British & Continental Giant Rabbits

Caring for your Giant Rabbit

Housing: The easiest and most common way of housing your Giant rabbits is in a hutch. Because British & Continental Giant Rabbits are a large breeds, consideration needs to be given to size when making or buying a hutch. It must be big enough to allow your rabbit plenty of room to move around. There should two definable areas in the hutch a sleeping compartment at one end and a living end with wire mesh to provide plenty of ventilation. If your hutch is out doors the roof should have an overhang and a tarpaulin or other waterproof sheet should be used to cover the front of the cage in bad weather, (driving rain for example). Alternatively a shed, garage or outbuilding can be divided up into pens if you intend to keep several rabbits, make sure the sides of the pen are high enough to stop your rabbit jumping out. We have had an adult giant   jump over a three foot high fence. We keep our Giant Rabbits in our garage, where I have built plenty of hutches against the walls, in rows, three high. If you use a shed or garage make sure there is plenty of ventilation and it is protected from other animals getting in, netting over open windows and a secondary door made of netting will prevent unwanted intruders. Feed should be kept in storage bins to deter rodents. Also a sturdy rabbit run to allow your rabbit to stretch his legs is a necessity as giant rabbits need to exercise. This should be secured down, we use tent pegs, and you should keep an eye on the rabbit in case he decides to burrow out. We have fenced an area of the garden off especially for the rabbits to use as a run. If you let your rabbit have the run o the garden, remember that some plants are poisonous plants.

Bedding: We use wood shaving's with a mixture of hay and barley straw for our British Giant Rabbits, there are alternatives such as shredded paper and sawdust. It’s a case of using what is most easily available and convenient for you. Buying bedding from pet shops can be expensive;   it is well worth trying agricultural suppliers or farms. Wood mills can often be useful for obtaining saw dust and shaving's but make sure that it is not wet.   Rabbits should be cleaned out regularly. The hutch can be cleaned with disinfectant.

House Rabbits: If you decide to keep your rabbit as a house rabbit you will need to have it neutered to prevent it from spraying. For this reason it is better to have a buck as they are cheaper and easier to have neutered and tend to be more amenable once castrated, although does can be kept as house rabbits successfully. Rabbits like to gnaw and cables seem to be a favourite and need to be kept out of your rabbits reach. You can give your rabbit toys, an empty toilet roll tube for example, to chew on or restrict access to rooms with cables, our rabbits enjoy playing with wicker balls, and baby rattles. To litter train your rabbit observe where it goes to the loo (it will use the same place each time) and put the litter tray there and it will soon learn to use it. It is best to use wood based cat litter as some rabbits will try and eat clay based ones. Don't forget that some house plants can be poisonous to rabbits.