Four pups born, one DOA
two are quite large, one is small and weak
Spotty unfortunately died.
I'm guessing the size of the two large pups was a factor
as she was a healthy, well experienced sow.
Tanner is dad.
Peek-a-mommy kindles April 28, 2012
seven kits, three DOA.
Born one day late with fur. big kits.
Found her sitting on them on the 29th feeling a bit coolish so plopped them in with Violet's kits. They will keep them nicely warmed.
german
Peek-a-mommy
ChinPin - kindles April 27, 2012
Five kits were born, two DOA (one a peanut)
reade more...
Pinny is mom
Aero Bar is dad
Built a good nest.
Did a good job as a young mom.
Violet kindles April 23, 2012
Volet
and Shade
had six kits.
All are nicely sized.
Looks better than her first litter.
Violet will be for sale after she weans this litter.
August pups - April 22, 2012
August pups.
Two lovely pups.
Both females.
One will be kept, the other sold.
This is Tanner
This is August
Rabbits in the News
"I make samples and take them to the hotels and restaurants around the city to convince them that they can add rabbit stew in their menus and we can supply them with the meat,” she says.
Raising rabbits remains popular in Texas.
Don Mersiovsky, president of the TRBA, began raising rabbits when he was a 9-year-old 4-H student in Belton. Living in the city, rabbits were the easiest animal for him to raise. He's been raising them ever since. Where rabbits rank on the list of most popular animals for 4-H students to raise depends on the part of the state, Mersiovsky said."In areas that are more urban, where there are a lot of subdivisions and neighborhoods, you're usually going to see more rabbits," he said. "They're not as big as other livestock, but you can learn the same life skills and the same sense of responsibility that you get with any other animal. You have to take care of it and make sure it's healthy and well-fed. You have to learn the right way to do things."We have a lot of physically-disadvantaged kids who show rabbits. You don't have to be physically fit. Some of the special needs kids find rabbits a lot easier to handle, and they're not as scared. We've had kids with cerebral palsy and one with muscular dystrophy. It's a good way for them to learn the same life skills as anybody else."
A youth who had taken up rabbit rearing as an excellent means of self-employment, is leading a content life now.
Rabbits Are Not Overpopulated: The Ethics of Rabbit Breeding.
The answer is, perhaps surprisingly, that rabbits do not actually contribute to pet overpopulation. Despite being very prolific breeders, pet rabbits are not overpopulated in the United States, so breeding them does not present the same moral concerns associated with the breeding of cats and dogs.
The Rabbit Overpopulation Myth.
The only reliable figure for rabbit abandonment comes from a 1997 shelter survey that estimated 43,519 rabbits abandoned in US shelters in 1996. This estimate does not come from any rescue group or animal rights group, as they all claim they have no information about shelter numbers, but rather from an individual who did it himself. And from Rabbits Annual 1998-99 "Fewer rabbits are being dumped because people know how to care for them." Paige Parsons HRS educator.
Useful Blog on Rabbits. Lists a variety of topics. Seems fairly knowledgeable.
Vent Disease or Rabbit Syphilis
I had this crop up in my herd once from a rabbit that was given to me. Since she was in isolation it was simply a matter of treating her.
Vent disease is not a particularly good disease to have in your rabbitry and often requires all rabbits to be treated for it.
some resources to pursue in one's search for more knowledge on this disease
Vent disease is highly contagious and can be spread either by direct contact, during breeding, and passed to offsprings to kindling. Any rabbit showing signs of vent disease should be removed from your breeding program until they have been properly medicated. Quarantining the rabbit from the herd for a short time should also be practiced.Topical application of ointments may relieve the area of its soreness but will not rid the rabbit of this disease. Vent disease can be effectively treated using Pen BP-48 which is a combination of Procaine Penicillin G and Penicillin G Benzathine. We successfully treated by giving a dosage of 20,000 IU per pound of body weight. As with any medication, care should be taken to read the label so you understand how much medication you are administering to the rabbit. The bottle of Pen BP-48 that we purchase contains 300,000 IU per mL. So a 4 pound rabbit would receive 2.5/10 of a mL. This should be administered once a week for three straight weeks. The medication is to be given subcutaneously (SQ). A 25 gauge needle should be small enough for the rabbit, yet large enough for this somewhat thicker medication.As with any antibiotic care should be taken to watch your rabbit for any signs of diarrhea. Hay should be free fed during the treatment to aid the rabbits digestive system and prevent diarrhea. You may also consider removing pellets from the diet for the first couple of days after treatment.
