Minnesota Companion Rabbit Society

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Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Rabbit Educational Presentation

Presented by MCRS

Author:

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Introduction

How to Pet Us

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Meet the Kids

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Name: Hanky Panky

AKA: Hank

Breed: Lion Head

Age: 7.5

Weight: 3.5 lbs.

Back story: Was at a college dorm where no pets were allowed.

Name: Pearly White

AKA: Pearl

Breed: Plush Lop

Age: 4.5

Weight: 5.0 lbs.

Back story: Surrendered for an unknown reason.

Name: Oliver Quill

AKA: Starlord

Breed: Rex

Age: 6.5

Weight: 6.7 lbs.

Back story: Found wandering the streets of Minneapolis by animal control.

Name: Iris Bloom

AKA: Iris

Breed: English lop/Harlequin

Age: 5.5

Weight: 7.8 lbs.

Back story: Wasn’t getting along with a friends other rabbits.

More Kids

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Bella

Butter Butter

Cola

Peanut

Roo

Tinsel

About MCRS

Established 2002

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Advocacy for Rabbits as house pets

(part of the family)

Non Profit

All Volunteer

(~120 active)

No facility to house rabbits. All rabbits in foster homes.

(~80 in foster)

Primary Mission #1

Education

To reduce the number of unwanted rabbits.

Primary Mission #2

Adoption

100s of rabbits are euthanized at rescues/shelters due to overcrowding.

https://www.mncompanionrabbit.org/

Services

Classes

Sales (hay & pellets)

Social media (email)

Hoppy Hours

Nail trims/scent glands

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Being Prey

We are Prey for most Predators

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Being picked up reminds us of being captured.

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Always alert for predatory dangers so we can take flight or hide.

Mostly soundless but we can growl/grunt, purr, honk, thump, and scream.

Each of us have a unique personalities.

We are crepuscular.

We are curious creatures.

Our Predator Defenses

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Our hearing is very good.

Good sense of smell

Whiskers to feel around in a dark burrow or dim light.

Can hop at 30 MPH.

Very sensitive taste.

We are quick

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Housing

Our Natural Home is a Burrow

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Video of Rabbit making a burrow

Why We Shouldn’t Be Kept Outside

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Typical Hutch

• Weather
• Loneliness
• Predators
• Insects
• Small space
• No exercise
• Sore hocks

I am sad because of:

I like my inside home!

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X-Pen Fencing

Fleece and stuffed animal friend to play with

Roxanne

Litter boxes with hardwood pellets for litter and orchard grass hay

Place to hide

Snak Shak to chew on

Water crock

Cardboard to chew on

Fleece flooring with tarp underneath

We need more than a pen for exercise

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We need at least two hours a day out of our pen to get in the exercise we need.

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Click image for free roaming video

Our digging and chewing habits

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Our teeth grow forever so we might chew wires but they are dangerous and it is destructive. House plants tend to be toxic to us.

We have a tendency to dig.

Bunny proofing your home is necessary.

Iris’s day

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Click image for Iris’s video

We like having a Friend (Bond Mate)

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In order for us to live together we must be bonded otherwise we will fight, possibly to the death.

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Care

The Best Diet for Us

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Hay must always be available 24 hours a day for us.

Feed us twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening to align with our natural crepuscular active times.

We are strict herbivores.

Our Fur needs to be taken care of

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We are self cleaning.

(we groom ourselves by licking like cats)

NO BATHS.

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Be gentle when grooming us, our skin is thin.

Our Nails need to be Trimming

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Hmm I smell like a Skunk

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Something smells like a skunk and I think it is my scent glands!

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Many of us like toys

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Health

Veterinary Care for Us

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• We are considered exotics
• Limited number of vets
• Common Health Issues
• GI Stasis (the silent killer)
• Head Tilt
• Teeth Issues
• Ear Infections
• Vaccinations
• RHDv2

Our Digestive System

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I cannot physically vomit.

I’m prey so I will hide the fact I am sick.

You shouldn’t see Cecal pellets because I practice coprophagy on them to extract all nutrition.

I defecate 200 to 300 Fecal pellets a day.

My fecal pellets are mostly harmless and safe to touch.

GI Stasis Our Silent Killer

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Not eating and/or not pooping is an emergency.

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We can die within a day.

Head Tilt another issue us rabbits face

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Head tilt (wry neck) should be considered an emergency and requires us to go to the vet.

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Mild Head Tilt

Severe Head Tilt

Our Teeth can have problems

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I can’t eat due to my overgrown teeth.

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Our Skeleton is not made for rough housing

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12” fall caused this broken leg

We are thin boned.

Our Legendary Reproduction Capabilities

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Guess what we really do breed like rabbits!!

We will live longer than you think

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Our life span varies depending on where we live.

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Wild ~1 year

• A predator ate us
• We starved
• Weather
• Disease without vet care

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Hutch ~5 years

• Cancer due to lack of spay/neuter
• Inattentive owner
• Lack of exercise
• Weather

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Inside ~10 years up to 15 possible.

• Protected from predators
• Part of family not easily forgotten
• Fed proper diet
• Medical care

How big can our species get?

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For Humans

Places to acquire Us

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Why a rescue/shelter instead of a breeder?

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1. Prevent euthanasia due to overcrowding
2. Vet checked before adoption and vaccinated
3. Spayed/Neutered before adoption, a spay/neuter costs more than $350.00
4. Provide resources to help with any issues after adoption
5. Promote adoption by personality instead of looks
6. Usually have a online profile to view before adoption and can meet foster family
7. Help stop breeders from over breeding

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Side notes:

Don’t gift a rabbit, actually any animal, it may not be what the recipient wants.

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Far too many rabbits are gifted at Easter time, most won’t survive a year.

We can be trained

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Click Image for Agility Video

Click here for Cookie off leash video.

I will cost you some $s.

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• Hay 150-200 lbs. per year (depending on rabbit size and usage)
• 50 lb. box of Oxbow hay (Chewy.com is $76; MCRS is $60 for 50 pounds, or $2 per pound)
• Food pellets 50 lbs. per year depending on rabbit size
• 25 lb. bag of Oxbow Bunny Essentials is $34 from Chewy or MCRS $2/pound
• Veterinary
• Yearly exam anywhere from $50 to $180 depending on vet
• Rabbits need a yearly vaccine for RHDV2 $35-$40
• An emergency visit can easily run into thousands of dollars
• ex: GI stasis emergency visit with 2 days of overnight stay: $1,100
• Litter hardwood pallets 120 lbs.
• Currently a 40 lb. bag is $7 at most hardware stores (Fleet Farm, Menards, Tractor Supply, etc…)
• Greens
• ~$350 for the year
• Miscellaneous
• ~$100 for the year (fleece, water/food bowls, toys, litter boxes, and damages)
• Total ~ $1200/year or ~$100/month

Please don’t release us to the wild.

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Texas A&M study shows brain differences between domesticated and wild rabbits.

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MRI scans reveal changes in the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex. These regions deal with fear and flight. Click image to read study.

As a domesticated animal we are used to food being delivered on a silver platter, temperature control, not having to forage, protection from predators, insects, and medical care.

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Please don’t release us to the wild we will not survive for long.

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Be responsible and surrender us to an appropriate shelter or rescue.

The Weird Place We Occupy in the World

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Beloved Pets

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Despised by farmers and gardeners

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Raised for meat

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Raised for fur

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Raised for show (ARBA)

The End

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Questions