Accentuating the 'obvious'

[Buck Jones]

Sometimes, those of us who have been around a while forget that some ofthe information we take for granted is not necessarily commonknowledge, especially for new comers to rabbitfancying. Carolyn's reference list of "required" reading is agood example of that by noting the interest and comments itgenerated.

With that in mind, I will present a couple of rabbit keeping pointersthat might be useful to those who are unaware of them. Pleaseadd any of your own that comes to mind. I apologize to thoseof you for whom this information is old hat.

Rabbits won't eat if they cannot drink. Make sure the ballbearings of yourrabbits' water bottles are not stuck closed.

Ice berg lettuce is notthe lettuce of choice for rabbits, especially young ones.

Feed store rabbit pellets are generally fresher and more nutritious than pet store rabbit pellets.

Don't overfeed treats, especially those containing sugar.

Check your bunnies' fur and skin surface at least weekly, looking for any lumps, growths, or abnormalities.

Most locales have an emergency night time veterinary service. What is yours and where do you have it posted?

Some bunnies will eat foam rubber, necessitating risky, and expensive, surgery!

Buck

 

[Carolyn]

Another post of value, Buck.?



-Timothy hay given to your rabbits help to keep their systems clean offurballs, keeps their teeth in good shape, and they love it.

-Use hayracks so that the rabbit doesn't eat hay that they've urinated on as it will make them sick.

-Rabbits teeth continually grow.? It's important to provide your rabbitwith a piece of wood or something hard to chew on so that their teethstay filed down.

-Always be sure your rabbit is kept dry and clean?because they can get sick if exposed to a moist, damp, or dirty?environment.

-Protect your rabbit from extreme changes in temperature.

-Never use cedar shavings as litter.? Don't use cat litter in alitterbox because if the rabbit ingests it, it will make them ill.?

-Good pellet feed is at least 18% or more of crude fiber.

-Rabbits usually sleep during the day and are most active at dawn and dusk.

-Unlimited amounts of stress can make your rabbit sick or even cause itto have an untimely death.? Be sure that your rabbit isn't exposed tocontinual stresses.

-Do not put your rabbit's cage in a drafty or sunny area.? If outside,always take precautions to protect the rabbit from the weather.

-Dried papaya or fresh pineapple can help move furballs though the rabbit's system.

-Pay close attention and be proactive with questions or?aid?to abnormalbehavior in your rabbit.?? The sooner the problem is treated, thebetter chance of survival your rabbit has.

-(From Buck Jones) I add approximately one teaspoon of vanillaflavoring extract, real or artificial, to one gallon of drinking waterin an effort to reduce fly strike and warbles by reducing the number offlies in and about our rabbits.?

-Rabbits love to chew on electrical wires.? All such wires should be out of their reach.

 

[pamnock]

Buck Jones wrote:

Sometimes, those of us who have been around a while forget that some ofthe information we take for granted is not necessarily commonknowledge, especially for new comers to rabbitfancying.
Buck

Thank you for this important reminder Buck!

Pam

 

[Elf Mommy]

I love this forumbecause of the people in it. Everyone is so interested in helping outnew and experienced bunny owners. Unfortunately, this site is set up ina fashion that makes it difficult to find the threads people arelooking for. The search is nice, but this is the only message board Ibelong to that has only ONE category for everything.

It would be great to click a tab on thetop to get to the section on BUNNY BASICS. Click another tab to get toBUNNY PHOTOS. Click yet another to get to FOOD AND NUTRITION. Anotherto get to BUNNY HABITATS. Then you would be able to post thingsaccording to categories, and things would be easier to find.

This is probably not possible at this point, but thought I'd throw it out there.



Bunny Health

Bunny Breeding

Buns in General

Miscellaneous (for the off topic)

Site News

Guidelines

Rabbit Heredity and Genetics

Introductions

Bunny Outings

Other Pets

Bunny Contests

Breed Identification

Bunny Adoption

Bunnies and Children

Litter Training

 

[Loz n Ebony]

Very clever idea elf mommy!

 

[babydoshia]

That's exactly what I was thinking Elf.It would be nice to have categories. Also, it would be niceto have a "mark all posts as read" button .

Who's the admin on this site anyway? I havent seen anyone with an admin member title.

 

[Buck Jones]

Carrots are high in sugar content, as is banana.

Bunnies usually don't get dandruff. It is more likely to be fur mites.

Fat-faced, big headed bunnies need feed containers they can get their heads in.

Pet bunnies should all be neutered in the interests of behaviormodification, improved health, and longer life...makes 'em a better pet.

Pet bunnies often need "toys" to keep them from getting bored.

Pet bunnies probably need on the order of at least an hour a day of supervised freedom to exercise properly.

