How to keep your rabbit healthy
As a prey species, rabbits rarely show obvious signs of distress or discomfort, to prevent them from looking ‘weak’ to nearby predators. However, the better you know your rabbit’s usual behaviours and routines, the easier it will be to spot any signs of illness or pain.
On this page, you’ll learn the signs of healthy and unhealthy rabbits, common illnesses, senior rabbit and breed specific advice, and how to protect them from problems.
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Signs of a healthy rabbit
Healthy rabbits come in all shapes and sizes, but in general they will have:
- Clear and bright eyes
- Clear and clean ears with no crusting
- No discharge in or around their nose or eyes
- A slightly moist nose
- Teeth of an appropriate length and colour (creamy off-white)
- Aligned upper and lower front teeth (with the front teeth overlapping the bottom by a few millimetres)
- Pink gums
- Soft and shiny fur
- Healthy skin with no sores or dry patches
- Nails of an appropriate length
- A clean and dry bottom and tail
- Appropriate weight and body condition for their size and breed
- Steady, quiet breathing
- A healthy appetite
- Round, hard and dry droppings that are consistent in size and appearance
- The ability to move around and groom themselves comfortably
Signs of illness and emergencies
As prey animals, rabbits may hide signs of pain or illness. However, there may be changes and subtle signs that can suggest they’re ill, in pain or need urgent care. It’s not just physical appearance that can indicate the health of your rabbit – any changes to their behaviours are also important to monitor.
Signs they’re suffering can include:
- Changes to their droppings (less frequent, different colour, dark sticky droppings, diarrhoea, etc)
- Changes to their normal behaviours (being quieter than usual)
- Change in weight (loss or gain) or body condition
- Crusty wounds, discharge, redness or itchiness inside their ears (these problems may be more common in lop-eared rabbits)
- Discharge from their eyes
- Discharge or mucus from their nose or excessive wetness
- A dirty or soiled bottom
- Loudly grinding their teeth (though this can also be a sign of happiness when quietly teeth grinding)
- Head tilt or facial asymmetry
- Respiratory changes (such as heavy, fast or noisy breathing)
- Hunched sitting position
While some of these may be mild issues and easy to resolve with medication or lifestyle changes, others may indicate serious illnesses. If your rabbit is showing any of these signs and symptoms, contact your vet immediately to be safe.
Poisoning
Certain foods, household items or other substances they may come into contact with can be toxic to rabbits and may cause severe illness. If you think your rabbit has been poisoned, contact your vet immediately – never watch and wait. Find more information on rabbit poisoning, as well as a list of common rabbit poisons.
- Inflammation or swelling beneath their chin
- Dribbling or wetness around their jaw
- Lack of appetite/refusing to eat
- Lack of interest in their surroundings
- Depression
- Lethargy/lack of movement or being reluctant to move
- Limping
- Mouth abscesses (feel for lumps and bumps around their jaw)
- Red, watery or inflamed eyes
- Red or inflamed gums
- Skin irritation
- Sore hocks / heels
- Upper teeth that are very long and growing over the bottom teeth
Worried a pet rabbit is at risk?
Are you concerned that a rabbit is experiencing cruelty and neglect; showing signs of pain, fear and mistreatment? If you’re worried that a rabbit is suffering, let us know as soon as you can.
What your rabbit needs to stay healthy
From healthy diets and suitable environments to the right companionship and plenty of enrichment, rabbits need the right care in all seasons to support their health and wellbeing. Use our rabbit health and welfare checklist to help give your rabbits the best quality of life.
When getting rabbits
- Do your research: Before welcoming rabbits, take time to research their needs and make sure you can provide the appropriate diet, housing, companionship, healthcare and daily care they require throughout their lives.
- Learn about their past: Find out how they’ve been bred, what their current diet is and how they’ve been cared for. This will help you understand their needs and make any changes gradually, helping them settle into their new home. If they have come from a rescue environment, it may not always be possible to know their full history.
- Ask about their health: Find out whether they have any known health or behaviour concerns before you take them on. Ask when they were last vaccinated and whether they have any ongoing treatment, medical needs or previous health problems. If you’re unsure about their health, arrange a vet check.
- Take out pet insurance: So you’ll be covered for unexpected vets bills to protect both you and your rabbits.
