Rabbit Retreat Forum - All Forums

advice.

Sat, 19 May 2012 20:58:00 +0000

in my garden we have alot of wild rabbits we have seen some with mixy.my question is when we get our rabbit will the mixy jab completley protect our rabbit or will it still have a chance of catching it? thankyou.

big bunny love

Sat, 19 May 2012 20:35:32 +0000

On a more positive note, here's some pics of my new big boy, Bozo (and existing messy madam Moo). Bonding them was a dream - they loved each other immediately.

Phantom.

Sat, 19 May 2012 20:22:41 +0000

I really can't believe I am writing in here about Phantom already
I haven't been able to stop crying all day, this just sucks

It all started on Tuesday.
I went up to clean his group out, everything was fine, everyone was making my job as difficult as possible (as normal lol) and then poor Phantom had a sneezing fit which resulted in blood pouring from his mouth and nose, and I mean pouring

I picked him up to try to see what was going on, the blood still kept coming so phoned the vet and said I was on my way.......

It turned out that scarring on his lungs had become so bad (from an untreated URI) that sneezing fits caused him to rupture which just filled his lungs with blood

I took him home because the bleeding had stopped, with the knowledge that there was nothing else that could be done, but he was still bright and interested in life.

He had another sneezing fit that night but it wasn't as bad as the first.

His sneezing seemed to calm down a bit but on Thursday he had another huge bleed, I had to make that call

Today Phantom was pts because I couldn't keep him here just for me, he was suffering.
Unfortunately it wasn't a peaceful passing, he fought all the way :crying: and it is something that I will never forget.....

Phantom, I am so, so sorry that I couldn't help you and I will never forgive myself for giving up on you before you were ready. I hope you are at peace now and one day you can forgive me for what I did.

I clean therefore I am: Please help.

Sat, 19 May 2012 19:36:00 +0000

I love my rabbits, but I'm struggling with them at the mo. My doe digs out her litter tray continually. Whatever I put in there gets kicked out all over the floor within seconds and no matter how many times I tell her off and put it all back she always digs it out again.

On the odd day she refrains from the digging she and her fella use the litter tray well, but as soon as the digging resumes and the tray gets all churned up neither of them want to do their business in there and they begin leaving me presents all over the flat.

I bought a large lidded tray with a flap, in the hope it would at least prevent the litter from escaping but alas, she just gets in a position whereby she can hold the flap open and then shoots the mess out between her legs. (That sounds very wrong but you get the idea)!
Any suggestions as to how I can prevent this? The cleaning is KILLING me.

Jen

Goodbye sweet babies

Sat, 19 May 2012 16:18:03 +0000

I'm posting this thread as a memorial for the babies we have lost in the last week. As I posted in the Rabbit Health section, some sort of virus has been ravaging our bunnies. 3 out of 22 babies have died.

Since they were so young, I did not get pictures of all of them. Thankfully, I was able to realize that Dutch, the latest one to die, was taking a turn and got some pictures of him about an hour before he passed.

In Memoriam:

Infant Bunny
Solid Black with Brown Eyes
Mini Rex
16 Apr 2012 - 12 May 2012
--------------
Infant Bunny
Black with White Paws, White Spot on nose, & Blue Eyes
Mini Rex
16 Apr 2012 - 13 May 2012
-------------------
"Dutch"
Black with White Spot on right side of neck, Brown Eyes
Mini Rex
16 Apr 2012 - 19 May 2012

Rest in Peace sweet babies! You are greatly missed.

Remember me?

Sat, 19 May 2012 16:00:44 +0000

Hi guys, i've been away for a while, but now i'm back

since i have been away 2 of my buns have been successfully bonded together and now love each other and now have an attached run to their shed which they love and my mums 2 baby buns have grown into huge bunnies

here's some pics of all the buns for you all

Bigwig and chunky the happy couple

my old boy bracken

mums buns; tulip

papillon

bluebelle

sorry about the quality of the pics, i need to take some new ones

Price of babies

Sat, 19 May 2012 10:44:05 +0000

I understand this is a tricky subject but really could do with some input...

