Cross-posted to get suggestions ASAP

For context, I am fostering two rabbits, Basil and Thyme. I don't think the lady who had them before me knew as much as I do and socialized Thyme with her brothers. And with Basil. And now Basil had babies.

Family tree currently: Basil x her brother = Thyme, Oregano, other boys. Thyme x Oregano = Chai, Chili and Dill. Chai, Chili and Dill were an accidental litter because no one told me when I started fostering Basil and Thyme that they were both pregnant.

I think Basil x Oregano also happened, because Basil gave birth anywhere from 5-10 days ago. She escaped the enclosure with Thyme, Chai, Chili and Dill and gave birth next to our water heater. Obviously dangerous so I put gloves on and scooped everything into a box and put her separated from her child/grandchildren. There were only two babies, a Dutch looking one and a dark colored one.

Chai, Chili and Dill are around 4-5 weeks old. I WILL be separating them at 8 weeks because Dill is a boy. I have two of my own ladies who are 6-7 years old and fixed and probably won't mind him.

ANYWAYS: these are very, VERY inbred babies. The Dutch one was much bigger than its sibling. Basil threw them both out of the box yesterday after moving them and then this morning had thrown the smaller one out. It was cold so I tried reviving it with microwaved rice in a sock. It was fat so she had fed it. When I checked on it this afternoon, it was gone. Cold. Basil licked her baby when I gave it back to her this morning so I'm wondering if she knew something was wrong. It was pooping and eating.

Anyways. The other baby is now alone. I am concerned it won't stay warm either or that she might reject it, too. I have kitten formula to supplement, because I don't think Thyme is still lactating and even if she is, she probably won't feed her technically sibling.

What can I do to try and keep this other baby alive? It's bigger than the one that died. I have another rabbit who is molting and I could probably take that fur off of her and line the nest a little more. I tried to keep as much of the original fur as possible but otherwise Basil used plastic bags for her nest... I didn't put those in the box. The rescue isn't really concerned, which is also bothering me. They mostly do dogs so I don't think they understand rabbits well.

Any tips are appreciated.

TLDR: foster rabbit gave birth next to my water heater, I had to move the nest and she rejected the smaller baby and I think it died from either being super inbred or hypothermia. Now I need tips for keeping the other baby alive, especially if she rejects it.

Could I:

\- Use my rabbits fur to line the box?

\- Use a blanket to line the box?

\- Use my other potentially lactating mom (who has 4-5 week old kits)?

\- Use kitten formula and a curved syringe if she stops feeding it?

To help anyone who had worries over their newly vaccinated rabbit it the future, regarding rabbit eating less or not eating.

My rabbit got his first vaccine and rearguard on Friday. Initially he was fine, eating and drinking everything, then yesterday morning he hadn’t eaten for hours, was groggy and hiding, wouldn’t even take a strawberry which was odd for him. However I knew it was likely temporary so I kept an eye and he started eating again a few hours later. He was still a little out of it, turning down treats and sleeping a lot. So I keep watching.

Then I let him out his room this morning and he instantly tries to hum my foot. Safe to say he feels much better. At the two day mark he turned around fully and was back to normal! So if your rabbit has just been vaccinated, just be aware they may not feel good or hungry, just encourage them with high reward food :) and if it’s been over the 12 hour mark contact the vet.

There's this person down the road from me, they have three white rabbits which I asked about and they are new zealand's, they got them to breed for meat but they keep them in a four square foot cage all together all the time, with a singular small water bottle and the flooring is just solid wood, they clean it once a week they said....

All three rabbits are kind of yellow because of how dirty they are, one of them has clearly a bad ear Mite infestation, and you can tell by the looks of the rabbits they have been fighting....

Just want to know if I can call animal control and anything actually be done? Or is this not actually considered a legal welfare issue?

