Care and Feeding of an English Lop

If you have never owned a rabbit, there are many things to learn.  Very little if anything about owning a rabbit is over whelming, however.            First, please know that if a rabbit cannot drink, it cannot eat.  They need water to digest their food.  A good, clean source of water is essential to rabbits.  If you buy your rabbit from a place that has had crocks of water for your rabbit, it is good to continue the use of crocks or dishes until your new rabbit settles in.  Only then is it advisable to change to something more convienient to you like a water bottle or watering system of some sort.  Conversly, changing from a watering system to a crock or dish can cause some problems, although it is not as likely to be anything short of  a quick dunking of it's nose in the water and a few sneezes to get the water out of it's nostrils.            Feeding your lop is not very involved if you have a good quality pellet.  You may find foods that are very cheap to very expensive.  Mine do very well on the middle priced foods.  Be sure that the pellet you chose is too not high in protein, dust or foreign material.  It should have a protein level not more than 18%.  I prefer 17%, but the pellet I have settled on is 18%, and once you find a good quality pellet that you are able to buy and be sure that is fresh, you should not change.  At least not often.  Rabbits do not like change and changing feed may cause your new pet to start a molt which is a very stressful thing for him to do when trying to get used to a new house.  Pellets, if a good quality will make up most of it's diet.  Rabbits also enjoy a good, clean grass hay.  Again, keep the protein level down in the hay, so make it a grass hay, not alfalfa.  Alfalfa is high in protein.  Hay is used mostly for fiber which aids in digestion and helps eliminate any ingested hair from  it's digestive tract.  I feed hay every day, but most breeders agree that is not necessary.  My rabbits love it, and I have plenty of room to keep the hay, so I just go ahead and spoil them.  The excitement they exhibit when they know it will be their time to get the hay is well worth the extra time and effort to feed it daily.  Hay cubes are not a good substitution, in my opinion.  It is my understanding that the processing that turns the hay into cubes eliminates the benefits of feeding it.  My rabbits use them as toys tossing them around their cages, not really knowing what to do with them when they get them as treats.            Treats could be a whole 'nuther page, but I will try to be brief here and give you an idea of what to and what not to feed to an English Lop.  First and foremost, feed NOTHING to ANY rabbit that has been sprayed with an insecticide!  If you buy apples or other fruit from the store, be sure to wash them completely before giving them to your rabbit.  Many parks and private home owners spray their lawns, so even grass may be dangerous to them.  Any treats you give your new bun have to be introduced slowly.  ANY change of feed should be introduced slowly.  Your rabbit doesn't need treats, so please give any of them in moderation.  Of the fruits they enjoy and will not harm them, the most common are bananas, apples, and oranges.  Again, go easy on them.  Papaya and pineapple are also good, especially if you do not feed a lot of hay since they help with the digestion of any hair that has been ingested in the grooming process.  If you feed any treats too often or too much, you may end up with a rabbit who has diarreha.  This isn't good since they can quickly become dehydrated and die.  If your rabbit does get the galloping whizzbangs, as I call it, take away all pellets and water for 24 hours and feed hay only.  Again, not alfalfa, but a good, clean grass hay. Other acceptable treats could include raspberry leaves, maple leaves, apple twigs with leaves, dandelion leaves, plaintain leaves, Canadian thistle leaves, of course carrots and parsley.  There are several things to avoid giving your rabbit.  Some of these include potatoes, anything in the cabbage or broccoli family, and lettuce.  Many breeders give some of these to their rabbits with no ill effects, but with so many other treats available, I do not feel it is worth taking the chance.             Grooming your rabbit may be difficult at first, but as you become used to what it is you are looking for, it will soon become second nature.  I like to give my rabbits a quick once over every two weeks or so.  First, check their ears to make sure there is nothing in there but clean ear and perhaps a little normal ear wax.  Excess wax can be removed gently with a Q-tip.  Be sure it doesn't fall into the ear canal, but falls out of the ear as it is being removed.  If there is a white or off white oozing, you can be fairly certain he has an ear infection and you should contact someone who knows rabbits the first time or two for treatment.  