Broken Ear cartilage? How to know? What to do?

[jani]

Hi all!

So I have had my first beveren with their beautiful ears now for just over a week. My little buck has always had a bit of an airplane floppy left ear. I moved them to the farm on Friday, and my friend who owns the property asked me if he always had that floppy ear. I said yes, he is 16 weeks old, I just assumed he was growing into those giant ears. She said, no he has a broken ear. So I examined him, no redness, heat swelling. No bug bites etc. He didn't seem to mind me touching his ears. He is active and playful, eats and drinks well. Seems like a happy, friendly little fellow. I wasn't at all concerned until she said his ear was broken!

So I asked his breeder, she said both ears were fine when she handed them over to transport. But noted buck and doe were transported in the same cage. Hmmm, perhaps young bucky wanted to sew some oats and little doe gave him whatfor? She said it could be he is just growing into the ears. My question is, how can I tell for certain if it is broken? IF it is, can I do anything at all to help his ear stand up? I am thinking of the dog people that dock ears and hold them up with tp tubes and vet wrap? I wouldn't do that to a dog, mind you... but if his ear is broken can I do something like that so it heals correctly? Or will that somehow hurt him?

Always something new to learn! I never heard of a rabbit with a broken ear base! Maybe because I never had rabbits with giant ears before! Man, those ears are so cute! Anyone here had any experience with this kind of thing? TIA!

 

[kusanar314]

Honestly, unless you're going to show him, I would just leave it alone and let it do what it's going to do.

I had a cat get a big hematoma in one of his ears and when the vets drained it, they intentionally stitched it in such a way that he essentially had a lop ear on that side so it wouldn't drain down into his ear if it bled. This is just to say that vets will "break" ears sometimes and it's fine. It'll heal however it's sitting if you leave it alone. That is if it's even broken in the first place.

 

[jani]

Honestly, unless you're going to show him, I would just leave it alone and let it do what it's going to do.

I had a cat get a big hematoma in one of his ears and when the vets drained it, they intentionally stitched it in such a way that he essentially had a lop ear on that side so it wouldn't drain down into his ear if it bled. This is just to say that vets will "break" ears sometimes and it's fine. It'll heal however it's sitting if you leave it alone. That is if it's even broken in the first place.

lol I am not INTENDING to show any rabbits... however things can change! Right now I think they are the only beveren in canada, so it wouldn't be a fun or fair compettion! Is there anything I can do the make it right? Then again the half up ear makes him look a bit like the velveteen rabbit, and he is a very friendly little fellow!

 

[Lil Acorn Acres Farm]

lol I am not INTENDING to show any rabbits... however things can change! Right now I think they are the only beveren in canada, so it wouldn't be a fun or fair compettion! Is there anything I can do the make it right? Then again the half up ear makes him look a bit like the velveteen rabbit, and he is a very friendly little fellow!

I have Guernsey Goats. Unless there are enough Guernseys entered they will not have the class. They will combine them in the ring with other breeds. Sometimes not able to show them at all.

 

[Alaska Satin]

I have Guernsey Goats. Unless there are enough Guernseys entered they will not have the class. They will combine them in the ring with other breeds. Sometimes not able to show them at all.

ARBA sanctioned shows do not depend on the number of rabbits in a class. If there is a single Beveren white junior buck, for example, it's a class of one, and he will be judged, given comments, and awarded Best of Breed unless he's disqualified for cause or otherwise deemed "Unworthy of an Award." The only time rabbits of different breeds are judged alongside each other is in the competition for Best in Show (BIS). In the case described above of a single Beveren, the little junior buck would go up on the BIS table. There, each rabbit is judged according to how well it fits its particular breed standard, so even then they're not really judged "against" each other.

The biggest drawbacks about having only one or a few representatives of a breed at a show are, in my opinion, lack of competition and the inability to earn a leg of Grand Champion. The lack of competition is self-explanatory. As far as G.C. legs, it takes three to achieve Grand Champion status. To earn a leg, a rabbit has to win in a class of at least 5 animals shown by three exhibitors. This can be anywhere from five white junior bucks shown by three exhibitors, Best of Breed in a breed class of five total Beverens shown by three or more exhibitors, or Best in Show or Best Reserve in show (assuming there are more than five rabbits and three exhibitors at the show).

lol I am not INTENDING to show any rabbits... however things can change! Right now I think they are the only beveren in canada, so it wouldn't be a fun or fair compettion! Is there anything I can do the make it right? Then again the half up ear makes him look a bit like the velveteen rabbit, and he is a very friendly little fellow!