I'm not mad about them raising the rabbits for me, I raise news even crosses for meat, but each rabbit also gets eight square feet minimum, and their cages are kept clean

Edit: to add that I am in the United States specifically North Carolina

It's been years since my bunny died but I find its death strange. It was an 8 yo bunny, day before her death I found her on her back not moving, I got worried and picked her up but she was totally fine immediately afterwards and for the whole afternoon and night. Fast forward to evening day later and I come back from school just to learn my bunny passed, and my mom found them dead on her back just as she was a day before but for good this time. Is this an old bunny thing to do? To just put themselves on their backs and wait to die? Or did she overshoot flipping on her side and passed like a flipped turtle? Did I miss a health problem?

I saw one person saying thay they also found their bunny dead on their back, and since it isn't a normal position for a bunny to be in, I'm wondering why did she die this way and is this common behaviour.

I couldn't find anything online, it was just about trancing and not actual dying. Also I doubt anything startled her and she pooped and ate normally.

Fellow indoor bunny owners!

For the last few months we have been inundated with flies around our house (primarily downstairs), they are not bluebottles. We have checked everywhere (under cupboards, on top, every crack and crevice) and eventually we had to smoke bomb (obviously removed the rabbits temporarily) the flies came back within a week.
We have since retreated and decorated our downstairs but now they are occurring upstairs (coincidentally where the rabbits now are!).
There is no food or maggots left out and we have cleaned EVERY inch of the kitchen which is where they initially were.

They are not however affecting the rabbits, but they are just a general nuisance and we don’t know what to do next! Has anyone had the same experience/ something similar?
I will attatch some pictures.

Hi all!

My rabbit has been sick and was at the hospital for a week. We found out she has hepatitis and enteritis. She's currently medicated and has been back home since Thursday.

Since Thursday I've been having to giver her CC because she doesn't eat at all. She shows absolutely no willingness to eat, what so ever.

Having to hand feed her is going to he difficult to maintain in the long run because I work and I can't be home every 5 hours to feed her.

I was wondering if you'd have suggestions on ways to stimulate her to start eating by herself.

Thank you so much.

I have a 1-year-old mixed breed doe, I've put her with my but (who has successfully bred my other doe multiple times)

But this girl just won't allow him, she bunches up and just won't let him, even after he gives her kisses and all of the stuff she still is not interested, I'm of course bringing her to his cage I've even tried putting them in a playpen on completely neutral ground just to try it, but she's just completely not interested.

So I hope you guys have some suggestions, I've never had this issue before so I'm not really sure what to do

I love them so much and would love to have more haha

They absolutely love their greens! I have 6 flamish giants and they eat about half a wheelbarrow of greens a day. All organic and all locally picked. They also have about an acre of protected field.

The night stable is 3 meter by 2 meter. They will have pasture most of the day and rarely visit it at night.

How many buns do yall think i can get more? My area has an insane amount of buns in shelters at the moment and right now I'm still in time for their winter coats to develop.

I was thinking a maximum of 4 giants or 6/7 medium buns. I mean pasture and feed enough. Also 3 of the giants are from a breeder ( i had no other options at that moment) and he vacinates his own buns and ours for 5 euros a bunny instead of the usual 60euro a bunny so that saves alot too haha

Ieri prendendo il mio coniglietto in braccio mi sono accorta che una delle sue narici risulta arrossata e dura. Allego foto. Cosa potrebbe essere?
Ha 4 mesi e Vive libero per la casa, quando non ci sono rimane solo in salotto.

I’ve recently gotten a miniature bunny (she’ll grow) and I had her in a nice cage and everything but I like to leave her out for a bit to roam around my room. She got underneath my bed and I got scared she might pick or eat something. Once I got her out I saw she hurt her paw and I freaked out (when she was underneath the bed) and right after I saw her paw. I got really scared and started overthinking that she might get a seizure because beforehand I had overheard that a lady I knew lost her bunny due to one. So I started searching her symptoms and every little thing she was doing. But she suddenly just started licking me, eating, drinking and doing what she usually does normally. So I began to calm down. I’m still scared that something might happen to her because she’s so small and I’ve been wanting a bunny for so long. If anyone might have suggestions or advice please let me know.

