Rabbits 101

If you look at the top of my column in each issue of The Funny Paper, you’ll notice I’m holding the magician’s trademark, a bunny rabbit. I get lots of questions from performers regarding my rabbits, so hopefully I can answer your questions in this article.

I use a rabbit in just about every show I do, but it wasn’t always so. Early in my performing career, while in high school, I purchased a pair of white doves. The doves were a big hit, but I never considered a rabbit. I was under the impression that caring for a bunny would be too difficult.

My wife, Brenda, grew up on a farm, and so she was accustomed to having many different animals. Brenda insisted that if we were going to work together as a magic team, we needed a rabbit for our act. That was about 20 years ago, and I’m glad I took her advice!

Even though I’ve never seen a magician pull a rabbit from a hat, most lay people still associate rabbits with magicians. At just about every kid show I’ve ever done, several children will ask me if I’m going to make a rabbit appear. I’d hate to disappoint them.

As I just mentioned, the doves are a hit, but in my opinion, nothing can top a rabbit production. I’ve found that some people are afraid of birds, but I’ve never had that problem with a rabbit. Doves can also fly at the most inopportune moment. One of my fellow performers tells a hilarious story of how he produced a dove at a birthday party, only to have the dove fly around the room and then land--on the birthday cake!

I’m not an expert on rabbits, but I’ve had good success with them over the years, so I’ll try to pass along some suggestions for those of you who are contemplating a rabbit purchase.

There are many breeds of rabbits available, but I would recommend a Netherlands Dwarf, especially the Himalayan breed. This rabbit usually weighs about 3 pounds when fully grown, and will fit nicely into your rabbit apparatus.

I’ve found that rabbits purchased from a pet story usually are easier to handle than rabbits purchased from a breeder. My theory is that the pet store animals are used to being handled by people throughout the day, while a breeder’s animals may not be exposed to any humans.

I went to a breeder once, and had to pick my rabbit out of a selection of nearly 100 animals. There was no way all of these rabbits could have had much attention. I named this rabbit "Honey Bunny," and what a misnomer it was! When it was time to take her out of the cage for shows, she’d make a peculiar growling sound, and I had to put on gloves to protect my hands from scratches. I’ve never had this problem with pet store rabbits.

I should mention that with the volume of shows I do, I now have two rabbits. This way, one works one day, and then gets a day off. My rabbits live in good-sized wire cages, with pull out trays for easy cleaning. The floors are also wire, which really helps insure clean quarters. I have a piece of wood flooring which covers about one third of the cage. A rabbit sitting all the time on the wire floor would develop serious medical problems.

I let each rabbit out of their cage so they can run on my enclosed porch and get some exercise, but I always watch over them. Many people have told me they litter box trained their rabbit, and let it run around the house, but their stories always end in the same sad way. Rabbits will chew just about anything, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard about a rabbit that chewed through an electrical cord and died.

For travel to and from shows, I use a standard "pet taxi" carry cage. You can find these at any pet store or Wal-Mart. I like to have a cloth cover made to slip over the pet taxi, so no one sees the rabbit early, and spoils the surprise.

Caring for rabbits is easy if you have just a few minutes each day. They eat standard rabbit pellets, available at any pet department. I also give my rabbits plenty of alfalfa each day. They really love it, and it is essential to aid in digestion. Of course, fresh water is provided each day. A water bottle keeps the water clean, and prevents spilling. I thoroughly clean the cages twice a week, and place fresh papers and wood chips in the bottom tray.

When you travel with a rabbit, you may have to alter your travel plans slightly. In warm weather, of course you wouldn’t leave your rabbit in the car. When stopping to eat at a restaurant, you have a few options. If I have fast food, I eat in the car with the rabbit. If I want to go in a restaurant, I park in a place where I can see my vehicle through the restaurant’s windows. I leave the car running, with the AC on, and lock the car. Of course, I make sure I have a spare car key!

I have even sneaked my rabbit into a restaurant. I find that a gym-type bag works well, and no one seems to care that I carry a bag into the restaurant. If you try this, remember, you didn’t read it here!

Rabbits are easy to train for your shows. Rabbits basically love small, confined spaces. If you’ve seen a rabbit nest, you know how tight their quarters are. A rabbit prefers a small space over a huge field.

A Netherlands Dwarf rabbit will fit in most commercially made rabbit apparatus. I own about 10 different rabbit effects, and have not had a problem with lack of space. However, if you use a Dutch, Mini Rex or other breed, you may find your rabbit will only fit in a few props.

Make sure your apparatus has plenty of air holes. One of my rabbit productions is a large duck pan, but I had to drill several additional air holes in the lid.

I load the rabbit at the last minute, and I also try to produce the rabbit early in the show. Since we open with a five minute music routine in many shows, the rabbit production makes a great finish to this segment.

In birthday party shows, I produce the rabbit at about the 20-minute mark, which is usually the fourth or fifth routine in the show. There are many reasons why this works better than closing the show with a rabbit production. First, the rabbit doesn’t have to stay loaded for the entire show. Second, I want the birthday child to be the star. If you close with the rabbit, the bunny will be the star, instead of the birthday child.

I produce the rabbit midway through the show, and then close with a routine involving the birthday child. After the last routine, the rabbit comes back out to say good-bye.

In some shows, such as library shows, I do use the rabbit as a closer. In this case, I use a backdrop, which keeps the rabbit and the production apparatus out of sight. I introduce the effect, then tell the audience that I have to go backstage to get the prop. I give them a challenge that I can be back in less than ten seconds.

While the kids count (slowly!) to ten, I dash behind the backdrop, take the rabbit out of the carry cage, load the bunny into the trick, and come back out from behind the backdrop. I usually make it by the eight or nine second mark. The countdown makes what would otherwise be a boring stage wait into an exciting part of the show.

The rabbit is a very important part of my show. In fact, in my local market no one else is using a rabbit, so this feature helps me to get many more bookings than my competitors. But a rabbit isn’t only a prop or a sales tool. It is a living, breathing creature that requires love and care. Since my rabbit rides on the front seat next to me, I get attached to them, especially with the many long road trips we take together. If you have a rabbit, I suspect the same will happen to you.

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