Not sure if splayed Feet? To buy or not to buy?

Hi all, I am new to this forum and I am really eager to buy a mini lop. I saw this blue otter mini lop today and I am in love with it haha.

Only thing that is putting me off buying it is that when I picked it up and placed it some what on its back whilst in my arms, its hind legs were sticking outwards slightly (possible splayed legs, not too sure). I read that a perfect one should have its hind legs parallel to its front legs. I saw both the parents and the looked exactly like mini lops so I am thinking it can't be a genetic flaw through non-pure breeding.

I have attached a couple of pictures of this rabbit, unfortunately none exhibiting its legs as I didn't want to appear rude in front of the seller and point this out.

Does the hind feet facing outwards cause any health issues? If you more experienced members could provide me some words of advice about what it is and whether I should still buy it, that'd be great.

Thanks

These pictures I have just uploaded are from the sellers advertisement, hope it helps some what in ascertaining what I should do. Thanks

A lot of creatures. Even human when laying on their backs, their feet naturally point outwards.
Were the feet splayed out while the rabbit was sitting?

Eugh, those are some yellow footy toots. I hope they're not being kept in unclean conditions.

To answer your question, slightly splayed feet are a visual fault in show terms, but as long as the rabbit is still fully mobile they shouldn't lead to any health problems. My mini lop has slightly splayed feet and he's fine. Minor faults are very common in backyard breeder stock, unless you buy from a show breeder you'll be hard pressed to find a perfect-looking bun. I could see urine scald being a problem if the feet were severely splayed to the point where the bun's rear is touching the ground or something, but slight outward-turned toes would be functionally fine.

Re Watermelons: I did not pay close attention to that to be honest, but they looked relative straight when sitting down. Maybe slightly splayed.

Re whiskylollipop: The bunny was kept outdoors, but for one reason or another all the grass was gone so it was just wet soil. So that definitely explained the yellow feet. The baby rabbits were brought inside, but there seemed plenty of hutches and space for the bunny to roam. The seller isn't a professional breeder, just someone who seemed to love rabbits and with a young family. I am not experienced in the bunny game but it didn't seem to be a dodgy back yard breeder. She did say that she hasn't had to chance to handle or interact with the buns as much as she'd like to this time around as she'd been busy (seller has had 1 or 2 litters previously). They however did not seem to mind being picked up.

They are very cute, I'll give you that If the bunnies have been kept in hutches with wood/wire floor and been running around out in the yard, it's unlikely they have splayed feet. Splayed feet occur when young rabbits spend too much time on slippery surfaces and their feet splay as they try to get good traction. (At least that's my knowledge of it). Every now and then when he's sitting, Bandit's feet will point out a tiny bit, but usually they point straight forward, sometimes I think it's just the way he's ended up coming to a stop while moving about.

Azerane said:

They are very cute, I'll give you that If the bunnies have been kept in hutches with wood/wire floor and been running around out in the yard, it's unlikely they have splayed feet. Splayed feet occur when young rabbits spend too much time on slippery surfaces and their feet splay as they try to get good traction. (At least that's my knowledge of it). Every now and then when he's sitting, Bandit's feet will point out a tiny bit, but usually they point straight forward, sometimes I think it's just the way he's ended up coming to a stop while moving about.

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The seller's home does have floor boards so not too sure how much time they spent on it in its real early days when it probably was a cute fluff ball. The buns are about to turn 8 weeks on the weekend. Of late they definitely would have lived outside most of the time proven by their yellow feet.

The blue otter bun I took pictures of is the one that took the most liking to me (I think) so I am quite keen on getting it. However I am going to see another seller tomorrow to have a look at a couple of others.

Am generally worried of getting a bun that will have issues that would affect its well being

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCK2JL0SbeQ[/ame]

The way this person held the rabbit was similar to the way I held the blue otter. Its feet were definitely pointing outwards. A general estimate would be between 60-70 degrees. Argh I really want to get that blue otter but I'm worried.

if you have concerns don't purchase. Simple as that.

Pointed feet (feet on an angle) points to narrowness in the hips. NOT good for breeding.

IF you are looking for a pet... these would be perfect as pets. If looking for breeding stock I'd take a pass unless I had a good buck who could counteract some of the negatives.

ladysown said:

if you have concerns don't purchase. Simple as that.

Pointed feet (feet on an angle) points to narrowness in the hips. NOT good for breeding.

IF you are looking for a pet... these would be perfect as pets. If looking for breeding stock I'd take a pass unless I had a good buck who could counteract some of the negatives.

Click to expand...

I am looking for a pet indeed.This is my first proper pet so I'm trying to be diligent to ensure that I will get a healthy rabbit. From the comments I have received, the bun I liked does sound healthy.

Thanks all

I agree with ladysown. By turning a rabbit over you can tell the narrowness of the hips by how their back feet point. Has no affect really on their mobility, just that one with narrow hips would not be good for breeding, that's all. Fine for pet.

What you're describing isn't splay leg. It sounds like the rabbit may be cow hocked and/or have a pinched hindquarter, which most often won't cause any mobility or health issues. Splay leg is due to a problem with a rabbits connective tissue, causing the legs to splay out to the side, and often causes mild to severe mobility problems.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Bone_diseases/Genetic/splayleg.htm

As other's have mentioned, a rabbit with pinched hindquarters/cow hocked isn't a problem for a rabbit that is a pet.

Thank you so much for all your feedback ladies and gents. It has really been knowledgeable and it has corrected my wrong notion of correlating hind legs pointed out as being splayed legs

I saw another seller today, unsure if she was a professional breeder because she lives on a farm. But the 4 buns I saw (of hers) also had feet that were pointing outwards . She also said that it would not effect its mobility. So this makes me wonder whether it is genuinely hard finding a straight hind legged bunny? I do not really care anymore since it doesn't effects its health, but just a curiosity

Anyway I locked in the purchase of the blue otter bunny (pictures attached in initial post) for this Friday . I cannot contain my excitement, I just want to fast forward time. It was hard to make the choice though as I was also attracted to a black bun and a bun with white and brown spots which I saw today. But it seemed that the blue otter colour (ie greyish) seemed harder to find in my city so I thought I should try and be unique. Plus that colour is the one I was attracted to the most when I started my Bunny research frenzy

It's not that hard to find a rabbit with straight back legs, but it will most likely be one that's being sold for show and breeding...and would cost more.