- Microchip your rabbit: If you’re adopting from a rescue, the rabbits will likely already be microchipped and ownership will be transferred to your name on adoption, at no cost to yourself. Microchipping increases the chance of being reunited if your rabbit goes missing and can help them receive appropriate care if they’re found injured.
Remember to ask a vet for advice if you’re unsure about anything.
Regular care for pet rabbits
- Vaccinate regularly: This will prevent them from suffering from deadly diseases. See more below.
- Reduce stress: When rabbits are stressed they’re much more likely to become ill. Help them feel safe by providing constant access to hiding places, keeping their environment and routine consistent, and avoiding unnecessary changes or disturbances. If there’s a change in their behaviour or regular signs of stress and fear, seek advice from your vet or a qualified animal behaviourist.
- Monitor your rabbits every day: Check for signs of illness or injury, such as a change to their appetite, drinking habits, droppings or weight (weight changes are often the first sign of illness). Make sure this is done by someone else if you’re away.
- Check their rear end: Particularly in warm weather. Check the fur and skin around your rabbit’s rear end and tail area twice a day, as urine staining or droppings that are stuck will attract flies, which can lay eggs and cause flystrike – often fatal.
- Check teeth and nails weekly: Front teeth and nails should be checked at least once a week as these can grow quickly – but only a vet should correct overgrown or misaligned teeth.
- Check ears, eyes and nose: Ensure there’s no discharge and mucus in their eyes or nose, and look for signs of infection or mites in their ears, including discharge, crustyness, itching and redness.
- Monitor their breathing: Watch their ribcage rise and fall, ensuring their breathing isn’t laboured or noisy (such as wheezing).
- Treat for parasites: Give your rabbits treatment for external and internal parasites (such as fleas and worms), as advised by your vet. See more below.
- Groom regularly: Brush your rabbit’s coat regularly to keep them in good condition. If you’re unsure how to groom your rabbits properly, ask your vet for advice.
- Take for regular vet check-ups: Take your rabbits to the vet at least annually, for check-ups, vaccinations and parasite treatments.
- Keep away from wild rabbits: Wild rabbits can carry diseases, so ensure your rabbits are kept away from wild rabbis and any areas where wild rabbits live.
- Keep their environment clean: Clean their toilet areas regularly and remove soiled bedding or litter to help prevent discomfort, skin problems and flystrike.
- Do frequent, hands-on full body checks: This can help you notice changes early, such as lumps, bumps, wounds, sore areas or changes in body condition. It also gives you the opportunity to become familiar with what is normal for your rabbit, making it easier to spot when something changes.
Remember: Consult your vet immediately if you suspect your rabbit is in pain, ill or injured.
Dental health
Rabbit teeth grow rapidly, with the front teeth growing around 2mm to 3mm each week. Overgrown teeth can lead to dental issues that cause the rabbit immense pain (more on this below).
Wild rabbits naturally spend much of their time grazing on grass and other fibrous vegetation, which helps to wear down their continually-growing teeth. This frequent chewing helps keep their teeth at a healthy length.
The health of your rabbit’s teeth depends largely on what they eat. Having the correct diet ensures their teeth are regularly worn down. Providing them with the correct food, allowing them to forage and graze throughout the day, will keep their teeth healthy.
Diet and weight management
Feeding your rabbits the correct diet, based mainly on hay and grass, will help support healthy teeth and digestion and can reduce the risk of dental diseases and gut issues. With the right diet and plenty of space to exercise, their weight should remain in a healthy range (sudden changes to their weight may indicate illness – seek advice from a vet if so).
Check that your rabbits are eating every day and are passing plenty of dry droppings. If your rabbit’s eating or drinking habits change or the number of droppings reduce or stop, talk to your vet straight away as they could be seriously ill.
Vaccinations and parasite prevention
Rabbits can suffer from various parasites, including fleas, ticks, mites and mosquitoes. These can feed on the rabbit’s blood, skin and fur cells, and can lead to infection, abscesses and other health issues.
Protect your rabbits from parasites by seeking advice from your vet. Your vet can recommend appropriate treatment and advise when preventative treatment is needed. Regular health checks will also help to identify parasites early.
Rabbits also need vaccinations to protect against viruses and diseases that cause severe suffering and are often fatal. These include:
- Myxomatosis
- Rabbit (Viral) Haemorrhagic Disease (R(V)HD)
- Rabbit (Viral) Haemorrhagic Disease 2 (R(V)HD2)
Your vet will advise how often your rabbits should be vaccinated. Find more information on these diseases and their vaccinations here.
