bun can chew. Drinks put down by the side of your chair may get knocked over. Shutting doors is important as well to keep them from getting into areas you dont want them to go in and the house door so they cannot get out side. It will be a little harder to find boarding as well in the winter months if they have to be inside. Some house buns can be both out side and in, that is out in a large enclosure in the day and in the house at night. Many people like this way as they can be sure that they are safe at night and in the warm. Having your rabbit inside all the time will muck up there moulting clock. This is determined by temperature. Out side the rabbit can know the changes of temperature from summer to autum and there coat will change accordinly Rabbits normally moult twice a year, once to grow there winter coat and then again to get rid of it and go over to their summer coat. If they are indoors they are kept to warm and it can lead to much longer moults. Choosing a breed would be important as you wouldnt want a long haired rabbit to have as a house rabbit because of the large amounts of hair they would shed so think carefully about breed. Male or female if they are done it dosent rearlly matter too much. If un castrated a male may take to spraying every thing. When you begin with your house bun, spend a lot of time watching what he does and were he goes .This can give you clues as to possible trouble spots. Dont give them the whole house to start with keep to one room. You can block of door ways with baby gates. Your bun is bound to find dark corners very inviting. These may be under the sofa , behind the fridge or washing machine.
all photos are of re homed buns from here
 
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The majority of house plant are poisonous to rabbits, so they must be kept well out of the way at all times.Digging is a good pass time for some rabbits so an out side digging area is an idea. Indoors you could lay some carpet or coir squares out for your rabbit to dig on. Check you have no peeling wall paper as they will take delight in pulling it further.
Litter training can be easy or hard depending how clean your rabbit is. If you start off with your rabbit in an indoor cage then wait till they pick a corner of it for the tiolet. Then once they are happy with that you can place the litter tray there. There are many times of litter tray stuff available i like carefress, dont clean out the litter tray to often as your taking away the small of their toilet and this may confuse them.This may lead to them picking another area.Some rabbits like to eat while in there litter tray so put a little bit of hay at one end so they can much it while in there. Because you have your rabbit indoors theres a temptation to give them a bit of what your having, this is not good. You have owners that give all sorts of unsuitable foods such as chocolate and there left over dinner on the plate. Stick to healthy treats such as fruit and veg [ raw].
Rabbits like to play and play means excersize. One tip is to get a ball that their food can fall out when they roll it.This is much better than just having their food in a bowel, it will take them ages to get it all and it dosent take them long to work it out. Hay can be stuffed in tubes to make it harder to get out. You can make tunnels and cardboard houses for them. As most rabbits will enjoy a good chew you can give them toys like apple branches or branches from any fruit trees, tephone books tiolet tubes old newspapers and magazines.Trow toys are great the ones with a bell in them they seem to like. Make sure they can be picked up easily.Some rabbits can even play football.
 
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