Domestic rabbit

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Rabbits
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Lagomorpha Genus: Oryctolagus

A domestic rabbit, is any of the several varieties of European rabbit that has been domesticated by humans.

Male rabbits are called bucks; females, does. A previous word (sometimes still used) for an adult rabbit is coney (derived from the Dutch word konijn), while rabbit referred only to the young animals.^[1] More recently, the term kit or kitten has been used to refer to a young rabbit. A young hare is called a leveret, and this term is sometimes informally applied to a young rabbit as well.

Contents 1 History 2 Types of commercial rabbits 2.1 Breeds 2.2 Meat rabbits 2.3 Wool rabbits 3 Diet 3.1 Cecal pellets 4 Rabbits as pets 4.1 Children's pets 4.2 Companionship 4.2.1 Other rabbits 4.2.2 Guinea pigs 4.2.3 Dogs and cats 4.3 Acquiring a rabbit 4.3.1 Litterbox training 4.3.2 Training and play 4.4 Housing 4.4.1 Free roaming rabbits 4.4.2 Exercise pens 4.4.3 Cube condos 4.4.4 Cage/Hutch 5 Exhibition 5.1 Conformation shows 5.2 Show jumping 6 Genetics 7 Health Problems 7.1 Myxomatosis and West Nile Virus 7.2 Sore hocks 7.3 Respiratory infections 7.4 Head tilt or wry neck 7.5 Teeth problems 7.6 Gastrointestinal stasis 7.7 Cancer 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links

[edit] History

Phoenician sailors visiting the coast of Spain circa 1100 B.C.E., mistaking the European rabbit for a species from their homeland, gave it the name i-shepan-ham. A corruption of this name, used by the Romans, became the Latin name for Spain, Hispania.^{[citation needed]} In Rome rabbits were raised in large walled colonies. These captive rabbits were raised as food and permitted to interbreed at will.^{[citation needed]}

Selective breeding of rabbits began in the Middle Ages, when they were first treated as domesticated farm animals. By the 1500s, several new breeds of different colors and sizes were being recorded.

In the 1800s, as animal fancy in general began to emerge, rabbit fanciers began to attend rabbit shows in Western Europe and the United States. Breeds were created and modified for the purpose of exhibition, a departure from the breeds that had been created for food, fur, or wool. The rabbit's emergence as a household pet began during the Victorian era.

Rabbits have also been used in laboratory animal experimentation, particularly regarding cosmetics products.^[2] Since the 1970s the animal rights movement has attacked testing cosmetic and cleaning products tested on animals, particularly rabbits, and has decreased the rabbit's use in this field.

The domestic rabbit continues to be popular as a show animal and pet. Rabbit shows occur in many places and are sanctioned in Canada and the United States by the American Rabbit Breeder's Association (ARBA).

[edit] Types of commercial rabbits

[edit] Breeds

Main article: List of rabbit breeds

There are many different breeds of domestic rabbit including chinchilla (rabbit not actual animal), French angora, English angora, and mini lop. As with breeds of dogs, rabbit breeds were generally created by humans at different times, for different purposes.

[edit] Meat rabbits

Breeds such as the New Zealand and the Californian are most frequently utilized for meat in commercial rabbitries. These breeds have efficient metabolisms and grow quickly; they are ready for slaughter by approximately eight to twelve weeks of age.

Rabbit fryers are rabbits that are between 70 to 90 days of age and weighing between 3 to 5 lbs (1 to 2 kg) live weight, Rabbit roasters are rabbits from 90 days to 6 months of age weighing between 5 to 8 lbs (2 to 3.5 kg) live weight and Rabbit stewers are rabbits from 6 months on weighing over 8 lbs live weight.

Any type of rabbit exhibiting "commercial" body type can be slaughtered for meat. Dark fryers (any other color but albino whites) are usually docked in price by packers because of the slightly darker tinge of the fryer (pearly pink carcasses are preferred by consumers) and the fact that the hide is harder to remove manually than the white albino fryers.

