Small Farms

As spring approaches I thought it was important to alert parents to problems with keeping rabbits with other household pets.  While most parents seriously consider adding another pet to the family, there are still people out there who buy bunnies and chicks for their children for Easter.  This is all well and good if you have made preparations for the arrival of the new pet.  (By the way, most baby chicks are really cute, but they grow up to be chickens nonetheless!).

Can rabbits, cats and dogs peacefully coexist?  Sometimes.  I say this because I know there are people out there who will tell me stories about the happy coexistence between Fido and Peter Rabbit.  Unfortunately, for every happy story there is a terrible and bitter experience as well.  This is especially true with baby bunnies.

Without going into graphic detail, I must alert people to not have baby bunnies around cats- for any reason.  In addition, dogs find rabbits exciting to chase and your domestic rabbit is no match for most dogs- even small dogs.  Pet rabbits can be injured irreparably and need to be put down after having a run in with dogs or cats.  Why put yourself though this unnecessairily- especially if children are involved?

Second- be aware that keeping your pet rabbits outdoors poses problems as well.  The garage is probably the best place to keep them “outdoors.”  Why?  Racoons, garter snakes and other wildlife just love baby bunnies- and they’ll try to pull them through a wire cage with devastating results.  Rats can even attack adult rabbits and kill them (once again, I’m sparing the details).

If you have rabbits, remember that they need special care.  Household pets, even those who previously weren’t aggressive before, can injure or kill bunnies.  An ounce of prevention is always worth a pound of cure.

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