Neutering rabbits
Rabbits need companionship to live healthily – a common pairing is a neutered male and neutered female.
Neutering is a way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and reduce the risk of hormone-driven behaviours, such as aggression between the rabbits. Both rabbits in a pair should be neutered to help them form and maintain a positive bond. Unwanted sexual behaviours can cause stress, conflict, and injury, even between rabbits who are otherwise friendly with each other.
Neutering your pet is also important for their health.
Unneutered female rabbits are at a high risk of developing tumours – up to 60% of females older than three years of age develop uterine cancer – which are often fatal. We strongly encourage all rabbit owners to neuter all rabbits they own.
If you’re thinking of allowing your rabbits to breed, talk to your vet first to make sure they’re suitable, in terms of health and personalities, and to get advice on how to care for the parents and offspring. Learn more about pregnant rabbits and how to care for them here.
Inaccurate sexing
Sadly, inaccurately sexing rabbits and keeping unneutered male and female rabbits together has led to a rabbit crisis. Rescue centres across the UK are inundated with rabbit litters and struggling to care for the growing number of abandoned, unwanted and mistreated rabbits and kits. Due to a lack of legislation around rabbit breeding, unlicensed breeders are freely able to exploit rabbits without meeting any necessary standards.
Common rabbit illnesses
From mild conditions easily treated at home to severe issues that impact the rest of their lives, rabbits can experience a variety of health problems. The most common include:
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Examples of dental problems include malocclusion (where the top and bottom teeth don’t properly align), overgrown front or back teeth, damaged teeth or tooth abscesses. These can be incredibly painful and are dangerous for rabbits, as they can prevent them from eating.
Some brachycephalic rabbits (such as some lops, dwarf or mini breeds) and rabbits with other genetic health conditions may be at increased risk of dental issues.
Symptoms of dental disease include:- Overgrown teeth
- Lack of appetite
- Weight loss
- Dribbling
- Wetness around their chin
- Difficulty grooming
- Watery eyes
- Lump in their jaw
Dental problems can be prevented by:- Providing a high fibre diet: The majority of your rabbit’s diet should be fresh hay and grass, as these help to wear down their teeth.
- Reducing other foods: Only provide a small amount of pellets or nuggets, or fruits and vegetable treats. These foods don't require the same amount of tooth-wearing chewing as hay and grass.
- Checking their teeth regularly: Annual trips to the vet means signs of dental disease can be spotted early.
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This occurs when a rabbit’s digestive system slows or stops working, leading to the build up of harmful bacteria and disruption of healthy bacteria. This is a serious condition often caused by an incorrect diet, stress, dehydration, pain from other illnesses (such as dental disease) or a blockage in their digestive tract.
If left untreated, GI stasis can rapidly become life-threatening. If you think your rabbit is suffering from GI stasis, take them to a vet immediately.
Symptoms of GI stasis include:- Excessive gas
- A bloated stomach (that feels hard)
- Loss of appetite
- Change in droppings (smaller, less or none at all)
- Sitting in a hunched position
- Not moving
GI stasis can be treated if spotted early. Your vet will provide medication to relieve pain and heal their digestive system. -
Flies can lay eggs on a rabbit – usually around their rear ends (especially when their bottom and fur is dirty) – which hatch into maggots and eat their flesh. More common in warm weather (but can happen all year round), flystrike is often fatal. Learn more about flystrike in pets here.
To prevent flystrike, ensure your rabbits are kept clean, and regularly check their fur, skin, rear ends and tail (preferably twice a day). Long-haired rabbits can be at greater risk. If you think your rabbit has been affected by flystrike, speak to your vet. -
Uterine (womb) cancer can spread to other parts of your rabbit’s body. Symptoms may include:
- Changes in behaviour (unexpected aggression)
- Blood in their urine
- Swellings in their stomach
- Weight loss
As unneutered female rabbits are at a high risk of developing uterine cancer, the best way to protect them is by getting them neutered, which removes the risk altogether. -
While it may sound mild, the ‘snuffles’ is a serious contagious respiratory infection that can lead to a very unwell rabbit. It’s caused by two strains of bacteria (pasteurella and bordetella).
