Monday 10 June 2013

Rabbit's are underestimated

Hi everyone :)

I hope you're all great! A bit of a different post today...

The other day it occurred to me that not many people actually have rabbits as pets. Well, I know a lot of people do but if you compare it to the number of people who have cats and dogs it's a lot less. I think rabbits are underestimated and people assume they're boring when thinking of getting a pet so go with a cat or dog instead because they're more familiar.

So today ladies I'm going to do a post on rabbits an why I think they make brilliant pets ;)

Now as you know I have a 5 year old dwarf lop called Parsnip. Here's a picture to show you how gorgeous he is!!



I suppose I didn't really know much about rabbits when we got ours and I wasn't so clued up on them but I'm proud to say he has impressed me and shown me how clever he is (I swear he is!)

Here's some little bunny facts for you because I didn't know all of these and wish I had because I might have been surprised:

  • Rabbit's can be litter trained
  • A rabbit can live as long as 10 years, occasionally longer
  • They can make verbal noises like purring like a cat
  • Rabbit's need hay to help them digest their food and stop hair balls
  • Predators can literally scare a rabbit to death
  • Rabbit's are really clean and can groom themselves
  • The only place a rabbit can sweat is through the pads on it's feet
  • Rabbits have great sight, hearing and smell - i was so surprised that if there's a fox in the area, Parsnip will thump because he's scared and i now have a mothers instinct and even in the middle of the night i will hear him and get up (his hutch is in the garden and my room is at the back of the house) even if i can't see a fox Parsnip can sense it.



When I got Parsnip I just kind of thought "oh how cute is he but doesn't he just sit there and sleep all day?!" I was wrong! Here's just a few of the things that Parsnip does that I never thought he would:


  • He knows when it's feeding time. In the morning he sits right at the front of his hutch looking out ready. Then when you unlock the door he stares right at you and then as soon as that doors open he runs around like a loon because he's so excited (I don't blame him I rather feel the same way about food) then when you actually try to put his bowl in his hutch he practically jumps into his food bowl and scoffs the lot!


  • He acts like a dog. He doesn't actually know the command 'fetch' but when I go outside (or when the neighbours cat is there) he picks up his toy carrot and races around his run with it in his mouth. It's hilarious to watch and he loves the attention.


  • He gets super super excited when you play with him. He does the whole toy carrot in his mouth act and whilst he's running he will thump to make sure he has my attention. He will stand up on his back legs looking up at me (as you can see from the picture above) and he just loves having someone talk to him.


  • When he's running around like a mad bunny if you run around too then he will follow you. Then when you stop he will too and if you change direction so will he. I don't know how he has so much energy coz I get knackered!


  • He recognises when we get up each morning because when I go in the shower he gets up and runs around in his hutch (yet again with his carrott)


I would absolutely urge anyone who wants a pet to get a Rabbit or at least look into it. I love Parsnip to bits and can't imagine it without him. It's great because he loves his own company so is fine in the day to do his own thing and then loves company when i get home. I'd love him to be a house rabbit but i think he quite enjoys being outside and Rabbit's don't cope too well in the heat like with central heating.


You know when mothers go on about being proud of their child and insisting that their offspring is the best...i feel like that about Parsnip. I feel like a really proud mother :)



I hope you enjoyed my ramblings today, i just felt the need to share the love!


xx

3 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh he is adorable. <3

    Especially with his little carrot! xx

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  2. Awwww he is so cute! Me and my sister have two rabbits as well - they are so spoilt and really are very clever! We have both gone rabbit mad since we got them last summer :-)

    bec X
    honeythumb.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  3. aww love this post, your rabbit looks so sweet :) i've never owned one but i know they'd make brilliant pets. my rats are the same when it comes to breakfast time, running around like maniacs! x

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