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RabbitsPeople started to play a direct role in the evolution of the rabbit from the sixth to the tenth centuries AD, when monks in southern France domesticated and bred rabbits under more restricted conditions. Rabbits were popular pets with French royalty in the mid 1700s , and spread to other parts of Europe by the end of the century. Rabbits have been kept as pets in Western nations since the 1800s. From around 1920 the following beliefs were common in many parts of Great Britain, with many local variants: To secure good luck of some kind, usually a present, one should say "Rabbits" three times just before going to sleep on the last day of the month, and then "Hares" three times on waking the next morning. others belive that carrying a rabbits foot in your pocket and rubbing it will bring good luck. Rabbits were first introduced to Australia by the First Fleet in 1788 , but the current rabbit infestation appears to have originated with the release of 24 wild rabbits by Thomas Austin on his property, Barwon Park near Winchelsea, Victoria , in October 1859 for hunting purposes. Upon arriving in Australia, which had no native rabbit population, Austin asked his nephew in England to send him 24 grey rabbits, five hares, 72 partridges and some sparrows so that he could continue his hobby in Australia by creating a local population of the species. Within ten years of the 1859 introduction of rabbits, the original 24 rabbits had multiplied so much that two million rabbits could be shot or trapped annually without having any noticeable effect on the rabbit population. Although certainly not the strongest, fastest, or smartest of the mammals , rabbits have carved out a strong ecological niche through their rate of impregnation, due to the fact that female rabbits ovulate at the time of copulation. One eighth of all mammalian species in Australia are now extinct, rabbits are the most significant known factor, and the loss of plant species is unknown even at this time. Domesticated rabbits are most comfortable in temperatures between 10 to 21 degrees Celsius (50 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit), and rabbits cannot endure temperatures above 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) without assistance such as fans, frozen water bottles, and deep shade. Rabbits housed indoors and provided with adequate safety (especially from electrical cables and house plants that may be toxic to them), rabbits are relatively safe from predators, parasites, disease, and temperature extremes. Domesticated rabbits have mostly been bred to be much larger than wild rabbits, though selective breeding has produced a wide range of breeds which are kept as pets and food animals across the world. Toys can keep a rabbit from becoming bored or frustrated; rabbits have a tendency to chew on items in their space, particularly wires, although some can be encouraged not to chew dangerous or valuable items by offering alternatives such as chew toys . Many pet rabbits do not get sufficient fresh grass hay but are instead mistakenly fed only commercial alfalfa pellets originally developed for rapidly increasing mass in rabbits bred for meat. Altered rabbits of either sex will be less destructive, calmer, easier to litter train, and will generally make better companions. Rabbits are generally litterbox trainable and can freely roam the house or their own room as cats or dogs do. House Rabbit Network - A non-profit animal welfare organization dedicated to fostering and adopting out rabbits and to educating the public about rabbits. Stumble It! • Submit To Netscape • del.icio.us • Y! MyWeb |
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