English Lop Ear Bleeding *BLOOD*

[Graceful Rabbitry]

Hey, so this English lop doe has blood all over her ear and feet, but I can’t find a single cut or injury. My dad said it could be a vein she nicked on her ear making it bleed so much…. And she is very lethargic…. What should I do?

 

[Graceful Rabbitry]

 

[tambayo]

Clean it up. From the picture not seeing a cut is no surprise. Lethargic can mean bloodloss and shock, so hydration and warmth. There must be a wound somewhere given the visible blood and you need to know it stopped bleeding or there won't be enough blood in the bunny.

 

[Graceful Rabbitry]

I cleaned it all completely up, and I only found one spot where her skin was kinda rolling but, no obvious cut. I’m gonna keep her in the house until I feel comfortable putting her back outside. What would you put on it? Antibiotic Ointment? She is just staying in one spot, moving every so often, but very shaky when she does.

Clean it up. From the picture not seeing a cut is no surprise. Lethargic can mean bloodloss and shock, so hydration and warmth. There must be a wound somewhere given the visible blood and you need to know it stopped bleeding or there won't be enough blood in the bunny.

 

[Alaska Satin]

I cleaned it all completely up, and I only found one spot where her skin was kinda rolling but, no obvious cut. I’m gonna keep her in the house until I feel comfortable putting her back outside. What would you put on it? Antibiotic Ointment? She is just staying in one spot, moving every so often, but very shaky when she does.

Make sure she is drinking. You don't have to insist on her eating just yet, but keeping her from becoming dehydrated is really important. With the blood loss, giving her some electrolytes like Agri-Labs Electrolytes Plus, Aqua-Lyte Blue, or Aqua-Vite probably wouldn't hurt, but mostly make sure she has hay and water within reach so she doesn't have to move to get them.

@tambayo 's suggestion of a little extra heat for a while is good (not hot, just give her body a break so it can use its energy to heal rather than maintain its temperature).

Watch her when she moves or you gently handle her, and be alert for other injuries. It could be that a predator (rat, weasel, etc.) attacked her, or that she got her ear stuck somehow and thrashed around trying to get free.

She sounds like whatever made her bleed also traumatized her pretty thoroughly. I'd agree with keeping her inside for a while in a calm, quiet place. I wouldn't bother with any ointment even if you find the wound. Rabbits just lick ointment off. If her body rallies, she'll heal. A treat, like greens or a little apple or banana, might tempt her to keep hanging in there. Talking to her in a calm voice, and petting her if she likes being pet, can also do wonders. Watch for comfort movements - it's a good sign when a rabbit is willing to groom itself.

 

[Graceful Rabbitry]

I cleaned it all completely up, and I only found one spot where her skin was kinda rolling but, no obvious cut. I’m gonna keep her in the house until I feel comfortable putting her back outside. What would you put on it? Antibiotic Ointment?

Make sure she is drinking. You don't have to insist on her eating just yet, but keeping her from becoming dehydrated is really important. With the blood loss, giving her some electrolytes like Agri-Labs Electrolytes Plus, Aqua-Lyte Blue, or Aqua-Vite probably wouldn't hurt, but mostly make sure she has hay and water within reach so she doesn't have to move to get them.

@tambayo 's suggestion of a little extra heat for a while is good (not hot, just give her body a break so it can use its energy to heal rather than maintain its temperature).

Watch her when she moves or you gently handle her, and be alert for other injuries. It could be that a predator (rat, weasel, etc.) attacked her, or that she got her ear stuck somehow and thrashed around trying to get free.

She sounds like whatever made her bleed also traumatized her pretty thoroughly. I'd agree with keeping her inside for a while in a calm, quiet place. I wouldn't bother with any ointment even if you find the wound. Rabbits just lick ointment off. If her body rallies, she'll heal. A treat, like greens or a little apple or banana, might tempt her to keep hanging in there. Talking to her in a calm voice, and petting her if she likes being pet, can also do wonders. Watch for comfort movements - it's a good sign when a rabbit is willing to groom itself.

Thank you for all this information! Unfortunately, she did end up passing. I went outside for a couple minutes for finished caring for the rabbits in the barn and came inside to her on her side kicking, and breathing heavily, I pet her and tryed to snap her out of it, but sadly she did pass. Unfortunately, she was my last female English lop! I lost her mom a month or two ago, and sold all her sisters, planning to keep her. I’m at a loss with my Rabbitry, but I know things will work out.

 

[Alaska Satin]

Thank you for all this information! Unfortunately, she did end up passing. I went outside for a couple minutes for finished caring for the rabbits in the barn and came inside to her on her side kicking, and breathing heavily, I pet her and tryed to snap her out of it, but sadly she did pass. Unfortunately, she was my last female English lop! I lost her mom a month or two ago, and sold all her sisters, planning to keep her. I’m at a loss with my Rabbitry, but I know things will work out.

I'm so sorry to hear it! So sad and frustrating.

If you can stand it, it wouldn't be a bad idea to open her up carefully and look for internal damage. It seems to me that she might have been attacked by something. The lethargy and shaking could have been from blood loss, but I'd investigate further if it was me. I'd also examine the rabbitry closely for evidence of predator(s). Was there an actual puddle of blood under her cage? If she scratched herself, it might have bled a lot, but I've never had a rabbit bleed out from a scratch. Those ears are an unusual situation, though.

Maybe one of your buyers would sell one of the sisters back to you...?

What did the dam die of?

 

[Graceful Rabbitry]

I'm so sorry to hear it! So sad and frustrating.

If you can stand it, it wouldn't be a bad idea to open her up carefully and look for internal damage. It seems to me that she might have been attacked by something. The lethargy and shaking could have been from blood loss, but I'd investigate further if it was me. I'd also examine the rabbitry closely for evidence of predator(s). Was there an actual puddle of blood under her cage? If she scratched herself, it might have bled a lot, but I've never had a rabbit bleed out from a scratch. Those ears are an unusual situation, though.

Maybe one of your buyers would sell one of the sisters back to you...?

What did the dam die of?

I could’ve have stood to do that, but didn’t think about it. There wasn’t a big puddle under the cage. There could have been a predator and got it her first before anyone else, because the blood was fresh when I got to her. And I couldve scared it away when I went in the barn. But I didn’t see any tracks. There wasn’t only one other solid in the litter besides her, and both my bucks are brokens. I am messaging someone who I’ve gotten her mom from and my new buck and she has some older solids available for me, so I can hopefully still stay on my breeding schedule!

I left her mom in with her daughters for a litter longer than I should have, after I separated the boys. And she wasn’t getting as much food as she should’ve been, and wasn't really too interested. So I moved her out by herself and she started eating a lot more, a LOT more. but still not gaining weight back. She eventually stopped cleaning herself, somehow even broke her tail…. Still eating though. I was thinking GI statis but she never completely stopped eating from what I noticed. I ended up putting her down, from being extremely skinny and just cleaning herself at all, and she started not caring abut stepping on her ears and hurting them. Some may have not put her down but in my opinion it was what felt right. If you could help identify what was wrong with her as well that would help thank you!