Category: Health

Ontario Plant ID

8/18/2017

One of the things I often talk about with my rabbit buyers is think like a rabbit when feeding them greens.

Rabbits LOVE fresh food, but not all fresh food is the most rabbit friendly.

My rabbits eat a lot of weeds out of my garden, and to my sister's chagrin, I'll even grow weeds for the rabbits.

This morning I was struggling with finding the right name for a common weed the rabbits love so I went searching for what it was called and discovered this great site for ONTARIO weeds.

Seriously.. it's a great site.

Weed Info.

What do I like about this site?

It gives common and Latin name, provides plenty of images, and has a search feature. It will be a great site for me to refer people to if they don't know what prickly lettuce is.

Mind.. people will still need to research if it's safe for bunnies, but if you know the true name, it makes it easier to do the research.

Take for instance one of my favourite weeds: Prickly Lettuce.

They have the write up, with black white drawings.
Then at the bottom they have pictures taken of different stages of the plants life.

Why do I love prickly lettuce?

1. It's a thistle type plant which rabbits love
2. it's great to give to bunnies who are starting to struggle with gut issues.
3. it grows REALLY easily. I started with one plant five years ago and now it crops up everywhere. :)
4. It keeps coming back when I cut it back for feeding.

Tale of a wee bunny

4/22/2017

Feeling a bit bummed this morning. But thought this might be helpful to others.

BrightSong x BonFire Kit
Bred: Feb 12
Kindled March 15
Litter of six (two DOA, one peanut) all normals appear to be torts or oranges all solids. Small kits as per normal with Song.

Tort? small kit fairly dark in colouration. Turned out to be a smutty fawn.

Singleton left out of a litter of six, a tiny little boy. Momma didn't want him, first foster momma didn't want him, but Daisy took him. He was very cold when I found him after birth... I knew right them he's probably have trouble when he started to eat regular food.

He was smaller than his litter mates, perhaps half their size, but plunky!

He became a roly poly three week old and my hopes were that just maybe he'd be fine. He hit almost four weeks and he started to fail. My heart fell.

I removed him from the litter and put him on a straw bedding (it's a warm bedding when it has leftover fur in it). Solid bottomed cage. He snuggled in quietly and I wondered if he'd fail more quickly. He was so frail and looking poorly.

I've not had much success saving kits with entropathic illness so I wasn't holding out much hope but thought I'd try a treatment protocol that others have had some success with. Chives with plain grass.

I put him on grass and chives only... I figured either he'd die or he'd thrive. and ... HE THROVE!! He was feeling better, eating well, returning to his very sweet nature. He was eating pellets (just a touch) and my grain mix (quite well).

He was doing well enough to come out for pictures and to spend time exploring the world at large, sitting on a fleecy so he wasn't on the wet ground. just a happy little bun. I was starting to think he'd find a special needs home. I was getting ready to put him into a regular cage.

This morning though, I came into the rabbitry, thought he was sleeping until he didn't come to great me. He passed away during the night, looks like he passed away in his sleep.

I am not sure what he died from... his gut issues were over and he was eating well and acting healthy. I don't know if he had something else wrong with him as well that simply wasn't readily apparent. He was proportioned correctly so I don't think he was an odd ball peanut that finally just failed, but his runtiness may have been a sign of something else wrong with him.

i am just so bummed.

When Rabbits Annoy

3/18/2017

So BrightSong's first litter with me was a bit slow to start but overall she did an excellent job with them. Her kits ended up being little butterballs so fed them so well. I had HIGH HOPES for her next litter.

Her second...not so good but potentially my fault as she didn't pull sufficient fur so thought I'd add some...most rabbits are fine with that, but Song apparently was NOT. Dug out the box and I only saved two which I promptly fostered.

This litter she AGAIN pulled very little fur and the two does I bred to go with her kindled late. I saved chilled kits and brought them in the house to keep warm (the kits) but Song never got around to producing milk...

So as soon as I could I fostered them to SunnyRock as I know she feeds her kits well and she only had one.. but chilled once kits are easily chilled again AND they'd gone without food for a couple days so it was cross your fingers and hope! Last night I went out and found one dead, one almost dead and one doing fine (and well fed). The one almost dead looked like it had gotten chilled again.

SINCE two kits (Sunny's single, and Song's one left) can't keep themselves warm I fostered them over the Daisy.

All were looking good this morning AND fed. WOOT WOOT.

In the future Song will only be bred with at least two other does, and come spring she'll be looking for a new home. She's a very mild-mannered doe so I expect I can get her into a pet home no problems. Time will tell.

Wooden Plank Fix for Rabbits Peeing on it

8/18/2016

I thought this was good thinking on the part of Easy Ears, mind it only works for a certain type of hutch, but it was creative thinking worthy of sharing with other eh? :)

Poisonous Plants List

6/14/2016

Here is a Poisonous plant list.

Seems an interesting list. One surprised me as occasionally my rabbits will nibble on catnip with no ill-affects. Though I wonder... maybe I have the catnip wanna around instead?

Just makes me wonder. :)

Fur Pulling and Nest Building

4/10/2016

Having baby rabbits around is always fun. ) They sweet and cuddly and they move into your hand to circle in to sleep.. it's amazing.

