Rabbit advice thread

I live on the edge of the Brecklands - so you know how easy it is for rabbits to burrow around this area. I always took it as a great compliment that she chose to stay in our garden. Stone curlews are just along the road from me on the other side of our village, DBH is a butterfly counter for this area and can only go on that land at certain times of the year. I do wonder why they choose to nest so close to the road, I would have thought the noise of all the lorries all using it as a short-cut now that they have got used to it as an alternative route to the A11 could well have contributed to the decline.

Oh my, that's so sad....

You just know when something's wrong don't you?

They are wonderful gardeners and essential in the wild for animals such as stone curlews which rely on the rabbit population to keep the vegetation at a level low enough for them to forage for food and lay their eggs on sandy soil. The Breckland rabbit population has dramatically declined these last couple of years and the local wildlife trusts are very concerned as to the impact and why this has happened. I interviewed them recently for a feature on the stone curlew and they as of yet do not know why they are in decline.

My rabbits have raized the garden clear of all my ornamental grasses, especially Bowles Golden Grass and herbs don't last long at all- as you found. Yes, they'd be very tasty rabbits indeed. They have dug down behind the spirea and made a kind of scrape which was their summer spot. They would share the bird bath with the blackbirds (its set into the ground) and retreat under the bush when it got too hot. They have lined the scrape with fur and bits of torn up cardboard and it is very much their spot. They drum at me if I interfere with it.

It's a shame it is so wet- I don't like to let them out when it is so dank.

We have a really long garden, all fenced in thoroughly against external wild rabbits in case of myxomatosis. One day she didn't come when I called (she was like a cross between a dog and a cat) and I couldn't find her. I had to leave her out all night, I just assumed she wanted to stay in one of her three burrows. She wasn't in her hutch the next morning, so I went to look for her and eventually found her lying very peacefully under a hedge, not a scratch on her and perfect. I went back to the house for a towel, and we had a 'funeral' (she was meant to be DS's but when he went off to Uni it was me and Bunny against the world), she was buried with ceremony against a wall under a lavender bush where she used to sunbathe in the winter.

The following year the weeds on my patio were dreadful, I hadn't realised what a good gardener she was. It was almost worth not having a single chive or garlic left. I tell you, that would have been one tasty rabbit! My herb garden was her favourite place, her biggest burrow was in one corner.

That's so sad but it can't be helped at such a busy time. I know what you mean about missing them. I still miss Rocky hamster who had a huge personality and was the friendliest little bundle. Having them greet me in the morning makes me smile. I always greet them with 'hello boys' and I know I sound a daft old stick but they rush to the netting and wave their fury feet at me (enormous furry feet!) and it cheers me up, no matter how grim the weather.

When rabbit one was sick last week, I instantly knew something was wrong because rabbit two kept grooming him, especially around the face and ears. He wouldn't leave him, kept bringing the choicest pieces of camomile hay over and pestering him to eat.

When we took rabbit one to the vets we brought rabbit two along and later found out that this is what they advise you do when they are so bonded.

I didn't have two rabbits (Bunny was eight when she died, two years ago and I still miss her) but we did have two guinea pigs. One died and I knew something was wrong because I didn't hear the 'meepmeepmeep' that always sounded as soon as they heard the back door open. The live one was sitting huddled next to the dead one, looking utterly miserable. She didn't live much longer than her sister, maybe three months. I think she just pined away, looking back I should probably have got another one, but we were about to move and we had quite a menagerie at that time.

If you had a rabbit, how long did your live? I recall my childhood ones living to a ripe age and when one died, the other guarded and groomed its body for what seemed like hours.

The vet told me that if my rabbit succumbed I should leave it in the hutch with the other one for a few hours so it would understand. I did worry terribly about how he'd cope because they are brothers and very strongly pair bonded.

What do other people do?

Joanna- How lovely to have such a useful cat-guard. I could do with one as I have to herd them back in the hutch when I nip upstairs to the loo.

