Category: - AT HOME PETS

Pros and Cons of a Dead Litter

10/4/2020

Recently one of my young does had a failed litter. Sparrow is a bit of a skittery doe, an anomaly in my herd, but sometimes skittery does settle down once they have a litter. She failed rather spectacularly which is always sad to see.

But with every sad thing in a rabbitry there are things to learn. Today I thought I'd talk about some of the pros and cons of a dead litter.

Positives of a dead litter

1. Gives you another chance to evaluate the doe. Why did she have a dead litter? Did you miss a genetic issue? Is she simply too narrow to give birth to live kits? Is it just "stupid first time doe syndrome"?
2. Your doe is still alive. That means you can try again with a different buck!
3. It shows that your doe is not sterile. Again, means you can try again.
4. Dead kits can be turned into food as long as they haven't gone bad. Donate to a raptor rescue, sell to a reptile guy, feed them to your furry companions, or use them for compost. Don't just toss them in your garbage.
5. It's just one month down the tubes. The doe can be rebred, or sold, or culled depending on your opinion of her long-term prognosis.
6. Gives you an opportunity to examine kits closely to see if there are any genetic abnormalities.

Negatives of a dead litter

1. You have a dead litter. Hopefully your doe is undamaged.
2. If your doe passed away as well, do a necropsy to see if you can figure out why. Use the knowledge you gain to improve your rabbitry.
3. No kits to enjoy and care for.
4. It is horrible to find a dead litter. Even though I know it's part of raising animals, and that sometimes youngsters don't make it, it still is horrible.

Have I missed anything?

These points are all I could think of, can you think of anything I have missed?

Watching Bunnies Change

7/30/2020

I am getting a lot of questions about a couple of kits that I have, people are really curious about what they will turn into as adults. They aren't exactly the same as the two below, but they seem to really close.

Watching Keeper Develop

Watching Strand Develop

Speck's Last Girl found a home

7/18/2020

With just enough colour to be a broken, not a charlie, this young broken black went to a new home today. A couple of dwarf bunnies will keep her company.

A Speck x Band kit from May 21.

Her people messaged me tonight asking how long it might take for her to settle in. Apparently she likes the man of the household but tends to widdle on the lady of the household. Why would she do that? was the question.

My best guess is the lady of the household either lacks confidence in handling a bunny, or has a perfume or odour about her that bunny can detect that bunny is not fond of.

It could also simply be information overload for a young bunny. Immediately integrated into a household with two bunnies and not allowed her own place to call her own for a while.

I hope she is doing well and will thrive in her new home. She is definitely being a submissive girl in the picture they sent.

Why Do Rabbits Sneeze?

7/5/2020

The other day I received this message
"Since I got Lyra home, she has had at least one or two sneezing fits a day. She has no discharge and is eating drinking well. Could it be the hay? I’ve never heard a rabbit sneeze quite like that, but it’s not all the time, only once or twice a day like I said.

Any ideas or suggestions? Her cage is fairly sparse for litter training so she just has hay, wood pellets for litter in her litter box, a wood hide and a lava block to chew. Plus pellets and water."

My short response to her was "Rabbits sneeze sometimes. If you see no snot, or wet front paws it's probably just a sneeze."

I was reassured to hear that she saw no snot, and no wet front paws. A sneeze is sometimes just a sneeze.

But what about those times when a sneeze is NOT just a sneeze and is indicative of a bigger problem?

Causes of Sneezing

What can cause a rabbit to sneeze?

1. Dust and other irritants
2. Allergies.
3. Illness

Dust and other irritants

You get dust in your nose, you sneeze. Bunnies are no different. Irritants can be things like smoke, perfumes, air fresheners, and various dust particles. Eliminate the irritant, relieve the sneezing.

The bedding used, or the chemicals you use to clean, could be irritants as well.

I knew a girl who had a lovely bunny who one day started biting her and it was so surprising. After lots of questions we tracked it down to she changed her perfume and it was negatively affecting her bunny. She got rid of the perfume and the bunny reverted to his normal sweet self. Not sneezing...but an example of how something we don't know about can cause a problem with your bunny.