That might be a great reason to show your Beverens. Folks see a new breed at a show and it often will spark interest in the breed. Everyone wins: the breed benefis by the attention, and you get some competition, a potential market for your rabbits, and some new friends!

It's hard to say without knowing what happened, but he may grow out of his floppy ear. Sometimes growth rates vary and stress can cause funny blips like that, especially in breeds with large, heavy ears. Here's a photo of my Champagne D'Argent, Fergus at 8 weeks of age:


a week or so later:

and at about 18 weeks:

 

[Lil Acorn Acres Farm]

ARBA sanctioned shows do not depend on the number of rabbits in a class. If there is a single Beveren white junior buck, for example, it's a class of one, and he will be judged, given comments, and awarded Best of Breed unless he's disqualified for cause or otherwise deemed "Unworthy of an Award." The only time rabbits of different breeds are judged alongside each other is in the competition for Best in Show (BIS). In the case described above of a single Beveren, the little junior buck would go up on the BIS table. There, each rabbit is judged according to how well it fits its particular breed standard, so even then they're not really judged "against" each other.

The biggest drawbacks about having only one or a few representatives of a breed at a show are, in my opinion, lack of competition and the inability to earn a leg of Grand Champion. The lack of competition is self-explanatory. As far as G.C. legs, it takes three to achieve Grand Champion status. To earn a leg, a rabbit has to win in a class of at least 5 animals shown by three exhibitors. This can be anywhere from five white junior bucks shown by three exhibitors, Best of Breed in a breed class of five total Beverens shown by three or more exhibitors, or Best in Show or Best Reserve in show (assuming there are more than five rabbits and three exhibitors at the show).


That might be a great reason to show your Beverens. Folks see a new breed at a show and it often will spark interest in the breed. Everyone wins: the breed benefis by the attention, and you get some competition, a potential market for your rabbits, and some new friends!

It's hard to say without knowing what happened, but he may grow out of his floppy ear. Sometimes growth rates vary and stress can cause funny blips like that, especially in breeds with large, heavy ears. Here's a photo of my Champagne D'Argent, Fergus at 8 weeks of age:

View attachment 37667
a week or so later:
View attachment 37668
and at about 18 weeks:
View attachment 37669

Sounds like ARBA has a lot better system in place than ADGA.

 

[Alaska Satin]

Sounds like ARBA has a lot better system in place than ADGA.

Yeah, I've been involved showing and breeding quite a few different species, and I think the ARBA has the best shows, bar none. It seems to allow a lot more options for people to get into showing, since no pedigrees or other papers are required to enter a rabbit in an ARBA sanctioned show. Judging is entirely standards-based, so people who can't afford to go buy expensive pedigreed, registered stock, but who can recognize and/or breed good rabbits have a chance at success.

I like the ARBA registration system a lot better than horses, goats and dogs, too. Again, it's standards-based; you can't register whole litters of substandard animals just because their parents are registered. To get a rabbit (or cavy) registered, it has to reach senior weight and age, and be examined by a licensed registrar to make sure it meets minimum breed standards. It does need a 3-generation purebred pedigree, but none of the ancestors need to be registered. In fact, the ancestors don't even have to meet breed standards (weight, color, etc.); the animal up for registration is judged on its own merits. I think in this way the studbook really encourages improving the overall quality in the breeds in a way that the AKC registry, for example, falls a bit short. It also allows for judicious outcrossing to bring new and desired characteristics into a particular breed (for instance, a new color or better type). It takes another three generations to get back to "purebred" status and the ability to register the offspring, but when you get there, the whole breed has benefited. I guess you could say the overall approach to rabbit showing and registration, at least in America, has been less exclusive and more practical than many other species' studbooks and show circuits.

 

[hotzcatz]

If the entire ear is 'lazy', then it could be the ear muscles are weak. During hot months, there's more blood in a rabbit's ears since that helps cool off the rabbit. If it's a young one which doesn't have well developed muscles yet, that can create conditions were one or even both ears will be 'lazy'. Sometimes they grow out of it, sometimes they don't.

If half the ear is flipped over, then it may be a 'broken' ear. Although, there's no bones there so not sure how it would actually break. I'd guess that if it's not been very long (rabbits heal quickly and even bones can set crooked and have to be rebroken to be straightened if they've already 'set') anyway, if it's not been very long, perhaps you could figure out some sort of splint to get the ear back upright and let it have a week or so to set into place? Maybe some sort of cotton balls inside the ear and then a wrap of vet wrap? Not sure if that would be enough to hold it upright but if it were too heavy, then there'd be muscle problems at the base of the ear?

Of course, I'm not a vet and don't even play one on TV so my opinions may not amount to much.