mshill90
Well-Known Member
I am thinking about writing a blog, or making a website devoted to my Flemish Giant Rabbits, but I am not sure yet, so I will just write about them here amongst fellow rabbit lovers.
Let me give you a quick intro (with pics!) of each of my fur balls:
Sherlock- Sherlock is my dark Agouti/Dark Sandy Colored male.. He's 8-9 months old, and let's just say, Sherlock (Holmes) was the best name ever for him! He gets free roam of the yard, and there isn't a 10 minute span where he isn't digging a hole, or getting into trouble. He's big.. about 22 lbs already and acts like a complete 3 year old. haha. He has managed to learn how to get onto the patio table, bite toes, AND just yesterday he decided that while I was crouching down checking something out, it was a fair time to bite me in the rear. As soon as I turned around he took off popping around like it was the funnies thing ever! I've been told he acts JUST like his daddy.
*ignore the shaved area of him... I will explain that in a bit*
Watson- Sherlock's brother.. Completely acts like Watson from the Sherlock Holmes movies.. always cautious, and the gentle one of the 2. He's content to just lay around and get head scratches. He's a lap bunny so to speak. Doesn't mind being held, or rough housed with. Him and my cat play with each other all the time... when they aren't playing, they are napping together. He's very chill and just enjoys life.
*his fur is turning back to blue.. apparently their fur changes when in the sun a lot*
Gordon- Gordon is 6-7 months old.. Flemish and possibly (continental giant mix). Sable point in color. He's rather shy, and likes just doing his own things. He's a very curious rabbit in a juvenile sense. He was the runt of his litter, and almost died. The other kits kept pushing him out of the nest when being nursed and was really small. The breeder took him and mom to have some nursing time together and he survived! When they were all old enough to be sold, he still got picked on, as he was being layed on and pooped on and he just wasn't happy. I scooped him up in a heartbeat! He's my baby. He's named Gordon, after Gordon Shumway (AKA: ALF).
Trixie- This is my only girl.. Gordons sister. She's orange/fawn (not sure what to call it.) She is EXTREMELY shy, and will run away from you if you even get within 15 feet of her... Not sure why she's like this, but her brother is kinda shy too. However, she's gotten rather friendly whether she likes it or not. Story to come..
So, how did I get into Rabbits? Well, I found out in March that my husband and I were expecting our first child. He had ALWAYS wanted a large pet that he could keep outside and just have people relish over it.. Well, a friend of mine works at a petstore and they had a local breeder sell them 2 and they had been their for months. I breed certain species of turtles, and offered them a trade on them; and they agreed. So, we made a large 4'x12' pen, and placed a garden fence in the middle to divide the yard, and they have free roam of their side. They are spoiled rotten!! They can come and go from the pen, and have made it known that we are to NEVER cut the grass.. I've been shunned on several occasions from them when I have cut the grass. They get their normal feed pellets, fresh bales of Alfalfa and Timothy Hay from the local farm, carrots, apples, brussel sprouts, pumpkin, and any other veggie for the most part. We don't give them too many fruits.. they are crazy enough!! Sherlock even stole my blueberry muffin once.. BRAT.
They have definitely stole my heart. :biggrin2:
However, they have been a lot more work than what I have expected... Here goes it:
MUSHROOMS: Wild mushrooms are the ROOT of all evil with rabbits I have discovered.
Memorial Day weekend I noticed my female laying under the AC base (which is normal) but she had been there ALL day.. I leaned down, and reached for her and got little to no reaction. She couldn't move her rear. I think the worst.. broken back.. euthanasia.. I bring her inside, give her some water and food and she perked up. Take her to the vet the next day to have her put down, and the vet says "she's got nothing physically wrong with her back.. no breaks, no fractures.- let's leave her be, and see what happens first." So for almost a month she was kept inside and I had to expel her bladder and all that jazz. The day after I took her to the vet, her brother starts having issues with his rear, so we bring him inside too.. He improves within a week. I keep thinking over and over and over what the issue could be.. One morning my husband walks outside and there sits Sherlock with a giant wild mushroom in his mouth. My husband grabbed it from him, and within an hour, he had issues too.. It was not bad at all, he just looked drunk. We immediately sprayed the yard in vinegar and check twice daily for any random shrooms.
