Xerocles rabbit thread

[Xerocles]

Ok. I see whats going on. You guys are trying to scare the new guy. Maloclussions and tooth trimming. It's working. What's the best method of calming the rabbit to accept such ministrations? Probably a quick rap to the base of the skull?
And @promiseacres. You said something about molars. What do incisors have to do with molars?
@Baymule no recipes yet (gosh thats MONTHS away....unless Cruella refuses to change her ways.) All I know so far is low and slow, with a sauce and covered.

 

[promiseacres]

Not trying to scare you just something to watch for. You can only see the incisors, bad molars you won't know until there's offspring or problems in the bunnies health. You should not have to trim teeth unless there's a problem.

 

[Xerocles]

DISCLAIMER: what I am about to write may sound like I am upset or disappointed with the deal I made. I'm not.
I hope the guy I bought my rabbits from is not a member of BYH. I haven't seen anyone else from SC on here, so maybe I'm safe. If not, I'm about to pi$$ somebody off. Well, if the truth hurts, maybe you should change the truth.
Got to his farm. Nice respectful largish, well maintained acreage with several pretty respectable outbuildings. And he invited me to drive behind the house to the rabbitry. Aghast!
Now I am of the mindset of "if its not broke, don't fix it" and I suppose his cages kept his rabbits inside. But what a mishmash of ancient, dilapidated, amaturish looking collection of cages. I made better looking hutches, alone and without help, when I was 9 years old. He had maybe 50 or 60 hutches.
I suppose if I had the experience of many of you (or I already had rabbits) I would have thanked him for his time and trudged back home at this point. But I suffered from the newby affliction of "I got empty cages, and I don't have experience and I want a rabbit NOW!
I went for advertised NZ red does, 6mo, solid and broken, registered. $25. I only wanted one, preferrably solid. He told me, via phonecall, he only had two left, both broken.
I asked, since 6 mos is prime breeding age and I don't have a buck, how much would he charge me to have her serviced. No charge, but no promises. Fair enough.(later he told me no luck on the breeding).
He showed me the does, both to my unexperienced eye, well put together, blocky, rounded, alert, with big backends. Meat rabbits. I still hold to this assessment, but will admit my ignorance on this, and an experienced eye might tell me I have culls.
Anyhow, back to housing. We made conversation, a quite congenial young man, while I looked around, assaying the environment and asking all pertinent questions I knew to ask. He was relaxed, ready with answers, and seemed honest and sincere. Yes, his rabbits were full time caged, no "ground time". Had been doing this since a teenager (late 20s/early 30s now). Only diseases he had ever had and had to treat for was ear mites. No coccidosis ever. Shared that he did no showing, and very little in the pet market, but dealt with mostly one or two "processors" and one had recently passed. Only time he had major losses was a couple years ago when we had two weeks of temps above 100f (I remember that year). Said he lost a lot. His information was straightforward.
The cages. Small. Only about 24" wide. Would have pushed to be 16" tall. Barely enough room for these meat rabbits to turn around. Wire bottoms, many were 1X1 wire. No resting pads. No sign of hay or hay racks (" we just throw it on top of the cages"). But again, none visible. This was noontime.
Each cage did have a tag attached with pertinent info; breed, sex, age, some codes I didn't decipher.
Now I have been accused of being somewhat callous about animals and their place in the scheme of things. And, giving credit where credit is due, I think this guy was honest and aboveboard, but even more callous than I. Meat is meat. You raise it. You eat it. You don't pamper it.
Anyhow, to the deal. I know this is long and likely boring.
We had not agreed on a deal. And I had casually mentioned that I was also trying to find a Californian, cause I wanted to compare growout, etc. So, he said his buyer who had passed away was a Cali buyer, cause he needed white pelts in addition to meat. He (my seller) was not fond of Cali, just liked the color of his reds, and had gotten rid of most of his Cali stock. He had one pair left and IF I bought the red doe at $25, he would sell me the pair of Calis @ $10 each. $10 for a 10 lb stewing rabbit isn't bad, even if all you do is cook it. And these were 18 month registered breeding stock. I stuck my hand out and reached in my pocket.
Now, I only brought one transport cage, which the does could go in. He found a cardboard box for the buck. Scruffed only, not even back feet support. Buck in the box. While I taped the box and placed it in the truck, he loaded the does into the carrier, so I didn't see him interact with them. That's important, and I'll tell you why, tomorrow. Your eyes are probably tired by now, anyhow.
OMG. I just looked back and this is LONG. I should have broken it down, but I don't see how.

