Rabbit Ramblings

FUNNY'S

DID YOU KNOW

Did you know.... A mad keen rabbit keeper in Edinburgh, Scotland was evicted from her home because she grew a lawn for her rabbits in the front room of he council house.

Did you know.... That news paper is really good as bedding in hutches, it is warm and absorbent and it also has the added benefit that the news print deters mites.

Did you know.... That poodles were breed to hunt rabbits with Ladies of the French Court. In around 1768 it was documented that these pretty and petite dogs were agile and keen to fetch the spoils of the Ladies Archery hunt.

COCO's Story

2006 “are you Sally Arnold the rabbit lady the one in the papers” I was asked on the phone at about 7am in the morning ‘yes that would be me, what can I help you with” then the lady caller broke into tears. I ve been trying to find any one who will come out and look at the rabbits next door and NO ONE ELSE will come I’ve asked every one.
I asked what the problem was and Debbie the lady said that her neighbours had rabbits and they were crying and scratching at the hutch they lived in and that the day before she had asked the neighbour to check on them but the rabbits had kept screaming during the night. I said I will be there ASAP, what is your address I will come to you first and then go next door.
Debbie met me at the gate and then I knocked on the door and asked to see the rabbits I said I was from SA. RABBIT RESCUE and said I wanted to see the rabbits as it was reported to me that they were screaming for at least a day. The drunken man and woman who answered the door showed me through the house which was filthy to the over grown back yard filled with car bodies and rusty furniture and dog poo to a tiny hutch with at least 30 cm of rabbit poo and wee caked in the bottom. In that cage there were 2 Adult rabbits and 8 babies who were dead or dying they were Netherland Crosses, Dad rabbit was dead and eaten by maggots 4 of the babies were the same. The mother rabbit had been the one who was screaming in pain as the maggots were eating her emaciated body while still alive and the other 2 babies were in a wet, caked on poo corner alive but doing those horrible death kicks that rabbits do when they are nearing the end.
I was so bloody disgusted that I turned around and screamed WHY don’t you have any respect for F……….life you ……….. And slapped the drunk male who said “their just rabbits” “take the f…ing things you ******** do-gooder. So I swept up the 3 remaining bunnies and put them into a clean warm basket with hot water bottle and left the property. I took photos of this so called home and the death seen I had first encountered so I would never forget what people are capable of.
I went next door with Debbie’s invitation and got my Medical Kit from the car.
The Mother rabbit was to far gone and I put her out of her misery the first baby was very bad and was on its last legs but I treated it and the second baby with fluids and vitamin injections plus Nutri gel into the mouth popped them back into the basket and then home. Neither of the bubs could stay upright for days they kept slumping to one side, they were kept warm and feed on Heinz baby foods and Rabbit replacer milk from a syringe around the clock. The weeks passed and they improved in leaps and bounds after those first weeks.

In the weeks proceeding this incident I had been contacted by a Vet in Northern NSW looking for a rescue bunny for a Clients friend who had lost their long time bunny friend Chocky who had been a lovely Dark Siamese sable Nethie x. The Vet asked if she could pass on my name and number to them and she said they are very keen to get a new bunny. Pat called that afternoon and was pretty chocked up when talking about his lovely bunny, he said he would get his wife to call me to have a chat about the type of bunny they were looking for, which was pretty specific. Elena called and I could tell these people really cared about their bunny and that a rescue would have a blissfully happy life with this couple of rabbit nuts like me.