Rabbits Online (note this is a rescue forum)
This link has pictures and a variety of links to look through.
According to Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery by Katherine E Quesenberry and James W. Carpenter, my source for this article, penicillin G benzathine-penicillin G procaine (sold as Combi-Pen and commonly referred to as pen B) administered at 7-day intervals for 3 injections (42,000 to 84,0000 IU per kilogram of rabbit weight given subcutaneously) is an appropriate treatment.My Combi-Pen has 300,000 IU per milliliter. A 4-lb. rabbit weighs 1.8 kg. The range for a 4 lb. rabbit is therefore 75,600 to 151,200 IU or 1/4 to 1/2 mililitters or cc’s. The convention many breeders use is 1/10 cc per pound. Please make your own calculations and consult your vet before administering medications.If you use Pen G, then you must give it for 5 to 7 days straight intramuscular. I find this treatment harder on the rabbit’s GI tract, though, and harder to administer. Other breeders have found that vent disease is more likely to reoccur with the Pen G treatment.
Treponematosis, a specific venereal disease of domestic rabbits, is caused by the spirochete Treponema paraluis cuniculi . It occurs in both sexes and is transmitted by coitus and from the doe to offspring. Although closely related to the organism ( T pallidum ) that causes human syphilis, T cuniculi is not transmissible to other domestic animals or humans.
Guinea pigs
So last night I went to a book sale in London. Sold one piggie, and then picked up two .. one a return from sale, and one a rescue pig.
the one I sold
The one returned, best offer takes him home
The rescue pig. Talker, nicely behaved pig.
has dark eyes, not red.
Best offer takes him home.
Blossom Kindles - April 14, 2012
Well did Blossom ever give me a shocker this morning.
I knew she was expecting, I expected her normal six kits.
She gave me 11 kits! ELEVEN!! one was DOA, but she has ten BIG kits in the nestbox.
Very well done girlie! She got a nice lettuce leaf this morning to and was totally ravenous. :)
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I knew she was expecting, I expected her normal six kits.
She gave me 11 kits! ELEVEN!! one was DOA, but she has ten BIG kits in the nestbox.
Very well done girlie! She got a nice lettuce leaf this morning to and was totally ravenous. :)
Blossom
Shade
Vivian Kindles - April 12, 2012
Vivian kindled today. Seven kits. A real mixed litter. Her last litter she gave me black, chestnut, smoke pearl, and japanese.
She's always such a goofy momma rabbit. I really like this young does' attitude and just wish her ears were better. She's just a gem personality wise.
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She's always such a goofy momma rabbit. I really like this young does' attitude and just wish her ears were better. She's just a gem personality wise.
Aero Bar
Vivian
Jade kindles - April 11, 2012
one day early.
seven kits - in a mixture of broken and solid, in black and chocolate.
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seven kits - in a mixture of broken and solid, in black and chocolate.
Spice is Dad
Jade is mom.
First time for this
I was checking Meggie's kits this morning and as I was counting to make sure all eight were still there and that they were well fed, I noticed that two kits were joined together and I said HEY.. something is not right here.
I found a placenta and umbilical cord joining two kits together.
So I cut off the placenta and cord so that both kits would move freely.
Hopefully there will be no adverse affects to this.
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I found a placenta and umbilical cord joining two kits together.
So I cut off the placenta and cord so that both kits would move freely.
Hopefully there will be no adverse affects to this.
Best Practices - Training kits
About 90% of my young stock ends up going to pet homes. The remainder tends to go to breeder homes.
One of my pet peeves is getting rabbits from breeders that are a pain in the butt to handle. They kick and fight when you want to pose them, or clip their nails, or give them a brush out when they moult. ACK! Drives me nuts. No need for bunnies to be brain-dead when it comes to being handled for these necessary things.