I'm currently umming and arring about the price of my youngsters... i currently sell babies at 10 weeks at £30 (2nd bun for a pair is £20 once the first has been neutered) which includes their inital VHD vaccine, first mite preventative, 4 weeks free insurance as well as a care guide, baby photos, homemade treats, natural toys, big bag of their forrage feed and a supply of hay, emergency probiotics and liquid feed,plus various different leaflets from the BRC and RWA and of course a lifetime of help and advice....

i'm thinking about upping the price to £40 per rabbit (i've seen quite a few 'suspect' breeders of mini lops up theres recently and dont like to see my babies at the 'lower end of the market' but dont really want to be right at the top either) BUT i would really like to send all babies out with the new combie vaccine.... so at £40 all babies would leave vacc'ed for the first year against myxi and RHD, i would also be introducing free 6monthly health checks with myself, including nail clipping and mite preventative for the life of the rabbit as well as free holiday boarding (subject to certain terms and conditions, i cant house indoor rabbits, and the cage would have to come with them unless i had spare space... and their vaccines would have to be up to date) and free bonding service... i kinda already offer the services but wanted to make it official.... and obviously everthing thats already included in the new bunny pack

do you think that £40 is too much to be asking for a baby.... (£60 for a pair) or would you consider it a fair price.... (i'm still not making any profit as if you add up the cost of what goes with babies, i'd actually have less 'cash in hand' for the rabbit as the vacs are going up 4X what i currently pay and feed bills have gone up steeply)

for a bit of background info i currently have an average wait of around 8 months for dwarf lops and 18 months - 2 years for smoke pearls (however i do have some people on my waiting list that have been waiting 3 years plus)

the complete collection....corns,kings and a ball....

Sat, 19 May 2012 10:25:00 +0000

ANGUA....avalanche

THING....avalanche

ZUCO....amber stripe

SANDY....amber stripe

COMANCHE....tessera

DIDDY....carolina

TAVANA....granite

SPLATTER....anery motley

APACHE....pied granite

AMY....carolina

DUENDE....lavender

RUSTY....sunglow amel

TOPAZ....moonstone

SPARTACUS....pied bloodred

NATALYA....blizzard

AKARA....lavender

FARA....snow

SCAT....sinocorn

ANDARIEL....albino california king

WORCESTER....thayers king

MARMITE....mexican black king

DIABLO THREEFINALLY....normal royal

I'm going to be in trouble...

Sat, 19 May 2012 02:56:43 +0000

When hunny gets home! He's been grousing about having "too many" pets... I rescued a pair of kittens today. They're both boys, a brown tabby and a black with a white spot on the chest. Their names are No-Less (tabby) and No-More (black)... hopefully he'll understand when I explain that they were going to be put down if we didn't take them... : (

Bonding Rabbits Checklist.

Fri, 18 May 2012 20:35:39 +0000

1. All rabbits involved need to have been neutered at least 8 weeks prior to starting any bonding(to make sure all hormones have gone).

2. Before bonding make sure you have the time to sit and watch them like a hawk as things can turn nasty very quickly.

3. When you are ready you need a pen that is about 3ft x 2ft (depending on how many rabbits are involved) in a completely neutral area. (some people use the bath with a towel down). If you need to neutralise an area a mixture of white wine vinegar, lemon juice and hot water works well.

4. When placing the rabbits in the pen you need to place the buck in before the doe, if you are bonding more than one doe you need to place the least dominant doe in first and work up in order of dominance.

5. Always use a water bowl as the spout of a water bottle can cause serious eye injuries if they knock it during the beginning stages.(I tend to put in two bowls in different places to stop territorial beaviour).

6. No litter trays or food bowls as these can be something that encourages territorial behaviour (for indoor rabbits I use a peice of tarp covered in a layer of hay to protect the carpet).

7. Chasing, fur pulling and mounting are all normal bonding behaviours but if the chasing becomes too intense or they start circling it is best to distract them (some will give them a squirt with a water pistol which can distract them and encourage mutual grooming) rather than letting it escalate.

8. Once they have been in the neutral area for a few hours without any scuffles you need to neutralise their enclosure (only if one of the rabbits has previously been in enclosure) with a mixture of Bleach, white wine vinegar and hot water (everything needs to be scrubbed) anything that can't be scrubbed needs to be thrown out. (Don't allow them access to their run until after the next stage).

9. Once they have been in their enclosure for 3/4 days without any issues you can allow them access to their run. During this time I find it best to scatter feed, I will only add a food bowl once I know they are happy together.

10. In my experience increasing space too quickly is one of the main issues for bonding to fail as it encourages territorial behaviour. If at any stage they start chasing and fur pulling again take a step back as this is normally an indication that you are moving too fast for the bond.

11. Don't split them unless they have a full locked on fight or blood is drawn as constantly splitting and reintroducing can cause a lot more stress and can make the bond take much, much longer to achieve.

Some people use a trip in the car as a way to help bond some rabbits, I have heard that it works very well but it isn't something I have ever had to rely on myself.

