The House Rabbit Website

I’m often asked the question “Can rabbits wear collars?”. The answer to this is no; pet rabbits should not wear collars because a rabbit collar can cause injuries to the neck and spine.

Rabbit collars are sometimes used to provide information to allow for the safe return of the rabbit if it gets lost, for example, a tag on the rabbit collar with a telephone number. Instead of risking an injury to the rabbit’s neck or spine by using a rabbit collar, why not have your rabbit microchipped? This will allow your rabbit to be identified if it gets lost without having to wear a collar.

Rabbit Collars Can Cause Injuries

Rabbits have relatively weak skeletons, and the rabbit’s neck or spine can be injured easily by getting a rabbit collar caught on something or by trying to get the rabbit collar off. There is also a risk of suffocation if the rabbit’s collar becomes caught on something and prevents the rabbit from breathing.

Using a rabbit collar with a lead increases the risk of injury to the rabbit’s neck and spine. Pulling on the lead, or the rabbit trying to run and reaching the end of the lead could cause serious injuries to the rabbit’s neck or spine, and may even cause a broken neck.

Rabbit Harnesses

Instead of a rabbit collar, rabbits can wear a rabbit harness. Rabbit harnesses attach around the body as well as the neck, and are designed so that the neck is not subjected to any force that may cause injury.

There are some rabbit harnesses that have straps that buckle around the body and neck, and others that are made of a piece of material or mesh that goes around the rabbit’s body and fastens underneath.

Rabbit Harness and Lead

The photograph above shows Barney wearing a rabbit harness with straps that buckle around the body and neck. We have since changed to a harness with mesh that fits around the body and fastens with velcro and clips underneath as it is much easier to put on, but still very secure. We use the Superpet Pets International Comfort Harness (This is a link to Amazon.co.uk).

Rabbit Harness and Lead

Usually a lead can be attached to a rabbit harness, although care should still be taken not to pull the lead too hard. A rabbit harness can be used to keep a rabbit from running away, but it is not very easy to take a rabbit for a walk like a dog! It is easier to choose a small area and let the rabbit lead you around while it is playing, instead of trying to take the rabbit for a walk!

Bernadette is a 2½ year old Continental Giant rabbit. She lives with Katherine, who is a teacher, and who recently took Bernadette to visit her class at school to teach them about caring for house rabbits.

The class have been researching what rabbits like to eat, and what they need to keep them happy and healthy. They also used our house rabbit website to help them to write reports about rabbits!

Here is a picture of Bernadette visiting the class.

Bernadette Rabbit In School

Bernadette was very well behaved in school, and the girl who is stroking her in the picture liked her so much she even wrote a whole report about looking after rabbits for extra homework!

Thank you to Katherine and her class for the picture, we are happy to know they are learning about caring for rabbits.

If you have a cute picture of your rabbit you would like to share as our Friday Bunny Photo, please email it to admin@barneyandjemima.co.uk

The RSPCA is starting its latest campaign to promote the care of pet rabbits with its biggest ever rabbit survey, called (surprisingly enough) The Great Big Rabbit Survey!  

The Great Big Rabbit Survey

The survey is open until the end of 2010, and asks about your rabbits and what you think is important in caring for pet rabbits, to show your support for the charity’s campaign to improve pet rabbit welfare. We support anything that can help to improve the lives of pet rabbits. 

The campaign has been triggered by concerns for pet rabbit welfare, with over 33,000 rabbits ending up in RSPCA rescue centres since the beginning of 2007.

So what are you waiting for? Get involved and take part in The Great Big Rabbit Survey!

Having your rabbit microchipped is a great way of ensuring that a lost rabbit can be identified and returned. Without a microchip, it is very difficult to identify the owner of a lost rabbit. Many different types of pets can have microchips, and it is very simple to have done.

What is a Pet Microchip?

A pet microchip is a small transponder, in a capsule slightly longer than a grain of rice. It is injected between the rabbit’s shoulder blades, just underneath the skin. The microchip does not need any power source, and should last the lifetime of the rabbit. The microchip is passive, meaning that it just sits there doing nothing until it is scanned to get the details stored in it.

Rabbit Microchip

Microchipping a rabbit can be done by most vets, and is a very quick and easy procedure.

How Does a Rabbit Microchip Work?

Each pet microchip has a unique identification number, and scanning the chip with a special scanner will show this identification number. When you have your rabbit microchipped, you register the unique identifier of the microchip with one of the registries (paperwork to do this will usually be supplied with the microchip).

If your rabbit ever gets lost, animal rescue centres or vets are able to scan the chip to find the unique identifying number and then contact the registries to allow your rabbit to be reunited with you.

I’m sure that you take every precaution that you never let your pet rabbit get lost, but it is an added security and peace of mind to know that your pet rabbit can be identified and returned if it is lost.