do you keep bunnies, or know someone who does?

[xela]

I'm feeding Alyse's bunnies while she's in Turkey. Last time I did this, I knew to call Jason if I had any questions, but he's on the Turkey trip too. Alyse mentioned someone else who also has rabbits, but she forget to send me contact info, and while it was a name I've heard her mention before, it's not someone I know (nor do I recall the name). If you know who that might be, please either point them at this or let me know how to reach them. Thanks!

(I ask because one of them didn't finish his veggies yesterday, which I've never seen either of them do before. But my sample size is small, so I don't know whether to be concerned.)

Comments

[coraline]

i sent this along to a bunny-enabled friend, if she has time to comment...

From Coraline's bunny-enabled friend

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

Hi there,

I wouldn't worry about a bun not finishing veggies unless you see zero signs of his having consumed other food or left any "output" as a result of consuming food. Some buns get picky. Give them a bunch of greens and if one piece isn't fresh enough they'll leave it behind. Also it's not uncommon during shedding season for buns to be less hungry and a bit more grumpy. Some buns really don't like shedding because it itches. If the buns seem to be leaving fur around you might try offering to brush him to relieve some of the discomfort. Brush gently in the wrong direction first to loosen up the molting fur then brush with the grain (aka the right direction) to remove anything loose.

If the bun is hunched up, grinding his teeth, not eating or drinking at all, not leaving pee or pellets in his litterbox, or refusing to come out to run around or play, then there might be something wrong. Gently feel his stomach for bloating or press your ear to his side. If the stomach feels hard rather than soft or if you hear gurgling noises then the bun might have gas or an intestinal blockage. Gas is uncomfortable for buns because they have NO way to get rid of it. Best thing to do if the bun is gassy but still producing output is to buy some Infant Gas X (simethicone or mylicone found in drug stores) and give a dropper full of that to the bun every 8 hours. Usually the simethicone gets rid of the gas within a day and the bun starts feeling better quickly. If you see no signs of pee or poop then go direct to a vet. Intestinal blockage can cause death within hours. Don't wait.

If you need more bunny help feel free to drop me a line at Whuffle at lj dot com. I'm a former fosterhome for one of the major New England rescue groups and have quite a lot of experience under my belt. And yes, while not always easy, if you really need it in a pinch I am willing to make house calls to help you evaluate problems before hurrying off to a vet.

[narya.livejournal.com]

They probably referred you to arcanology and if you email me I can give you his contact info.

[sammason.livejournal.com]

That's good advice from whuffle. Mainly, with rabbits as with any animal, I watch their behaviour and let them tell me how they're feeling. Hunched posture and lethargy are classic signs of being unhappy. So is marked anorexia, but a slight drop in food intake is nothing to worry about. I assume you've already checked that his water bottle isn't airlocked. You could also pick him up (one hand firmly around his shoulders from above to stop him trying to escape you; the other hand supporting his weight under the hindquarters; do not hold his ears) and look at his arse to see whether he's scouring. If not, and if his general behaviour is about as lively as usual, he's almost certainly fine.

Re: From Coraline's bunny-enabled friend

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

He seems fine tonight, and he ate all the fresh broccoli I gave him this morning, while continuing to ignore the three pieces he didn't eat yesterday. So I'm liking the 'picky' idea.

I'll check him for signs of shedding tomorrow and see if he'll let me brush him (assuming I can find his brush).

Thanks again.

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

Oh, right — I have an honest-to-god Mammalian Biologist on my freindslist. How about that....

Thank you, especially for the detailed advice on how to pick him up. I certainly wouldn't have grabbed him by the ears, but I'm pretty sure in the past I've gone for scooping him up like a cat (one hand under the chest from in front, the other under the hind quarters, sweeping him up til he's sort of laying on the first arm). And that he hasn't seemed entirely pleased with that approach.

I assume scouring is British English for defecating? (Or maybe a term of art among Biologists?)

He seems fine tonight, and he ate all the fresh broccoli I gave him this morning, while continuing to ignore the three pieces he didn't eat yesterday. So I'm liking whuffle's suggestion that he was just being picky.

Re: From Coraline's bunny-enabled friend

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

Ah!!! Keep an eye out. Broccoli does cause buns to develop a lot of gas. So yes, your bun might have been uncomfortably gassy. Its also high in calcium which bun's bodies can only digest a small amount of. Too much calcium can be very bad for buns. If you want to give Broccoli, do it occasionally in small amounts interspersed with other greens. The darker leafy greens are the best. Kale, Chard, Radish greens, turnip greens. Lettuce is okay if it's darker but iceberg is the equivalent of giving your bun nothing but water. It has pretty much no nutritive value.

[sammason.livejournal.com]

More a parasitologist than a mammalologist, but my interests being host-side and agricultural... hmm, ok, I'll accept your description :)

Scouring means having diarrhoea. I've mainly heard farmers use it and I don't know whether it's British usage. Whereas I do know that our spelling of diarrhoea is longer than yours, and technically it has a dipthong no less, so it's a word I rather dread having to write!

Anyway, good news about the rabbit. And I've been interested to learn from whuffle about the calcium issue.

[dcltdw]

Yeah, Tubbs is a picky eater. It's a potential sign you're overfeeding them -- not that you can tell from Sophie who is starrrrrving! but yeah. Tubbs a picky eater? UNPOSSIBLE. :)