Rabbit Advice please

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Slavy

New Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2004
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
Birmingham, , United Kingdom
Hello

I have hada rabbit for about 10 days now and he is the cutestlittle fellow, however I have no idea about his breed. He is all whitewith a few brown spots and brown ears. His hair is very long and fluffyand he is very curious and friendly.

I also need some advice on clipping his nails because they seem to grow very quickly (and I am already well scratched).

Please, have a look at the picture and let me know if you have any idea about his breed.

Thanks for any help in advance,

Slavy.










newrobannershort.jpg
 
Hi Slavy,

What a BEAUTY!! Can offer a hand with the nail trimmingquestion. I've copied it from the post entitled "NailTrimming". You should scroll down through the topics and seeif any of the other posts hold any interest for you.

Nails: Main thing is attitude. You must be in Control. Take theattitude of "Alpha Rabbit". Trimming their nails is an essential partof their healthcare.

With one hand, support the back and neck of the rabbit, with the other,secure the bottom of the rabbit support its heart and in between it'sfront paws. Pick the rabbit up and cradle it in your arms as you woulda baby. Personally, I find that as long as I secure my rabbit's earsdeep into my elbow and elevate his back feet just a bit, the morecontrol I have over him remaining still. At first, take a tiny bit,just the tip, off of the nail. Having someone help by shining aflashlight up into the nail will help tremendously in spotting thequick (where the blood starts). It's recommended that first you trimjust the tip of the nail, and then go back a day or two later and trima bit more because the quick falls back when the nail is trimmed.

Best to have some corn starch or baby powder on hand should you hit the quick.

-Carolyn

 
Buck is pretty good at this :)The rabbitdoes look like a little LionHead (broken tort in color). I'd have to take another look attheir standard, but I don't believe broken pattern is one of the colorsin their first standard. He also looks too wooly on the headto be what they are shooting for in their standard (I believe any woolbetween the eyes is a DQ).

I believe they might call the Lions with wooled bodies "Teddies".

I have a friend who bred them for a short time. We have had afew including currently 2 purebred Chestnuts. I love the texture of thewool -- they are a really neat breed :D

Yoursis absolutely adorable!!!!!!



Pam
 
Yeah I agree, very cute! He's just so fuzzy!

Um, anyway, I also agree about thenail trimming (which I have yet to master). I just wanted tosay that while learning to do it yourself is the best thing, you mightalso be able to ask a vet's place to help you out for a small fee (minewill trim nails of any pet for 10 bucks). This is good ifyou're just starting to learn, and feel a bit nervous about how to goabout it. Although Carolyn's info. is very good, sometimesit's hard to read instructions and feel 100% about doing ityourself.

Good luck with the bunny!

--Melissa and Umbra
 
Thank you all very much for the compliments and the advice you have given to me.

I think I will soon take Henry to the vet for a check up and possiblevaccinations, as he is only 3 months old now and I do not believe thatthey have given him any shots at the pet shop where we got him from. Heis in good health at the moment but I was told that rabbits can easilyget viruses. I think I will ask the vet to do his nails and thenhopefully I will do them myself.

Otherwise from what I have seen online yes, I would agree that he looksa bit like a lionhead, because the hair onhis head andthighsis particularly long and fluffy, however his overallshape does not exactly match and I am inclined to think that he is acrossbreed between a lionhead and another type.

Carolyn, thanks in particular for the detailed nail clipping description, hopefully I will be able to follow your instructions.

This is my first per ever although I have always wanted to have arabbit, so if anyone reading this thinks they have some hints onrabbitkeeping let me know, please! I read quite a lot on thenet and I am surprised by how many contradictory things people havesaid about rabbits' feeding, housing and etc.

Well, Henry seems to be happy and healthy for now (as I am typing thishe is on my lap and having a go at the keyboard, he seems to likeitparticularly :), so I am quite encouraged.

Thank you all very much again.

Slavy


 
Hi Slavy,

Your rabbit doesn't need vaccinations. I know dog and catsget their annual shots, but rabbit's don't. Iwasshocked myself when I first found thisout.

I don't blame you for going to the vets and having them show you how toclip his nails. You can do it yourself and save yourself somemoney, but if you don't have someone show you at first and feel morecomfortable going to a vet to see how it's done, by all means, go forit.

The things that come to mind right away are:

-Don't use cedar chips as your litter. (Pine shavings arealso warned against, but some people do use them with little problemsif theyhave a rabbit cage.) The fumes that arecreated when rabbit urine mixes with cedar chips (and some claim pineshavings), is toxic for your rabbit and can cause respiratoryinfections. Oncea respiratory illness is incurred,it's hard to cure.