[edit] Wool rabbits

Rabbits such as Angoras and Jersey Woolies are used to produce wool. Their long fur is sheared, combed, or "plucked" (gently pulling loose hairs from the body only during natural periods of shedding) and then spun into yarn and used to make a variety of products. Angora sweaters can be purchased in many clothing stores and it is generally mixed with other types of wool.

[edit] Diet

The diet of a domestic rabbit varies depending on the purpose it is kept for. Common foods include hay, pellets, fresh vegetables and water.

[edit] Cecal pellets

Rabbits are hindgut digesters, this means most of their digestion takes place in their large intestine and caecum. In rabbits, the cecum is approximately ten times bigger than the stomach, and it, along with the large intestine, makes up roughly 40% of the rabbit's digestive tract.^[3] Cecal pellets, sometimes called "night feces", come from the cecum and are high in minerals, vitamins and proteins that are necessary to the rabbit's health. Rabbits eat these in order to meet their nutritional requirements. This process allows rabbits to extract the necessary nutrients from their food.^[4][5]

[edit] Rabbits as pets

Rabbits have been kept as pets in Western nations since the 1800s. Like all pets, rabbits need a considerable amount of care and attention. The natural lifetime of a well-cared for domestic rabbit kept indoors has been known to reach 12 years.^[6]

[edit] Children's pets

Rabbits are often thought of as children's pets. However, due to fragile bones and backs, rabbits make poor pets for young children, as they must be picked up and supported in a specific way that is difficult for children.

[edit] Companionship

[edit] Other rabbits

Unneutered rabbits frequently fight when paired with another rabbit of the same gender. Fighting is often the result of sexual mounting, which is engaged in by rabbits of both genders upon other rabbits of either gender; this behavior stresses the rabbit being mounted and can make it aggressive toward its cagemate. Unneutered rabbits of opposite genders will breed rapidly.

It has become common to bond one or more rabbits and to keep them in pairs, trios or larger groups. Bonding is easiest between spayed or neutered rabbits, and can occur between any combination of gender. Keeping rabbits in pairs or groups provides companionship, entertainment and socialization.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Guinea pigs

Some books recommend keeping rabbits and guinea pigs together to meet their social needs. While there is varied success with this technique, it is recommended that rabbits should not be kept in the same cage with guinea pigs.^[7] A rabbit can easily harass or injure a guinea pig; this can lead to severe distress or even death for the guinea pig. Rabbits and Guinea pigs also have differing nutritional requirements and therefore require separate foods. Despite formerly proposed social compatibility and their mutual status as small herbivores, rabbits and guinea pigs do in fact have very different social signals and activities. For instance, guinea pigs generally do not practice social grooming.

[edit] Dogs and cats

It is recommended that dogs and cats not be left alone with rabbits as their predatory instincts (or overenthusiastic play) can lead to the dog or cat attacking the rabbit spontaneously. In rare cases, and after careful introductions, some people have found that dogs and cats can get along with rabbits.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Acquiring a rabbit

There are many rescue organizations, humane societies, and local city animal shelters that have rabbits available for adoption. Additionally, reputable breeders and some pet stores sell rabbits.

[edit] Litterbox training

Rabbits naturally like to urinate and defecate in the same place and can be trained to use a litter box. Spaying or neutering a rabbit will reduce the hormones and generally stops the rabbit's urges to mark its territory. Large sized cat litter boxes work well for rabbits.

[edit] Training and play

Rabbits can be taught to follow voice commands like a dog, but they can also be trained to recognize different patterns of the voice. Rabbits can be taught their names, although they recognize the pattern of the noises more than the words.^{[citation needed]} Rabbits can be very playful and enjoy games and toys. Toys can keep a rabbit from becoming bored or frustrated; rabbits have a tendency to chew on items in their space, particularly wires, although some can be encouraged not to chew dangerous or valuable items by offering alternatives such as chew toys.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Housing

There are several ways pet rabbits are housed. Most rescue groups recommend keeping rabbits indoors which has emerged as the norm.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Free roaming rabbits

Neutered/spayed rabbits are generally litterbox trainable and can freely roam the house or their own room as cats or dogs do. Depending on the rabbit, this involves one box per room or one box per floor.