Symptoms of the snuffles are similar to those of a common cold:- Wheezing or noisy breathing
- Snotty nose
- Sneexing
- Runny and watery eyes
- Loss of appetite
- Lethargy
If you spot any of these symptoms, speak to your vet immediately, who’ll be able to provide your rabbit with antibiotics (and possibly a nebuliser). -
Sore feet and hocks, known as pododermatitis, is the inflammation of the feet, caused by friction, pressure or damage to the skin. This can occur for rabbits kept in enclosures with wired or barred floors, but can also be a result of pregnancy, obesity, spinal deformities and poor nutrition, etc. Certain breeds, such as Rex rabbits and giant breeds, are more prone to developing it.
Early symptoms of sore feet and hocks include:- Swelling of the feet
- Ulcers and open sores
- Red skin on the bottom of their feet and hocks
- Fur loss on their feet and hocks
However, as the condition gets worse, it can lead to:- Gastrointestinal stasis
- Bone infection
- Blood loss
- Anemia
- Infection and septicemia (bacterial blood poisoning)
- Osteomyelitis (bone infection)
- Permanent disability
- Death
To prevent pododermatitis, rabbit enclosures should have solid, non-slip flooring and other soft surfaces to protect their feet.
When to contact a vet
If your rabbit is showing any unusual behaviours, such as the signs of illness listed above, you think they’ve been poisoned or are otherwise unsure if they’re unwell, the best thing to do is get in touch with your vet.
They can provide advice, treatment, reassurance or even refer you to an animal behaviourist.
Caring for older rabbits
As rabbits get older, their needs can gradually change. Senior rabbits may become less active, their hearing or eyesight might reduce, and their weight may change. These changes can be a normal part of ageing, but they should still be monitored closely.
Older rabbits can be more vulnerable to health problems, including dental disease, arthritis, reduced mobility, and other age-related conditions. Regular health checks are important to identify problems early and help maintain their comfort and quality of life.
Arthritis and spondylosis are common in pet rabbits but are often overlooked or under-diagnosed. Changes such as reduced activity or slower movement are sometimes mistaken as a normal part of ageing, when they may actually be signs of pain or discomfort caused by joint disease. Rabbits with arthritis might struggle to keep themselves clean, particularly around their bottom, and may need extra support with grooming and hygiene.
Elderly rabbits can also suffer with mobility problems, which will vary from rabbit to rabbit. Small changes at home can help an older rabbit’s, such as providing comfortable bedding, easy access to food and water, reducing the need to climb or jump, removing ramps, and making sure they can still reach their shelter and toilet areas easily (they may need a litter tray with lower sides).
As with younger rabbits, senior rabbits still need access to fresh water, hay or fresh grass, leafy greens and their daily portion of nuggets (which might need to be adjusted as they age).
Regular veterinary check-ups and attentive daily care can help senior rabbits stay comfortable as they age. If you notice any changes in your rabbit’s behaviour, mobility, appetite, grooming, or usual routine, speak to your vet. Early advice and treatment can help improve their comfort and quality of life.
From regular check-ups to home comforts, learn how to take care of senior rabbits. And for extra peace of mind, consider insuring your elderly rabbit.
Breed specific advice
Different breeds may have different care needs and may be more prone to certain health problems. For example, long-haired breeds will require more frequent brushing to prevent matting, while Rex rabbits, who have less fur protection on their feet, may need soft, dry flooring and careful weight monitoring to prevent sore hocks.
Some rabbit breeds suffer from extreme conformations and exaggerated physical features which can cause them to suffer throughout their lives – such as flat-faced (brachycephalic) rabbits with shortened noses and skull shapes, lop-eared rabbits with heavy, drooping ears that can increase the risk of ear problems, and giant breeds that may be more prone to joint and mobility issues. While other breeds can be prone to inherited disorders and diseases.
Related content
What a rabbit needs to stay happy and healthy
To stay happy and healthy, rabbits need:
- The right food – this should mainly be hay and/or grass to help prevent dental and gut disease. Check that your rabbits eat everyday and pass plenty of dry droppings. If their eating or drinking habits change, or the quantity of droppings reduces or stops, ask your vet immediately – they could be seriously ill.
- Neutering – unneutered female rabbits are at a high risk of developing tumours (in females older than three years of age, incidence may approach 80 percent) and they’re usually fatal. Unneutered rabbits are also more likely to fight and show other territorial aggression such as urine spraying. You should therefore neuter your rabbits unless you intend to breed them, and have plans in place for caring for both parents and offspring.
