Guessing age on Bunnies

[TrampNPigeon]

I have a question. Since I found my twowonderful buns wandering the streets alone I really have no clue howold they are. Is there any way to try and determine their age?

By the way, guess I will update since I have been too busy to postlately. Tramp and Pidge have both been movedupstairs to the living room as of last week and I have cut the legs offof their cage so they are close to the floor now and can easily jumpinto and out of the cage. Since I did that they are bothhaving a blast. Previously, they were in the basement, andwhile we are down here quite a bit on the computer, they were lockedout of the exact area we were in so I didn't feel they were getting theattention they deserve. Now they are getting lots ofattention and Tramp just did TWO binkies this morning when I let themout of their cage. He's binkied before but it's been a whilesince I've gotten to witness one from him. They were runningin and out of the cage like crazy... running big circles andeverything... only had to get onto Pidge once for trying to get behindthe TV and pull a "Sherman" hehe. Now I just hope thatsupervised play time in the mornings and evenings will help me getPigeon to stop digging up my carpets. As is we will alreadyhave to replace the downstairs carpeting because I let them roam freein and out of the cage as they wanted down here and she managed toshred both the carpet and the padding under it *sigh*. Goodthing is we were planning on replacing all of the carpet anyhow so itwasn't a big deal "yet". That's my update for now thoughguys...

I realize I don't post as often as many or tell stories as good but Iread almost everything and continue to learn from you all.The people on this board have really opened me up to how wonderfulbunnies can be as pets if they have the chance. My dogsaren't liking it much right now since it means they spend more timeoutside while the bunnies are out playing but they're doing okay toohehe. Just want to say thanks to everyone for keeping thissuch a fun and informative board.

-Cheryl

 

[2bunmom]

Ok ok, I just have onequestion. Did you move Pigeon's bluebeanbag chair upstairs also? If not shame onyou!!! How do you expect her to watch TV withoutit?LOLIstill laugh at the thought of that picture of her in the bean bagchair. Beckie

 

[Buck Jones]

Difficult proposition you pose. Shortof some skeletal growth factors most of us wouldn't recognize, it isnot easy to guesstimate a rabbit's age. The only things I'msure of, if youknow it is pure bred,sometimes youcan tell by the size. Baby bunnies tend to have "needle like"and sharp nails. Baby bunnies often look like, well, babybunnies. Younger bunnies are very energetic, inquisitive, andmore difficult to litter box train...usually.

Older bunnies "tend" to look more gaunt, less muscular, may be grayingin places, eyes may be "duller," might be more sedentary, and move moreslowly.

In between the two extremes? Your guess is as good asmine....LOL

Perhaps, some of you vet tech types or breeders might provide more useful information

Buck

 

[TrampNPigeon]

LOL Beckie!

I'm sorry to report but Pigeon's bean bag chair did not survive....well.... Pigeon. Seems she either clawed or chewed tiny holesin it and we had to remove it from her reach (aka throw it away) beforeshe decided the neat little white balls coming out of it were for herchewing and eating pleasure.

It's funny to me the personality differences of the two.Tramp is very quiet, well-behaved (unless you have to catch him), andtimid. We hardly ever get to pet him at all... most of thetime he'll only come up to us if we have treats in hand and then he'lltake the treat and run, making sure we can't touch him atall.

Pigeon, on the other hand is the inquisitive, trouble-making,personable one. Although, most of the time right now Pigeonstill won't let us pet her much we can pet her sometimes, andoccasionally she'll come up to us even without a treat inhand. If we DO have a treat in hand she'll not only come upto us, but run OVER us until she gets said treat. They bothjust have a ton of personality. I'm looking forward to theirindividuality coming out even more now that they are upstairs in theaction and able to play with us and each other more. AlreadyI can tell that Tramp is coming out of his shell more each day andtheir cage modifications have only really been in effect for 2 days.

As to their age, if I had to guess I would say they are stillrelatively young, maybe a year or two. It's hard for me tosay for sure, since I think they probably were too skinny when we foundthem, therefore their growth since then could be attributed to justweight-gain, but I think they have grown a little since then bonestructure wise as well. They seem to have topped out theirweight now, guessing around 6 lbs each (Pigeon is a little bigger, butnot much). I know when we first got them Pigeon was pregnantso that would automatically put them over 4 months old or so at thevery least, based on how soon she delivered after we found them (onlyabout a week, guessing she would have beenfull term, eventhough the babies were still born they were delivered fullsize). That's really about the best clues I have.Would there be a way for a vet to get a better estimate on agesthough?

-Cheryl

 

[pamnock]

I posted the following on a previous thread:
Pam

The teeth of rabbits don't giveasaccurateindication of age as they do in an animal such asahorse.Older rabbits may also have some discoloration and irregularities tothe surface of the tooth, where a younger rabbitwillhave thinner, smoother, whiterteeth.The front teeth of an older rabbit will alsobe thicker. The root of the tooth will also extend fartherdown the tooth as the rabbit ages. Olderrabbits will also have a thickertoenail.

The age of a cottontail up to 14 weeks can be determined by measuringthe length of the rabbit's hind foot and ear (due to thedifferent domestic breed sizes, it wouldn't be an accurate way for usto determine a pet rabbit's age). Olderrabbits also have a denser eye lens.

Our best indication of age in very young domestic rabbits is simply theobservation of their size based on the knowledge of that particularbreed. Also, bunnies normally have their "baby coat" up to 12weeks of age. Prime condition and fur is reached at about 7-8months. By 2 years, a loss of overall conditionindicates an aging rabbit as opposed to one in it's prime.

 

[Cher]

It was great to read about your kids Happynews that you moved them upstairs, as from the sounds of it they thinkso too! And to boot, you witnessed two binkies-coming from the coolcollected quiet one (timid) Jade can be a little like that at times ,so I like to think she just saves em for when she is feelingespeciallyextrovertedand issure she is being watched so I can tell her what a silly goof she is.And then I get a bunny grin and a flop!

I wish your carpets a long and wonderful life *grin grin*

Cher