BUT before you have babies, you need to have a momma building a nest.
Below is a video of someone else's doe making a lovely nest for her impending babies.

I find rabbits are funny. People will often think if you've met one rabbit you've met them all but it isn't so.

Some rabbits will pull fur days ahead of time. Making their nest, getting it all just so, and then ignore it.

Other rabbits will wait until the very last second, build the nest, have their babies and done.

Still different rabbits will have their babies and then build a nest around them.

Others will build their nest and fuss over it for three or four days before having their young. Pulling a wee bit of fur and then rearranging it, making a nest hollow.

And sadly there are some who simply never build a nest. These bunnies if you get to the babies on time you can save them, but if you don't.. it's mighty hard to.

The MOST frustrating ones are those that make a nest and then when babies come go "OH, I'll just have them on the wire over here and cover them with a touch of straw". Those ones you can't really predict unless they've done it before.

There are variations on the theme in-between all these standards...and it can change from litter to litter.

It's rabbits...you can either cry over them or shake your head at their antics, and then rejoice with those who do their job well. Those are the does you keep. Those are the does from whom you keep replacement stock.

Have fun with the babies. :)

Wheat Fodder System For Rabbits

4/2/2016

Providing wheat fodder for rabbits is a good way to add protein to a rabbits diet, as well as the joy of eating fresh food. If I could I'd set up a system for going greens for rabbits all winter... Need warmth, compost or dirt and a way to keep it moist without mould.. you could let it grow and then cut it back to let it grow again. :)

If you just have one rabbit, it would be so easy to grow a bowlful of wheat seeds, letting them sprout out to a good four inches and then using it with your rabbit.. if you top the soil with a wire grid the rabbit couldn't pull the root out of the soil.

It's good to see how different people do things, helps one to tweak the system as needed for themselves.

Saving Baby Rabbits

2/17/2016

A baby rabbit is never dead until it is WARM and dead.

Tips:
1. Warm them up slowly
2. warm them all the way through before returning them to a WARM nest.

Ways to warm them
1. heating blanket set on low
2. warm water bags
3 heating rice bags.
etc.

My preferred method is to place them on the edge of a warm litter of older kits. This warms them up well and I'll often find them later in the middle of the heap. If I don't have an older litter I will bring them in and put them in a warm rice bag with towels from the dryer all around them.

Rabbits in the Winter

2/14/2016

Found this video on Youtube about caring for rabbits in the winter. Thought it had some good points (protecting from the wind, changing how you water them, providing hidey holes for warmth). I didn't agree with everything in the video though.

What didn't I agree with?
1. feeding lots of sugary foods. Rabbits in the winter don't need extra feed, they just need GOOD feed and it's not a time to put them on a diet.

My rabbits get hay and pellets one day, a grain mix and pellets the next. Days alternate. The rabbits do well. In winters where the weather is up and down I add pineapple juice into their water. It seems to raise the freezing temp (so water doesn't freeze as quickly) and it encourages the rabbits to drink more.

2. Not breeding in the winter because the babies will freeze. Is there a risk that babies will freeze? Yes, but it happens less frequently than you might suppose. If momma does her job properly the kits will be born into a well made nest. AND one can bring babies in the house if its particularly cold out (they generally only have to come in until they are well furred). Litters of more than four rarely have to come inside.

So what do rabbits NEED in the winter?

1. recognition that they come with built in fur coats so don't make them too warm. No heat lamps necessary. They do need protection from the wind.

2. Good food. Not extra feed, but good feed. Not a time for diets unless you have a fat rabbit.

3. Water in bowls not bottles UNLESS you have heated water bottles. Give them new water at least twice a day.

4. Breeding is fine as long as momma does her job. Bring small kits inside for a week until their fur comes in.

5. Giving a box to sit in if rabbits are acting cold. Some rabbits don't get cold, others like to get up off the wire. So weigh out your rabbits needs.

Checking Rabbit Weights

11/12/2015

I don't like linking to House Rabbit Society materials, but in this case.. it works. This table is helpful to people wondering if their rabbit is at a good weight or not.

I did try to find a video that would help as well but ended up annoyed at them.

So instead, let's just talk.

Overweight Rabbits and how to help them lose weight
Helping rabbits lose weight is fairly straight forward.
1. NO TREATS... so no apples, cheerios, bread nothing like that. NO yogurt drops.
2. Increase fibre... means giving them more grass hay. NOT a legume hay, just a simple grass hay and lots of it
3. Decrease pellets.
4. Increase exercise.

How to increase exercise?
In a caged rabbit.. add things that they have to jump over to get from their water to their food. Add a resting box they have to jump up on to reach.

For a house rabbit... put their food bowl into a different place, make food a reward for good behaviour, as a training reward.

Underweight Rabbits and how to help them gain weight
Helping rabbits gain weight is relatively easy.
1. Add safe treats...NOT yogurt drops but things like oatmeal and black oil sunflower seeds
2. moderate amount of hay
3. increase the amount of pellets

Keeping your rabbit at a good weight is important for several reasons
1. Obese rabbits can not keep themselves clean
2. Obese rabbits are more likely to develop joint and feet problems
3. Excess fat makes it harder for the internal organs to function properly.

So monitor your rabbits condition. It is better if they are a little thin then a little fat. It's easier to add the weight than it is to take it off again.

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