Rabbits My Pet and Me

-Hi, I'm Ferne.

-And I'm Rory.

-BOTH: And we LOVE animals.

Tiny mice, shiny goldfish, clip-clopping ponies

and purring cats all make really good pets. And pets are great.

We love meeting you and your pets. So what are you doing today, Rory?

Well, I'm off to meet some new friends.

I'll tell you about it later.

Would you like to come with me? Come on. See you.

# My pet, my pet and me

# My pet, my pet and me

# Down every street

# Are pets to meet

# Some big, some small, some skinny, some furry

# Some keep very still, some are always in a hurry

# Some have four paws

# Some have sharp claws

# Some quack, some bark, some purr, some moo

# Some grunt, some squawk, some cock-a-doodle-do

# My pet, my pet and me

# My pet, my pet and me

# My pet, my pet and me

# Have you met my pet and me? #

Hello. Today I am in Cornwall to meet Rebecca and her pet.

I wonder what it could be... Come on, let's go and find out.

-Hi, Rebecca.

-Hi, Rory.

-Hi, Mum.

-Hi.

I've come to meet your pet. Is it in here?

-Woof! Woof! Woof!

-Oh, don't!

REBECCA LAUGHS EXCITEDLY

-That's not your pet, is it?

-That's my big brother, Josh.

Oh...

-Where's your pet?

-My pet's in the back garden.

-Shall we go and meet them, then?

-Yeah.

-Come on.

Oh...

Oh, wow!

Who is this?

This is my pet rabbit, Floppy.

And she likes going out in the garden.

-Oh, shall we let her out, then?

-Yeah.

Oh, wow!

Oh, she looks so cuddly and soft!

Does someone else live in there with Floppy?

Yeah. My brother's pet rabbit, Boo.

That's great that Floppy's got company.

Rabbits like to live in pairs or in small groups.

-Where does she like to be stroked?

-On her head and on her ears.

Oh, that's lovely.

My mum works at the vet's

and she tells me how to look after Floppy properly.

Oh, that's great that she helps you.

How old is Floppy?

We don't know because we rescued her.

Because someone was, like, in a house and moved out

and abandoned her.

Ah... But do you know roughly how old she is?

-I think she's about three.

-Ah...

Getting a rabbit is a big commitment.

Make sure you're ready to care for one,

like Rebecca, before you get one.

Floppy looks like a happy rabbit, doesn't she?

She's a happy, hoppy rabbit.

Oh, she certainly is!

Ferne, can you give us some fun facts

about our rabbity new friend here?

Of course, Rory. One, baby rabbits are called kittens or kits.

Aw...!

Two, in the wild, a family of rabbits live in a warren.

Three, rabbits move by hopping and bouncing.

They can use their back legs to bounce really high.

Four, rabbits have very twitchy noses.

This is to help them sniff out things,

like a friend approaching or an enemy hiding.

It's really important to make sure your pet

has lots of fresh water and plenty of food.

Also make sure that where they live is nice and clean and comfortable.

So, with that in mind, what are we going to do?

We've got to clean out Floppy's hutch.

Ah, OK. Right, what's the first thing we need to do, then?

-Get all the hay out.

-Get all the hay, all these old shavings.

Right. Now, we've got all that out. What happens now?

-We need to put the wood shavings in now.

-Oh, fresh ones, OK.

Let's do it. OK, I'll get my hands in there.

This is really important.

Now we need to put some nice, clean hay in her bed area.

OK, let's do that.

Being clean is important for happy rabbits,

so the hutch should be cleaned every day.

And this hutch is nice and big.

It's perfect for Floppy to run around, stretch and have some fun,

as well as sleeping in this bed area we're cleaning out now.

Let's put the fresh hay in.

Floppy's going to be really comfortable in her bed.

Yes, she is, isn't she? She'll fall asleep straightaway. There we go.

-What else is important for rabbits?

-We need fresh water every day.

Fresh water.

There's not much in there.

-We need to empty out the old water first.

-OK.

Let's fill it up, nice and carefully.

Hey, there we go.

Let's put the lid back on. Put it back onto the hutch.

She'll be really thirsty when she sees all the water.

-Yeah, she will be. We need to give her some food now.

-Yeah.

-What does she like to eat?

-Grass, hay and rabbit food.

That's right. Grass and hay are really important for rabbits

because their teeth keep growing and, if they have grass and hay,

it means their teeth can be worn down properly.

So that's the thing to give them.

-Shall we give them food now?

-Yeah. A big scoop.

-You know lots about rabbits, don't you, Rebecca?

-Yeah.

Good work.

Hey!

Let's wash our hands.

You must wash your hands when you've been looking after your pet.

OK, rinse them off like this, look.

Now we've got a nice, clean hutch and lots of fresh food and water

-for Boo and Floppy, it's playtime, don't you think?

-Yeah.

Oh, look!

Here comes Floppy now!