Hello! This year I’m in FFA and I’m showing a rabbit. Tonight I’m going to start cleaning our spare room for them to live in. In that room my dogs have pooped on the floor a few times, and my mom never actually washed the carpet after.

My ag teacher says we should be getting our rabbits around September 12th, so will the chemicals/smell be out in time to be safe for the rabbit?

Also, if it won’t work, should a water and vinegar mixture work? I have my parrots in my room so that’s what I usually use, but I have normal carpet in my room and our extra room has those carpet squares that look like something in an office building.

Thank you!

So my friend couldn’t take care of her rabbit and gave her to me, I won’t be keeping it I’ll be giving her to a friend who has rabbits and I can’t afford a vet for another 2 weeks, can someone tell me what this is and if it’s insanley serious? I think there eye boogers matted in her hair so I’m hoping it’s that it’s ripping her fur out and not something worse

Most likely I will be tapping into savings to get it checked out but if someone could give some insight that would be appreciated

Edit:

Hey all! We haven’t gotten the bunny into the vet yet, we will be soon. But we were able to move a bunch of hair out of her face and check to see what it was and her eye is fine, a little swollen but definitely better than it was last night. Again she will still be going to the vet but from what we can see, that had to have been from a couple weeks maybe months ago and we suspect she might have fought whatever it was off, AGAIN SHE WILL STILL BE GOING TO THE VET!!! I know I said it 3 times I just wanna stress the point I’m not self diagnosing her. For the mean time we will be keeping watch on the area and cleaning it regularly with gentle sterile items (which is recommended to do in this situation after research I did last night) the only issue I am seeing is if it is something serious my friend won’t be willing to take her in due to knowing she can’t deal with the treatment for the bunny. If that is the case I promise this baby will be well taken care of as I’m going to do research on bunny care and if it is the case that my friend will NOT be able to take the bunny then I guess I’m gonna have a little roommate (I know rabbits are high maintenance, I have already done some research and will continue more. Right now I do have her in a low priced hutch which is TEMPORARY just until I figure out wether my friend with bunnies already will still be willing to take her, if not then I am going to be free roaming this rabbit. So either way I need you guys to know this bunny will be well taken care of from now on by either me or another person. And just incase anyone asks, no the person who neglected her will not be around her ever again. We did find a HUGE clump of poo stuck to her but which we were able to get off ourselves without hurting her. It was absolutely rock solid and we did have to put her butt in warm water, this was a one time thing I know you don’t bathe bunnies but it seemed like a situation that was absolutely necessary. Overall bunny is fine at the moment, she started running around my room all happy and playing with this cat toy I had in there, she’s eating, she’s pooping, she’s drinking. And when we get to the vet I will be updating more.

He was rescued and found outside so I have no idea, His name is koko.

We’ve had her for almost 3 years and we’ve never known what breed she is. We took her in from another family that couldn’t keep her anymore and they didn’t know either. The best answer we’ve gotten is a mutt with maybe satin base? Any experts able to shed some light?? It drives me crazy! (I tried to include pics of her from several angles for analysis purposes)

🐰 Rabbit Genetics App – Looking for Beta Testers

I've been developing a new Rabbit Genetics app and it's now at the stage where I'd like a small number of rabbit breeders/keepers to test it properly and give me some feedback.

The idea is to make rabbit colour genetics simple and accessible, without needing to understand all the genetic codes behind it.