- Companionship/ socialisation - rabbits are sociable animals and enjoy the company of other rabbits. Ideally keep your rabbit with atleast another friendly rabbit, unless advised otherwise.
- Daily checks for signs of illness or injury, including if you go away. Talk to your vet if you suspect any problems.
- Their bottoms and tail areas checked every day to make sure they are clean.
- Their front teeth and nails to be checked at least weekly – these grow quickly. Only vets should correct overgrown or misaligned teeth.
- Veterinary check-ups, at least annually – including treatment for external and internal parasites such as fleas and worms.
- Vaccinating against myxomatosis and Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD), as advised by your vet.
- Keeping away from wild rabbits and areas where wild rabbits live – they can carry diseases.
- Well-maintained coats – groom them regularly to remove any dirty or matted fur.
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To be identifiable and ideally microchipped, so they can get quickly treated if they're injured or returned if they get lost.
Monitoring your rabbit's health and wellbeing
Rabbits are vulnerable to infectious diseases and illnesses, especially dental disease. They feel pain, but don't show any outward signs of it, which means they may suffer before you notice it. Keep a close eye on their health everyday, and especially look out for:
- Changes in their behaviour, which can indicate illness or pain. Stressed rabbits are more likely to become ill.
- In warm weather, check the fur and skin around their bottom and tail area twice a day. Urine staining and stuck droppings attract flies, which causes flystrike (which is often fatal).
Read more in our pages on rabbit health checks and handling, and ask your vet immediately if you suspect they're in pain, ill or injured. Only treat your rabbit with medicines recommended for them by a vet, as other animals' medicines are dangerous to rabbits.
Finally, consider taking out pet insurance to cover the costs of vet treatment for your rabbit. Many vets provide health care packages, including Medivet, CVS UK Ltd veterinary group practices and Companion Care/Vets4Pets. These can help to manage costs and ensure pets receive regular vet check-ups and preventative treatments. Talk to your vet and see if they offer a health care scheme.
Looking after your rabbit in winter
Wild and most domestic breeds of rabbits have warm fur coats and thick fur pads on the bottoms of their feet – natural adaptations to help them survive cold conditions. Wild rabbits live in underground burrows, where the temperature is kept relatively constant. However, domestic rabbits kept outside don’t have the protection of a burrow, so can be exposed to low temperatures, rain, wind, snow and draughts.
In the winter there might also be less grass and leafy greens to eat, less human contact and less access to an exercise area, and there could be changes to their routine. Here are our tips to help your rabbits stay healthy and happy this winter.
Low temperatures
Rabbits can cope with the cold fairly well, but not if they are housed in damp or draughty conditions. Being cold and wet can lead to your rabbit becoming ill, and could be fatal. Older rabbits can suffer from painful arthritis, so need to be kept warm and dry. Rabbits that are thin, young or don’t have a thick winter coat may also need special attention to ensure they keep warm and dry.
A temperature of between 10–20°C is recommended for domestic rabbits. They can cope with lower temperatures, but tend to suffer from too much heat. If the temperature starts to reach freezing, consider moving your rabbits’ home indoors or into an outhouse, shed or unused garage that’s protected from adverse weather conditions
You must ensure they still have plenty of space to exercise freely and are not confined simply to a hutch. Provide them with ways of keeping warm, such as lots of extra bedding.
Keeping your rabbits’ home cosy
If your rabbits live outside, it’s very important that their home is protected from extremes of weather and temperature, and is waterproof, draught-proof, damp-proof, dry and well ventilated. It should also be escape-proof and predator-proof. Make any necessary repairs well before winter arrives.
Check inside for damp or water-marks that may indicate that water is getting in. If your rabbits are housed in a hutch, a sloped roof is preferable as it allows water to drain away.
Your rabbits’ home should also be raised off the ground by at least 10cm (4 inches), to prevent the base becoming damp and rotten. Treat the outside of hutches and sheds regularly with pet-safe wood preservative to ensure they’re water-proof.
It should also be placed in a sheltered position, facing away from the prevailing wind and rain. Covers designed to insulate and weather-proof hutches are available commercially or you can make one from an old blanket or piece of carpet.
Cover most of the hutch at night – leave a small area exposed to ensure ventilation – and leave the front open during the day. Mesh doors can be partially covered with clear Perspex or plastic, to help protect your rabbits from rain and wind, whilst allowing them to see out.