To that end, I want to raise rock solid youngsters. Kits that can handle about anything that is thrown at them without freaking out.
1. dealing with people other than me
2. having nails trimmed.
I play with bunny feet. I turn them on their backs. I fiddle with their feet. I reward good behaviour. I do it at least once a day with the little ones until they are five weeks old, and then once a week until they are about 3 months old. That seems to do the trick with them. I used to do it a longer but have learned once they get the early training in, they are good to go.
3. being handled every which way.
4. introduction to foods other than pellets
Do you know how very difficult it is to get a bunny that is stressed from a move to eat when it doesn't like the pellets you are offering it? and it's never had oatmeal or hay in its' life? Wow... MEGA difficult. ERGO.. I make sure that every rabbit I own is used to foods like greens (parsley, carrot greens, lettuce, etc), oatmeal (rolled kitchen oats, or horse oats), hay (either regular horse hay or hay cubes), and the occasional snack of fruit (generally apples). They also get bread crusts, leftover carrots or peppers or whatever I happen to find in the house.
5. Movement from one cage to another
In the spring I put bunnies out on grass, in the winter I bring some into the house for a day or two, I'll move rabbits willy-nilly from one cage to another, from one tent to another. I want them to be used to the fact that life changes and they don't need to stress over it. Rabbits that stress are rabbits that don't stay in my rabbitry.
NOTE: I cannot guarantee what any rabbit will do in your rabbitry, or in your pet home, but I will certainly do my best to give you a level headed rabbit that is a pleasure to handle and work with. How you handle your rabbit (s) and the environment you raise them in will also have an effect on them. But at least I want to do my best to give you a good start.
What do you do to get your rabbits used to life outside YOUR rabbitry?
Meggie - kindles April 10, 2012
two days early.
A litter of nine.
One was DOA.
All look to be healthy and will probably be magpie, but time will tell for sure.
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A litter of nine.
One was DOA.
All look to be healthy and will probably be magpie, but time will tell for sure.
Aero Bar
Meggie
Hoppin' Circle - March Wrap up
At Home Pets tackles the tough topic of spaying/neutering rabbits.
The Kelfla Project explains how she values a group effort in her goal of beating the standard.
Fuzzibutt's Rabbitry makes her wrap up debut with a post about how her rabbitry was in the news!
The Nature Trail plays 'Hide and Seek' with a pair of Polish babies.
Who Says Rabbits Lack Personality and Spunk?
an interesting article you may like to read.
who says rabbits lack personality and spunk?
Clips from the article follow
One of the biggest general misconceptions about rabbits is that they just sit there in the cage gnawing on stuff — like great, big hamsters — and don’t do anything interesting all day.
“Admittedly, I was one of those people who thought rabbits were bereft of personality,” says Shaun T. Gorman, an engineering consultant who’s been living with house rabbits for about seven years. “I figured that as animals of prey, their short life spans short-circuited any hereditary ‘personality’ traits and left them with a pretty basic eat-sleep-poop-survive life structure.” He continues, “Ahh, I know differently now — they are little people, with huge ears and lots of body hair.”
NOTE: I would NEVER characterize bunnies as being people..little or otherwise. It diminishes what they are. Rabbits are very individualistic and have their own way of looking at the world. Calling them people removes what they in actuality are. BUT the fact that they are quite different I thought was worth pointing out in this article.
She notes that many people try to play with a rabbit too quickly after the animal arrives, which can often frighten a rabbit even more. “This is a prey species that takes a while to settle down and learn that you are not a predator,” she says. “The best way you can convince the animal that you are not a predator is to stop acting like one — you want to be laid-back and let your rabbit come to you.”
I have learned that with MOST rabbits, give them about three weeks to settle down and the bunny is yours. BUT do play with your bunny. Get it used to your scent, your mannerisms, and your household noises. DO NOT just wait for the bunny as that's giving a lot of power to a bunny with a very small brain :) but do take into account that calm, quiet people de-stress rabbits quicker than boisterous noisy ones. :)
reade more...
who says rabbits lack personality and spunk?
Clips from the article follow
One of the biggest general misconceptions about rabbits is that they just sit there in the cage gnawing on stuff — like great, big hamsters — and don’t do anything interesting all day.
