a horrible day with a wonderful pick me up!

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DarayTala

DarayTala

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Jul 27, 2012
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Location
York, PA
Today is one of the worst I've had in years. My helper in the rabbitry and a very close friend, lost his temper and hit me. I asked him to leave and not come back, and when he refused one of the people I live with firmly showed him the door. I am still a bit in shock in how a wonderful friendship suddenly exploded and ended like this. I was feeling really devastated when I went out to care for all the bunnies. He had been taking care of the ones in the colony we had, aside from me doing health checks once or twice a week. I had been trying to teach him in parts how to do each job on his own so he could start his own rabbitry soon. So I went out to feed the colony and saw what I thought was a bit of pulled fur. I had palpatated both does about a week before and thought I felt something in one of them, but estimated she would be due in another week at the earliest. It was the first time I even had felt something when palpitating. Clearly I need a better lesson in it, because I felt around and there was a warm bundle of kits!!!! I didn't count them all, I plan to tomorrow, because the does were already getting a bit edgy with me poking around and they are our most skittish rabbits. I did take out one kit for a quick peak and it looked fed and definitely was starting to have a layer of fuzz, I would guess it was 3-4 days old! I don't know how my former friend could have missed the nest when going in there every day, it was obvious and something he knew to look out for, but thats in the past.

Honestly, after this morning being one of the worst ever, this was the greatest gift I could have asked for. I ran around for almost an hour just bouncing and chanting "we have kits!" My first colony had to be put down because of pasteurella and I never actually saw either of these does breed, so I was just getting ready to abandon the colony idea all together even though it would be my favorite method if it could produce results. And now, finally, colony kits are here! If ever I needed something to make me smile, today was the day. Part of me knows it will be a while till I adjust to this sudden hole in my life, but today also reminded me that there is brightness and beautiful life in this world that makes it worth getting up each day and smiling.
 
Yay for new kits! I can "see" the smile just from reading that post.

As to your "friend", I hope the situation is resolved. It had to be so scary, I am glad you had someone there to help you.

Of course, I don't know if this would happen, but since your "friend" obviously knows how important your rabbits are to you, please make sure he can't get to them and hurt them to hurt you.

(hugs)
 
I do hope someone alerted the the authorities, your "friend" deserves some shiny new bracelets if you catch my drift. I'm so sorry that happened to you, he had NO right to hurt you like that.

Glad you got some colony popples!!! Congrats! :D Pictures when you count 'em? :)
 
'How terrible. I hope this gets resolved without any further incident.

I certainly know how nice it is to have the comfort of ones animals after a tiring day.
 
He H-I-T you???? Are you kidding, that is insane! Sounds like he needs a psychological intervention by professionals!!! There is absolutely no excuse for that! I would suggest that you might want to file a police report and file for a restraining order! OMG, that is so off the scale!!!

So glad you have the kits to cheer you up, and :congratulations: on the success of your colony set up!
 
Well, I know he won't try and come back or hurt my rabbits at least. He would never harm an animal over something between two people. If he harasses me at all though, then I will take legal action against him. As it is now, I realize more than ever how troubled he is (he was the victim of intense abuse as a child and rape as an adult), and I know I need to stay far away from him for my own safety but also recommend from a distance that he get into serious therapy as soon as possible. My protection and my families safety comes first. Second to that, I hope there's a chance for him to over come his demons and get the help he truly needs, I wish I had seen how bad things were sooner.

Badness aside, how would you recommend going about checking the kits? The two does rocket around the colony every time someone enters, and I really don't want to scare them away from taking care of the kits my checking them. I've tried bribing with treats, but they ignore them. I've only had them a little over a month and they were never handled much before I got them, so I imagine it will be a while before they are okay with me. So any way to make sure they don't abandon the nest? How often should I check given how skittish they are?
 
:shock: Yes, the incident needs to be reported. It's not a pleasant process, but it's needed. If he tries anything else on you or someone else, it needs to be on record. Unfortunately, he probably will... so reporting this could help save you or someone else in the future. I'm so glad you had someone else there who could lay down the law!

It's so good to hear about the babies, though! :) A very nice bit of brightness!

I don't know how to handle your colony situation, but I'm sure somebody will pipe up who does.
 
..........yeah I agree, him hitting you needs to be on record, because if he does it again there needs to be documented information that he has a history of this, otherwise it'll be like a "first offense" all over again.

Not sure about your rabbits, I had a crazy spaz of a doe who would careen around the pen back when I had a colony setup (I eventually gave up on a colony as mine wasn't working out too well). I ignored her when I checked babies and she still cared for them...she just wouldn't do it while I was watching, lol.

