Amputated hind foot 3 days old bunny

[Cookies86]

dear members,
my rabbit just gave birth to a baby bunny 3 days back. i dont know if it's the nails of the mother bunny which cut the baby bunny foot causing it to look injured.
It didnt ring a bell at tt moment, however today when i saw the baby bunny, its right foot is missing(suspected to be amputated by its mum, maybe it got infected).
Now tt the foot is gone either in the mum's stomach or somewhere else..
However, i saw the mum licking the wound of the baby bunny, probably tt would help to heal its wound faster...
!
Now, the 3 days old bunny is only left with one foot!! =(=(=(
it really pains me to see that..
Is there any other thing which u all could suggest to me in order to make it less suffering for this baby bunny..?
Please guide.
=(

 

[tonyshuman]

I am going to move this to the Rabbitry. My guess is that the mother bunny is overgrooming the babies and thus nipped the foot off. I would personally separate the babies and mom and only allow them to be together while you supervise them feeding from her at least twice a day. However, I am not sure if this is the normal protocol for dealing with moms that overgroom their babies, and what else you might have to do (often you will have to stimulate them to urinate by dabbing them with a warm wet cottonball), so I hope people with personal experience of this sort can chime in.

 

[tamsin]

Has the baby got one foot missing or three? If it's lost three feet then the kindest thing may be to have it put to sleep. It's going to have serious mobility issues as it grows and would need intensive nursing just to do basics like eat and keep itself clean.

 

[butsy]

maybe bring him to the vet?? that could easyly get infected

 

[iluvdutchrabbbits90]

I would leave him with his mother. i had a dog do that once they just get a little carried away when chewing the cord.

 

[woahlookitsme]

i agree with tamsin

 

[Cookies86]

tonyshuman:
I am afraid to separate the baby and the mum because from my past experience, the mum might eat the baby up after you put them back together. (unless I only put them back tog after the baby grow very much older)
Thanks for the urination tip, I don't know of that..!! =)

Tamsin: it has 3 feet left.. I missing hind foot..

I thought of bringing it to the vet, but the foot is kinda gone. So I am not sure if the vet could help in any way.. =(

 

[tonyshuman]

Whoalookitsme and iluvdutchrabbits have more experience with baby bunnies, so I would do what they say and keep the baby with its mom, unless you see any other signs of the mom overgrooming it. I would clean the leg wound daily if you can, with betadine or chlorhexidine (can be gotten at the drug store) or a gentle soap like baby no tears shampoo.

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

I agree with Tamsin. I would put it to sleep. If it was a front leg I don't think it would be as big an ordeal. But hindfeet in rabbits is very important. You said it yourself that it was suffering.

 

[fuzz16]

theres a rabbit on the forum with a missing hind leg that he had amputated in his teen life....aprils rabbit does perfectly fine getting around.

 

[mistyjr]

I seen some pictures on facebook with a a baby had a leg gone since it was birth.

 

[tonyshuman]

Rabbits can get around fine without a hind leg, but of course it is your decision. It is not an easy life, but if the leg is lost early in life and there are no complications (infection, etc), the bunny can get used to it pretty easily. A vet should look at it sometime to make sure there isn't anything that should be done. For instance, if there is still leg bone there, but no foot, the remaining leg bone might need to be removed so that the bunny doesn't try to hop around on its stump, which could cause pain.

 

[Sweetie]

Please do not put this baby to sleep. Tonyshuman is right, rabbits can get around with three legs. Prince has all four of his legs, he doesn't use his right rear leg all that much.

Also please take baby bunny to the vet so they can check for anything else that may also be wrong with the leg and see what else can be done.

The baby bunny can be an indoor pet rabbit and live a long healthy life!

 

[iluvdutchrabbbits90]

I would wait a couple weeks before you take the baby to a vet that would be risky taking a little baby out like that, at this point i would just keep it clean, their is nothing at this age a vet can do anyways. All their going to tell you is keep it clean and bring it back when its older. My very first rabbit i got when i was 4, had only 3 legs she lived to be 9 years old and never had a problem!

 

[tamsin]

If it's just one leg missing then I would leave it alone and just monitor for signs of infection (redness, swelling, puss etc. When mums overgroom like this it tends to heal up amazingly well on its own.