Survey of the husbandry, health and welfare of 102 pet rabbits

Vet Rec. 2006 Jul 22;159(4):103-9. doi: 10.1136/vr.159.4.103.

Abstract

One hundred and two pet rabbits were examined and their husbandry, health and welfare were reviewed. The most common breed was the dwarf lop (n = 38). The most common problem was dental disease, which affected 30 rabbits although only six of their owners were aware of the problem, which was significantly associated with feeding a rabbit mix. All the rabbits were housed in ;hutches' at some stage, but 89 had access to the outside and 47 came inside the home at times. Hutches bought at pet shops were significantly smaller than home-made hutches. Forty-five of the rabbits were housed alone; the relationships between rabbits with rabbit companions were described by their owners as ;very friendly' for 84 per cent of them and ;quite friendly' for the rest.

MeSH terms

  • Animal Husbandry* / methods
  • Animal Husbandry* / standards
  • Animal Welfare*
  • Animals
  • Animals, Domestic*
  • Behavior, Animal
  • Chi-Square Distribution
  • Diet / veterinary
  • Female
  • Health Status*
  • Housing, Animal / standards
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Logistic Models
  • Male
  • Physical Examination / veterinary
  • Rabbits* / physiology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Tooth Diseases / epidemiology
  • Tooth Diseases / prevention & control
  • Tooth Diseases / veterinary
  • United Kingdom / epidemiology