Allergies

People will often say "my bunny is allergic to hay." I have a really hard time believing this one. I tend to believe rather that the hay is dusty and the dust from the hay is the issue, not the hay itself. Hay can be dusty and some rabbits are highly susceptible to dust particles. Even if you don't see it, doesn't mean the dust isn't there.

But, given the anecdotal evidence I do think that rabbits can have seasonal allergies when there is most dust and pollen in the air, or a dry summer with farmers working their fields. Some rabbits can really struggle with the dust and other irritants that are in the air.

I firmly believe that rabbits who really struggle with allergies or a sensitivity to dust particles should NOT be used for breeding. There are so many rabbits out there that don't struggle, why would you perpetuate the health issue?

BESIDES a rabbit who is struggling with dust and/or allergies, would be more susceptible to the third reason.... illness.

Illness

Respiratory infections carry a much greater cause for concern. Frequently they are associated with discharge from the nose and watery eyes. You'll also see dirty front paws from the bunny wiping their noses.

Respiratory illnesses can be very dangerous to bunnies. It can make them so ill they can't eat, drink or breathe properly. They tend to be highly contagious, therefore putting any of your other rabbits at risk.

Diseases that cause snot in rabbits generally one of:
1. Bordatella. Treat it! Rabbits usually recover.
2. Pasteurella. This one is hard. Here is Dutch Rabbit's approach.
3. Pneumonia. Often buns die from pneumonia very quickly. It can literally have them on death's door overnight.

Less common:
1. Allergies.
2. Tooth issues. Drainage from the eye goes into nasal cavity.
3. Nasal Tumour.
4. Foreign body. Hay, or some particle stuck.
5. Trauma, such as a head attack by a predator.

My approach to excess sneezing or snot-laden rabbits can be found in this blog post. Always keep and use your best rabbits. If you just have one, do your best to keep them healthy, but let them go if it's time for them to go.

Hay and Hay feeders

6/25/2020

Hay.... love it or leave it, a lot of people love to feed hay to their bunnies. There are so many viewpoints on the feeding of hay.

The house rabbit society would have you believe that a rabbit must eat it's weight in hay every day to stay healthy.

Many rabbit breeders simply don't feed hay, finding it a messy waste, ergo a waste of money, and unnecessary as their rabbits stay healthy.

Both maintain healthy rabbits. Don't you find that incredibly intriguing? Completely opposite thought patterns, yet rabbits that are hale and hearty.

My approach is to use hay as the gut stabilizer that it is. Giving hay during times of transition and potential stress. Otherwise I find alternative sources of fibre (which is why people use hay, for it's long fibre content).

Black oil sunflower seed is one source of long fibre, as are weeds, grasses and various plants.

For people who are allergic to hay but not to grasses and various plants as well as black oil sunflower seeds, it means they can also keep a rabbit. They could also feed straw, corn stalks, and hay cubes.

Use a feeder or not?

Whether you are a daily or occasional feeder you'll find yourself feeding hay. You might choose to use a hay feeder, or simply put the hay in with your rabbits. Both have their advantages or disadvantages.

Homemade or purchased, hay feeders require rabbits to pull their hay out of the feeder. This of course means you need to stuff the hay in. I've never found a hay feeder that that didn't result in some waste simply in the process of filling it. :)

The advantage to a hay feeder though is you can put what the rabbit needs in it so they can nibble over the course of the day. Assuming that unlike MY rabbits yours will nibble over the course of the day. Anytime I give my bunnies hay they gobble it all up as fast as they possibly can. They then sit on (if they get full) and poop on any remainder. Rabbits are rather silly aren't they? :)

The advantage to just tossing it in the pen is that you don't lose hay trying to stuff it into the feeder, but rabbits are more apt to sit on it immediately. Doing so can cause them to foul it fairly quickly.

What type of feeder?

I have made loads of feeders out of those wire cutlery baskets. Just ziptie securely to the side of the cage, preferably over their litter box.