“Admittedly, I was one of those people who thought rabbits were bereft of personality,” says Shaun T. Gorman, an engineering consultant who’s been living with house rabbits for about seven years. “I figured that as animals of prey, their short life spans short-circuited any hereditary ‘personality’ traits and left them with a pretty basic eat-sleep-poop-survive life structure.” He continues, “Ahh, I know differently now — they are little people, with huge ears and lots of body hair.”
NOTE: I would NEVER characterize bunnies as being people..little or otherwise. It diminishes what they are. Rabbits are very individualistic and have their own way of looking at the world. Calling them people removes what they in actuality are. BUT the fact that they are quite different I thought was worth pointing out in this article.
She notes that many people try to play with a rabbit too quickly after the animal arrives, which can often frighten a rabbit even more. “This is a prey species that takes a while to settle down and learn that you are not a predator,” she says. “The best way you can convince the animal that you are not a predator is to stop acting like one — you want to be laid-back and let your rabbit come to you.”
I have learned that with MOST rabbits, give them about three weeks to settle down and the bunny is yours. BUT do play with your bunny. Get it used to your scent, your mannerisms, and your household noises. DO NOT just wait for the bunny as that's giving a lot of power to a bunny with a very small brain :) but do take into account that calm, quiet people de-stress rabbits quicker than boisterous noisy ones. :)
Yesterday I planted
my rabbit garden.
Complete with dandelions, greater plantain, lesser plantain, chicory, chickweed, and queen anne's lace. i also planted some wild lettuce out front.
I transplanted all the parsley into the rabbit garden as well. We can eat from it, but most of it goes to the rabbits simply because we have too much of it. :) It's an excellent standby for the rabbits. So hopefully that will get going soon.
Last fall I had taken some prickly lettuce seed and planted that, as well as moving a couple of mature plants I had. This will serve the bunnies well I think. Particularly if I can get it growing well by say July when we take our holidays. This will make it easier for my bunny people to give the rabbits greens every other day. (at least thats my hope!). :)
When it's growing well I'll need to put a picture in. :)
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Complete with dandelions, greater plantain, lesser plantain, chicory, chickweed, and queen anne's lace. i also planted some wild lettuce out front.
I transplanted all the parsley into the rabbit garden as well. We can eat from it, but most of it goes to the rabbits simply because we have too much of it. :) It's an excellent standby for the rabbits. So hopefully that will get going soon.
Last fall I had taken some prickly lettuce seed and planted that, as well as moving a couple of mature plants I had. This will serve the bunnies well I think. Particularly if I can get it growing well by say July when we take our holidays. This will make it easier for my bunny people to give the rabbits greens every other day. (at least thats my hope!). :)
When it's growing well I'll need to put a picture in. :)
For now it is looking something like this only bigger.
A few growing plants and mostly dirt.
Malocclusion in Rabbits
pic of a jersey woolie, that with two teeth clippings
the tooth issue went away.
pic from Fuzzy Patch rabbitry.
Rabbit teeth keep growing throughout its whole life. It takes a lot of daily chewing and gnawing to keep them worn down to usable lengths
Malocclusion in Rabbits is something to be concerned about
There are several main causes of Malocclusion in rabbits.
· Hereditary/Genetic. Malocclusion is a hereditary disease that is passed on to the young from adult rabbits that also have the disorder. Malocclusion is due to an autosomal recessive trait with incomplete penetrance. Rabbits with malocclusion should not be bred and spaying or neutering is highly recommended for any rabbit that has been diagnosed with malocclusion.
· Face or head trauma. Trauma to the mouth can also cause the teeth to become misaligned which will result in the teeth not grinding down correctly. This is often caused by bunnies pulling on the wire of their cages and so pulling their teeth out of alignment. Most breeders know if they have a ‘wire puller’ in the shed and take precautions to stop them doing it!
· Poor breeding or malnourishment of the doe or young babies. It can occur as a result of calcium deficiency which leads to osteomalacia of the jaw which allows the tooth to move in it’s socket.
· Bacterial infections. Bacterial infections can cause teeth to grow in odd directions.
