When Crazy is in the Rabbitry!

[Tale of Tails Rabbitry]

Every now and then a rabbit does something I have never seen any rabbit do before. I have been raising them for 7+ years and you would think I have seen about everything, but, no, there is always some new antic to try to shock the human and crazy was in my rabbitry this one day.

I was cleaning the rabbit cages and as I was hosing down the slanted plastic that makes the droppings fall into the gutter behind the top tier of cages, three 10-week old bunnies decided to go into major freak out mode...as if we do not clean at least once a week EVERY week. I saw two going in circles as one jumped up to the top of the cage and then came back down catching one that was running in circles and slip, falling on its side.

Then it just lay there with its eyes open and stiffening and pulling its head back. "No, please, not death throes!" I thought. I gently brought it out of the cage, checking the mark in its ear to see it was the the only buck. His eyes were still open and but he seemed unresponsive. I sat down to just hold him as I saw his eyes began to start to looking around, but he could not move. All I could think of was he either broken his back or was dying of fright and I would need to cull him...and I was not planning to process a rabbit in the heat of the day that day!

I gave it a few more minutes and I felt his heart beat slower and stay strong. He breathing was steadied. Okay, probably a spinal injury. I pinched the toes on his back legs and he did not move them. I decided to lay him in an empty cage, so I could finish the cleaning as it was getting hotter. To my surprise, he sat up with one back leg out, as if he did not have good control of it. Having had a pet rabbit decades ago with a spinal injury, I realized that it still might be that, but maybe not...? He did not move around much at first, but he actually was using all his legs, so I guess he just really had the wind knocked out of him and was stunned. After an hour had past, he was hopping around like nothing happen.

But I swear rabbits do stuff just to make me crazy!

 

[Bunnylady]

You understand, don't you, why I say my rabbits put their heads together when I'm not there and ask, "how can we drive her crazy today?" I have said for years that I'm gonna have that put on a t-shirt . . .

I know chickens will "faint" when severely traumatized, but I've never known a rabbit to do it. I have had rabbits that killed themselves by slamming into corners in a severe fright; it's possible this guy came within a hair's breadth of doing himself in (so glad he didn't succeed!). It's also possible that he suffered a seizure (rabbits can suffer from seizure disorders; some have genetic causes, some don't). What you are describing does sound neurological in nature.

I hope you both make a full recovery!

 

[Tale of Tails Rabbitry]

@Bunnylady, I would want one of those t-shirts! In fact, I might just design one!

I had another breeder tell me that she has had rabbits for 7 years and hoses down cages as well. In that time, she had two rabbits that did pretty much the same thing. I remember a friend when I was a child, who had Dutch rabbits and told me that a dog frightened one of his rabbits to death; his description was very similar...and how often is such an event witnessed?

 

[Sundragons]

This most recent litter of Netherlands we have figured out how to climb up on top of the nesting box and squeeze between the bars of the cage at 2 weeks. I thought we had lost one somehow until I found it hopping around on the floor. All 4 of them did it for about a week until their heads got too big to fit out. We ended up putting that cage in a kiddie pool on the floor in a room to keep them corralled.

Crazy buns.