Current features include:

• 🧬 Breeding calculator – select two rabbits and see possible offspring colours with easy-to-understand percentages

• 🎨 Rabbit colour reference guide with genetics information

• 🎯 “How do I produce this colour?” – select a colour and see suitable breeding combinations

• 🐇 My Rabbits – save your own rabbits, colours, photos and details

• 👨‍👩‍👧 Linked parents – select an existing rabbit as a sire/dam and its known pedigree information is automatically carried through

• 🌳 Family trees/pedigrees generated from the information you've entered

• 💾 Backup & restore your rabbit records

• 📱 Designed to be straightforward to use on a phone or tablet

It's currently an Android beta and isn't on the Play Store yet, so testers would be installing the test version directly.

I'm particularly interested in finding people who know rabbit colours/genetics who can spot anything inaccurate, but I'd also really like testers who don't know much about genetics to see whether the app actually makes it easier to understand.

Would something like this be useful to you as a breeder/keeper?

If you'd be interested in beta testing it, comment below or send me a message. 🐰🧬

I had her bred 22 days ago. Can you tell from the outside if she is pregnant?

back again with a question around housing rabbits during a bond. i’m doing a lot of research, and hitting a LOT of overwhelm and anxiety with how many ways/options/considerations come with this. the emphasis/importance of a neutral space is undeniable, but with that i’ve redone my plan a few times. of the two, is one more favorable?

OPTION 1: both rabbits move to a new, neutral room in separate pens. dates would occur in a nearby bathroom, and enclosure/scent swapping could also occur between the two equal/mirrored pens. they could eventually do their first overnight/shared pen in that new room as dates/bond progressed towards completing? and then would move back into my original rabbit’s original room (which would be deep cleaned)

OPTION 2: small section of my original rabbit’s room would be blocked off for the new rabbit, with bond/date work happening in the new, neutral room. this option gives us the ability to expand the space a lot since it’s a comparable sized room to the original/ideal long term room.

additional context: both rabbits are fixed and have been for awhile (ages 5 and 6). my original rabbit is male, and on their first date the new female rabbit groomed him.

For some more context:

My lop rabbit scratches her ears a lot, and she seems to really dig in with her hindpaws (her third eyelid shows when she scratches). Recently I've started scratching them for her, because I'm worried she'll somehow damage herself with how deep and aggressively she's scratching. I don't go past the visible part of the non-furry side of her ears. She also leans into my hand and shows her third eyelid and eye whites when I scratch her ears. I pause frequently, and she lets me know when she's not itchy anymore by grooming her ears afterwards (at least that's how I interpreted it).

I did take a look into her ears with a flashlight and she has a small amount of earwax from what I can see, but it looks like a normal colour and amount (like human earwax, in a way).

I'm keeping a close eye on her, but how much scratching (say, per day) should make me concerned? Also, is it okay that I scratch her ears for her?

i took my rabbit speed dating today, and to my surprise he hit it off with another lionhead! she even groomed him for a bit during their first date, and when something spooked him during the date he actually moved to hide behind her. both felt like promising early signs, though i know when we get home to his space it can be a different story.

i’ll be bringing home the new bun in a week (due to some scheduling conflicts.) my plan is to start them both off in a new/neutral room of the house and in separate pens, and gradually start introductions there, before moving them back to my original bun’s room as their permanent home. Any suggestions/tips/things to avoid through the process?

My bunny’s main diet is mostly pellets and veggies and she barely eats hay. She has access to hay 24/7, but I rarely see her eat it. I’m thinking of incorporating the hay into different treats but those can only be given occasionally. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I currently have a bonded pair. Male 6 years and female 4 years. Had both since 2 month old babies.

I’m moving houses and now have a massive garden to put them in. So I’m thinking to get another duo or trio (again from young like 2 months) with the aim of eventually bonding them to my current pair so they become one big happy bunny family.

They’ll have access to my secure garden during the day and kept indoors at night time.

Any advice , recommendations tips etc?

Thanks all

Is this what a good nest is supposed to look like? I wanted to provide a nesting box, but she decided to build a nest ten days early, and I don't want to remove it if it's a good, safe nest. This is her first litter, and I wouldn't want to lose any babies due to inexperience.