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

I'm trying to learn here. When you say "bad teeth", could you elaborate a bit on that? What was going on with the teeth?

Bad teeth means they don’t line up for the short version. Rabbits teeth constantly grow. They need to line up otherw they will get an abscess. We have been raising rabbits a long time. My buck came to me with an abscess but didn’t realize it..just thought he was great looker. We spent a ton on surgery. Because we invested so much, we didn’t want to cull him. His kits never had that issue, luckily..but his issues have never quit. I’ve not giving up! I have spent sooo much money on rabbit vet bills though. We have an expanded farm now and, unfortunately..my hubby will not allow me to spend that sort of money on my sick ducks..which I much prefer. We do not have an avian vet close...but...anyway..this is where you need to pick and choose who you you what to invest the money on.
also with those water bottles..I realize you are in SC and the climate is a heck of a lot better than NW PA..but, once they freeze..you’re done...I mean...it’s a pa in the waahoo. So, I have elected to get the large dog bowls..the kind that won’t tip..and not the chinsey plastic type. The heavy duty round plastic. You’ll end to bang them when they freeze and they will break if they are the thin plastic..trust me. They will tip if they are thinner at the base..trust me. So get the sturdy kind that can handle a good bang. My rabbits..32, New Zealands And California are in my barn, above my ducks...don’t worry there is great ventilation..but it’s much warmer and it still freezes. Rabbits do much better in the cold than heat so don’t worry about them. But they do love a good bunny box to jump on...maybe that’s down the road...mine are quite spoiled.
Im so sorry for interrupting the thread, but I did want to let that important question get missed. I can’t wait to keep reading! Congratulations on your new bunny family! Warning you..we thought we would eat them..we have eaten four. I mostly give them away.

oh, also..very important..read, read, read up on GI stasis and buy baby gas reliever now. It is a silent killer and comes on in a day, with no warning..caused by stress..a loud noise even. Rabbits are more fragile than you think.. I have lost 21 rabbits this way before I knew how to treat it. Now I have a care kit, etc. if you ever have questions..keep my avatar at hand..I know how to tube feed, how to sub q fluids, etc...it takes work. I don’t mean to scare you. But rabbit owners should have an emergency kit on hand...like most animal farmers do for every animal type.

once again..congratulations and I can’t wait to read more!

 

[Baymule]

Beautiful kits @Duckfarmerpa1 I raised rabbits many moons ago, I had Satins. At any one time, I had around 300 of them. My husband doesn't like rabbit meat or I would have them again.

@Xerocles to check a rabbit for a good full butt with lots of meat, place on a table and get the rabbit to "set up". That means to set still in a normal resting position, then run your hands over their body, over their butt and to their feet. A good body will have a full butt, a not so good will cup your hands inward, what I used to call a hatchet butt.

No table? Make one, preferably with a slick top so they can't get traction, dig their claws in and JUMP off. Then you use a carpet sample for a pad so that they feel secure. This will come in handy when they are blowing their coat in a seasonal molt. Then you wet your hands and rub the rabbit up and down, the loose fur will come off, stick to your hands, you rub your hands together and the fur comes off. Rinse. Repeat. If you don't help clean up their fur, it can matt up and make a mess. A small torch is great for burning the fur off the cages and for disinfecting the cages. I suppose you have the good sense to remove the rabbits first. LOL

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Beautiful kits @Duckfarmerpa1 I raised rabbits many moons ago, I had Satins. At any one time, I had around 300 of them. My husband doesn't like rabbit meat or I would have them again.

@Xerocles to check a rabbit for a good full butt with lots of meat, place on a table and get the rabbit to "set up". That means to set still in a normal resting position, then run your hands over their body, over their butt and to their feet. A good body will have a full butt, a not so good will cup your hands inward, what I used to call a hatchet butt.

No table? Make one, preferably with a slick top so they can't get traction, dig their claws in and JUMP off. Then you use a carpet sample for a pad so that they feel secure. This will come in handy when they are blowing their coat in a seasonal molt. Then you wet your hands and rub the rabbit up and down, the loose fur will come off, stick to your hands, you rub your hands together and the fur comes off. Rinse. Repeat. If you don't help clean up their fur, it can matt up and make a mess. A small torch is great for burning the fur off the cages and for disinfecting the cages. I suppose you have the good sense to remove the rabbits first. LOL

I love the info on the table..my hubby will not be ha with the news though..I’m always bugging him for something new! . And she is sooo right about the molt..but to warn you..burnt rabbit hair stinks! Oh, thanks for the compliment on my litt ones!

