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cojo

cojo

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Jun 28, 2010
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Location
Buffalo, New York, USA
Our small animal rescue took in 7 angora rabbits from the SPCA Canada on June 6. They were from this raid on May 8. They gave us all females. I fostered 3.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/front/article/1044378

Unfortunately...it seems like whoever was distributing them to rescues didn't have the resources to sex them before transporting them. As you may know from my intro, one had 6 babies on June 8. They have a 28-31 day gestational period.

2 days ago, 1 more rabbit had babies. Yesterday, 2 more of the rabbits had babies. This morning, one of mine had 8 babies. Between the 2 of us at the small rescue fostering, we now have over 30 angora bunnies.

This is just overwhelming...I don't know why the SPCA didn't separate out the males from the females and spay/neuter them before distributing. The rescue I'm fostering from didn't spay them (my guess is because they were all females & felt there was time to raise the money, given that they were in the SPCA's care for about a month).

Any advice, help, or suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Oh my goodness. This is terrible -- I hope you guys get some help. I'm going to move this to the Rescue Me section for more attention.
 
Fortunately, I have at least 6 people ready to adopt some rabbits. A few even want to take multiples. So that's good.

I talked with the SPCA here in Buffalo, and they gave me the name of a larger small-animal rescue in a neighboring city (problem is, I bet they took some of the unsexed rabbits as well). The rescue told me this happened to other rescues and all of them are collectively in the process of filing a complaint against the SPCA in Canada that didn't separate them out.

I have a little time, because it is 8 weeks until the babies can leave their mom.
 
Maybe...but from what I read, most angora businesses are in China because it is more economical to harvest angora there. But there may be some local crafters who are interested. The other thing is that the kits are dark brown and black - and that's an undesirable color for yarn spinning, because you can't dye it (unlike white fur).
 
Even then, though, I'm sure that colour would come in handy to a local person for embellishments and outlines. A beautiful black angora sweater would be a to-buy on my list.

Hopefully you can find a local artisan who loves animals too :)
 
FYI...current update...

I lost 1/5 and 2/8 kits in the 2 litters I'm caring for. The other foster lost all of the kits in the 2 litters (of 6 and 8) she was caring for. The moms just didn't want to nurse the babies, left them on the ground, showed no interest, and didn't make nests, to the point where she wasn't even sure who the mom was for one of the litters. After waiting a couple of days with the moms showing no instincts toward nesting or feeding, she tried feeding them herself but they all made it about 5 days and that was it. Who knows why...maybe they were too young, or worn out, or stressed from all the moves they've been through in the last month.

So, at last count we've lost HALF, 17 out of the 34 rabbits we're fostering. It's very stressful for us. Even though the situation is bad we're doing the very best we can.

3 of the non-mom rabbits have been adopted already, so that is good.
 
This is why, when I agreed to take the 6 that I took, I had already arranged to have them spayed and/or neutered. They arrived on the 5th, one had 5 kits on the 7th, all the adults were spayed/neutered on the 8th.....even the doe that had the kits.
 
I don't have an up-date on these rabbits. So many kits were born, so many died either from sickness or the Does not having any interest in them. Two of mine have been adopted, one adult and one 2 month old kit (to a previous, experienced, angora rabbit owner). People want them, that is, until they realize that they require more care than they are willing, or able, to give them. Of the 5 adult females that I recieved, 3 had pyometer, 1 was pregnant and gave birth to 5 kits (one was deformed), and one had a dead kit in her birth canal....a litter of dead kits in her totally septic/infected uterus. Aside from fur mites, coccidia, and births, I have not heard anything about the condition of the rabbits for the past 6 weeks. All I know is that mine are healthy and are enjoying a space that is about 6 feet by 12 feet. They binky....a lot!! Did I mention that these are Giant Angoras? My decision to have them immediately spayed/neutered was a personal one. I had a choice to have 5 kits or 30. I chose the lesser.
 
How are you holding out? I still have six Angoras. They are adorable but, so much work. Had to buy new clippers...that aren't good enough to cut through that fur so, I went and bought a pair of scissors for $170 that does the job. Nobody is showing any interest in them....guess they are here to stay. Sigh.....
 
There are links here that may help you!
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11713&forum_id=13

But, I highly recommend reading through rabbit.org so you have an idea of how to take care of a bunny, what they need from you in order to live a long a healthy life, *before* you adopt one. When you go to a shelter more than likely they will go through the whole caretaking essentials with you, but it's better that you know going in so you are not taken by surprise!
 
kirbyultra wrote:
There are links here that may help you!
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11713&forum_id=13

But, I highly recommend reading through rabbit.org so you have an idea of how to take care of a bunny, what they need from you in order to live a long a healthy life, *before* you adopt one. When you go to a shelter more than likely they will go through the whole caretaking essentials with you, but it's better that you know going in so you are not taken by surprise!
Click to expand...

Ditto ^

kirbyultra, thanks for moving the thread. Rescues so need help at this time. Our calls, same as a recent post by slavetoabunny (GRR), continue to arrive.

cojo, you're a hero for doing what you can for the innocent heartbeats!

I admire you gals and guys who properly know how to care for angoras and longhairs.


 
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