With Easter coming up next weekend, you may be considering getting a very special gift for yourself or your family – an Easter pet! Often that means a cute little baby chick, or a duckling, or even a baby bunny. After all, baby animals are always so cute and adorable!
The problem is that those adorable babies grow up – pretty quickly, in fact – and you may find yourself with a chicken, or a duck or a rabbit, and you might realize that farm animals don’t always make good pets.
Well, maybe a rabbit is not a farm animal; in fact, bunnies are the third most abandoned pet in this country, right behind dogs and cats. The House Rabbit Society reports they are also the third most euthanized.
The truth is that rabbits can make wonderful indoor house pets. They are affectionate, and they can be house-trained to use a litter box. If you use cat litter, choose the unscented kind and put just a shallow amount in the box. Rabbits, unlike cats, don’t bury their droppings, so you must clean out the box daily.
Your bunny has certain things it needs to be healthy and happy. That includes fresh hay for munching, vegetables, pellet food and always fresh water.
Rabbits do not require annual vaccinations, but look for a veterinarian in your area that treats rabbits, and take your little buddy in for annual checkups and nail clipping. Spaying or neutering your bunny will help it live longer and stay healthier. Rabbits have a life expectance of about ten years. They are social creatures, so please do not put your rabbit in a cage in the back yard.
Like most pets, rabbits are not care-free animals. If you are looking for something just for Easter, then do what I do – I follow the advice of the House Rabbit Society, that says, Make mine chocolate! Then everyone will have a happy Easter, especially when you’re speaking of pets!