· Unsuitable diet. Many rabbit owners think that feeding the well promoted commercial mixes from leading food manufacturers is enough. They may be‘nutritionally balanced’, but they do not take into account a number of very important factors including the eating pattern of rabbits in the wild, the problems of selective eating, and the lack of abrasive material found naturally in grass.
Signs of a problem
The most obvious symptom is overgrown teeth but where this isn’t obvious or hasn’t been picked up the following symptoms can also point to malocclusion:
- Abbesses in the mouth or jaw
- Drooling – this can also lead to dermatitis on the chin and chest which becomes itchy and can lead to fur pulling (see below)
- Fur pulling – this can also be a symptom of a number of other things as well but the most common cause (assuming your bun isn’t pregnant as does pull fur for their nesting boxes) is malocclusion.
- A swollen jaw
- Pawing at the mouth
- Sudden drop in weight (due to bun not being able to eat)
Treatment
- The treatment for malocclusion is having the teeth trimmed every four to six weeks.
I have to admit, I don't understand the trimming every 4-6 weeks. Why? I rescued a rabbit once that apparently had just had it's teeth done the week before, and the person was told to come back in 3-4 weeks. In that week the rabbits teeth were so badly curled it could not eat. So in essence it would starve for the next three weeks until it's next appointment. Can't see that as being good for the rabbit can you?
some helpful articles;
Raising rabbits.com has this one on Rabbit teeth.
- adult onset due to dietary problems, juvenile, wire pullers, jaw breakage - these are all causes.
Rabbit Teeth Issue Survey.
- conclusion that not a lot of differences between rabbit breeds, tend to affect about 1.3% of the rabbit population.
Merck Manual - Dental Malocclusion.
- Malocclusion (mandibular prognathism, brachygnathism) probably is the most common inherited disease in rabbits and leads to overgrowth of incisors with resultant difficulty in eating and drinking.
Malocclusion. by the Australian National Rabbit Council.
- Malocclusion,also referred to as buck' teeth or wolf' teeth, is a dental disease that is common in domesticated rabbits. Typically the teeth do not align correctly resulting in such ailments as overgrowth of teeth, sharp spurs on the molars, and curling of the incisors. Immediate treatment is required to ensure the continued health and happiness of your pet rabbit.
This picture courtesy of www.firesmurf.webs.com
Nail Trims and What Not
So yesterday I trimmed the nails of all the adult bunnies. I do this every 4-6 weeks. I find it interesting how some rabbits nails grow so very very fast, and others it seems like they don't need to be clipped. Makes me curious as to what makes the difference.
I train my babies from the time they are young that they sit for three feet to be done, and then I sit them on their bums for the last one. Training them takes the angst out of the nail trims for them. I started doing this after I purchased a variety of buns who would TOTALLY freak out when I would trim their nails and thought to myself.. I don't want other people thinking I've got nutty rabbits or that I never do nail trims so let's get them used to this idea. I HATE stressing rabbits out unnecessarily and nail trim stress is unnecessary in my opinion.
I train my babies from the time they are young that they sit for three feet to be done, and then I sit them on their bums for the last one. Training them takes the angst out of the nail trims for them. I started doing this after I purchased a variety of buns who would TOTALLY freak out when I would trim their nails and thought to myself.. I don't want other people thinking I've got nutty rabbits or that I never do nail trims so let's get them used to this idea. I HATE stressing rabbits out unnecessarily and nail trim stress is unnecessary in my opinion.
For some reason this time Vivian took extreme exception to me trimming her nails and I'm not sure why.... it was like she was some stranger rabbit. Usually Vive lets me do anything I want. She's a very goofy rabbit. So it rather surprised me. We both survived the experience with no damage. Perhaps it was because I used different clippers this time and she is a sensitive to noise rabbit. Silly beastie. :)
Everyone else was a trooper.
Bunnies out this morning
I put a whole whack of bunnies out on the lawn today.
Good to give them exercise.
Biscuit and her kits are out.
Slip is out with all the young girls (it is SO nice to have an older doe who is so accepting of young does)
Minx is out.
and is Sera.
The remaining kits from Peek are out.
as are all the young boys.
