Watch Out for Random Hay in Nestbox

[Rabbits by Accident]

I have some organic hay that is really just random grass/weeds. The rabbits love it and I'm happy with it. However, I used it for a nestbox filler and it caused a horrible problem.

When I went out to check the babies, one seemed to be stuck. His foreleg seemed to be broken and bent weird. Upon closer inspection, a piece of hay/grass had gotten wrapped around his wrist and as he moved, it tightened down until it cut off all circulation. His little paw swelled up - it actually was kind of neat, it looked like a balloon animal ... I should have taken a photo. If it wasn't so awful it would be cool. I cut the hay off, and I think I caught it in time and it will be okay.


(the photo is the new grass hay - they are spread out & uncovered because it is 100 degrees here)

I just thought I should put out a warning to be careful with strong fibrous hay that could do this kind of thing. Also, it was scratchy & stiff and wasn't very comfy. I replaced it with grass hay that I cut myself from our yard the other day. (the big pile on the top right is because the mom keeps eating it LOL so I gave her some extra)

- Liz

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Poor baby

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

UPDATE: His paw looks MUCH better this morning. It's still larger than the other, but doesn't look like a balloon animal anymore. He doesn't seem to be in pain when I move it around, so hopefully all is good now. The grass hay is a vast improvement and I will NEVER use long, tough hay again. I think even shredded paper would have been better.

 

[Robochelle]

Reminds me of when I tried to use plucked angora fur to help insulate a nest with not much fur. Found one little guy the next day had spun his own noose to play with (luckily he recovered) -- i guess we gotta be careful of all sorts of dangers for nesting boxes

 

[hotzcatz]

That's actually a fairly typical problem with angora rabbits. The long wool is used in the nest boxes and can strangle babies. When a doe makes a nest, I'll cut up all the wool she puts in it into shorter pieces.

Hopefully the bone wasn't broken in his foot. If it was, it can be splinted with a bit of popsickle stick or even a toothpick if they're that young and a bit of vet wrap. Not too tight, though, or it cuts off the circulation. Wrap a bit of gauze or cotton padding around it - just a light layer - the wood splint and then the vet wrap. The bone will knit together pretty quickly.

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

His foot is still a bit larger than the other, but the odd thing is it looks like leather. I'm hoping it's not going to get gangrene or something. I'm keeping an eye on it. There is no broken skin, so I don't think any external application would do anything. Other than his leather foot, he's happy and active (well, for a 1 wk old kit anyway)