Two pet rabbits, one brown and one white with grey patches, resting side by side on a sunny lawn in a fenced garden run, with a wooden shelter and a pile of hay behind them
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.
doodlerabbit

PET RABBITS, EXPLAINED

Space, hay
and a friend.

ORYCTOLAGUS cuniculus

  • Room to move
  • Hay first
  • Rabbit company
  • One happier rabbit

Around 700,000 rabbits live as pets in the UK. Most of what they need fits into three words.

Rabbits are often thought of as easy starter pets, yet surveys keep finding many living alone, in small hutches or on the wrong food. Here is what the PDSA, the Scottish Government’s welfare guidance and Royal Veterinary College researchers say, in plain English.

Plain English, with the sources linked.

Updated

Work out daily amounts

THE THREE NEEDS

More than
a hutch.

The welfare basics, set out by the UK’s
largest vet charity and the Scottish Government.

SPACE

Room to hop and stretch

The PDSA’s recommended minimum for two average rabbits is 3 m × 2 m × 1 m high. In 2024, 22% of pet rabbits lived in less.

How housing has changed

FOOD

Mostly hay or grass

Around 85% of the diet should be hay and/or grass: at least a bundle as big as the rabbit, every day. Pellets are a small extra.

Work out daily amounts

COMPANY

Better in pairs

Rabbits benefit from another rabbit’s company, yet 42% of pet rabbits live alone and 8% live only with another species.

Ways to start

DAILY AMOUNTS

How much for
your rabbit?

Pick a body weight to see the most pellets the Scottish Government’s guidance allows each day, and roughly how much water a rabbit on a largely dry diet drinks.

Daily amounts

Choose your rabbit’s weight
A 1.5 kg rabbit37.5 g

Most pellets or nuggets per day under the guidance’s maximum of 25 g per kg. On a largely dry diet it would drink around 75 to 150 ml of water a day. Hay comes first: a pile about the size of the rabbit, every day.

A 2 kg rabbit50 g

Most pellets or nuggets per day under the guidance’s maximum of 25 g per kg. On a largely dry diet it would drink around 100 to 200 ml of water a day. Hay comes first: a pile about the size of the rabbit, every day.

A 3 kg rabbit75 g

Most pellets or nuggets per day under the guidance’s maximum of 25 g per kg. On a largely dry diet it would drink around 150 to 300 ml of water a day. Hay comes first: a pile about the size of the rabbit, every day.

A 4 kg rabbit100 g

Most pellets or nuggets per day under the guidance’s maximum of 25 g per kg. On a largely dry diet it would drink around 200 to 400 ml of water a day. Hay comes first: a pile about the size of the rabbit, every day.

A 5 kg rabbit125 g

Most pellets or nuggets per day under the guidance’s maximum of 25 g per kg. On a largely dry diet it would drink around 250 to 500 ml of water a day. Hay comes first: a pile about the size of the rabbit, every day.

The bar shows the weight you picked, from small to giant breeds.

Guide figures only, worked out from the published per-kilogram amounts. Fresh, clean water should always be available, and a vet can advise on your own rabbit.

TWO TRENDS WORTH KNOWING

Getting better,
slowly.

The PDSA has surveyed UK owners since 2011.
Two of its rabbit measures, then and now.

72% to 50%

Rabbits without another rabbit

In 2011, 72% of pet rabbits lived alone or only with other species. By 2024 that was 50%, about 400,000 rabbits, and the figure has not moved since February 2020.

COMPANY · 2011 TO 2024

35% to 22%

Rabbits in inadequate housing

The share of rabbits kept in housing below the recommended standard fell from 35% in 2017 to 22% in 2024. Rabbits without another rabbit were more than twice as likely to be in poor housing (31% against 14%).

HOUSING · 2017 TO 2024

Diet has improved too: 74% of rabbits got the right amount of hay or grass in 2024, up from 46% in 2017, though 17% were still fed muesli as a main food.

GET STARTED

Four checks for a
happier rabbit.

A grey rabbit peeking out of a cardboard hiding box in a run, beside a shallow tray of loose earth for digging
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

  1. Measure the space

    Compare your set-up with the 3 m × 2 m × 1 m minimum for two rabbits. Rabbits that can move freely between shelter and run were far more likely to have adequate housing.

  2. Put hay first

    Offer at least a bundle of hay as big as the rabbit each day. The PDSA suggests one tablespoon of nuggets a day, or two for rabbits over 3.5 kg.

  3. Think about a companion

    Rabbits benefit from another rabbit’s company. In the PDSA survey, rabbits living with rabbits were more likely to binky, the joyful jump and twist (77% against 65%).

  4. Add places to hide and dig

    Give each rabbit easy access to a secure hiding place, such as a wide tube or a cardboard box, and materials that let it dig.

RABBIT FACTS

Five things worth
knowing.

A brown rabbit sitting beside a large pile of golden hay on a wooden floor, lit by soft window light
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

  1. A popular pet

    The PDSA’s 2026 report estimates that 2% of UK adults have a rabbit, a population of around 700,000 pet rabbits.

  2. Teeth that never stop growing

    A rabbit’s teeth grow throughout its life. A high-fibre diet, mainly hay or grass, is what wears them down.

  3. Dawn and dusk animals

    Rabbits are naturally most active in the early morning and evening, around dawn and dusk, and overnight. That is why the guidance favours a shelter joined to a run.

  4. What vets see most

    In a study of 6,349 pet rabbits at 107 UK vet practices, the most common problems were overgrown nails (16%), overgrown molars (7.6%) and overgrown incisors (4.3%).

  5. Shorter lives than you might think

    The same Royal Veterinary College study found an average lifespan of 4.3 years. Flystrike was the most common recorded cause of death, at 10.9%.

QUICK QUESTIONS

Rabbits, answered.

Short answers to the questions people ask most.

How much space do two rabbits need?

The PDSA gives a recommended minimum of 3 m by 2 m by 1 m high for two average rabbits. In its 2024 report, 22% of pet rabbits, around 180,000, lived in housing below that standard.

How much hay should a rabbit eat?

Hay and/or grass should make up around 85% of a rabbit’s diet, according to the PDSA, which recommends at least a bundle as big as the rabbit every day, and unlimited hay where possible.

Is it all right to keep a rabbit on its own?

Scottish Government guidance says rabbits benefit from the company of another rabbit. Even so, the PDSA’s 2024 report found 42% of pet rabbits lived alone and a further 8% only with another species.

How long do pet rabbits live?

In a Royal Veterinary College study of 6,349 pet rabbits at 107 UK vet practices, published in 2019, the average lifespan was 4.3 years. Flystrike was the most common recorded cause of death, at 10.9%.

How much water does a rabbit drink?

Scottish Government guidance says rabbits must always have fresh, clean water, and that a rabbit on a largely dry diet drinks around 50 to 100 ml per kilogram of body weight a day.

Sources

Where the facts come from

  1. UK pet populations of dogs, cats and rabbitsPDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report 2026
  2. Rabbits: companionship, environment, diet and healthPDSA PAW Report 2024
  3. Your rabbit’s dietPDSA
  4. Pet rabbit welfare guidance: the need for a suitable dietScottish Government
  5. Pet rabbit welfare guidance: normal behaviour patternsScottish Government
  6. Study helps fill the evidence gap on UK pet rabbit healthRoyal Veterinary College, VetCompass, 2019

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