Pigger time.

Fri, 18 May 2012 18:53:59 +0000

I grabbed some pics of the wigs whilst they were in the run today

Tic Tac (at the back) and Mars (front)

Tic Tac

Crumbs

And another of Mars

It's Forage Friday!

Fri, 18 May 2012 18:39:50 +0000

We all know that a rabbit's diet should be around 85% fibre, 5% pellets (not museli) and 10% greens, but perhaps not many of us are brave enough to try to find natural and free sources of food for our rabbits. Grass and dandelions are the obvious things that we would go for, and they are an excellent addition to the diet, but over the next few weeks we are going to look at other goodies that we might find for our bunnies to enjoy. Starting with Plantain

For more information on this, and photos too, please see our blog http://rabbitwelfare.blogspot.co.uk/2012...riday.html

Poor Mouseyju!!

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:41:05 +0000

Well earlier on i posted a reply but when i went to do the next one i was told i was unauthorised and it wouldnt let me!! i tried going in and out and i tried logging in but it told me i was invalid!! so i sent an email to admin and then tried again... logged in and here i am!!! whats going on admin people?? dont u like Mouseyju no more?? Ill go if you dont want me!

Levi has suddenly turned agressive...

Fri, 18 May 2012 07:18:48 +0000

... towards Skye that is! She got spayed nearly two weeks ago and now he won't let her come close to the bars to see him! He growls and pounces and if she doesn't go away he bites! I've never seen Levi like this before. Before Skye was spayed everything was going smoothly, the two of them would lick each other from the bar gaps and flop close to each other. I don't understand... I thought spaying Skye would help with the bonding but all it has done so far is make Levi angry!

Skye did had a very smooth recovery though, she ate, drank and pooped as soon as she came home. Levi was refusing food for nearly two days, she just breezed through her recovery!

But it really concerns me that Levi is mean like that all of a sudden. I took him to the vet today and the vet said that he is as healthy as he can be. He is his normal self to me, all cuddly and cheeky, but since Skye came back from the vets he has been HATING her! It's like he is jealous of her or something, he wants ALL the attention to himself and I can see that because he will get really, really mad when he sees me touching her, feeding her etc

Could it be that he wants to be the only rabbit in the house?

VHD side effects

Thu, 17 May 2012 08:30:10 +0000

HI all, its been aggeeesss since I last posted, I hope you and your buns are all well.

I wanted to ask the opinion of more expereinced rabbit owners as Cleo and Holly are not so well today.

Last night they had their annual VHD jab (Cylap, my vets dont use Lapinject) and this morning they are really off colour. They are normally bouncy buns in the morning but today I found them huddled in the corner of their hutch. They have Allen & Page pellets which they normally go bonkers for, but today they ignored them. They ignored their hay too. So I picked them some dandelion leaves and they did nibble on those.

I am just worried that my girls look so miserable. Has anyone encountered this with VHD before? what should I do for them?

Also, when they go back in 6 months time for their Myxo booster, my vet told me it would be a new jab (myxo and VHD combined). Will this be ok for them yo do you think?

worried

Tracey x x x

Puppy and Bunny Playtime

Thu, 17 May 2012 06:00:18 +0000

I got Arwen a new playpen and this is what happens, my collie pup and her run round in the house together, they are best friends!

Baby Bunnies Dying

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:04:49 +0000

I'm hoping to find out if any of you have experienced something similar to this, and if so, if anything can be done.

We currently have 35 bunnies : 8 adult males, 7 adult females, and 20 babies. This time last week, we had 22 babies.

Our story starts last year, when we purchased 2 little black and brown Mini-Rex bunnies at a livestock auction. At that time, we had recently saved 2 wild baby bunnies from our cat on separate occasions. After releasing them back into the wild, we felt inspired to buy or adopt some domestic bunnies of our very own. Thus, the reason we were led to the animal auction. We didn't realize it at the time, but the bunnies we had just purchased were only about 6 to 8 weeks old. One was male, one female. In ignorance of what was normal behavior for a dwarf breed like the Mini-Rex, and being unable at the time to tell the gender of either one of the bunnies, we kept them together on our sun porch. Long story short, a couple months later, we discovered that we indeed had a male and female on our hands. We named the male Fred, and the female Ethel (after two characters from the classic TV show "I Love Lucy").

Ethel became pregnant in October 2011, giving birth on 1 Nov 2011 to her first litter, 5 girls and 2 boys. Unfortunately, we did not know at the time that she had indeed had her babies, and left Fred in the hutch with her. We believe he must have bred with her within the next 3 days, because on 3 Dec 2011, she gave birth to her second litter of 5 boys and 1 girl.

