Found 2nd Rabbit With Foot Mutilated

[shadyacres]

Help? I am a new Bunny Mommy!We bought 2 baby bunnies (I don't know what kind) from the Amish inMD. We were told they were both Girls. One was BunBun and the other was Freckles. My husband built a wonderfulrabbit cage outdoors for them and then all of a sudden we started tonotice them having sores on both of their legs. Then one dayI noticed that Freckles had an injury to her side that might of beencaused from the cage. We fixed the cage! Anywayslong story short... when we came home from work last night wenoticed Freckles on her side and half of her back leg was mutliated andshe was dying. I took her to the Vet but it was too late -she lost too much blood and died in my daughter's arms. Now,we are afraid that some wild animal/cat/fox/raccoon tried to get intothe cage to get the bunnies and must of gotten it from the outsidein. Except I am baffled.... there is no damage to thecage. Got any ideas? Someone mentioned that maybeBun Bun did it to Freckles. Does that sound right?

Thanks,

Shadyacres

 

[CuddlesMom]

OMG so sorry to hear i have no clue myself what happened but i feel sorry for the lil rabbit!

 

[Carolyn]

Welcome Shadyacres,

I'm sorry it's such bad conditions that we meet.

When you say 'mutilated', I'm taking that to mean that Freckles had no hind limb. Is that the case?

-Carolyn

 

[grunter]

So sorry to hear about your rabbits. When wefirst got our rabbits we had 2 that were both girls, in fact they weresisters. One was so dominant, that she would bite the otherone constantly, she even pulled out the hair on her sisters back andleft a big bald spot and then bit her until her back wasbleeding. Well, needless to say we had to get rid of her,plus she was mean, if the kids would try to pet her she would bitethem. I swear she was possessed.

 

[Dolores Lindvall]

Is this cage on ground level? If so, itwould be easy for "something" to grab thru the spaces of the fence...ifyou used fence. I didn't see in your post just where thiscage is located. That is a horrible thing to have happen!

 

[trekcip5]

You did not mention how old the buns are, except,babies. So there is not much we can help with.Except to say, two girls or not, each should have their owncage. Does will fight once they mature unless they arebonded, which is a procedure that takes time and effort.Between 4-7 months buns are in their teenager stage and willfight. If you are going to have two buns, whatever sex, theyneed to have their own space, especially if they are notfixed. SInce there seems to be no damage to the cage, it isunlikely the damage was done by something outside. Did youcheck the other buns mouth, claws ect. for signs of blood? Sosorry for your loss. Donna

 

[shadyacres]

Yes it was.

 

[pamnock]

A raccoon can reach through the cage and grab therabbits. An electric fence enclosure is a good way to keeppreditors out. Hutches should also be set up high, withstrong removeable (to allow for cleaning) wire fencing around the legsof the cage to prevent animals from getting underneath.

Mink will also attack rabbits.

The rabbits could have been fighting and can seriously injure eachother. Has Bunn Bunn had any injuries since the loss ofFreckles?

Pam

 

[shadyacres]

Yes, Bun Bun has an injury to her hind leg aswell - not as bad as Freckles, but we have been treating it.I went ahead and purchased an inside cage with all the frills so thatshe will be happy inside. I think we will stay with just onerabbit right now - we already have 4 horses, 15 cats (barn cats - theykeep showing up) and one dog.

thanks for all your advice.

 

[Carolyn J]

So sorry to hear about your loss. You mentionedthat you had a dog. I know my mother had a bad experience once with tworabbits in an outside cage. They had a dog too. It never seemedtobotherthe rabbitsand thenoneday while my parents were not home it did get a hold ofthe rabbits legs through the wire and chewed the legs off. My parentsarrived home to find the rabbits had bled to death. I am not sayingthat your dog would do such athing but I know that my parentsnever would have expected this from their dog either.

Carolyn J