I do not recommend those wire ball feeders that are often sold inexpensively. Some rabbits are silly enough to get their head stuck in them and if that happens while you are away, your rabbit may perish due to strangulation or shock.

To be honest though, I'm not sure, outside of the 2 in 1 feeders that I would recommend most of what they have on amazon. And those ones I'd want to put up on a brick so the rabbit is eating higher up. I find they waste less feed that way. Even to hang it up beside a rectangular litter box.

The best hay feeders I've ever seen are the simplest ones. Cutlery drawers, kleenex boxes hung outside a wire cage, circular wire ones built into a corner of the cage, etc. Something that is less fancy and more functional.

HELP! My bunny is not peeing in her litter box.

6/24/2020

Litter training baby bunnies is sometimes a matter of patience. Sometimes they get ideas in their head and it makes you wonder what is going on with them. My post Help! My bunny is not peeing in her litter box is a response to one of my customers struggling with a young bunny.

Recently one of my customers wrote to ask:
Mr. Peanut eats his food and seems excited for it in the morning. But overnight if there is anything left or even it it's empty (as we tried last night) he gets right in and pees. He was doing well for a few nights of not peeing outside his litter box but for the last five nights he seems to prefer peeing outside of it rather than in. Just looking for a little advice from an expert!"

So What is a person to do?

I will freely admit that I am not an expert with house training baby bunnies. I've trained young and adult rabbits to a litter box, but I don't claim to know all the answers. Sometimes bunnies do things that are a bit confounding.

For instance, why choose to use the food bin as a place to go pee AFTER having used a litter box? I sometimes don't understand bunnies. My guess is that one night while munching on hay, bunny had the urge to go pee, was lazy and decided to go there. Since he peed there once, it's easy to just go pee there again.

In this particular instance I suggested they move the feeder up higher so it's up off the floor. You'll generally need it to be up at least six inches for this to be effective. But if the feeder is big enough to fit an entire young rabbit that's not going to work.

So I would simply remove the feeder at night.

Any other Advice?

I found this video which I thought was fairly well done. Mute the video and just read the screen as he speaks, I THINK, Spanish? I loved his emphasis on needing patience with young bunnies.

Sometimes you need to outsmart them, or to alter their habitat to make it easier for them to learn.

I thought Celia Haddon had some good advice in her post about why a rabbit might stop using a litter box. I particularly appreciated her thought that sometimes we don't know what caused our bunny to not like their litter box.

BudgetBunny has put together a similar list as well as pointing out a possible solution. (make it impossible for bunny to NOT use their litter box). :)

For some bunnies, litter box habits are vastly improved by neutering them. One suggestion from The Rabbit house.

Grooming Tools for Rabbits

6/8/2020

The question was asked "what. do I recommend for grooming"?

I thought I would list off a few that I've used, or that I've seen used by others in the rabbit world.

I will be using affiliate links to amazon.com simply because it's easy. You may need to look at your local pet store, or visit amazon.ca to avoid import duties.

I have not used all these tools. My go to is to use my fingers and slightly damp hands. I place my bunnies up on a piece of wood sitting over my compost and run my hands through their fur to remove loose hair, and then pluck whatever they are shedding out. Takes about five minutes every day for about a week and then they are done if they are shedding fast. :)

For rabbits that take their time shedding I pull them out as needed for a quick grooming session.

Glove Style

When it comes to grooming smooth-coated animals, I happen to really like glove style. They pick up loose hairs very easily and are a breeze to clean up afterwards. They fit most adult hands nicely. The way they contour to your hand and to shape of your bunny makes for a more natural stroke.

They also work with longer-furred animals, I find they don't get to the undercoat quite as well as with smooth-coated animals.

Brush Style

I find that cat and dog brushes work just fine for rabbits, the biggest difference in them is their size. Some rabbits are fairly large though, so having a bigger brush is helpful. :) For dwarf rabbits, or rabbits up to about 6 lbs, smaller cat and rabbit brushes are ideal. I find they do an excellent job of going through the undercoat.