If a bunny licks you, it is his/her way of saying, "I loveyou." Has nothing to do with salt on your skin and/or perfume.

mounting behavior is not uncommon even among neutered or same sexanimals. It helps to establish a dominance rank order.

High temperatures/humidity more likely to cause a rabbit's death than low.

 

[Carolyn]

It really is a great idea, Elf Mommy. Not surehow it would work, but will look into it. I know that even thewowbb.com board isn't set up as such and you'd think that if anyonewould do that, it would've been them.

rabbits, the administrator of the board, and I had discussed that ideaat one point but we got busy and dropped it. Will bring it up again.

-Carolyn

 

[Carolyn]

-A rabbit's field of hearing is 360 degrees.Their ears can turn individually to pick up the slightest noise. If youhave an indoor rabbit, don't 'blast' the volume on your stereo or t.v.as it may hurt your rabbit's ears and frighten your little one.

-Their sense of smell also is extremely keen. Some cleaning products really bother rabbits because of that sensitivity.

-Soft grinding of their teeth, purring, or a buzzing sound is a sign of contentment and happiness

-Hard grinding of their teeth means they're in severe pain or danger.

-Rabbits are social animals in that they like to be in a place wherethey can watch things going on around them. That said, they also enjoybeing able to 'get away from it all' when they want their quiet time.

-Before you let your rabbits loose in the yard, check the list of safefoods/plants in the Rabbit References post to be sure your rabbit issafe.

-When you pick up a rabbit or if it kicks while you're holding it,cover its eyes with your hand and talk gently to help calm it down.

-Don't overfeed your rabbit. A fat rabbit has a hard time hoppingaround and cleaning itself where it needs it the most. It's hard ontheir hearts as well.

-Don't chase your rabbit. It will be frightened of you and never trust you.

-Bunnies respond very well to praise and not well at all to yelling at them.

-Bunnies need to digest some foods twice therefore have two differenttypes of droppings. They eat the softer droppings (cecetropes) andshould not be discouraged as it's normal and necessary for the rabbit.

-When a bunny is frightened with their ears up (unless a lop) and eyesbulged, telling the little one "It's okay" and petting him/her willcalm her down immediately.

-Stress breaks down a rabbit's immunity system.

-A bunny that stares straight ahead, doesn't move or eat and is quiet is probably in pain or sick.

-Check the soles of your rabbit's feet often to be sure there aren't any cuts or injuries.

-Pet bunnies, especially indoors or unable to dig or hop, need to havetheir nails clipped when necessary (approximatley every 6 weeks-give ortake). Overgrown nails are painful and dangerous for a rabbit.

-You do not need to bathe your rabbit. They clean themselves as a catdoes. Unless the rabbit has to have droppings cleaned off of him/her orcan't do it themselves, best not to give them a bath. Rabbit's haveoils in their fur that a bath with soap can get interrupt the balance.Some rabbits' skin is sensitive to soaps.

-If you do have to clean a bunny, use lukewarm water and best to spotclean. A rabbit immersed into a bath, especially one of too cold or toohot, can be shocking to it and that could be fatal.

 

[Wabbitwuv]

Great post Buck! You and Carolyn brought up a lot of useful info.

I agree with Elf Mommy, it would be nice to have the differentcategories. It would make searching for a certain post a loteasier.

Wabbitwuv

 

[Carolyn]

Re: the a subject and clicking on it forinformation: It would be extremely time consuming to post allof the above topics and cover everything. I personally don'thave that kind of time to devote.

I'm not saying it's a badidea, quite the contrary, it's agreat idea! We'd want it to be as thorough as possible andthat's not a small undertaking. I tried to follow that trainof thought by the posting of "Rabbit References" and mentioning booksand websites. There's so much to cover, one would havepractically have to write a book. The best thing to do is toget a book on the subject of Rabbit Care, etc., or do it the 'oldfashioned way' and do a search on the web, or read the through sitesmentioned in the Rabbit References post as a lot of them cover muchmore than just the subject mentioned at hand.

I'll still ask 'rabbits' about it, but wanted to give youtheviewpoint from which we stand. General topics asBuck has stated hereand a list of references canatleast get one started.

-Carolyn

 

[BunnyMommy]

This is an absolutely FABULOUSthread!

Kudos to youfor starting it, Buck!

 

[Buck Jones]

Itis so difficult to get "everything" one wants in one forum, I'm afraid,and sometimes, "if it's not broke[sic], don't fixit." I just looked at some stats and we are asactive, and rapidly overtaking, some of the stalwart rabbit forumstandards to be found on the Internet.

Our administrator may be loathe to change something that seems to beworking so well in such a relatively short amount of time that it hasbeen in existence...only about four months.

Buck