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The Rabbit-Raising Problem Solver: Your Questions Answered about Housing, Feeding, Behavior, Health Care, Breeding, and Kindling
While rabbits are well-known for being cute and fuzzy creatures, they can also be very difficult to care for. Whether you’re an experienced rabbit farmer or building your first hutch for a pet bunny, The Rabbit-Raising Problem Solver has answers to all of your most pressing questions. In a handy question-and-answer format Karen Patry expertly addresses every aspect of rabbit care, including housing, feeding, breeding, kindling, health, and behavior. This informative, easy-to-use guide has reliable, humane solutions that will keep your animals healthy and happy.
- GenresRabbitsNonfiction
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 16, 2014
25 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 1, 2019
Okey lets start, because I want to explain why I'm only giving this book one star although it's not so bad.
This book was written by a lady who breeds rabbits and I'm sure she has a lot of experience, but she claims this book is about both the individual pet rabbit and the larger scale rabbit breeding, and this is just not true. The problem is that with breeding it doesn't matter if one rabbit dies or gets sick because you have 59 other rabbits, also your rabbits don't live as long as a pet rabbit would because if they are less productive, less beautiful than the others or if you just have to many of them, they will get slaughtered and often eaten. So, rabbit breeders usually don't look at long term health unlike with pet rabbits who you want to live healthy as long as possible.
(I'm not saying breeders are bad people who don't love animals, on the contrary: breeders love rabbits, or sometimes a specific breed, people with a pet rabbit love the individual).
So, I would have given this book 4 stars if there wasn't advise in it that was, certainly for pet rabbits, false and could potentially cause the death of your rabbit. (I'm not going the start the discussion about whether you need two rabbits or not, outside or inside and in a cage or not and how large said cage should be).
A first thing that bothered me was that the writer claims a rabbit should not be neutered. If you breed with them, I understand why you wouldn't but for a pet rabbit the answer is YES. A male rabbit becomes calmer and won't be spraying urine around. When you don't neuter a female, she has 60% chance of developing adenocarcinomas (a malignant uterus tumor) and ovaria cyst and that as early as the age of 3 years. So, neuter your pet rabbit!
Second, she gives all kind of reasons why your rabbit doesn't want to be picked up and kind of stimulates you to just keep on picking it up. The reason a rabbit doesn't wants to be picked up is simple: they are prey animals (imagine what a bird of prey does). Don't pick up a rabbit, when you have them as a pet you are going to learn to love your floor.
Now something that really pissed me off. Rabbits DO NEED HEY. The writer tells you that your rabbit will only need a handful of hay as a supplement and that you shouldn't give it when the pellets are enough for the body condition. THIS IS FALSE. Pellets are the supplement and your rabbit should have UNLIMITED hey all day, every day!!! Giving your rabbit a lot of pellets and none to little hey is the number one reason they develop teeth problems. If there is one rule with rabbits it's hey, hey, hey!
And then something that made mine heart stand still. The owner claims that if a rabbit doesn't eat, it's just not hungry. Give it only hey and water for a few days and this will stimulate the appetite. FALSE FALSE FALSE. A rabbit that doesn't eat is an EMERGENCY! Immediately call your vet and pray your bunny will survive. And then she says that it's certainly not a problem with obese rabbits when they don't eat because it's that they just had enough. WRONG! With an obese rabbits it's even more important that they keep om eating because when they don’t, they have a huge risk of developing hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver)!
Then back to smaller things: don't add salt to their food, they don't need a salt lick, be careful when palpating the abdomen of a pregnant doe because you can break some of the embryo's.
She says: "You'll almost never see a buck with a haystache.". Trust me you will.
And then something she couldn't know when it was written: there is a new form or RHD, called RHD2 (yeah, I know, original) that will kill kids younger than 8 weeks. So, when you live in a country that allows you to vaccinate your rabbit, I advise vaccinating them regularly against RHD 1 and 2 and myxomatosis.
So again, I would have given this book a 4-star rating but the advice she gives about hey and the anorexic rabbit makes that morally impossible for me. And back again, this lady is probably a good breeder, and when you are a breeder too this book can be really handy. If you have a pet rabbit that you want to live a long and healthy, happy life, just don't read it.
This book was written by a lady who breeds rabbits and I'm sure she has a lot of experience, but she claims this book is about both the individual pet rabbit and the larger scale rabbit breeding, and this is just not true. The problem is that with breeding it doesn't matter if one rabbit dies or gets sick because you have 59 other rabbits, also your rabbits don't live as long as a pet rabbit would because if they are less productive, less beautiful than the others or if you just have to many of them, they will get slaughtered and often eaten. So, rabbit breeders usually don't look at long term health unlike with pet rabbits who you want to live healthy as long as possible.
(I'm not saying breeders are bad people who don't love animals, on the contrary: breeders love rabbits, or sometimes a specific breed, people with a pet rabbit love the individual).
So, I would have given this book 4 stars if there wasn't advise in it that was, certainly for pet rabbits, false and could potentially cause the death of your rabbit. (I'm not going the start the discussion about whether you need two rabbits or not, outside or inside and in a cage or not and how large said cage should be).
A first thing that bothered me was that the writer claims a rabbit should not be neutered. If you breed with them, I understand why you wouldn't but for a pet rabbit the answer is YES. A male rabbit becomes calmer and won't be spraying urine around. When you don't neuter a female, she has 60% chance of developing adenocarcinomas (a malignant uterus tumor) and ovaria cyst and that as early as the age of 3 years. So, neuter your pet rabbit!
Second, she gives all kind of reasons why your rabbit doesn't want to be picked up and kind of stimulates you to just keep on picking it up. The reason a rabbit doesn't wants to be picked up is simple: they are prey animals (imagine what a bird of prey does). Don't pick up a rabbit, when you have them as a pet you are going to learn to love your floor.