Moving your rabbits’ home into a shed, outhouse or unused garage is a good way to help them keep warm. Never house or exercise rabbits in a garage that is in use, as vehicle exhaust fumes are harmful to rabbits. Check for hazards, that the floor is clean and free from paint or chemical spills. If housing your rabbits in a shed, insulation can be added to the walls of the shed to help to retain heat better (ensure the insulation is not accessible to your rabbits or that it is safe for them to chew if they can reach it).
Do not house your rabbits in greenhouses, as extreme changes in temperature can occur. Take caution if rabbits are housed in conservatories – heating may be required in the winter, and the area must be sufficiently cool and well ventilated in the summer.
Providing warmth
Provide your rabbits with lots of additional bedding during the winter months – they need plenty to snuggle into. Suitable bedding materials include dust-free hay and straw, on top of layers of newspaper which absorb moisture and provide insulation.
Ensure hay and straw are stored somewhere dry; if it becomes damp or mouldy throw it away, as eating it could cause your rabbits to become ill. Ensure you always have a stock of hay for your rabbits to eat and sleep in, but don’t store it too long as it may lose some of its nutritional value.
Microwavable heat pads designed for rabbits are available commercially, and should be considered if your rabbits are kept outside. Don’t provide blankets as rabbits have a tendency to chew them, which could result in an intestinal blockage.
If your rabbits are kept in a shed, outhouse or unused garage, consider providing a heater. However, make sure your rabbits can’t get too close to it or any electrical wires.
Rabbits can suffer from heat stress and become very ill if exposed to high temperatures. Monitor the temperature of the environment to prevent your rabbits from overheating.
Keeping clean
It’s important to keep your rabbits’ home clean, as they’re likely to spend longer in their hutch or cage during the winter months.
Clean the toilet area daily and the whole home regularly, at least once a week. Leaving a small amount of used, unsoiled bedding in your rabbits’ home will help maintain a familiar scent and reduce stress. Be aware that wet bedding will freeze on cold nights, which could lead to your rabbits becoming ill.
Sleeping area
Ensure your rabbits have a cosy, sheltered area to hide in and sleep. Provide extra bedding, however you should make sure that there is enough space for the rabbits to sleep together or separately if they chose to. Don't assume that they always sleep together and make sure there is somewhere warm for each of them.
You can make an additional sleeping area within a hutch by providing a cardboard box with entrance holes cut into it and filling it with hay. Ensure the box is large enough for all your rabbits to lie in together if they choose to and make sure they still have space to exercise within their home.
Exercise and companionship
Make sure your rabbit has opportunities to exercise every day, to stay fit and healthy. Rabbits are most active in the morning and late afternoon, so this is when they’re most likely to benefit from access to exercise areas and be most sociable. Give them safe toys to play with and chew.
If your rabbits have an exercise area separate from their hutch or sleeping area, it must include a dry, sheltered space for the rabbits to hide in. In the winter, this must have bedding to keep them warm. The number of hiding spaces should exceed the number of rabbits by one. For additional protection from wind and rain you can cover a part of the run with plastic sheeting or tarpaulin.
An indoor pen or free access to a ‘bunny-proofed’ room in your home may help your indoor rabbits get enough exercise, stimulation and companionship each day. However, be very cautious about bringing outdoor rabbits inside for short periods as they may have difficulty in adjusting to the temperature change from outside to inside.
An indoor pen or free access to a ‘bunny-proofed’ room in your home may help your indoor rabbits get enough exercise, stimulation and companionship each day. However, be very cautious about bringing outdoor rabbits inside for short periods as they may have difficulty in adjusting to the temperature change from outside to inside.
If you keep your rabbits indoors, try to provide access to an outside exercise area on fine days. Indoor rabbits will not have developed a thick winter coat, so don’t put them outside if it’s very cold and monitor how long they are outside for.
Rabbits should have regular opportunities to play with other friendly rabbits. If your rabbit enjoys interacting with people, this should continue regularly during the winter. If your rabbit has to be kept on their own for some reason, you must interact with them every day to provide companionship.
Bringing your rabbits indoors
If your rabbits are old, thin or young and haven’t built up a thick winter coat, consider moving their home indoors. Bringing your rabbits into your home can be a great way to ensure they get lots of attention and human companionship, and that any health problems are quickly spotted. Spend time with your rabbits every day.
