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Rabbit life span

Updated on January 7, 2009

What is the life span of a rabbit?

We all want our favourite bunny to live as long as possible, This lense looks at the factors affecting a rabbits life span

Rabbit life span is a lense about caring for you're rabbit for the longest life possible. Although there are a few factors to consider the most important is the care of you're rabbit.

Breed of Rabbit

There are many breeds of rabbit but in general smaller breeds tend to last longer. It is true that the giant breeds such as French lops and Flemish giants struggle to live as long as the smaller breeds due to the fact that their internal organs find it more difficult to maintain their large body's.

However we are talking about rabbits over 13-14 lbs.

Large (not giant) rabbits can live as long as the smaller breeds. The longest living breeds tend to be the dwarf rabbits with dwarf / Dutch hybrids taking the top spot.

It is very difficult to estimate life span using breed alone, more important is how the animal is looked after.

Indoors or Outdoors?

Quite a significant factor in a rabbits life span is whether your bunny lives indoors or outside in a hutch.

Indoor rabbits are becoming more and more popular and make very good house pets.

This is probably the biggest factor determining you're rabbits life span.

Rabbits are very social creatures by nature and enjoy being around humans as much as possible. Keeping them indoors as house pets will extend the life of your rabbit considerably, and at the same time give you a lot more pleasure.

Keeping a rabbit in a hutch is possible but not ideal. A rabbit is a creature that naturally would spend it's days foraging in the wild and too keep it locked up in a small space can cause the rabbit to become detached and depressed.

If you must keep your bunny in a cage then at the least let it run free in the garden or a protected area for as long as possible every day.

OK maybe keeping house rabbits has some drawbacks!

General Health and diet.

Obviously keeping you rabbit healthy is of the up-most importance. Your rabbit should be taken to the vet regularly for vaccinations, they should be vaccinated every year against Mxyomatosis and VHD (Viral Haemorrhagic Disease).

At the same time the vet should give bugs the once over checking teeth, claws etc.

Diet can affect your rabbits life span enormously so you're rabbit should be fed a balanced diet with plenty of fibre and fruit and vegetables, making sure not to over or under-feed them.

Just read the back of the packet of food to work out how much this should be.

World's oldest Rabbit?

Here a re few articles about what could be classed as the worlds oldest rabbit

New Poll Module

How did you're rabbit live?

See results


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