Long story short, we ended up with 15 rabbits in a very short time. At first we were determined that we would have to sell most of them, but over time we became determined to keep them. It seemed doable if we kept the males and females separate. Then, "The Incident" happened. In March of this year, Twinkle, one of the males from the first litter, managed to somehow find his way into the large pen the females were housed in. Needless to say, the now adult Twinkle had a little too much fun with his sisters. As we would later discover, he impregnated 5 out of 6 of his sisters. On 16 Apr 2012, 4 out of 5 gave birth, and the 5th gave birth early the following morning. This resulted in 22 babies. One of the females, Lil' Ethel, was found to be neglecting her babies completely, and after much consideration, the babies were given to one of her sisters, Nova, who adopted the babies and thankfully kept them alive.

Sorry for so much back story! Now, for the main reason of this message.

This past Saturday, I went out on the sun porch where we keep the female bunnies, doing my usual rounds of feeding and caring for them.
As I was finishing, I looked down in the large enclosure of one of the females, Augusta, and noticed something odd. One of the babies slowly hopped over to his siblings, then preceded to flop on his side and flail his legs, looking like he was trying to run. He then lay there stiffly, looking frozen. Obviously, this immediately worried me immensely, and I preceded to try and coax him out of that corner with a small broom, as it was too far too reach. He just laid there on his side, squeaking in fear. After some help from my husband I was able to retrieve him. The moment he was placed in my hands, I knew he was sick. I held him on his back, and he just looked up at me with sad little brown eyes. He didn't flail, kick, or try to flip himself over like a healthy baby would. I preceded to take him inside and sat down with him in my lap, resting him on his tummy on a soft paper towel. Shortly there after, he turned on his side and had another seizure, before going limp. At first I didn't realize what had just happened, thinking him stunned. In fact, the black baby bunny with brown eyes had just died in my lap. The next day, I found another of his siblings dead in the same enclosure. We buried them in a peaceful spot in our backyard, under an old oak tree. After I found the second dead baby, we immediately removed the rest of the bunnies (1 mother and 5 babies) from that enclosure and put them in quarantine inside our home.

None of them have died yet, but they are all sluggish. The mother, Augusta, seems to be favoring her back legs, but when you feel them they seem sound and she doesn't whimper or try to fight her legs being touched.

One baby in particular, Dutch, is the worst off. His little tummy seems swollen, and when I last held him an hour or two ago, he felt warmer than usual. I keep finding him sitting in the water dish, trying to cool himself off.

I'm sorry for this long winded message, but I need answers! I'm hoping that something in this narrative will help identify what this ailment is. None of the other mothers and babies have gotten sick. They all share the same type of food, water, hay, and hutches. For some reason, only Augusta and her babies have been afflicted.

This has been an extermely emotional experience for me, and I really would appreciate any advice you all may have. I don't want to lose any more of these babies.
Thank you for your time!
If you have any ideas, please let me know! I would really appreciate it!

Information about giant breeds

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:45:01 +0000

We've added some information about giant rabbits to our website recently.
http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/Gian...elines.pdf

HELLO FROM ESSEX

Mon, 14 May 2012 18:18:44 +0000

hello all im new so i thought i come and say hello to you all im looking to buy a rabbit n need some advice aswell been wanting a rabbit for a couple of months now but hubby said that i can have one im really looking forward to it ive had rabbits in the past when i was a little girl n i had indoor rabbits when i just moved out of my parents home have a white one for 8 years n i loved her so much n miss her so that me hope to meet great friends n share storys n pictures

JB has gone

Mon, 14 May 2012 07:24:10 +0000

After only updating you all a few days ago about how well Alfie and JB were doing, it seems JB was hiding something from us.
Sadly he passed away in the early hours of the morning. My mum gets up at 4 and checks on them first thing, and noticed him laying in his bed not moving.
We have no idea what could have happened overnight because he seemed his usual self when I was telling him goodnight last night.
We brought him in, wrapped up in a blanket, he was slowly breathing, but couldn't move anything, so we knew he was passing.
Im so upset, I just can't believe this has happened so early on....... I cant bear to go outside.... Just wish I could have done something more for him. I can only take comfort in giving him a good end to his life after his bad start, and so I do hope was happy being with me.
He was a right character, and a greedy so n so and he will be dearly missed. I really will miss him so much the handsome boy.

Rest in peace JB, I really loved you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Doing what he did best.