Combs

I like combs better for longer-haired rabbits. They have a thicker undercoat that requires you to lift up the layers of coat to better access the lower coat. You may also want to hold your hand against the rabbit as you pull the comb through the coat.

Work out any mats carefully. Take your time. Rabbits have a thin skin that can tear easily. Keep your movements short and gentle.

The HairBuster for Rabbits

I've watched a few videos that use the Hairbuster for rabbits, and it looks like a helpful tool.

The Importance of Isolation

5/8/2020

Do you know the importance of isolation? Of keeping animals separate and away from your herd for at least 30 days? Protect your herd, protect your new animal as well.

Why Isolate?

Rabbits are animals that are masters at hiding illness. You can have what looks like a perfectly healthy animal in front of you. Passes all your tests for an animal that you want to purchase, but hidden beneath the surface may be an illness that you don't want to bring home with you. But how would you even know?

Illnesses that hide: pasteurella, e.cunniculi, Coccidiosis, etc
Illnesses easily missed: vent disease, ear mites, sore hocks, abscesses, etc.

This is why isolation is so important. The stress of moving from one place to another is often just what is needed to bring hidden illnesses to the forefront. As well the time in isolation, when you are watching your new bunny closely, can show you things that you might have missed when you first looked over your new rabbit.

Where to place your isolation cage

You want to place your isolation area in a place close enough to get to easily, but far enough away that illness won't spread.

At least 20 feet away from other rabbits.

What to do during isolation

Feed and care for the rabbit in isolation AFTER you care for your other rabbits. Change your clothes and wash your hands before going back to your original rabbits.

Watch for any signs of illness. Snot, hunching up, weepy eyes, unusual fecal output, bloat, etc.

Give your new rabbit a thorough check over once a week. Look for contusions, abscesses, sore feet, overgrown nails, blisters around nose or vent, teeth and more.

What if your new rabbit is sick

If you discover sickness within the first 24 hours...contact the person you bought the rabbit from. Hopefully they will stand behind their rabbit and do what is right. Helping you to solve your problem, or taking the rabbit back and give you a healthy one.

Generally after 24 hours the most you can get from a breeder is helpful advice. Suggestions about how to help the rabbit, or more information about condition, and so forth.

If you have managed to "get taken", or involved with an unethical breeder, all you can is cull a serious ill rabbit (pasteurella is one such illness), or treat (most other illnesses). Only you can decide how much effort to put into helping your new purchase.

Improvements

12/13/2018

Had someone ask me a question the other day. Have I seen improvements in my bunnies over the years. Thinking about it I have to say yes I have.

Some types of improvements are easily seen. Like BushTail from SplatterBush. Oh... I had forgotten Splatter was off Bane.... I'll have to breed Bush to one Moss' new babies (hoping for a buck) in about six months. MORE CHOCOLATE!!!! But can you see the improvement over time? Lily was a flat angular rabbit with a decent head. Splatter... I kept her for temperament and colour. :) and she has more bone to her than her momma had.

Some improvements are for how the bunny will naturally sit and hold position. Part of it Might by that Light is a more malleable doe than Cinder was. BrightSong (gramma) was a low sitting doe of tight build...couldn't/wouldn't sit up for nothing. Cinder inherited her dad's sweet personality (Song was a bit of a dumpy, don't touch me doe). Light has Cinder's personality AND a better build. Total win in my eyes.

Some are not quite as apparent, but Cookie is a smaller, more solid built doe than momma. Posing is NOT her thing to do. A strong improvement over gramma who came as a dutch/lop cross. I'm looking forward to seeing what Cookie will give me.

BrookAsh will not hold a pose when I set her up, unlike her daughter Pond. Pond has a flatter face as well so it will be interesting watching her mature. An improvement over gramma as well. Interesting to watch progression eh? I kept Pond back because she sets up nice, had nice ears and is a sweetheart of a bun.

Coal sits up better than his mamma, and has more depth to him. I kept him for his personality and colour. He's a step forward. :) He is definitely an improvement over his grandma! I am curious to see what he'll throw crossed with Pond and/or Light.

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.