Rabbit Anatomy (2)

Long Legs

The hind legs are very strong and used for running while the front legs are used for placement which makes rabbits very athletic.   Their hop makes for a 1-2-3 cadence.  They can reach speeds over 20 mph for short distances, and jump as high a four feet and as broad as four feet.  The front legs are used to position themselves.  The rabbit’s paws are not padded but only covered with fur so can become sore (wire cage floors can cause this).  The nails grow continuously so have to be trimmed regularly.  If they are not it causes difficulty in walking, accompanied by pain.  The claws cannot be retracted like a cat’s.  The hock joints are like our ankles and it is here they rest their weight.  Rabbits in the wild use foot thumping to warn other rabbits in the burrow, but domestic rabbits will stomp occasionally for other reasons besides fear (like to let you know they are not happy with you).  Their position for being alert is when they stand upright and look around.

Fur Coats

Rabbit fur pelts have clothed humans throughout history.  The under coat is soft, short and helps insulate the body.  The surface hairs are long and will molt at least once a year.  The skin is very sensitive and susceptible to infection when scratched.

Scent Glands

The main scent glands are located under the chin and release an oily substance undetected by humans.  Your rabbit will “chin” everything in its environment (including you).  There are also anal glands used for scenting the fecal pellets in order to mark territory, and inguinal glands which the doe uses to mark her kits.  If the male’s scent glands gets clogged up they will give off a musky smell.

Sexuality

Famous for their fecundity, a doe rabbit is sexually mature at three-and-a-half months, the male at four months.  Gestation period is only about 30 days.  The doe averages 5 - 6 kits per litter.  Sexually she operates by "reflex ovulation" (does not ovulate until after intercourse).  The incidence of uterine cancer is very high if the doe is not spayed (around 5 - 6 months is best).  Bucks reach sexual maturity a month or so after puberty.  Bucks will run circles around your foot and may even try to mount your ankle until neutered.

Conclusion

This overview of the rabbit’s anatomy should help you respect its vulnerability.  Being a prey animal does not necessarily mean your bunny is a frail animal.  On the contrary, treated lovingly and properly, your rabbit’s anatomy should remain intact and unhurt throughout its life.  We hope we have stimulated your interest to study more in depth the uniqueness of your rabbit’s anatomy.

Rabbit Anatomy (1)

We are not medical professionals, so this is a layman’s brief general description of a rabbit’s anatomy.  Knowing a rabbit’s anatomy will help you better understand your pet bunny.  With thousands of working parts, a rabbit’s anatomy can be said to be “fearfully and wonderfully made“.

The Skeleton Structure

A rabbit’s bones are easily injured and broken.  This can happen  even from struggling to get out of a human's arms.  Be gentle with your bunny, and make sure you do not accidentally drop him on the floor. A rabbit's skeleton is only 7-8% of the body's weight, much less dense than that of a cat's.  Muscle makes up 50 % of the body weight.

Digestive System

Food goes from the mouth to the esophagus. which is a one-way passageway which prevents the ability to vomit or cough up fur balls.  This is because the sphincter muscle is so strong.  The stomach is used to store food where it is leisurely digested.  Where the small intestine joins to the large intestine is the opening to what is called the cecum (much larger than the stomach).  The cecum is where specialized bacteria reside which turn digestible fiber into nutrients via fermentation.  This unique process is called “refection” where soft fecal pellets are produced (cecotrophs) in the form of clusters which the rabbit re-eats (usually done without the owner observing it). These “cecal pellets" are essential to a bunny’s health producing 35% of his daily calories.  The regular fecal pellets the colon releases are hard, and rich in nitrogen which makes for good fertilizer.   Much of the rabbit's digestive system still remains a mystery to science.

Rabbits execrate 45-60% of dietary calcium, where other animals only execrate 2%.

Long Ears

Rabbits are well-known for their long silky ears (12% of the body surface).  They have very acute hearing, even the lop ear breeds.  The ears move around like radar dishes always on guard for signs of danger.  Rabbit ears contain an abundance of blood vessels which make them the most sensitive area of the body.  Never pick a bunny up by his ears which would be very painful.  The ears function as the air conditioning system (rabbits cannot sweat), so if your bunny seems heated then apply moisture to the ears.  Most rabbits enjoy their ears being massaged, if done gently.

The Head Area

The Eyes:  Are big, dark, clear and bright.  Each has a 190 degree field of vision so they can see behind, but it produces a blind spot in front of the nose.  Their vision for distance is acute, and they can see eight times better in the dark than humans. Tears are  commonplace - just  wipe them off.  Science uses rabbit eyes for study because of their similarity to human eyes.

The Twitching Nose:  Is fascinating because it is constant.  The faster it twitches the more curious (or frightened) is the rabbit.  It picks up the slightest scent because scents are the main means of communication between rabbits.  Also, the nose is the main way a bunny breathes. 

The Lips:  Are where your rabbit’s perspiration glands are located.  The rabbit’s harelip helps in the gathering of food.  These lips are what tastes and grabs the food.


The Mouth & Teeth:  The 28 teeth are always growing (open-rooted, and can grow up to 5 inches a year) so your rabbit needs hay and proper dried-out wood pieces to chew on (we use balsam wood, dried maple twigs, and untreated wicker baskets).  They have two sets of incisors on top and one on the bottom.  A rabbit will often grind its teeth softly out of pleasure when it is being petted (called purring).  Loud grinding is a sign of pain.  The teeth are one of the things that sets a rabbit apart from a rodent because it has two sets of upper incisors instead of the rodent’s one.  Rabbits do not like their mouths being examined (but it is a necessity at times to do so).

Jaws: The lower jaw is smaller than the upper one.  Watching a rabbit eat is quite humorous because the jaws move sideways in order for the molars to line up, plus they average 120 chews a minute!

Whiskers:  Are very important in acting as feelers in finding their way, and in helping locate food (that blind spot around the nose thing).  Do not ever trim them.

Vocal Chords:  Rabbits can grunt, squeak, and hiss.  They can also scream but you never want to hear it because it means they are very frightened (they can die from fright) or are experiencing intense pain.  The FBI used recordings of rabbits screaming during the siege of the Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas.

Skull:  Is unique in that it has a joint located in the back of the head that allows the skull to absorb the shock that comes from the rabbit's jumping and twisting at high speeds.

Dewlap: The loose skin area under the neck of the doe.  Does will pull fur from here when making a nest to have a litter.  Does are usually larger than bucks.