weedflemishgiants
Well-Known Member
A few years ago I bought two fawn flemish brothers about three months old. A few days later when I went to feed them they both started shrieking at me. Just a horrible horrible sound. Once you have heard that rabbit scream of fear or rage you never forget. And so loud and piercing. Well, I was sure something was wrong with them so I called the breeder who assured me this was something they did sometimes. Eventually I bought their mom and lo and behold she did it too. There were times when every single fawn rabbit I had was shrieking simultaneously in the barn until the neighbors started to complain.
They mostly screamed when they heard the feed can open or the sound of a carrot snapping in half. But they could also scream for no reason whatsoever in the middle of the night.
At a show one of the bucks sounded off while sitting in his travel carrier which resulted in an incredible uproar of other show rabbits screaming, others on the table going on alert status and rabbits being groomed on tables actually trying to split from the hall. Fortunately, that was that rabbit's last scream. For some reason he never screamed again.
Now he has babies, two litters, nice mixes of whites, sandies and fawns and suddenly a new buyer of one of his fawn babies calls distressed because her darling nine week old buck is screaming at her.
I find it funny. I understand that rabbits may do this when they are distressed or angry or in pain. Mine don't. If in pain or angry they just sulk in a corner. My rabbits are not mean and they can always be stopped from screaming by a little attention.
Tracking and breeding has shown me that yes I do have generational screaming in the line, but only in the fawns. The resulting white and sandy litters of the fawns do not scream. It is only in my fawns. Some people see it as a fault. Most likely because it is blood curdling when you hear it. But I like it and I will leave it in the line.
It is just too funny to breed out.
A friend of mine has it only in her blues. She has one doe that will ONLY scream at a show.
They mostly screamed when they heard the feed can open or the sound of a carrot snapping in half. But they could also scream for no reason whatsoever in the middle of the night.
At a show one of the bucks sounded off while sitting in his travel carrier which resulted in an incredible uproar of other show rabbits screaming, others on the table going on alert status and rabbits being groomed on tables actually trying to split from the hall. Fortunately, that was that rabbit's last scream. For some reason he never screamed again.
Now he has babies, two litters, nice mixes of whites, sandies and fawns and suddenly a new buyer of one of his fawn babies calls distressed because her darling nine week old buck is screaming at her.
I find it funny. I understand that rabbits may do this when they are distressed or angry or in pain. Mine don't. If in pain or angry they just sulk in a corner. My rabbits are not mean and they can always be stopped from screaming by a little attention.
Tracking and breeding has shown me that yes I do have generational screaming in the line, but only in the fawns. The resulting white and sandy litters of the fawns do not scream. It is only in my fawns. Some people see it as a fault. Most likely because it is blood curdling when you hear it. But I like it and I will leave it in the line.
It is just too funny to breed out.
A friend of mine has it only in her blues. She has one doe that will ONLY scream at a show.