Little did I know what I was in for at the start of our relationship. I called about each of the rescues that came in to my shelter and Pat had a friend of his who was living in Adelaide come over and take pictures on a few occasions as I did not have a digital camera and the technology to send off photos as I do now. None of the little buns that came in suited the wish list. A couple of months this went on for and then of course the 2 baby rescues came to me and I explained their rescue to Pat saying one was probably the colour that he and Elena were keen on but they were at deaths door. Pats friend arrived on the door step as soon as the buns could stand and took some photos. THAT was the beginning of a new life for the bunny now to be called Coco. I nursed him back to health and a good weight with Pat and Elena calling about his progress almost daily and of course as keen as mustard to get him up North to them. I of course form real attachments when I have to nurse bunnies for so long with sleepless nights keeping them warm and hydrated and moving them constantly so they don’t get pressure sores and in Cocos case doing physio for the wasted muscles from being emaciated, so I wanted this bunny to go to the best home possible.
But the day came when Pat and Elena called and I said ok he is ready to come home to you guys, how are we going to get him up to you as they lived over a thousand kilometres away.
Well only the best will do for Coco…. Pat organised First class flights up to them, Coco and I were picked up at the air port and I enjoyed a few days with Coco and his new family. Pat, Elena and Coco certainly are a very happy trio plus Coco has an extended family who have him over for bunny play dates and when his mummy and daddy go away on holidays that’s a job for Grandma and Grandpa. The other little bunny baby found a lovely home here in S.A. With the obvious absence of good nutrition as a baby bunny, Coco and his sister have had problems with a potassium deficiency but this has been treated and is under control as both of the new bunny parents are very observant and notice the problem and have sort out rabbit friendly Vets for the correct treatment of these conditions.
Coco is a very happy bunny these days thanks to lovely people like Pat and Elena.

A BIG THANK YOU TO THEM FOR THEIR LOVE AND SUPPORT FOR THE BUNNIES AND MY FAMILY XOXOXO

WILLIES STORY....!!!!

Early April I came home to my hubby saying a lady, Mary had called about her bunny it had been bleeding from the Vulva and she was very concerned even though she had taken Willie a Doe to the vet, this name was short for Wilamena.
I said there were 3 possibilities even with out seeing the bunny. I knew that the non rabbit vets actions were incorrect and that there was no investigation and to put bunny on antibiotics and see if that works. In my opinion with obvious bleeding there was a serious problem and risk to the bunny so I advised Mary and her hubby Ed to get Willie to the Vet ASAP. I gave them my recommendation Dr. Kendall.
My thought process made me think of 3 problems that could be the culprit.

1. Tumour or Cancer.....Uterine Cancer.

2. Uterine Infection, usually caused by diseased or ruptured tissue.

3. Internal Bleeding. General.

I would just like to clarify a comment made by at least 2 South Australian Vets, these Vets said female rabbits get bleeding like a period associated with them coming into season...THIS IS NOT TRUE RABBITS DO NOT BLEED UNLESS THERE IS TRAUMA e.g.. disease.

If you see any bleeding seek Veterinary help from a Vet with lots of Rabbit experience and success.

Mary and Ed took Willie to Dr. Jane Kendall at the Mt. Barker Vet Clinic, she was able to diagnose a tumour immediately and booked Willie in that afternoon for surgery. Jane advised Mary and Ed of the problems associated with the late diagnosis of the Cancer and they went ahead with the surgery knowing that it may have spread to other organs. Sadly this was the case and Willie had to be put to sleep while under the aesthetic.

The sad part of this story is that Mary and Ed are both very caring rabbit lovers and would go to the ends of the earth for their bunnies. They had seen this bleeding before about 2 years ago and took Willie who was 6 years old, to the vet who told them it was just a rabbit period, NOT TRUE the vet did no further investigation at that time and said it was normal but this was probably the first sign of the Cancer. If the surgery was done in the early stages Willie might well be still here today. Please ensure that your Vet knows about rabbits and has a good success rate with them, as some vets have told me they see rabbits all the time and when I ask if they survive the answer is not always a good percentage. Rabbits by nature do not demonstrate their illness and this leads the owner to not noticing the fading bunny till its to late to have any vet be of benefit.

But with this case it should of been handled better by the other two un-named vets both 2 years ago and when given antibiotics and see how they go...

The other thing that I think needs to be said here is that if you have no intention of breeding your rabbits get them spayed, this removes all the organs that could possibly become a problem later in bunnies life. There a many pros to this for e.g.. cleaner, well behaved bunny and major positives regarding health issues.

Please take note of the my page of preferred rabbit Vet Clinics, and you are always welcome to contact me in an Emergency.

Thanks to Mary and Ed for letting me tell their sad story..

Copyright © Wildwood Rabbit Stud 2007-2010