Wet bottoms

[imajpm]

Hi everyone,

I've got German Angoras and I am wondering about the experiences of other folks with angoras of any breed. These rabbits ALL have issues with wet urine soaked bottoms. I have a French/English cross doe who is spotless down there and never needs a trim. I also had one German doe from a litter who did not have this issue. She had coat problems though and I culled her although now I wish I hadn't.

They are in wire bottomed hutches so are not able to sit in their urine. The breeder of this line made sure to mention and inquire if I trimmed bottoms and I said yes since I do trim bottoms, but not to this degree. I wish I had a picture but they are all in short summer trims right now, including booties. I had a 6 week bottom trim schedule but they seem to only make it 3 weeks before they are a mess. All are healthy, cages are cleaned and sanitized regularly. I am just at a loss as to why. They are very dense rabbits, however if I compare to my French /English, whose bottom year round is about the 6 week stage in density for the Germans, they are still unacceptably messy.

Since I did have the one doe with minimal mess (the one I culled *sighs*) I wonder if there is some genetic problem here. I'm wondering if this is the norm because if it is, then it's a terrible one. I have now added good bottoms into my breeding criteria. So is this normal?

 

[Zinnia]

I raise French and Satin Angoras. They are clean. I used to have German Angoras, too. I experienced the very same thing you are seeing. I think the density of the wool in their nether-regions was a serious drawback. I often had the clip it.

 

[Dood]

Do you have resting mats in their cages they could be urinating on and then sitting in?

Have you checked for vent disease as the growths can misdirect urine flow towards the fur

 

[imajpm]

Sadly they are definitely not sitting in it. No vent disease. One doe did have urine sludge, and a terrible bottom when she was a junior. Naturally when I bought her she had been out "playing", and had a very coincidental muddy covered bottom masking it, which I am now suspicious of, since there was not a speck of mud on her anywhere else. Sludge cleared up when I switched them to fodder. I did have one of the littermates with clean bottom and same density so I really am wondering why that is. <br /><br /> __________ Sun Jun 28, 2015 12:48 pm __________ <br /><br /> Asking in IAGARB as well but it just isn't good. I'd hate to switch breeds and I'd really hate for this to be acceptable for Germans. It just is not healthy.

 

[Dood]

I'm trying to understand how it's physically possible - when my rabbits pee they get up on their toes into a half crouch and the pee arcs out the back about an inch or 2, depending on the size of the bunny and how full their bladder was

My lion lops get pretty fuzzy bottoms and in kits the poop can get stuck and occasionally a heavily pregnant doe will clog up with cecotropes but never urine

Could obesity be an issue :shrug:

 

[imajpm]

They are certainly not underfed lol. I don't think they are obese though. I butchered an absolutely vicious buck not long ago and he had very little fat. My standard Satin doe however is a big fat disgrace.

Can the gentials have a structural defect? If I didnt have that one doe that was clean I might blame it on wool density. One buck has a curved penis, which reminds me I need to check him for a split once it cools off and I can function, but can there be physical defects that might cause this?

__________ Sun Jun 28, 2015 2:07 pm __________

Hmm so if my foundation doe has a bladder sludge issue, which is controlled by diet, and buck has split penis, then there is all sorts of trouble going on in the pee department. I am really not happy with that breeder. Not only are there these issues, but she preferred the "feisty" rabbits and I ended up with a monster buck who wanted to eat humans, and a crackhead doe, who I actually like, and bottoms from hell, from my first litter.

I was referred to this article by the German folks so I assume they mean this is not typical.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Uro_gen_di ... inence.htm

 

[katiebear]

I have a doe that has recently, after having a litter now 6 weeks old, start to get urine discoloration on her legs.I think it is because of the heaviness in her mammary area. She is a heavy milker. I noticed it got worse when we stopped putting apple cider vinegar in her water. We ran out and I kept forgetting to put it on the list...So I got a jug yesterday and will see if it helps. The sludgy pee that was mentioned on the page you referenced should clear up right away...Have you tried A.C.V.?

 

[Dood]

Yeah, sounds like a genetic or bloodline issue

I've had a few pet rabbits with horrible bathroom habits and could not be trained to a litter box or insisted on resting in one and messing themselves

 

[imajpm]

I have not tried acv but I might. It's just been a long time of trying all sorts of things. Mother rabbit's sludge, and it was like thick Karo syrup poor thing, improved quite a bit by putting her on fodder. Lots of water in that. The younger generation was raised on fodder so it may be that I just never noticed any actual sludgy urine. However, they do appear to be dribbling and not peeing properly and so probably have it too.

Well thanks for the troubleshooting and advice. This forum is great. These rabbits have really opened my eyes and prioritized my breeding standards. Absolutely above all else is good health. Everything else is secondary. This kind of thing is just....not cool. I don't want to breed the kind of rabbits I ended up with. Love them though, they stay