-I prefer a cage made for a rabbit: wire bottom, drop pan that can beslid out and litter cleaned. If you havea plasticbottom cage, be sure to clean it when the rabbit has soiledit. The reason why I like the rabbit cages is because theurine and poop drops right through the wire and the rabbit remains dryand clean of having to sit in it, especially with that beautiful coaton Henry! I like to have a bed or a plastic mat for my rabbitso that he can use it if/when he gets tired of the wire.

-Don't allow your rabbit to sit in a wet or dirtyenvironment. Rabbits need a clean, dry atmosphere for them toremain healthy and happy.

-Don't give your rabbit too many treats. Store-bought rabbittreats, fruits, and vegetables are loaded with sugar andsugar'sbad for your rabbit's GI intestinal system.

-Ifa rabbit is undera lot of stress all the time,it can become sick because stress can effect the way theirimmunitysystem works. Best toavoid loudnoisey areas for your little cutie, feed him at the same time each day,and keep him and his cage out of thedirect sun oradrafty area.

-A rabbit's cage, if in the house, should be in a room that is active,but not in a traffic path. Rabbit's like to be in-the-know as to what'sgoing on around them. It's best if you can find a quiet areaof the room to put the rabbit's cage in so that if he needs a nap, hecan do so without being interrupted.

-Your rabbit's most important part of a diet is a good pellet food(usually purchased from a feedstore--if you have questionsaboutbrands, ask). Anything that is colorful and inthe shapes of fruit, etc., probably is more of a 'junk food' for yourrabbit thanproviding the necessary nutrients and vitamins thelittle guy needs.Everything your rabbit needs forgood health is in a good quality rabbit feed. It's advised toalsoprovide him with the extra fiber thatTimothyHay gives because not only will your rabbit need thehelp in avoiding furballs in his system, it's great for his teeth andhis digestive system. The biggest need is freshwater. If you're running out of the house and you don't havetime to feed him,make sure healways has freshwater. Without water, rabbitswon'teat.

-Don't overfeed your bunny. An overweight bunny is nothealthy. They get to the point where they can cleanthemselves, and your in for bigger problems then.

-Nail trimming and grooming your rabbit is an essential part of your rabbit's health.

-Keep a good hard wood around for the rabbit to chew on. Notonly do they enjoychewing, but they need to to keep theircontinually-growing teeth properly filed down.

-Check out this site for rabbit's body language. It's TheBest!http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittalk_intro.html

-Rabbit's sleep all day and generally are most active at dawn anddusk.Don't be concerned if your little onetakescat naps during the day. It's normal.

-Trust is built slowly with rabbits, but well worth the wait!

-Spend time with the rabbit, perhaps before you say good night, justpetting him and not trying to pick him up. Thiswill help the two of you bond. Talk to the little guyalot. They understand more than you think.

It's nice to have you among us. Welcome!

-Carolyn




 
Slavy,

I quite understand what you mean regarding contradictory information,and I really don't have a good answer for you as to why that occurs,other than that some people, authors,andauthorities are simply incorrect, or believe they right,or have a slightly different perspective.

If you "lurk" about enough rabbit sites long enough, you will begin tobe able to discern the advice that seems to commonly heldtrue, or you will recognize that some posters seem to make more commonsense in a logical manner, or have more experience than others.You'llget a feel for it.

I ,myself, beware of any authority, society, orassociation that claims to be the be-all and end-all of rabbiterudition. Some rabbit organizations will brook no dialog,for it is their way, or the highway. They often take a verynarrow philosophical view on rabbit keeping and husbandry and willshrilly attempt to denigrate any opposing point of view on theirInternet forums. I will take from such organizations thatwhat I find reasonable and useful, without accepting any of their"rabid" and prejudicial declarations.

Other associations and their forums seem more open to discussion andopposing viewpoints in which, I think, we can all learn from regardlessof our own predilection, if we keep some semblance of an openmind. Visit rabbit Internet sites long enough and you will beable to distinguish one type from the other.

I do find that we here, in North America, tend to rely heavily on apelleted diet; probably, when all is said and done, because it is themost convenient and inexpensive way for most of us to insure ourrabbits get an adequate diet; whereas, it seems on the continent thatyou favor a more natural diet, with less emphasis on pelletedfeed. Proponents of either approach support their practiceswith substantial experience and research and I think much of one'spreference has to do with the availability of one or theother. I got the impression when we visited London lastSeptember that, perhaps, there was not the wide variety of pelletedfood being marketed in the UK that one is accustomed to finding in theU.S. A. or Canada.

This is one of those areas where I believe rabbit fanciers differ dueto perspective, although I might have to give a nod to the continentalpenchant for a natural diet, as being the most healthy one.

Anyway, happy to see you here! Hang around and learnsomething, and, by all means jump in, and teach us something about theway it is done in the UK.

Buck;)
 
Im going to disagree with everyone and say itlooks like a jersey woolie.It looks to me like it has long hair on theentire body and jersey woolies come in broken.bluebird
 

Latest posts

Back
Top