Furbaby adventures: Myths about rabbits

I was about five or six years old when I had my first pet rabbit. There are a lot of myths about rabbits and I thought I’d include a few below.

cute bunny cartoon

Myths about rabbits

  • Rabbits love carrots and should eat them daily. All the rabbits I had did love carrots, but this should only be given as an occasional treat. Carrots are high in sugar.
  • Rabbits should be kept outside. Excessive heat or cold could harm or kill a rabbit that is not properly housed. If you keep your rabbit as a pet, please keep them inside.
  • Rabbits can be kept in basement or garage. If either is an area where you rarely frequent why in the world would you keep your rabbit there? Rabbits are social animals and should be considered part of the family. We keep our rabbits inside the house. Place them in areas where you frequent. Gracie is in my room, Oreo is in my daughter’s room.  If you can’t do that, why in the world do you want a rabbit?
  • Rabbits only have to be fed pellets. Wrong, the bulk of the rabbits diet should be hay, greens, and have pellets available for snacking. I’d say about 90% of the food our rabbits eat is hay. We give our bunnies a variety of greens daily.
  • Rabbits can be fed Iceburg lettuce. Iceburg lettuce has zero nutritional value. Better choices would be collard greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, kale, celery, swiss chard, radish tops, etc.,
  • Rabbits have poor eyesight. Rabbits are much better at seeing things far away, not so good at seeing things directly in front of them due to their eye placement. However their ears and nose are extremely helpful in alerting them to what they’re having trouble seeing.
  • Rabbits don’t make any noises. Rabbits can make a variety of noises. Our rabbits hum when they’re around us. That’s a sign of affection. Rabbits can also give a grunt/growl when they’re annoyed, and they also can scream. Gracie screamed when Oreo nicked her through the cage. In all my years of having rabbits, that was the first time I’ve ever heard a rabbit scream and I hope I never hear that sound again.
  • Rabbits aren’t that affectionate. Rabbits can be extremely affectionate animals. Oreo and Gracie love to be petted and always come up to us to say hello. Sometimes they flop down beside us when they’re relaxing. Oreo, our lionhead rabbit, loves to lick. Sometimes she does this if I stop petting her it’s her way of telling me please don’t stop. Other times she licks because I think she’s ‘grooming’ me. 🙂 Gracie regularly grooms Angel, our teddy bear guinea pig. Angel grooms her too.

Resources:

  1. Feeding the House Rabbit
  2. Rabbit Diet Myths
  3. Feeding Your Bunny
  4. Your First House Rabbit
  5. Amazing Facts About Rabbits
  6. Building A Relationship With Your Rabbit
  7. What Do Rabbits See?

 

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Jennifer

I heard – and don’t know if it’s true – that some of the BEST food for Bunnies as well as ducks – is lettuce! I grew up believing ducks ate bread and bunnies carrots – but – have since heard otherwise!
Jennifer recently posted..My First Attempt At Panelle

Jennifer

@Opal, DOH! So sorry! I didn’t mean ‘exclusively’ lettuce…just that lettuce was better than bread (for ducks!) and still pretty good for bunnies, too! (But of course in moderation!) After re-reading my post I realized it didn’t sound right! Sorry! LOL 🙂
Jennifer recently posted..Blissful Learning ~ Apple Cider Vinegar, Potato Flakes, Rice Crumbs

Jennifer

@Jennifer,
Good to know – I will certainly keep that in mind 🙂
Jennifer recently posted..Easy Cheesy Vegan Hummus & Christine’s Creamy Tomato Soup