But yeah, others with more experience can offer better advice. :)
 
You could always report it to the police but tell them it is just for the record. If there are problems in the future then they can reference back to that.

Glad you got kits that would be neat to be able to raise them in a colony.
 
Sorry to say, but it sounds like your colony will simply be a pen of wild rabbits if you don't get those does under control. Can you cage them for a couple of months while you gentle them down?

Otherwise, I suggest you simply leave everything alone until the kits open their eyes, then pull them from the colony and only return them (in a nest box) for the does to nurse once per day (morning would be best), then wean them as soon as possible (by the end of the 4th week), and keep them caged for at least a month so they can learn not to be wary of you. Once you have a couple of replacement does grown out, freezer camp the current does. And, until you have the current does under control, or dispatched, I would recommend that you keep the kits away from the colony because they will learn to avoid you from the does behavior and that is what you don't want :D

I realize it is hard for some folks to handle kits enough to gentle them, and then to dispatch and butcher them, but, this is one reason why colonies get "out of control" ... I am not sure which end of the spectrum you are on, so you should ask yourself how you can prevent this situation from arising in the future if you don't want it to continue.
 
I will see if I can make a report for the record just in case he tries something again, with me or someone else. I can defend myself now that I know what to expect, but I would never want someone else hurt cause I didn't act.

Honestly, I know my colony does are a bit wild, and the kits will likely be too, but that's not a huge problem. The kits are meat mutts. I have it set up so I can corner a rabbit when I need to, and that is good enough. My concern with the wildness is just that I will cause the does to abandon the kits. As long as that doesn't happen, we're good. Also, they are alright once actually caught, they don't kick or scratch and let me turn them over of clip nails no problem. Its odd, cause one of my hutch does is the sweetest thing when on the ground, but pick her up and she'll try and claw your arm to ribbons. Hmm. Rabbits...
 
AnnClaire":2ogn74u0 said:
Sorry to say, but it sounds like your colony will simply be a pen of wild rabbits if you don't get those does under control. Can you cage them for a couple of months while you gentle them down?

Otherwise, I suggest you simply leave everything alone until the kits open their eyes, then pull them from the colony and only return them (in a nest box) for the does to nurse once per day (morning would be best), then wean them as soon as possible (by the end of the 4th week), and keep them caged for at least a month so they can learn not to be wary of you. Once you have a couple of replacement does grown out, freezer camp the current does. And, until you have the current does under control, or dispatched, I would recommend that you keep the kits away from the colony because they will learn to avoid you from the does behavior and that is what you don't want :D

I realize it is hard for some folks to handle kits enough to gentle them, and then to dispatch and butcher them, but, this is one reason why colonies get "out of control" ... I am not sure which end of the spectrum you are on, so you should ask yourself how you can prevent this situation from arising in the future if you don't want it to continue.
Click to expand...

To be honest it was one of several reasons I shut down my colony and went to conventional caging...I got sick and tired of chasing rabbits around the pen. :p You'd be amazed at how fast a wee little baby can run!!!

Some rabbits just hate being picked up. :p Others love it. Crazy creatures. :)
 
You can train baby bunnies to come when called. Now, these are CAGED babies, I am talking about, but I'm willing to bet it would work in a colony too. Start by picking them up and stroking them, gently flipping them over before their eyes are open. Then, every time you go feed mamas, call 'hi babies' or whatever work you want Rabbit Rotisserie would work just as well, and feed mama and give her a good treat. I use oatmeal, and do it two or 3 times a day when possible. It takes maybe 5 minutes. Pretty soon babies will be coming over to you, to wait for their oatmeal. At this point I start feeding them out of my hand, just keeping it down low, and my movements slow. I normally hand feed for a few minutes, then put the oatmeal in a bowl, and start picking up babies, touch them all over, and put them back one at a time. The result is a baby who will come up to you expecting good things, and accept handling. My 9 week olds, when they're out in their play yard, will race up when I call and fall over themselves waiting to get picked up. No chasing babies, just an easy pick up and go :). The only negative is they tend to crowd the cages door terribly. Their mom, who didn't like me before the litter is also much friendlier now. Operant conditioning is so cool :)
 
I'm so sorry for what you went through, physically and emotionally with your friend. I don't have any advice; just offering you a virtual hug. :)

Congrats on the kits! Did you take any pictures?
 
Mary Ann's Rabbitry":32sagbhd said:
A boy shouldnt hit a girl...That isnt a friend who hits...
Click to expand...

Well, I wouldn't really call myself a girl, I'm gender neutral, but I agree, a friend doesn't do that to a friend, regardless of gender.
 

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