How to Raise a Dutch Rabbit? Care Methods and Precautions
The Dutch rabbit is a pet rabbit with a standard weight of 3.5-5.5 pounds, and it is a relatively small breed among medium-sized rabbits. Many families keep them. So, how do you raise a Dutch rabbit?
1. How to raise a Dutch rabbit?
When raising a Dutch rabbit, the temperature of the rabbit hutch should be 25-30°C, and relative humidity should be controlled at 40-60%. The food trough and water trough should be disinfected regularly and kept clean and hygienic. Feces should be cleaned up and the area tidied every week. When feeding the rabbit, it is best to give some tender grass and tender vegetable leaves, and then provide some clean cool boiled water every day. After it has grown for 3 months, feed more green fodder. In addition, measures for moisture protection, heat protection and cold protection should also be taken.
2. Precautions for raising Dutch rabbits
1. When the weather is hot in summer, you need to prepare an electric fan for it to prevent heatstroke. In winter, it is best to cover the surroundings of the cage with clothes, blankets, etc., and prepare a light bulb to keep it warm. However, be careful about the position of the light bulb so as not to burn the little rabbit, and also make sure it does not bite the wire.
Spreading wood bran is a required step, used to absorb urine and to keep shed rabbit hair from flying around. Remember to replace it often, otherwise the rabbit is very prone to skin diseases, such as hair loss on the toes, calluses, and so on. It is best to put wood bran in the rabbit toilet. To train it to use the toilet, it is best to pick it up and put it in the toilet immediately when it poops, and afterward it will know where to “relieve itself”.
2. It is best to comb the rabbit once a day, especially during shedding periods, otherwise the hair will later become matted into clumps, which will not only make its appearance ugly, but if the rabbit eats the hair it will cause hairball stools. It is best to have the clipping done by a specialist at a pet shop, otherwise it is very easy to injure its delicate skin. The rabbit's hair has a temperature-insulating effect, so under normal circumstances there is no need for special trimming.
3. Rabbits themselves are very clean, and under normal keeping they do not need a bath for their entire life. A rabbit's fur has a protective layer, and frequent bathing easily causes hair loss or other skin diseases. Rabbits are timid, and bathing can cause a stress response. In addition, loss of body temperature, colds, diarrhea and other problems are also easily caused by bathing.
4. Newborn rabbits catch colds very easily, so it is best to wrap soft cloth around the cage and place the cage in a warm place indoors as much as possible. A rabbit that has caught a chill will have a moist nose, like a human with a runny nose. As soon as this is noticed, help should be sought from a veterinarian, otherwise it is extremely difficult to cure. Diarrhea is also a major danger for rabbits. For a rabbit bought from a seller, it is best to first ask the seller what feed it has eaten so that the same feed can continue to be used. Do not just put a big red radish in and leave it at that, otherwise the rabbit will have diarrhea and can very easily die from dehydration because of it.
Because Dutch rabbits love cleanliness and are timid, a quiet raising environment is very important. In terms of feeding and management, a dry and clean living environment must be created. The rabbit cage should always be kept dry, and the rabbit cage should be scrubbed every week.