5/3/2025

Rabbit
 Order- Lagomorpha
(commonly called lagomorphs)
Families- 1. Ochotonidae
2.Leporidae- 8 genera
a. Lepus (e.g. Hares)
b. Oryctolagus (e.g. Rabbit)
c. Sylvilagus (e.g. Cottontail rabbit)
 The domestic rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus
is descended from wild rabbit of Europe &
Northern Africa

Rabbit
 Previously classified in the order rodentia, but differ
from rodent in that- it has two pairs of upper
incisors where rodent has one pair of upper incisors
 In rabbit scrotum is located infront of the penis
where in rodent scrotum is located behind of the
penis
 Rabbit only eat vegetation where rodent eat meat
and vegetation
 The penis has no bone (baculum) as does the
rodents
 Additional pair of teeth in rabbit are reduced in size
& located directly behind the front pair
 Rabbit teeth grow throughout its life like rodent

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Habitat
 Rabbit habitats include meadows,
woods, forests, grasslands,
deserts and wetlands.
 Rabbits live in groups, and the
best known species, the European
rabbit, lives in underground
burrows, or rabbit holes.
 A group of burrows is called a
warren Outdoor entrance
 Hutches — small, wooden, house- to a rabbit burrow
like boxes

Uses of rabbit
Domestic rabbit are bred
and kept for-
 As pet animal
 Commercial meat and European Rabbit
fur (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
 Teaching and research
 Exhibition by rabbit
fanciers and in children
petting zoos
Rabbit meat sold
commercially

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Breeds
There are over 50 domestic breed of rabbits
Most popular-
1. New Zealand White
2. American dutch
3. California
Other breeds are- American Chinchilla, Satin,
Rex, Silver martin, American Checker giant,
Polish, Flemish, Lop etc.

 Diminutive Dutch & Polish breed weigh 2-

4 lbs
 Large breed like the Flemish & Checker
giant breeds upto 14 to 16 lbs
Female –doe
Male-buck
Young rabbit- kit
or kitten

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Biological data
Body temperature 99.1-102.9°F
Heart rate 130-325 beats/min
Respiratory rate 32-60 breaths/min
Life span Average 5-8 years or may be upto 15
years
Weaning age 6-8 weeks
Age at puberty 150-210 days
Breeding age 6-9 months
Gestation period 31 days (28-35 days)
Average litter size 6-8
Productivity 15-20 young per breeding unit per year
Food consumption 30-60 gm/kg/day
Water drinking 60-150 ml/kg/day

Reproduction
 Sexual maturation begins older than 3 months
 Generally does mature earlier than bucks
 Once they reach that age they should be
usually be housed individually because they
may attacking each other
 Mature rabbit should only be paired at mating
 Neutering will usually decrease aggression

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Reproduction (continued)

 Bucks do not achieve optimal sperm

production and reserve until they are 40-70
days of age
 Testicle of a buck usually descend at about
12 weeks of age but inguinal rings remains
open for rest of the life
 Bucks usually able to bred when they are 6-
10 months old
 Does are able to bred when they are
between 4 & 9 months of age

Reproduction (continued)

 The productive life

of Buck-5-6 years
 Does- upto 3 years A litter of rabbit kits
 Does have 8-10 (baby rabbits)
mammary glands
and nipples

A nest containing baby rabbits

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Rabbit feed
 Rabbits are herbivores
 They do well on high fiber diet
 They may be offered timothy hay based
pellets, small amount of vegetables and small
amount of high fiber fruits (apple, peach
plum, melon, papaya, pineapple, strawberry)

Rabbit coprophagy
 Consumption of feces is called coprophagy
 Begins between the 2nd & 3rd weeks
 Rabbit called hindgut fermenter as large
intestine mainly cecum is involved in
digestion
 Two types of feces- one firm, dry, round
excreted during the day and other small,
soft, moist, sweat smelling which is called
‘cecotrophe’ or ‘night feces’ or ‘soft feces’
and are consumed directly from the anus

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Rabbit coprophagy (continued)

 Cecotrophes are usually produced in the early
morning
 They contain high levels of B vitamins, vitamin K
and twice the protein and half the fiber of
standard feces
 Their redigestion after being eaten by the rabbit
helps to absorb previously undigested nutrients
and reinoculate the rabbit gut with essential
nutrients and beneficial microbes
 While coprophagy seems to be unsavory to us,
it is a normal and necessary behaviour of
healthy rabbits

Rabbit eye
 Rabbit have well-developed third eyelid or
nictating membrane which cover the eye
during sleep or aneasthesia
 Rabbit have a wide field of vision that reaches
190 degrees for each eyeball
 A rabbit eye is eight times more sensitive
than human eye
 Rabbit eye possess both rod and cone cells in
the retina, indicating that they can see color,
& are sensitive to the blues and greens
present in twilight

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Rabbit ear

 Rabbit ear may be over 10 cm (4 inch)

long
 Involved in heat regulation and sound
gathering
 Help to detect predator
 Ear contain an intricate blood vessel
system that can be seen through the skin

 The skeleton comprises only 8% of a rabbit’s

body weight, whereas a cat’s skeleton is 13%
of its body weight
 Rabbit should be provided with safe wood,
such as untreated pine, to chew to help to
keep the teeth ground down

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THANKS
TO
ALL