Droopy ear-tops, cause for concern?

I jus noticed that one of the kits (9 weeks old) has droopy ear tops.

Why can that be? It was a really warm day yesterday, somewhat wam today, is that the reason?
I think I read something about lack of calcium or something causing droopy ears, but can't find it..
Should I be concerned?

If it's feed related, what's the recommended amount of whatever's causing it?

He's normal in all other aspects. Hops around, eats, yawns, rests a bit, stretches, eats, drinks, plays some more.. No odour, no redness, no sneezing, snot or anything else, just floppy ear tops. He's pure bred swedish pelt and they'e not supposed to have floppy ears

I forgot my camera and I'm too lazy to go out again (its raining) so I painted a picture:
It's just the tops of the ears, not the whole ear.


It is seriously cute though, especially when he runs..

There is something called summer ear, when it gets hot, had a few Rex do that, and the ears were fine when it cooled down.

Sometimes young rabbits have this with their ears. They normally outgrow it. Sometimes it indicates a lack of something in their diet.

I love how I always get fast answers here

Anyone knowing what they may lack if its not just the heat?

Zab":1bgiy8ue said:

Anyone knowing what they may lack if its not just the heat?

Click to expand...

Vitamin A.

See page 14 in this PDF:

http://ehs.uc.edu/lams/data/pdfs/9004.pdf

However, I would not be too concerned with drooping ear tips in a young rabbit, especially when the weather is warm. Vitamin A deficiency seems to weaken the base of the ear cartilage, making the whole ear droop, not just the tip. If the rabbit was an adult, I would be more concerned.

Like Sky, I have seen the drooping tips in my Rex litters in the summer months, but they always grow out of it.

Thank you
I'm getting weary about this vitamin A.. it's also a cause for non-pregnancy, right?
The pdf mentions growth issues.. my kits are smaller than I expected (1.2kg at 9 weeks.. it IS a small breed, but..) they're round and all though. Very meaty for their size.

And is it one of those vitamins that likes to just disappear in feed if stored too long? My feed bag say 7500 IE of vitamin A.. no idea how much that is.. oh, read the pdf.. 10 000IU are recommended.. how much IU are 1 IE?
I feed carrot tops but maybe it's just not enough..

..sources say goutweed contains vitamin A but I can't find any numbers.. I could feed more of that. I've mostly given them dandelions because they grow like.. 30 feet closer to the colony.. but they have vitamin A as well. Wasn't long since I started feeding them a proper amount of fresh greens though..<br /><br />__________ Sun May 19, 2013 8:48 am __________<br /><br />It's probably nothing.. but I can just as well give them little extra fee-feed to be safe.. :3

Zab":38ojsepq said:

And is it one of those vitamins that likes to just disappear in feed if stored too long?

Click to expand...

Zab":38ojsepq said:

I'm getting weary about this vitamin A.. it's also a cause for non-pregnancy, right?

Click to expand...

Yes and yes. Both A and E are not shelf-stable and are the first to degrade in processed foods.

Zab":38ojsepq said:

how much IU are 1 IE?

Click to expand...

No idea. I have never heard of an IE. Is it a Swedish term, perhaps? I.U. stands for "International Unit", but the amount of the substance varies according to its biological effect.

For every substance to which this unit is assigned, there is an internationally accepted biological effect expected with a dose of 1 IU. Other quantities of the standard preparation of the substance are expressed in multiples of this dose and may be converted into mass units. For example, 1IU is equivalent to 0.3 microgram (0.0003 milligram) of vitamin-A, 50 micrograms (0.050 milligram) of vitamin-C, or 25 nanograms (0.000025 milligram) of vitamin-D.


Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/defin ... z2TkLls2QP

Zab":38ojsepq said:

I've mostly given them dandelions because they grow like.. 30 feet closer to the colony.. but they have vitamin A as well. Wasn't long since I started feeding them a proper amount of fresh greens though..

Click to expand...

Dandelions are good. I would feed as much fresh greens as you can, and hopefully that will help with the growth, floppy ears, and pregnancies. :clover:

ok, IE and IU is the same thing, I found out.. so the pellets are low to start with.
Does E vitamin degrade much from BOSS?

Ok, stupid question, but I'm very lazy. Regular mixed salads that you buy in the store, like iceberg lettuce, baby spinache, roman lettuce( I think it's called).. do they have vitamin A too? I'm thinking for winter.. maybe carrots in winter will be my safest and cheapest source?

Thanks for helping me figure it out

Zab":2utzy48e said:

I forgot my camera and I'm too lazy to go out again (its raining) so I painted a picture

Click to expand...

to lazy to go outside...paint amazing picture...>.> hmm...I think the art world wants you to be lazy more often

haha thanks

Zab":34tgd7z6 said:

Does E vitamin degrade much from BOSS?

Click to expand...

As long as they are still in the shell (nature's perfect package!), they should be fine. Most seeds will germinate even after years in storage, and they would be unable to do that if there was a loss of vitamins.

Zab":34tgd7z6 said:

Regular mixed salads that you buy in the store, like iceberg lettuce, baby spinache, roman lettuce( I think it's called).. do they have vitamin A too?

Click to expand...

Dark leafy greens like romaine, spinach, and turnip greens, and orange vegetables such as carrots, winter squash, and sweet potatoes are good sources.

Sweet potatoes:

Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes may be one of nature's unsurpassed sources of beta-carotene. Several recent studies have shown the superior ability of sweet potatoes to raise our blood levels of vitamin A. This benefit may be particularly true for children. In several studies from Africa, sweet potatoes were found to contain between 100-1,600 micrograms (RAE) of vitamin A in every 3.5 ounces—enough, on average, to meet 35% of all vitamin A needs, and in many cases enough to meet over 90% of vitamin A needs (from this single food alone).

Feed them with BOSS, since fat helps with the uptake of Beta-carotene:

It's important to have some fat in your sweet potato-containing meals if you want to enjoy the full beta-carotene benefits of this root vegetable. Recent research has shown that a minimum of 3-5 grams of fat per meal significantly increases our uptake of beta-carotene from sweet potatoes.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... ce&dbid=64

Sinnfox":34tgd7z6 said:

to lazy to go outside...paint amazing picture...>.> hmm...I think the art world wants you to be lazy more often

Click to expand...

:yeahthat: I could work for a year and not get a result anywhere near that. :roll:

Thank you

I have a bag full of BOSS and intend to use it :lol: My feeding routines is pretty much free access to pellets (they don't like them much but empty a bowl a day), a bowl of barley-alfalfa-BOSS mix, with pretty much the same amount of each. It's a bit more than recommended but since they're fat from fat I think it's ok. We'll see when it's time to get to the insides on the kits..

I think I broke my rabbits.. They stopped eating the greens and went to the hay.. I gave them too much? :lol: (I'm not worried about upsetting their system, they should be so used to it now they can eat only that stuff without a problem)

Sweet potatoes was a new one..

hehe, I started to just make a sketch to show, then figured ''I need more highlights..''.... ''it looks too brown''... etc and suddenly it was a painting <br /><br />__________ Sun May 19, 2013 11:38 am __________<br /><br />Also, I think it's the heat... it's been coolertoday and now in the evening it's almost chilly.. and the ears are much less floppy already.

But I figure they can use the vitamins anyhow.

Mine have had some droopy ear tips and I know it is from the heat.<br /><br />__________ Sun May 19, 2013 3:55 pm __________<br /><br />Amazing artwork, btw.