[edit] Exercise pens

X-pens allow the rabbit more free space and are easier to clean than some traditional forms of cages.

[edit] Cube condos

Cube condos offer flexibility for cage design because the owner can choose the dimensions. They are often built using wire space cubes and connect using the provided connection fasteners or plastic cable ties. Coroplast, a plastic material used in signage, is commonly used as flooring for a cube condo, although other materials such as plywood coated with peel-and-stick tiles can also be used.

[edit] Cage/Hutch

Rabbit cages are sold in many size, not all of which are large enough to fit most rabbits. Cages with wire mesh floors are hard on rabbits' feet and can lead to sore hocks (they have no padding on their feet to cushion them) and toe nails are easily caught in the holes. Rescue groups generally recommend that there is enough room for the rabbit to lay down across the width of the cage, to sit up on its hind legs without its ears touching the top of the cage, and to lay on the floor outside of its hiding place.^[8][9]

[edit] Exhibition

[edit] Conformation shows

County fairs are common venues through which rabbits are shown in the United States. Rabbit clubs also hold shows though they usually permit only purebred rabbits to be entered. Although currently, a pedigree is not required to enter a rabbit in an ARBA-sanctioned show.^{[citation needed]} Children's clubs such as 4-H also include rabbit shows, usually in conjunction with county fairs.

[edit] Show jumping

Main article: Rabbit show jumping

Rabbit show jumping, a form of athletic competition between rabbits, began in the 1970s and has since become popular in Europe, particularly Sweden and the United Kingdom. Any rabbit regardless of breed may participate in this kind of competition, as it is based on athletic skill.

[edit] Genetics

There are 10 color gene groups (or loci) in rabbits. They are A, B, C, D, E, En, Du, Si, V, and W. Each locus has dominant and recessive genes. In addition to the loci there are also modifiers, which modify a certain gene. These include the rufus modifiers, colour intensifiers, and plus/minus (blanket/spot) modifiers. A rabbit's coat only has two pigments, pheomelanin (yellow) and eumelanin (dark brown). There can also be no pigment, causing an albino or white rabbit.

Color Genes

Within each group, the genes are listed in order of dominance, with the most dominant gene first. In parenthesis after the description is at least one example of a color that displays this gene.

Note: lower case are recessive and capital letters are dominant

• "A" represents the agouti locus (wild rabbit colour). The genes are:
  • A= agouti (chestnut, lynx, agouti)
  • at= tan pattern (tan, silver martin)
  • a= self or non-agouti (black, chocolate)

• "B" represents the black locus. The genes are:
  • B= black (chestnut, agouti, black)
  • b= brown (chocolate)

• "C" represents the color locus. The genes are:
  • C= full color (black)
  • cchd= dark chinchilla (chinchilla)
  • cchl= light chinchilla (seal point, smoke pearl)
  • ch= Himalayan (black pointed white)
  • c= albino (ruby-eyed white or REW)

• "D" represents the dilution locus. (For example, a black rabbit with this gene is a blue.) The genes are:
  • D= dense color (normal coloring, like a dominant C)
  • d= diluted color (blue)

• "E" represents the extension locus. It works with the 'A' and 'C' loci, and rufus modifiers. When it is recessive, it removes all dark pigment. The genes are:
  • Es= steel
  • E= normal dark pigment (black)
  • ej= Japanese brindling (harlequin)
  • e= no dark pigment (orange, frosted pearl)

• "En" represents the plus/minus (blanket/spot) color locus. It creates the broken color pattern. The genes are:
  • En= English spotting (broken, which is white and another color)
  • en= self (no white areas, solid color)

• "Du" represents the Dutch color pattern, (the front of the face, front part of the body, and rear paws are white, the rest of the rabbit has colored fur). The genes are:
  • Du= absence of Dutch pattern
  • du= Dutch pattern

• "V" represents the vienna white locus. The genes are:
  • V= normal color
  • v= vienna white (blue-eyed white or BEW)

• "Si" represents the silver locus. The genes are:
  • Si= normal color
  • si= silver color (silver, silver fox)

• "W" represents the middle yellow-white band locus and works with the agouti gene. The genes are:
  • W= normal width of yellow band (chinchilla)
  • w= doubles yellow band width (New Zealand Red)

[edit] Health Problems

[edit] Myxomatosis and West Nile Virus

Myxomatosis is a threat to the health of pet rabbits. Rabbits caged outdoors in Australia are vulnerable in areas with high numbers of mosquitoes. In Europe, fleas are the carriers of myxomatosis. In some countries, annual vaccinations against myxomatosis is available.