 

[Xerocles]

Im so sorry for interrupting the thread, but I did want to let that important question get missed.

Now I have a care kit, etc. if you ever have questions..keep my avatar at hand..I know how to tube feed, how to sub q fluids, etc...it takes work. I don’t mean to scare you. But rabbit owners should have an emergency kit on hand...like most animal farmers do for every animal type.

Thats not an interrupting! That's the WHOLE PURPOSE of this thread. I don't know what I'm doing. I tell you guys what I AM doing and you put me on the right path. Please, keep it up. And thank you.
Any chance you might give me a more formal list for that emergency kit?
Oh, and LOVED the pictures.

 

[Xerocles]

set still in a normal resting position, then run your hands over their body, over their butt and to their feet. A good body will have a full butt, a not so good will cup your hands inward, what I used to call a hatchet butt.

Wow. I had to stop and make sure I wasn't on my OTHER site for a minute there. Hey, maybe this is one suggestion I'll be good at; already got a modicum of experience.
Could I use my processing table with formica top for this, or too much chance that some residual blood smell could panic them?
And when I got to the part about a small torch to burn the fur off, and before I read cages, my eyes got REALLY big. I mean, you do some things that sound pretty wild, to me. Hands up sheeps butts and cutting teeth!
As always, thanks for your help and guidance.

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Thats not an interrupting! That's the WHOLE PURPOSE of this thread. I don't know what I'm doing. I tell you guys what I AM doing and you put me on the right path. Please, keep it up. And thank you.
Any chance you might give me a more formal list for that emergency kit?
Oh, and LOVED the pictures.

Well, definitely the the Simethicone drops...in the baby isle..gauze, peroxide, etc. saline solution. You need to deworm them every three months like clockwork. Albon...it’s expensive..buy the big bottle and suck it up. Buy kitten baby formula..there’s always going to be a kit, here or there, that needs a little help...so, with that you’ll need a little dropper..usually can ask pharmacist and they’ll give you one if you know them. Some rabbits do well with mineral wheels, some don’t even pay them attention. That’s just for regular health and maintenance. Nail clippers. It’s best..when you are first handling your new rabbits to wear long sleeves. The more you handle them the better it is for breeding...you’ll have a more calm doe, I’ve found. Some does will get territorial with the kits if they don’t know you as well...I’ve found.

Theres a lot more you need IF the rabbits get the GI Stasis..but I don’t want to overwhelm you..if it happens..keep my avatar..I’m always online..I don’t watch TV...and I can give you great websites.

keep a water spray bottle solution with white vinegar...it doesn’t need to be a perfect mix...we used to measure it all out. If they get sick you do..but for regular cleaning it can be more relaxed. But clean the cages regularly because of germs. We got one of those sprayers that you usually spray for weeds..works great. Definitely spray nesting boxes.

oh, if one of them gets the sniffles...VetRx is good to use..but..be careful as the sni are contagious...but..VetRx is great for ear mites..and you do not need to run to the vet for that! It’s so simple..the rabbit will love you after a few days because it will feel so much better! A sign is an ear droop. Or a lot of scratching.

The urine can be a vari of colors..so dont panic..I did. It can be from feed change...hay difference, anything. Even red is ok. Every seven poops is stickier and they eat it for their digestion. Don’t be alarmed when it looks different. You won’t see them eat it.

Ok, I probably went wayyy overboard and told you tons of stuff you already know. Sorry. But rabbits are more tricky than people realize. Oh, when we lost some, the guy at our feed store told us not to use rain water. I have no clue if that was an issue. But we never used rain water again.

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Wow. I had to stop and make sure I wasn't on my OTHER site for a minute there. Hey, maybe this is one suggestion I'll be good at; already got a modicum of experience.
Could I use my processing table with formica top for this, or too much chance that some residual blood smell could panic them?
And when I got to the part about a small torch to burn the fur off, and before I read cages, my eyes got REALLY big. I mean, you do some things that sound pretty wild, to me. Hands up sheeps butts and cutting teeth!
As always, thanks for your help and guidance.

Hey, last week I had my finger up my goats, lady parts..you should’ve seen my hubby’s face when he walked in the barn!