It’s important to minimise the stress of the transition for your rabbits. The indoor environment will be very different to your rabbits’ outside home and there will be lots of changes for them to get used to, such as new sights, sounds and potentially changes to their routine.
Introduce your rabbits to their new indoor home gradually, by bringing them indoors for increasingly longer periods each day during the summer and autumn so that they can settle in and explore their new surroundings. Place your rabbits’ home in a quiet, calm part of the house where they won’t be disturbed.
Putting familiar-smelling items in the new environment (such as toys, used but unsoiled bedding and water bottles) can help make your rabbits feel at ease. Ensure that your rabbits’ home is placed away from draughts and radiators – rabbits can suffer from heat stress and become very ill if exposed to high temperatures.
Help your rabbits to adjust to the change from natural daylight hours to artificial light by gradually increasing the length of time the lights are on in the evenings. Ensure they have a darkened sleeping area that they can go to whenever they wish.
Cover any electrical wires with protective tubing as rabbits may chew wires, and block off areas that are hazardous or that you do not wish your rabbits to have access to.
Rabbits are intelligent and can be litter-trained. Provide a litter tray filled with hay and a non-clumping, non-expanding type of litter such as straw or shredded newspaper. Placing some of your rabbits’ soiled bedding in the tray will encourage them it.
As with outside rabbits, provide toys such as cardboard boxes with entrance holes cut out, cardboard toilet tubes filled with hay and vegetables, and boxes filled with hay or shredded paper, to encourage your rabbits to exercise and explore.
When returning rabbits to their outside home after winter, wait until the daily temperatures are higher and gradually increase the amount of time your rabbits spend outside. Keep your rabbits in their indoor home at night if temperatures are low. Consider making the transition more gradual by first placing their home in a shed, outhouse or unused garage before finally placing their home back outside.
The importance of routine
Although it may be tempting to visit your rabbits less in winter if they are kept outside, it’s very important to ensure that you continue to meet all their welfare needs and keep their routine as normal as possible.
This means keeping their daily feeding and exercise times consistent and ensuring that you spend time interacting with your rabbits every day. Continue to carry out health checks daily and groom them regularly.
Providing water
Your rabbits must have access to clean, fresh drinking water at all times – without it they can become seriously ill. Rabbits may drink more in the winter if their access to a grassy run or leafy green foodstuffs is limited, as this is where they get a lot of moisture.
Check your rabbits’ water supply at least twice a day in winter, to make sure the water hasn’t frozen. If water is provided in a drinking bottle, always check that the ball at the end of the spout is turning and squeeze the bottle to make sure water is flowing through the spout.
Keep a spare bottle indoors, so that if the water in the bottle in use is frozen you can easily and quickly exchange that bottle for the spare. Bottle covers are available commercially that help prevent water from freezing in the winter and help stop algae from growing in the summer. However, some covers don’t have a visible strip, so you should still always check the water level is high and hasn’t frozen. You may also wish to provide a bowl of water in addition to a bottle, to ensure there is a large supply of water available.
Providing a healthy diet in winter
Feeding your rabbits a healthy diet will help them prepare for winter and promote good coat growth to help them keep warm. Good quality, sweet-smelling hay should make up the majority of your rabbits’ diet and should be available at all times. In winter your rabbits are likely to have less opportunity to forage in the garden for grass and leafy greens, so it is important to provide safe, fresh leafy greens every day.
Grass seeds can be grown in trays and given to rabbits, so that grass can still be included in their diet. Never feed greens or vegetables that are frosty or frozen, these could harm your rabbits. Don’t be tempted to over-feed your rabbits and only offer fruit and root vegetables, like carrots, in small amounts as a treat.
House rabbits kept in warm ambient temperatures may require less energy than outdoor rabbits, depending on their level of activity. Your vet will be able to give dietary advice specific to your individual rabbits.
Staying healthy
A change in the way a rabbit normally behaves can be an early sign: if they’re not eating or are more quiet than usual they are highly likely to be ill or in pain. If your rabbit’s eating or drinking habits change or the number of droppings gets less or stops, talk to your vet straight away.
A change in the way a rabbit normally behaves can be an early sign: if they’re not eating or are more quiet than usual they are highly likely to be ill or in pain. If your rabbit’s eating or drinking habits change or the number of droppings gets less or stops, talk to your vet straight away.
Rabbits don’t hibernate, so if your rabbit appears sleepy, lethargic or limp, seek veterinary attention immediately.