Now something that really pissed me off. Rabbits DO NEED HEY. The writer tells you that your rabbit will only need a handful of hay as a supplement and that you shouldn't give it when the pellets are enough for the body condition. THIS IS FALSE. Pellets are the supplement and your rabbit should have UNLIMITED hey all day, every day!!! Giving your rabbit a lot of pellets and none to little hey is the number one reason they develop teeth problems. If there is one rule with rabbits it's hey, hey, hey!
And then something that made mine heart stand still. The owner claims that if a rabbit doesn't eat, it's just not hungry. Give it only hey and water for a few days and this will stimulate the appetite. FALSE FALSE FALSE. A rabbit that doesn't eat is an EMERGENCY! Immediately call your vet and pray your bunny will survive. And then she says that it's certainly not a problem with obese rabbits when they don't eat because it's that they just had enough. WRONG! With an obese rabbits it's even more important that they keep om eating because when they don’t, they have a huge risk of developing hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver)!
Then back to smaller things: don't add salt to their food, they don't need a salt lick, be careful when palpating the abdomen of a pregnant doe because you can break some of the embryo's.
She says: "You'll almost never see a buck with a haystache.". Trust me you will.
And then something she couldn't know when it was written: there is a new form or RHD, called RHD2 (yeah, I know, original) that will kill kids younger than 8 weeks. So, when you live in a country that allows you to vaccinate your rabbit, I advise vaccinating them regularly against RHD 1 and 2 and myxomatosis.
So again, I would have given this book a 4-star rating but the advice she gives about hey and the anorexic rabbit makes that morally impossible for me. And back again, this lady is probably a good breeder, and when you are a breeder too this book can be really handy. If you have a pet rabbit that you want to live a long and healthy, happy life, just don't read it.
July 18, 2021
This was a fantastic guide. It went into depth and was easy to navigate. It was really useful in learning nutrition, especially for a doe who we had give birth unexpectedly! Really glad I picked this up.
April 27, 2024
In my opinion, the premier text on how to troubleshoot raising rabbits.
This book is rather dry and can be technical at times, but there are a plethora of pictures, diagrams and instructions that can help anyone to strengthen their animal husbandry skills instantly.
Highly recommend.
This book is rather dry and can be technical at times, but there are a plethora of pictures, diagrams and instructions that can help anyone to strengthen their animal husbandry skills instantly.
Highly recommend.
June 14, 2020
Interesting, friendly, quite informative
July 15, 2020
Really excellent, providing unfinished books on raising rabbits omit.
September 4, 2020
Helped us feel more confident taking care of our first herd of rabbits.
October 21, 2022
This is my favorite rabbit raising book! So informative and has answered so many questions I had. Highly recommend!
January 26, 2023
Best Rabbit book I've read so far, wish it was the first book I picked up.
January 25, 2024
This is a great read to learn about raising rabbits.
September 15, 2014
I was delighted to see a book about rabbits on Netgalley as I have two house rabbits, named Putty and Nugget, and I am always on the search for new information about rabbits that I did not know. I thought that this looked like a pretty comprehensive book – going by the title – and I was right.
As both my rabbits have been neutered and spayed, I didn’t need to know much about rabbit pregnancy, but I nevertheless learned a lot! There were a few other things that I could have completely skipped (especially regarding ‘meat’ rabbits). However, the information about the illnesses and health of rabbits was very informative and I now know a lot more about what could happen and what it would like if it does.
I wouldn’t say the book is very geared for house rabbits, instead it is more for those raising rabbits for breeding or meat/fur. Either way, it does have some good solid facts about keeping a rabbit healthy and happy.
Overall a book with some really good information, for any type of rabbit owner out there!
Questions/Discussions:
A few notes from me if you are considering a rabbit as a pet:
*Rabbits can be costly
*Rabbits need to be neutered and spayed (they can get cancer easily and it solves a lot of behavioral problems)
*Rabbits are not pets for children as they seldom like to be picked up
*Rabbits are extremely intelligent and deserve a lot of love and care!
This got a 7/10 from me.
As both my rabbits have been neutered and spayed, I didn’t need to know much about rabbit pregnancy, but I nevertheless learned a lot! There were a few other things that I could have completely skipped (especially regarding ‘meat’ rabbits). However, the information about the illnesses and health of rabbits was very informative and I now know a lot more about what could happen and what it would like if it does.
I wouldn’t say the book is very geared for house rabbits, instead it is more for those raising rabbits for breeding or meat/fur. Either way, it does have some good solid facts about keeping a rabbit healthy and happy.
Overall a book with some really good information, for any type of rabbit owner out there!
Questions/Discussions:
A few notes from me if you are considering a rabbit as a pet:
*Rabbits can be costly
*Rabbits need to be neutered and spayed (they can get cancer easily and it solves a lot of behavioral problems)
*Rabbits are not pets for children as they seldom like to be picked up
*Rabbits are extremely intelligent and deserve a lot of love and care!
This got a 7/10 from me.
January 29, 2014
Having a pet bunny, I plowed into this book. It is a helpful, basic guide for not only pet bunny owners, but those looking to raise rabbits for meat. Our bunny is a solid member of our family so I got a little queasy when discussions of meat rabbits came up or when describing how to use a broomstick to kill your bunny. If you are thinking about getting a rabbit, this would be a useful guide to get you started.
January 14, 2016
This book is a million times better than Storey's guide to raising rabbits. It's mainly in Q&A format, with some descriptive paragraphs along the way. Also, there is a whole chapter on disease, parasites, etc, and prevention and treatment. Fantastic rabbit companion book!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews