PICS added~ Can a Lop Bite its Own Ear?!

[TF3]

Added Pictures:





:lol: I swear I am not a troll!
This morning my daughter noticed that her little Holland buck has a bunny sized bite out of the edge of his ear right by his mouth.
It's clean, but definitely missing cartilage.

We can't blame it on anyone else because he is in a stacked set of cages with a tray above him and no one below and 4 feet off the ground.

It's too clean to be a cut or tear.

Could he have done it to himself?!

 

[MaggieJ]

I don't know about Holland Lops or Mini-Lops but English Lops can certainly bite their own ears. Someone on the forum a few years back had a gorgeous EL that, when it got really excited, would pick up the ends of its ears in its mouth so it didn't trip over them when it ran back and forth.

 

[TF3]

Ohmygodness!!
The image!

 

[MaggieJ]

Yeah, that EL was a bit of a celebrity on RT for quite a while. Gorgeous rabbit with a winning personality.

Alas, how fleeting is fame! I cannot recall offhand either the owner's username or the rabbit's name.

 

[TF3]

15 minutes and all
I'm just bummed because he was the Lop my daughter planned to show!

 

[MaggieJ]

Yeah, that's a shame.

If it heals without scarring, perhaps she'll still be able to show him.

What size is the wire on his cage or enclosure? Once, when we had a major rat infestation, our buck got a rat bite on the ear. He was the only rabbit in there and his ears weren't lopped, so we could think of no other explanation. Not saying you have a rat problem - likely you'd have seen signs - but just to make you aware that they can be quite aggressive if food is scarce.

 

[TF3]

A hunk is missing from the ear, like a notch, so I doubt he will be showable unless the regrown hair evens it out, if it grows.
I did consider a predator~ but no other signs~ his wire is not as large (openings) as all the rest of the rabbits.
We have a red squirrel living on/in the roof with babies, but I can't see why they'd bother him when there is a big bag of feed and feed in some of the cage feeders (Twix always devours his).
Just weird! LOL
Oh well, we has lots to offer to the breeding program (I suspect he is a true dwarf).

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Any rabbit could bite a chunk out of its own ear (haven't you seen normal eared rabbits pull their ears down to groom them?) but I see no reason that they would.

I would suspect a bug bite or old unnoticed injury where the flesh has just sloughed off over the possibility of self mutilation.

 

[Prisma]

When I first got EL, they had been kept outside. When their ears got cold, they literally chewed them off. The lady I got them from had started keeping them inside, didn't know they didn't tolerate freezing and sub freezing temps well, and problems had stopped except for one buck. I know some keep them outside with out any issues even in sub zero weather, I suspect there was an instance were their ears got wet and froze (she used bowls instead of bottles which is a big no no for them as they often get wet then end up with ear infections, etc). When he'd get agitated or over stressed, he'd chew on himself. It was just him, none of his offspring done that. So it is possible (like already said by others). If it isn't bad, he could still be show-able. I've seen several (have a HL myself with the lower tip missing so it isn't as nicely shaped as the other) that have had different injuries and a good piece of the ear still go on and do OK, when it came down to 2 being really close though the one with no ear issues always ranked higher though.

IF it is self inflicted, he will keep doing it until he can't reach any more. Check for infection/ear mites in ears, could be a case of that as well and he's just trying to deal with the feeling. If it comes to its him, there's no health issue, best solution I've found is keeping them busy and as less stressed as possible. Isaac, one who chewed himself out of stress/agitation, lived until he was 7 years old, I don't hear that a lot for EL that often, and he wouldn't have died then but he broke his back. I ended up letting him have the run of the rabbitry with his own basket of toys to keep him busy.

 

[TF3]

Thanks! I'll do a double check for mites or bites.
It could have been old... He had been between our to other Hollands and the other buck is punchy.
Good to know re. Showing!
(I just went through this morning and between kindling, moulting and then this ear, our pickings are slim for a summer show!)