Rabbits and Hares Flashcards
rabbits/hares order and family
order: Lagomorpha
family: Leporidae
rabbits/hares characteristics
large front teeth but small teeth behind uppers, molars
rabbits vs hares
rabbits:
altricial offspring
generally more compact body shape
hares:
precocial birth
generally longer, thinner body shape
jack rabbit
hare
belgian hare
rabbit (selected for hare characteristics)
male/female terminology
male: buck
female: doe
young terminology
kit
hearing
very good, big ears
smell
very good
approx 100 million receptors
sight
wide range of vision, monocular
poor ability to focus/depth perception, color recognition
good ability to detect motion, predators
rabbit size
females slightly larger than males
agouti
wild type color pattern
banded hair colors
normal hair type
guard hairs (thicker) longer than underhairs (softer)
rex hair type
guard hairs same length as underhairs
velvety appearance and feel
satin hair type
flattened strands of hair
give extra sheen
angora hair type
very long hair
can be used for cloth
shelter
can be kept outdoors (multiple rabbits)
acclimatize them to cold weather, keep out of wind
wire floor, solid area for resting
wire inside wood frame so they can’t chew through it
diet
herbivorous
grass hay, fresh vegetables
salt block
coprophagy
eat cecal pellets (not necessarily feces)
cecum digests fiber, nutrients produced can’t be absorbed by small intestine
cecal pellets=source of B vitamins
reabsorb nutrients from cecal pellets
rabbit reproduction
induced ovulators
partruition=kindling
female will pull hair from front before kindling to make a nest
viral disease
myxomatosis
rabbits introduced to Australia in 1800s, no predators
brought infected rabbits with myxomatosis from Europe to Australia to control population
transmitted by mosquitos, fleas, direct contact
causes fever, swollen head “big head disease”
no treatment, kill and burn animal and rabbit contacts
bacterial diseases
snuffles
mastitis
snuffles
most common disease
first symptom is wet front feet (runny nose)
problem if bad ventilation, outdoor rabbits have better ventilation
hard to cure with antibiotics
mastitis
inflammation of mammary glands
treatable with antibiotics
protozoal disease
coccidiosis
fungal disease
ringworm
contagious to humans
circular patches of lost hair, sores
parasites
ear mites
mange mites
worms
malocclusion
buck teeth, teeth don’t align or grow too long
can trim/grind down teeth
sore hocks
from always being on wire, poor cleanliness
antibiotic use
can cause problems with bacteria in GI tract, kills microbes in cecum
