General Rabbit Statistics:
Gestation (pregnancy) 30 – 33 days. Litter Size 4 – 12. Average 7.
Weaning Age 7 – 8 weeks. From 50 days.
Average domesticated rabbit life span 8 – 12 years.
Heart Rate is around 220/per minute.
Normal Temperature 37 – 39.5 degrees Celsius, 101 – 103 degrees fahrenheit .
Average Daily Water Intake 100 millilitres./Kg bodyweight
Sexual Maturity of a rabbit 16 – 24 weeks
In the wild, the Doe (female rabbit) can produce a litter of around 3 – 7 young at one time. These litters of young rabbits (called ‘kittens’) are usually produced at 5 week intervals from January through to late summer. Kittens are born in underground burrows and are suckled by the female.
USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT RABBITS
Rabbits are not rodents. Rabbits are lagomorphs. Other lagomorphs include hares and pikas.
A well cared for house rabbit that has been spayed or neutered early in life has a life expectancy of 8 to 12 years of age.
The gestation period of a rabbit is about 30 – 33 days.
A group of rabbits is called a herd.
A group of rabbits lives in a warren.
The male rabbit is called a buck. The female is called a doe and has 6 teats.
The doe is larger. The young are called kittens and as with baby cats, their eyes open at about 10 days of age, their ears at about 12 days.
The smallest breed of rabbit is the Netherland Dwarf Rabbit which weighs just about 1 kilogram.
The largest breed of rabbit is the Flemish Giant Rabbit which weighs in at about 8 kilograms. – twice the size of the average cat.
The rabbit is by nature a night browsing herbivore, resting in its burrow by day.
Rabbits are naturally communal animals.
Male rabbits should not be kept together as they are likely to fight.
Does and Bucks should be housed separately for obvious reasons. (You could be over-run with baby rabbits).
Rabbits front teeth (incisors) grow continuously, like toenails.
Rabbits are vegetarians and have a great ability to digest fibre that the rest of us cannot.
Rabbits feet are supposed to be lucky