West Nile Virus is another threat to rabbits, as they are related to horses. There are no vaccinations against this virus and it is fatal. Recourse against the disease includes limiting the number of mosquitoes that are around pet rabbits.

[edit] Sore hocks

The formation of open sores on the rabbit's hocks, commonly called "sore hocks," is a problem that commonly afflicts rabbits kept in cages with wire floors. The condition results when, in the course of moving about the cage, the protective fur on the rabbit's hocks and feet is worn off and/or pulled out. The exposed skin further rubs on the wire floor, causing painful sores and blisters that can become infected.

Rabbits in cages with wire floors must be provided with a solid floor cage or a resting board in order to prevent this from occurring. Ideally, because rabbits do not have padding on their feet, they should have access to a solid floor at all times. Regular inspections of a rabbit's feet can help an owner head off the development of sore hocks.

[edit] Respiratory infections

An over diagnosed ailment amongst rabbits is respiratory infection. Pasteurella bacteria known colloquially as "snuffles," is usually misdiagnosed and has been known to be a factor in the overuse of antibiotics among rabbits.^[10]

A runny nose, for instance, can have several causes, among those being high temperature or humidity; extreme stress; environmental pollution (like perfume or incense), or sinus infections. Options for treating this is removing the pollutant, lowering the temperature, and medical treatment for sinus infections.^[10]

"Runny Eyes" can be caused by dental disease or a blockage of the tear duct. Environmental pollution, corneal disease, entropion, distichiasis, a disease of the third eyelid, or inflammation of the eyes are also causes. This is easy to diagnose as well as treat.^[10]

Sneezing can be a sign of environmental pollution (think too much dust) or food allergy.

While Pasteurella is a bacteria that lives in rabbits' respiratory tracts, it can flourish out of control in some cases. In the rare event that happens, antibiotic treatment is necessary.

[edit] Head tilt or wry neck

Inner ear infections, certain protozoans, strokes, other diseases, or injuries affecting the brain or inner ear can lead to a condition known as wry neck or "head tilt." This condition can be fatal, due to a disorientation that causes the animal to stop eating and drinking. Sometimes an antibiotic or antiprotozoal treatment can cure wry neck.

[edit] Teeth problems

Dental disease has several causes, namely genetics, innapropriate diet, injury to the jaw, infection, or cancer.

• Malocclusion. Rabbit teeth are open rooted and continue to grow throughout their lives. In some rabbits, the teeth are not properly aligned (a condition called malocclusion). Because of the misaligned nature of the rabbit's teeth, there is no normal wear to control the length to which the teeth grow. There are three main causes of malocclusion, most commonly genetic predisposition, injury, or bacterial infection. In the case of congenital malocclusion, treatment usually involves veterinary visits in which the teeth are treated with a dental burr (a procedure called crown reduction or, more commonly, teeth clipping) or, in some cases, permanently removed.

• Molar spurs. These are spurs that can dig into the rabbit's tongue and/or cheek causing pain. These can be filed down by an experienced veterinarian with a dental burr.

Signs of dental difficulty include difficulty eating, weight loss and small stools, anorexia, and visibly overgrown teeth. However there are many other causes of ptyalism including pain due to other causes.^[11] A visit to an experienced rabbit veterinarian is strongly recommended in the case of a wet chin, or excessive grooming in the mouth area.

[edit] Gastrointestinal stasis

Gastrointestinal stasis (or G.I. stasis) is a serious and potentially fatal condition that occurs in some rabbits in which gut motility is severely reduced and possibly completely stopped. When untreated or improperly treated, G.I. stasis can be fatal in as little as 24 hours.

G.I. stasis is the condition of food not moving through the gut as quickly as normal. The gut contents may dehydrate and compact into a hard, immobile mass (impacted gut), blocking the digestive tract of the rabbit. Food in an immobile gut may also ferment, causing significant gas buildup and resultant gas pain for the rabbit.

The first noticeable symptom of G.I. stasis may be that the rabbit suddenly stops eating. Treatment frequently includes subcutaneous fluid therapy (rehydration through injection of saline solution under the skin), drugs for treatment of the buildup of gas in the digestive tract, massage to promote gas expulsion and comfort, possible drugs to promote gut motility, and careful monitoring of all inputs and outputs. The rabbit's diet may also be changed as part of treatment.

Some rabbits are more prone to G.I. stasis than others. The causes of G.I. stasis are not completely understood, but common contributing factors are thought to include:

• a lack of fiber in the diet. Many pet rabbits do not get sufficient fresh grass hay but are instead mistakenly fed only commercial alfalfa pellets originally developed for rapidly increasing mass in rabbits bred for meat.
• insufficient moisture in the diet. Fresh, leafy greens are a critical part of a rabbit's diet in part because of their moisture content, which helps prevent the gut contents from becoming impacted.
• lack of exercise. Rabbits confined to a cage frequently do not get the opportunity (or motivation) to run, jump, and play which is critical in maintaining gut motility.

In addition, G.I. stasis can be caused by the rabbit not eating for other reasons, such as stress, dental problems, or other unrelated health problems.

G.I. stasis is sometimes misdiagnosed as cat-like "hair balls" by veterinarians not familiar with rabbit physiology.^[12][13]

[edit] Cancer

Rabbits frequently are subject to cancers of the reproductive organs by four or five years of age. Neutering or spaying a rabbit eliminates this risk and as a result may increase the animal's lifespan.

[edit] References

1. ^ Online Etymology Dictonary
2. ^ PETA
3. ^ "Feeding the Pet Rabbit"
4. ^ Dr. Byron de la Navarre's "Care of Rabbits"
5. ^ Dr. Susan A. Brown, DVM's "Overview of Common Rabbit Diseases: Diseases Related to Diet"
6. ^ House Rabbit Society
7. ^ The Essential Rabbit, editor Betsy Sikora Siing
8. ^ House Rabbit Society "Checklist for New Bunny Guardian"
9. ^ Dr. Byron de la Navarre "Care of Rabbits"
10. ^ ^{a b c} Respiratory Disease by Dr. Susan A. Brown DVM
11. ^ Differential Diagnosis for Ptyalism from MediRabbit.com
12. ^ Sluggish Motility in the Gastrointestinal Tract
13. ^ GastroIntestinal Stasis, The Silent Killer

[edit] Further reading

• House Rabbit Handbook: How to Live With an Urban Rabbit - the ultimate book on rabbit care
• Why Does My Rabbit . . .? - a companion book to the House Rabbit Handbook
• Rabbits for Dummies by Audrey Pavia, ISBN 0-7645-0861-X.
• Stories Rabbits Tell - this book is less about rabbit care and more about rabbit's place in the human world. *caution* - later chapters contain disturbing imagery of animal experimentation
• American Rabbit Breeders' Association, Official Guidebook: Raising Better Rabbits and Cavies.
• Wegler, Monika, Rabbits: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual, ISBN 0-7641-0937-5.

[edit] External links

• House Rabbit Society, an informational guide on pet rabbits.
• The British Rabbit Council, recognised breeds with photographs and more.
• The Language of Lagomorphs or "What Your Rabbit is Saying and How to Speak Back".
• Binky Bunny Rabbit information, rabbit tips, information, webcams, and forums.
• Rabbit RehomeA Network of Rescue Centres with care advice and an excellent forum
• MediRabbitA site dedicated to spreading the knowledge of rabbit medicine and safe medication in rabbits, for the owner and the vet professional.