This garden is all secure

so Floppy and Boo can play safe and won't get out.

-What's Floppy's favourite game?

-Hide and seek.

Hide and seek? Good game! I like it.

Look, she's off down the garden!

-That's her favourite place. Come on!

-OK.

-Right. What have we got here, then?

-Floppy's food.

-And we're going to hide Floppy's food.

-Oh, we're going to hide it?

Clever idea! Rabbits love to go foraging around for things.

So, if you hide it, they absolutely love looking for it.

Right, what have we got, then? What's this?

Some grass, some carrots and some spinach.

Oh, delicious. You might think

rabbits like to have carrots all the time,

but they're just a treat

because they've got lots of natural sugar in them,

so they can't have too many.

-What are we going to do with all these treats?

-Hide them.

-Where?

-In the flowerpot.

-Oh, perfect.

-Shall we start doing it, then?

-Yes.

-OK.

Put some of this in here. Let's bring it here.

OK.

Nice bit of spinach.

-All of the things.

-Yeah, get everything in.

-Yeah.

-They will love this.

-Let's put some more grass in.

-Bit more grass?

-Yes, a bit.

-And is there something else to put on top?

-This.

-Ah... Perfect.

-Nice bit of hay.

-Let's put all of it in.

-Shall we go and hide it?

-Yeah.

-Let's go and find a great place. Come on!

She's found it!

Well done, Floppy.

My Pet And Me!

-Floppy loves when I brush her.

-Oh, she does, doesn't she?

Now, we know rabbits love to jump and they love to dig.

But if Floppy could do anything, anything at all, what would she do?

If my pet could do anything, she'd be a ballerina.

And she would be on a big stage. She would do lots of different dances.

She would wear a purple tutu and a pink leotard.

And pink ballet shoes.

Little kittens and puppies would watch her.

It's important to take your rabbit to the vet's

to make sure everything is OK.

Rabbits need injections every year to stay healthy.

So we've brought Floppy and Boo to get a checkup.

Oh, wow! Are you all here for checkups?

-Yeah!

-Perfect.

We'd better take Floppy inside for hers. Let's go.

-Hi, Rebecca. Who have we got here today?

-My pet rabbit, Floppy.

-And how is Floppy today?

-Happy.

-Good. Good.

OK. We're going to have a look at Floppy,

to make sure that everything is working properly.

So we're going to make sure her eyes are nice and bright

and they're not watering too much.

Now we'll have a little look in these ears.

-Is that your favourite bit?

-Yeah.

They're very soft, aren't they?

And they look absolutely fine.

Let's listen to her chest, Rebecca.

-What do you think we're listening for?

-Her heartbeat.

Absolutely right.

-I bet you've had one of those when you go to the doctor's.

-Yeah.

Do you want to have a little listen?

OK. I'm going to pop those on. There we go.

-Can you hear it?

-Yes.

-Is it quick?

-Yes.

So we'll just have a little feel of her tummy.

Feel everything inside. And that's all nice and soft.

Lovely.

-Shall we see how heavy she is?

-Yes.

-OK.

-Let's pop you on the scales, then, my friend. Isn't she brave?

-Yeah.

She's a very good little bun.

She's all right. She's just over 2.5 kilos.

-OK, Rebecca, does she eat all her food?

-Yeah.

-And does she drink all her water?

-Yes.

-OK. And has she had all her vaccinations?

-Yeah.

Well, I think she is absolutely tiptop.

So I've got a little certificate for you, OK?

It says Floppy and Rebecca have completed

their Rabbit Awareness Week free health check.

Well done, Floppy.

-Rebecca.

-Yes?

-Thank you so much for a wonderful day

and for introducing me to lovely Floppy here.

SHE LAUGHS EXCITEDLY

-Hello, Ferne.

-Hi, Rory.

-Hi, guys.

-How was your day?

-It was amazing.

Wait till I tell you all about it.

Today, I met Rebecca, her rabbit, Floppy,

and her brother's rabbit, Boo.

Together, we cleaned the rabbit hutch.

We had great fun hiding some treats for Floppy to find.

And she did!

Then the vet gave Floppy a checkup. And she was a happy, healthy rabbit.

That sounds wonderful. And you made some great friends.

Yeah, pets are great. But, remember, before you touch any animal,

make sure it's OK with the owner first.

But one pet you CAN play with is ours.

Go onto the CBeebies website and play the My Pet And Me game. It's amazing.

We've had a fantastic day. We love meeting you and your pets.

# Today we met

# A lovely pet

# We see how much you care for them

# Thank you so much for sharing them

# Time for us to

# Just remind you

# After you've played with your pet

# Wash your hands, don't forget!

# It doesn't matter what pet you've got

# You might have one, you might not

# It's still fun finding out what having a pet is all about

# My pet, my pet and me

# My pet, my pet and me

# My pet, my pet and me

# Come back and see My Pet And Me! #

-Bye-bye!

-Bye-bye!