HELP! Do the does wash the whole kit?

[garden lady]

I checked on the kits and I saw a poop berry stuck on one of the kits back and then noticed several of them looked wet on the back. First I assume that baby rabbits have round pellets for poop, so that would have been from one of them?? They urinate when I pick them up sometimes, so I could see them doing this in their nest on each other? :? So, I took them out and put in fresh hay. I took them in the house to look them over and they seemed hungry. Kind of nibbling on hay in the box, but their whole box is hay. I got a warm wet rag and kind of wiped their backs off. They seemed to be grooming themselves washing feet and around tail areas. They all were hopping around, but then noticed one with eye seemed stuck shut :x :shock: I wiped it with warm wet rag. I looked them over and I am not sure what wet poop would look like, but saw nothing to think they had diarrhea, just maybe urinated on. They have a feel I do not like, not as solid as before, but they are getting so much fur now. I decided to try oatmeal, but they just kind of sniffed at it and no interest. Yesterday I did the same, but gave them a little bit of alfalfa hay and they ate it. Would it be okay to give them alfalfa? I knew they were hungry, so I put them back in the new hay and let Lulu in and she went in and I watched and they were all nursing and she was washing bottoms, but not their backs since they are upside down. I am not to expect her to wash them like a cat does her kittens, just that they are going to get dirty piled on each other in a nest? I am going to be checking off and on all day to see what is with the eye. Seemed okay after I wiped it. It is going to be freezing tonight and I wanted to really pile the hay in their bed and thought alfalfa instead of the grass hay, should I do that????

 

[MamaSheepdog]

They may have peed on each other, and occasionally they will get poop stuck on their backs. Wiping them off was a good idea. Sometimes kits will get "nestbox eye" where they get an infection which causes the eye to get stuck shut. Usually just cleaning it with warm water several times will clear it up- bacteria thrives in moist, low oxygen environments. You can also use chamomile or regular tea as an eyewash, and in severe cases a non-steroidal ophthalmic ointment.

They will love nibbling on alfalfa, and will eat the oats at some point too.

 

[garden lady]

They may have peed on each other, and occasionally they will get poop stuck on their backs. Wiping them off was a good idea. Sometimes kits will get "nestbox eye" where they get an infection which causes the eye to get stuck shut. Usually just cleaning it with warm water several times will clear it up- bacteria thrives in moist, low oxygen environments. You can also use chamomile or regular tea as an eyewash, and in severe cases a non-steroidal ophthalmic ointment.

They will love nibbling on alfalfa, and will eat the oats at some point too.

Thank you!! I checked again and they were sleeping. Lulu came too and I saw her licking one of them on the back, so they probably got wet and she had not been back to see them yet to clean them up. They all looked full. The one with the eye looked fine. I think that eye was slow to open. I remember one of the lighter colored ones with one eye shut and the other eye open. I have to get hay today and pellets. I still have some Purinal Professional left, so I am thinking of getting the Pfaus and mixing with the Professional until it is gone. I think my problem with the pellets is I am giving too much, so I am cutting back some in the morning so it will be gone by evening. Last night I gave them just a little of the crimped oats, alfalfa and pellets. It was cold and windy last night and got up and all the pellets were gone and they drank a lot of water, even Snickers drank water from his crock. If the kits start eating alfalfa do they need water? I have a shallow metal pan that attaches to the wire and I think I will put that in a corner for them for water and put some alfalfa in the corner in a bowl, but not where they lay. I will offer oatmeal each morning when Lulu is locked up and when they start to eat it then I will have to fix it like you said where she cannot get to their food. I like these crimped oats for the older rabbits, so far so good with it. I am not putting grass with the kits, but if they come out where Lulu is then they will have it to eat. I do not see them coming out that far for another week really and then they will be 3 weeks old.

__________ Wed Oct 03, 2012 7:22 pm __________

I like the Pfaus Heritage food. I mixed it with the Professional and will see how it goes. The eye seems almost like not all the way open. It was open, but like it is sticking shut in a spot, but no moisture or wetness.<br /><br />__________ Thu Oct 04, 2012 12:27 pm __________<br /><br />

They may have peed on each other, and occasionally they will get poop stuck on their backs. Wiping them off was a good idea. Sometimes kits will get "nestbox eye" where they get an infection which causes the eye to get stuck shut. Usually just cleaning it with warm water several times will clear it up- bacteria thrives in moist, low oxygen environments. You can also use chamomile or regular tea as an eyewash, and in severe cases a non-steroidal ophthalmic ointment.