The other thing to look for in a rabbits ear is something that looks similiar to dried blood fairly far down inside of the canal.  If you find this, it can be ear mites.  There are many treatments for this that are very successful.  Just contact someone who knows about rabbits.  Many veterinarians have had little if any training in the treatment of rabbits, so you may have to do some searching to find a good rabbit vet.  I would suggest you call the person you got your rabbit from to see what he or she suggests you do.  The breeder you got your rabbit from should be fairly knowleagable about rabbits or you should really hesitate before you allow yourself to fall in love with one particular rabbit.  I know, that is easier said than done.  Well, we have the ears inspected.  Next on our list is to check the teeth.  The top teeth should grow down over the bottom teeth.  If they meet, or the bottom teeth grow over the top, you may run into problems.  It is nothing that cannot be controlled, but your rabbit should not be bred or shown if his teeth are not perfect.  Again, contact a rabbit person if the teeth are not right.  The teeth on a rabbit are constantly growing and if they are misaligned, they will grow out of control in a short time.  On to other adventures in grooming.  Look deep into your rabbits eyes.  Not just because you love him, but look for any cloudy areas.  This could be a sign of many different things.  Just as with people, a bright, shiney eye is indicative of a healthy rabbit.  Spots or cloudy areas could mean several different things.  If you find a problem, you should know what to do by now.  Contact someone who knows.  You are catching on.  Someday people will be contacting you!  Ok, now look at the abdominal area of your rabbit.  Check with your fingers to be sure there are no lumps that have appeared since you last checked him.  Again, don't throw the number of the breeder away.  His or her responsibility for the rabbit does not stop when the check you give him is cashed.  On to the toes.  It will be much more comfortable for you to trim Mr. Buns nails regularly.  Keeping the ends blunt is not only safer for you when handling him, but will also help ensure that his ears won't get ripped or torn when he steps on them.  Those things drag on the ground you know, and the rabbit sometimes wounds them in many odd ways.  Trimming toenails should be gone over when you pick up your lop from the breeder, as should what food to give him and any other practices your breeder does to ensure a healthy herd.  Learn how to clean the vent, and your little routine check is over.  Again, the breeder should go over this when you pick your bunny up.            Cage cleaning is another important item on your list of caring for your rabbit.  I have a barn with a concrete floor which is swept every day.  You may have your rabbit in the house in a cage that has a tray under it.  No matter how often you clean and what kind of  housing you have for your rabbit, understand one thing.  In the wild, rabbits are low on the food chain.  Most predators love rabbit.  I hear it tastes like chicken.  It takes a rabbit who is alert to fend for himself and two of the defenses rabbits have are an acute sense of smell and hearing.  Far better than yours or mine.  If you smell urine or amonia, it will likely be nearly intolerable for your pet.  Cleaning your pets tray needn't be a long, horrible job.  Rabbits often urinate in one corner.  Just pull the tray, get your cage cleaning tool, and scoop out the soiled area.  Replace the soiled area with what ever you have in the tray, and slide the tray back in.  Some people use newspapers, other use wood shavings to keep the odor in the tray down.  If you use a wood shavings, please try to find Aspen shavings.  I understand that pine has an adverse effect on rabbits.  Aspen is a little more difficult to find, but well worth the peace of mind.            Rabbits, I have been told are cleaner than cats.  They give themselves all over baths several times a day more than cats, getting out the dander that the cats mearly stir up.  Often times, people who are allergic to cats can tolerate rabbits quite well.  So, they do not need baths!  Well, if they get into something you might want to give them a quick dip, but for the most part of their lives, rabbits will keep themselves very clean.  NO routine bathing is required.            I believe this wraps up anything I want to say about the care and feeding of your English Lop.  Keep in mind that what works for one person may or may not work for the next.  Nothing is set in stone.  There are too many variables around the world to say anything is absolute.  Just take things slowly, make any changes slowly, try what you will and things should go fine.  Above all, enjoy your rabbit and allow him to enjoy you.  You will not regret picking this wonderful pet if you take the time to enjoy each other.