Any Rabbit advice ?

rachiee

lowis wrote: »

my friend has a farm and she gets lots of rabbits on her land...sometimes they get affected by mixy, as soon as she sees that they have the disease she shoots them - she told me what mixy does and i think her quick method of despatch is much less cruel (she is a very good shot).

Yeah we do this too if we see one!

KVet

amy104 wrote: »

Totally agree cutlerdrawer - I can't believe man created such an awful disease. I spend hundreds every year vacinating my pet rabbits against this (I have 6!) and its worth every penny.

Man didn't create the disease, they simpley found it naturally and took it into the lab to make more of to spread

lostinrates

We've seen it around us for the first time too. we dispatch them, but its always upsetting.

BonandDom

Just a quick note - be careful if you find one before you take it to the vets, maybe let them know the situation on the way there.

Not everyone is as conscientious as us and gets their rabbits vaccinated.

I am aware of one occassion when a vet was not very happy when someone turned up with a wild rabbit with this horrible disease and was then left to sit in the waiting room for some time.

Apparently the receptionist had asked what animal it was
Answer "rabbit"
Do you have an appointment?
Answer "No"
Is the rabbit in distress?
Answer "no, doesnt seem to be, just found it by the roadside and it doesnt look well at all"
Ok - take a seat and we will get one of the vets to have a look as soon as possible

I am not one to apportion blame, well at least not third hand, and this could have been a newly appointed receptionist, few instances of Mixxy in the area (and therefore less understanding/appreciation of issues arising), wrong questions/answers asked or given, any number of things.

But the point is whilst sitting there a family has brought their pet rabbit in for a sore foot and had sat next to the wild rabbit. And the lady who brought the wild rabbit in felt extremely embarrased and upset as she had only been trying to do the right thing for this poor animal.

So if the vet knows what you have, they can take you straight in, or even ask you to wait in the car til you can go in and reduce the risks

rhodders

Thanks for all the replies - went for the litter tray option & training seems to be going well and we have one happy little rabbit living with us now :smileyhea

lbt_2

Hi All

I have been using Oxbow Timothy hay and it works out to just under £30 for 4kg.

The bunnies love it but the last few bags have been pretty dusty so I am thinking of changing.

On looking I have noticed that there are some that are a lot cheaper and they are still timothy hay. Has anyone used either of these before: http://www.petsathome.com/find/keyword-is-hay/product-is-11487# or http://www.petsathome.com/find/keyword-is-hay/product-is-16083.

They are a lot cheaper per kilo and will be much easier to get when I need it - at the moment I have to order it through my vet!!!

Thanks

Blackpool_Saver

i like timothy, maybe it's just the time of the year ..........

johnson293

No ladies, not that kind of Rabbit!

We are looking to get a pair of Rabbits as a first pet for our young son.

Obviously we realise we will probably end up doing most of the caring for them, but we want them too. We are considering either a pair from a pet store, or alternatively from a local rescue centre.

However, we just have a few question that may help with our decisions.

I have ordered a hutch, which will hopefully be large enough for two small/dwarf rabbits. Its a Trixie Apex with run beneath, and the sizes are 123cm/4ft L x 76cm/2.4ft W x 96cm/3ft H.

A pet store I visited sugegsted that the best pairing woudl be a neutered male with an unspayed female, as Male neutering costs less, and is a less invasive operation. Is this true, or would both rabbits in any pair need to be neutered/spayed?

We wouldn't take the risk with a non-neutered spayed mixed pair (dont want rabbits everywhere!!), and dont want to have a same sex pair start fighting as they grow older - so if we need them both done, has anyone recent experience of this that can anyone advise of costs for neutering/spaying a rabbit at a vets in/around Newcastle?

We would also need them vaccinated - again, any ideas on costs?

And finally, these rabbit will be outdoor bunnies. Assuming we get them in the next week or two, will that be sufficient time for them to develop a winter coat before the cold snap arrives? We dont have anywhere to keep them sheltered, but have a large garden for the run about in - but we dont wnat to keep them in the house over winter, if possible.

Cheers for any advice offered.

MJ

tealady

Hi I would find a good rescue centre to get your buns from, they will have the animals welfare at heart and be able to answer most or all of your questions.

clutterydrawer

Hiya

Personally I tend not to let children handle rabbits - as they are prey animals their instinct is to be very skittish and struggle mightily when picked up, their back legs are strong and can cause some pretty bad injuries if they kick out. However with a well behaved child and a calm rabbit, the relationship can be a rewarding one if adequately supervised by adults. Not trying to put you off at all, just a heads up, as a lot of people think that all rabbits are calm, cuddly and forgiving of being endlessly handled.

I wouldn't personally keep a rabbit in that size of hutch, the minimum size recommended by the RSPCA is 6' x 2' x 2'. If they have permanent access to a good sized run that would be an improvement, although obviously make sure it is thoroughly fox proofed to avoid sad losses I started off with a 4' hutch for my own medium sized rabbits but soon realised that each of them was over 60cm long when stretched out relaxing - which doesn't give them many options on where to be!

I have ALL my rabbits neutered regardless of their sex. The reasons for this are that an unspayed female will experience a buildup or hormones (dissipated in wild rabbits by pregnancy) which cause her to have a 80% chance of uterine cancer by age 5. Its a lot cheaper and less invasive to get her spayed now, that treated for cancer later. also a lot of unspayed females become very frustrated and aggressive, I still have the scars I got from my doe before she was spayed. Her gentleman friend should be neutered so he doesn't, uhm, pay her too much unwanted attention.

Yes there is a risk with any neutering/spaying due to the necessity of general anaesthetic but the loss rate is extremely low. ask around a few vet practises to find one who does rabbit neuters regularly with minimal losses.

I would strongly recommed getting your buns from a rescue - they will already be neutered and spayed and probably vaccinated - saving you the stress of nursing them through their ops. It's also the cheaper option, a rescue typically charges an adoption fee of around £50 which is in no way as expensive as buying a rabbit from a pet store, neutering it, and doing their first two vaccs yourself. Although it is polite to give the rescue a little extra - they do a lot of good work and are always strapped for cash. additionally you will get adult rabbits so you can assess their temperament, if you get a baby rabbit there's no knowing how it'll turn out - and remember, there are 33,000 rabbits in rescue centres in the UK - it's so sad pet shops still sell them, when this many are in need of homes

You will need to get them booster vaccs for myxomatosis and VHD every year, these vary hugely in price but for me are approx £20 the pair.

I don't know about winter coats I'm afraid but there's a great forum for rabbit advice here: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk


Hope this has been useful, and enjoy your new pets - I got my first one a few years ago of a friend who didn't want her any more, I have never looked back, they are hard work but so so rewarding!