They will love nibbling on alfalfa, and will eat the oats at some point too.

This morning both eyes are doing it. I do not see a discharge, just kind of stuck. I am going to go get the tea. I washed the eyes again. I have some Terramycin Ophthalmic Ointment that I have had in the frig for 3 years. Is it still good? I got it for a cat that had an eye problem. I used it on her last year when her eye seemed to start having trouble. If the tea does not work then what antibiotic ointment would I use if not the Terramycin? Optimyxin was suggested, where do you buy it, human or animal? All the rest seem fine so far.

 

[Piper]

How is the popple's eye?

 

[garden lady]

How is the popple's eye?

Looks good. I cleaned them with the tea and honey again this morning and a little bit of the antibiotic ointment. I took a picture of him/her walking around in the hutch today and both eyes are open. Might have 5 bucks in the litter and no does.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

What are your plans for them, anyway?

 

[garden lady]

What are your plans for them, anyway?

I am going to keep them and have a lot of manure for the garden, raise worms and may try to sell rabbit manure. My husband is building onto the hutch for them. I have a nice rabbit friendly yard and they will have a pen I can put them in now and then for exercise. My daughter has a friend who might want a couple, but we will see how that goes. She only lives a couple of blocks away, but she will have to have a big hutch and shade. She has a garden too. None will leave that can breed. I do not want to hear that the rabbits got together and now have a litter and HERE WE GO AGAIN! This is my one and only rabbit experience. Neighbors behind me would like to have a doe and not happening. They plan on raising rabbits for meat and I think there will be rabbits running loose. Neighbor on the other side used to raise rabbits for meat and thinks we should or get my son in 4H with them, but we are not interested in that. Lady 2 houses down wants to raise rabbits for meat or will eat mine for me if I do not want them :lol: but she does not have room at all or time really. Lots of people say, oh, I want one, but I know after all the fun wears off they will bring them back or turn them loose. Right now I am having fun, but we will see when spring comes what I think of :bunnyhop:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I have had pet rabbits before, one at a time, and never bred them before last year. I have to say, breeding brings it to a whole new level. I LOVE my rabbits- they are so sweet and have such unique personalities.

But I wouldn't have this many if we didn't eat them, because then I couldn't keep breeding them, and baby bunnies are so much fun.

Do you think you could bring yourself to sell the kits to your neighbors for meat, so you could still have the fun of having popples?

 

[garden lady]

I have had pet rabbits before, one at a time, and never bred them before last year. I have to say, breeding brings it to a whole new level. I LOVE my rabbits- they are so sweet and have such unique personalities.

But I wouldn't have this many if we didn't eat them, because then I couldn't keep breeding them, and baby bunnies are so much fun.

Do you think you could bring yourself to sell the kits to your neighbors for meat, so you could still have the fun of having popples?

No, not really. We have friends that have a farm with horses, chickens, goats, cattle, llamas and they butcher everything. They would take these and do that for me. As long as they are healthy and I enjoy taking care of them then they will stay here. My kids have shown interest in showing them. My daughter helped the friend show goats and she is getting ready to show horses and my son is too. My daughter wants to name one Willard and show him at the fair. :lol: The kits are racing in and out of the door out onto the wire, do they have rabbit races? :lol: It really was fun to wait and see what was in the nest. I really have enjoyed it. I think the only way I could get another litter is pretend I have Alzheimer's and forgot and put Snickers in Sunshine's hutch. Maybe, my husband would not get too mad. When we moved here there was not even grass, nothing but dead pine trees. It takes a lot to get a garden to grow here. Really bad ground, so he is willing to do this and has always wanted to raise worms and I am trying to convince him the rabbit pellets are like gold and we can sell them. :mrgreen:

 

[Piper]

The average life expectancy of a rabbit is 5-8 years.
http://www.readersdigest.ca/pets/fun-fa ... ldest-pets

you may have to consider Alzheimers