Nice to have bunnies outside.
Easter Bunnies to sell or not to sell
Should rabbit breeders sell bunnies at Easter?
There are many ways to look at this issue and it is one that easily divides people.
To me selling bunnies at Easter is no different than sheep or goat people raising their animals to be sold for the Easter folks. Selling bunnies to me is no different at Easter than it is in January, or August or October.
People, wanting a pet, looking for a bunny.
Are there people out there strictly making an impulse purchase looking to have a pet just for the holidays.. for sure.. but most of the time .. I find those folks go to the pet stores. They do. They certainly don't come to me willing to wait until I decide I'm going to go to the big city. They want the bunny now. SO.. they go the pet store.
Are there more people looking for bunnies at Easter? Well of course there is. Tis the time of year when bunnies start coming out of the wood work.
The sheer amount of people who I've had come to me over the years saying.. did you know how hard it is to find a bunny?!?!?! I've been looking all winter for one and NOW we can find them. We were starting to think we'd never find a good bunny.
It's just the way it is. Bunnies start really coming out for sale at the end of March/beginning of April. Are they timed for Easter? possibly. Could also just be the way it's worked out. People trying to breed rabbits, the rabbits saying NO, don't wanna.. until suddenly it's like.. oh, okay, you want me to make babies?!?!?!?! I can do THAT. :) Silly critters they are at times.
So sell your bunnies...whether it be a Easter or on Valentines or in the middle of summer. Enjoy them, move them out, and just be pleased that you are offering a needed service to folks looking to add the joy of a pet to their lives.
Is there risk involved with the care and sell of animals? For sure. but you know what .... Most folks will do right by their animals.
They will be housed, fed, and cleaned out.
Some may not be spoiled, some may end up over spoiled, most will end up being treated well. They may end up moving from one home to another. They may occasionally be handled in a way they don't appreciate, and if that happens they generally object. They generally do NOT end up in abusive situations. Is it possible that they might? Yeah... but it's not the majority. It really isn't.
Love your animals, care for your animals, assume that others will be responsible for what they want to be their own, and let the rest just be as it is. Even selling a bunny to the best possible home that you can think of doesn't mean that bunny is guaranteed that forever bestest home. Things happen and sometimes bunnies need to leave the perfect home for something other than what they had. It is what it is. ALL you can do as a breeder is your best. :)
There are no guarantees in life beyond that all will die at some point. All will at some point need to go before their maker. Beyond that, do the best that you can and let the rest just be.
A scare, a scream, a hole plugged
The scene: it's dark, my flashlight is going dim, I'm walking out to the rabbitry to say HEY BUNNIES.. want some apple branches when
The scare: out of the corner of my eye I see something white bounding toward my feet.
The Scream: yes.. I quietly screamed..not too loudly as freaking out the neighbours or hubby dear is NOT my idea of fun.
The surprise: two young bunnies hopping desperately around my feet with the attitude of HELP HELP HELP! Where's mom?
I said WHO ARE YOU?
OH!!!! you are Nicky's fosters!
What in heaven's name are you two doing out here?
I try to figure out where I"ve put her since I did some cage rearranging this morning...
Voila home.. two kits MOB mom.
I search the cage... finally finding a small hole just big enough for two kits to wiggle through...
Plug up the hole.
Tell the kits to stay put I'll fix the hole better in the morning.
I care for the critters.
I come inside for a much needed bowl of popcorn.
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The scare: out of the corner of my eye I see something white bounding toward my feet.
The Scream: yes.. I quietly screamed..not too loudly as freaking out the neighbours or hubby dear is NOT my idea of fun.
The surprise: two young bunnies hopping desperately around my feet with the attitude of HELP HELP HELP! Where's mom?
I said WHO ARE YOU?
OH!!!! you are Nicky's fosters!
What in heaven's name are you two doing out here?
I try to figure out where I"ve put her since I did some cage rearranging this morning...
Voila home.. two kits MOB mom.
I search the cage... finally finding a small hole just big enough for two kits to wiggle through...
Plug up the hole.
Tell the kits to stay put I'll fix the hole better in the morning.
I care for the critters.
I come inside for a much needed bowl of popcorn.