Elo You've kind of made me think there. I had two rabbits as a child and I neglected them a bit, didn't spend much time with them. I wonder if I am compensating a bit for that now? I wasn't as conscientious as you sounded.

I do feed mine chickweed but one of them is definitely prone to stasis/bloat so I have cut down on the greens and especially anything brassica.

I would like to know what the proper advice is re grass and cuttings. There's so many contradictory websites out there.

I had several pet rabbits when I was young.

I don't know if advice has changed since then but I used to feed them on shop-bought pellets, bran, boiled potato peelings, chickweed and lettuce and they always seemed healthy.

Your rabbits have definitely struck it lucky - being able to run freely for long periods. Although I was very conscientious about cleaning out and feeding my rabbits, I now think about all the time they spent cooped up in hutches because I only let the out in the garden for long periods during the weekend.

Our rabbit (male) used to b****r its cage fellow - a male guinea pig. Gosh did I have some explaining to do with my daughters!

What a lovely life they are having. Our rabbit was rescued from a field, having been dumped from a car. We have had her 4 years and she is rather elderly now, but still enjoys life at a sedate pace.
She likes to drink a lot, and we have to make sure we top up various drinking bowls she has around. She doesn't like using a water bottle with spout. I do find eating dandelion leaves makes her wee a lot!
We have to be careful about the foxes, and she has large, secure wire runs in various places in the garden. Our cat, who loves her and often grooms her, sat in the entrance of our greenhouse this Summer, and when I went to investigate, saw she had chased a small fox in and wasn't letting it out!

Thank you Still

I do love them so. It's remarkable how quickly they wriggle their way into your heart isn't it?

I am so relieved Bunny one survived stasis because he was so sick. Puffed up and floppy and unwilling to move one inch.

Then they sound like very lucky little rabbits, to me.

Thank you all

I shut them up at night and it would be very hard for a fox to get at them- I'm super neurotic about them being safe and they are secured behind double locked gates and covered over with a fastened cover too.

I have researched the plants in our garden and dug up the hellebores to plant in the front garden where they cannot get to them- as far as I can tell, there's nothing else that would harm them except through over eating. They have demolished all the grasses, are partial to the ferns and ornamental maple leaves although they respond to a stern "no!" whenever they go near them. I will keep on looking for a good and reliable site which advises what plants are no go's for future planting.

I do keep a very close eye- our garden is a smallish town garden with eight feet high old brick walls so it rarely sees cats either. I do keep a close eye out for magpies and other preying birds such as seagulls.

I like the idea of a rabbit dustbin butt wash though

I check their mouths and bottoms regularly to ensure they are as they should be.

We are 'lucky' here, we don't have any, the local shooting parties see to that, but ours managed to see off every cat, and defended the chickens from the sparrowhawk. Now I have cats back in my garden, which can be rather unpleasant when weeding.

Make sure they are shut up tight at night , foxes can jump even a 6' wall to get at hutches and if they aren't shut up tight they will find a way . I lost 2 beautiful rabbits to foxes because I forgot to lock the hutch one night.. and nowadays I often see foxes during daylight hours too.

Rabbits do love to nibble on tender young green shoots, that is the biggest problem. Yours are not wild rabbits so will not have had other rabbits to warn them off poisonous plants, plus they will be able to eat things that don't grow in the countryside. You will need to read up on what plants are poisonous to rabbits, if you are going to let them roam. I had a roaming rabbit for years, all was well (thanks to many squares of chicken wire placed above emerging shoots) until one year she got to my new hellebores before I did. She was very ill after that, and I was a lot more careful. I always left a huge round shallow metal 'thing' (no idea what it is!) full of water out for her, rabbits when ill need to cool down their bottoms! You could do the same by sinking a dustbin lid in the garden. Whenever I saw her sitting in it, I knew she needed to be confined to her hutch for a few days.

Mine was particularly fond of fallen maple leaves, so one day I tried one. They are surprisingly sweet! After that I worried in case I ended up with a diabetic rabbit!