After almost a month, Trixie is back to normal.. but we placed her in the pen just in case, as Sherlock wants her badly, and I don't want her to get hurt.. plus, I had plans to get her fixed asap once she was better.
BOT FLIES- Are the devil.. they are giant in skin living maggots. Maggots is something I can't stand. I don't care if they are in an outside trash can or what.. they creep me out, and I won't go near them. Well, while trixie was inside I noticed she had hole like wounds.. do a little research, and they are bot fly larvae. Ok, I'm a vet tech by trade, so I wasn't at all concerned with getting them out. However, I did not realize how GROSS it would be. ALL 4 of my bunnies have bot flies. Wonderful. So everyone got shaved near the wounds, and they all got pulled out. It's been too wet out to put down the powder to control the flies, so they have to be checked on a daily basis, and the wounds need to be kept clean if they don't heal up right away. They all took treatment pretty well, and acted a lot better than I expected. I was thinking I was going to get scratched, and bit.. and who knows what else. But nope. Everyone was great. Sherlock even fell asleep when I was shaving him!
Now, remember I mentioned Trixie has learned to like attention.. that's because she was kept in the house for a month, and I was always messing with her.. petting her, laying her on the couch with me, feeding her treats.. and once even an oatmeal cookie (SHHH!).. The last 3 days of keeping her inside, I noticed she got reallly fat. I figured, eh it's because she's been a pig and couldn't exercise.
Well.. apparently I was wrong. 3 days ago I find a nest in the pen with:
6 babies! Sherlock must have gotten her when she first had reactions to the shrooms, as she was way too fast for him to catch any other time. I was afraid that because she is so young she may not care for the babies and they may die.. so far she's fed them everyday, and even adds more fur to the nest when she feels necessary.. She's great with me checking on her babies, and actually approaches for attention now too.
I can't wait until these guys get fur and start moving around! As soon as they wean, momma is getting fixed!
Rabbit keeping was NOT like I expected, but it's been great so far! I love them..
Let me give you a quick intro (with pics!) of each of my fur balls:
Sherlock- Sherlock is my dark Agouti/Dark Sandy Colored male.. He's 8-9 months old, and let's just say, Sherlock (Holmes) was the best name ever for him! He gets free roam of the yard, and there isn't a 10 minute span where he isn't digging a hole, or getting into trouble. He's big.. about 22 lbs already and acts like a complete 3 year old. haha. He has managed to learn how to get onto the patio table, bite toes, AND just yesterday he decided that while I was crouching down checking something out, it was a fair time to bite me in the rear. As soon as I turned around he took off popping around like it was the funnies thing ever! I've been told he acts JUST like his daddy.
*ignore the shaved area of him... I will explain that in a bit*
Watson- Sherlock's brother.. Completely acts like Watson from the Sherlock Holmes movies.. always cautious, and the gentle one of the 2. He's content to just lay around and get head scratches. He's a lap bunny so to speak. Doesn't mind being held, or rough housed with. Him and my cat play with each other all the time... when they aren't playing, they are napping together. He's very chill and just enjoys life.
*his fur is turning back to blue.. apparently their fur changes when in the sun a lot*
Gordon- Gordon is 6-7 months old.. Flemish and possibly (continental giant mix). Sable point in color. He's rather shy, and likes just doing his own things. He's a very curious rabbit in a juvenile sense. He was the runt of his litter, and almost died. The other kits kept pushing him out of the nest when being nursed and was really small. The breeder took him and mom to have some nursing time together and he survived! When they were all old enough to be sold, he still got picked on, as he was being layed on and pooped on and he just wasn't happy. I scooped him up in a heartbeat! He's my baby. He's named Gordon, after Gordon Shumway (AKA: ALF).
Trixie- This is my only girl.. Gordons sister. She's orange/fawn (not sure what to call it.) She is EXTREMELY shy, and will run away from you if you even get within 15 feet of her... Not sure why she's like this, but her brother is kinda shy too. However, she's gotten rather friendly whether she likes it or not. Story to come..
So, how did I get into Rabbits? Well, I found out in March that my husband and I were expecting our first child. He had ALWAYS wanted a large pet that he could keep outside and just have people relish over it.. Well, a friend of mine works at a petstore and they had a local breeder sell them 2 and they had been their for months. I breed certain species of turtles, and offered them a trade on them; and they agreed. So, we made a large 4'x12' pen, and placed a garden fence in the middle to divide the yard, and they have free roam of their side. They are spoiled rotten!! They can come and go from the pen, and have made it known that we are to NEVER cut the grass.. I've been shunned on several occasions from them when I have cut the grass. They get their normal feed pellets, fresh bales of Alfalfa and Timothy Hay from the local farm, carrots, apples, brussel sprouts, pumpkin, and any other veggie for the most part. We don't give them too many fruits.. they are crazy enough!! Sherlock even stole my blueberry muffin once.. BRAT.
They have definitely stole my heart. :biggrin2:
However, they have been a lot more work than what I have expected... Here goes it:
MUSHROOMS: Wild mushrooms are the ROOT of all evil with rabbits I have discovered.
Memorial Day weekend I noticed my female laying under the AC base (which is normal) but she had been there ALL day.. I leaned down, and reached for her and got little to no reaction. She couldn't move her rear. I think the worst.. broken back.. euthanasia.. I bring her inside, give her some water and food and she perked up. Take her to the vet the next day to have her put down, and the vet says "she's got nothing physically wrong with her back.. no breaks, no fractures.- let's leave her be, and see what happens first." So for almost a month she was kept inside and I had to expel her bladder and all that jazz. The day after I took her to the vet, her brother starts having issues with his rear, so we bring him inside too.. He improves within a week. I keep thinking over and over and over what the issue could be.. One morning my husband walks outside and there sits Sherlock with a giant wild mushroom in his mouth. My husband grabbed it from him, and within an hour, he had issues too.. It was not bad at all, he just looked drunk. We immediately sprayed the yard in vinegar and check twice daily for any random shrooms.
After almost a month, Trixie is back to normal.. but we placed her in the pen just in case, as Sherlock wants her badly, and I don't want her to get hurt.. plus, I had plans to get her fixed asap once she was better.
BOT FLIES- Are the devil.. they are giant in skin living maggots. Maggots is something I can't stand. I don't care if they are in an outside trash can or what.. they creep me out, and I won't go near them. Well, while trixie was inside I noticed she had hole like wounds.. do a little research, and they are bot fly larvae. Ok, I'm a vet tech by trade, so I wasn't at all concerned with getting them out. However, I did not realize how GROSS it would be. ALL 4 of my bunnies have bot flies. Wonderful. So everyone got shaved near the wounds, and they all got pulled out. It's been too wet out to put down the powder to control the flies, so they have to be checked on a daily basis, and the wounds need to be kept clean if they don't heal up right away. They all took treatment pretty well, and acted a lot better than I expected. I was thinking I was going to get scratched, and bit.. and who knows what else. But nope. Everyone was great. Sherlock even fell asleep when I was shaving him!
Now, remember I mentioned Trixie has learned to like attention.. that's because she was kept in the house for a month, and I was always messing with her.. petting her, laying her on the couch with me, feeding her treats.. and once even an oatmeal cookie (SHHH!).. The last 3 days of keeping her inside, I noticed she got reallly fat. I figured, eh it's because she's been a pig and couldn't exercise.
Well.. apparently I was wrong. 3 days ago I find a nest in the pen with:
6 babies! Sherlock must have gotten her when she first had reactions to the shrooms, as she was way too fast for him to catch any other time. I was afraid that because she is so young she may not care for the babies and they may die.. so far she's fed them everyday, and even adds more fur to the nest when she feels necessary.. She's great with me checking on her babies, and actually approaches for attention now too.
I can't wait until these guys get fur and start moving around! As soon as they wean, momma is getting fixed!
Rabbit keeping was NOT like I expected, but it's been great so far! I love them..
I don't know much about baby bunnies so I'm sure someone with breeding/baby experience can help you better!
