Help - what breed of bunny - and care for it?

[kilroy238]

UGHHHH my wife came home this evening with a new member of the family. She has a friend who is moving to America and my wife jumped at the chance to take her long haired stew meat because our daughter loves animals. I am not a huge fan of rabbitsbut maybe that is just because I never grew up with them. Regardless of that I always insist on any animals we have are 100% PROPERLY taken care of, not very common here in China sadlyas maybe you can tell from the pics below. Which is why I am here.


I have already told my wife she needs to finda vet, we are in Tianjin China and my Mandarin is limited, that takes care of rabbits and that is top on the list but we still won't be able to go for a several days.

I alsoknow from what little I have read already I need to get a new proper cage, as the one s/he has now is COMPLETELY inappropriate, some new food and a proper water bottle. A trip to the groomer, I hope the vet will have a groomer but just in case, would be lovely as well as Stewneeds a good bath and a brush out.


Not all of Stew's droppings have been round some came out with a very watery brown diarrhea bm. Which worries me because I don't know how serious that is. Again this was unplanned for and it will be at least a week before s/he can be taken to a vet so besides the cage and water which I can take care of tomorrow.

So what I need to know now is what breed this is so I can take care of any special needs s/he might have right now and is a small amount of diarrheaa very bad warning sign for our new addition.


TIA for anyone who can help.

 

[Nela]

Awwww Stewie is adorable :biggrin2: You'd be surprised how rabbits can grow on you Mr :wink Probably the best you could do now is let it settle in a bit. It must be quite stressed so I would hold off on the grooming and bathing (full baths are normally not recommended for rabbits except in exceptional circumstances so you could do a wipe down unless the bath is necessary)

Rabbits need lots of hay. That should be a priority. Did the woman not give your wife any leftover rabbit food? If she didn't, you should probably keep the bunny on hay and water for a few days and introduce the pellets slowly. If she did, you should continue those and probably get a bag of the same if you can find and gradually change the food to something better. Sudden changes in diet have been known to cause gastrointestinal upsets and combined with the stress of a new environment could lead to bigger problems.

Good on you though to be concerned about the welfare of this rabbit even though it was unexpected and maybe even unwanted. I'm glad you found us and I hope everything will work out nicely. This post will probably be moved so don't be surprised if it is - it will help get more replies.

As for the diarrhea, I'm not going to venture into advising since I do not trust myself but for now, please make sure the rabbit stays hydrated. I am sure other members will come help you out very quickly.

Welcome to Rabbits Online! I hope you will enjoy having a bunny.

 

[kilroy238]

Thanks for the reply I know this wasn't the best choice of rooms as I cover many topics but the What Breed Is My Bunny? fit my most immediate question.

 

[TinysMom]

I edited the topic title so it reflects a bit more of what you're asking.

Its so great that you're taking in this rabbit.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

The rabbit looks like an English Angora, but is probably just referred to as an Angora in China. They do require lots of grooming to maintain the coat in good condition. Regular brushing is a must and should be done several times a week. Clipping the coat is also needed, but it can be done carefully with scissors if finding a good groomer is difficult.

Depending on the coat now, he might need to be shaved. Brushing a matted coat can be painful for the rabbit and it is quite difficult to get the mattes out and it will take a long time. Shaving is fairly easy and not too much stress for the rabbit. A vet should be able to do it. Bathing is not recommended for rabbits. Once he is shaved, he should be able to keep himself clean. A damp cloth can be used to wipe him down if he is dirty.

Angora rabbits do have some different dietary needs than other breeds. They need fibre to help push out any ingested fur. Timothy hay and other grass hay is best. I am not sure what is avaliable in China, but try to avoid too much alfalfa if you can. The pellets should be a plain pellet with no extra bits. 16% or higher protein is needed so they can grow the coat and not take the protein from their body. You may need to try some different feeds to find the one that works for him.

The poop situation needs to be sorted out soon. Diarrhea is not good for rabbits and can cause serious harm if it goes on too long. Hopefully a better diet will help, but a vet visit is still needed. Try to trim the fur around the gentiles so any mushy poop doesn't stick to the fur. This can make is worse and is uncomfortable. Be careful doing it and don't worry too much if you can't get it.

The cage doesn't look too bad. Some toys and a resting mat would help. Since he is having poop issues, you don't want him sitting in it. The cage might be a bit small, but it should work for the time being until you can get something better.
I prefer to use a bowl for water and find that the rabbits do drink more. I don't have issues with my angora using a bowl.

 

[kilroy238]

Thanks for your reply That tells me what I needed to know but I'd like to pick your brain on a couple of more things.

The poop it seems is now back to normal pellets. The diarrhea was a short issue 2 time issue maybe just from stress.

Stewie was already on pellets in his last home and we still have 1/2 a bag but the protein is only 15%. So I'll look for a 16%.


I had read some last night about the fur and already started doing some snipping here and there of matted fur and combed thru her back and sides which seem in ok shape. I don't think s/he would need a complete shave except for maybe the bottom area. There are several dog groomers in the area I'll try to find out if they do rabbits as well. It worries me a bit here in China even though the pet population is booming because it's a now a status thing and many animals are very pampered but businesses that deal with animals usually don't give much training to their staff. An animal is an animal if we can do dogs we can do anything else.

I get the feeling s/he wasn't held very much in her last home as s/he hates to get picked up and shakes badly for about 20 seconds then calms down when s/he is stroked. Is that normal or is it possibly just stress from new people as well?

Thanks again to everyone for your comments and suggestions.

 

[Blaze_Amita]

Stew is adorable. the shaking is most likely nervousness, many of my show buns, despite me taking them out in the truck for rides prior to shows, tend to shake some the first time they are on the table with the other buns and alot of people they don't know. I would just keep petting him and holding him gently and he'll settle down on his own. as for the brushing, if i am not mistaken, he is just like a larger version of a jersey wooley, correct? A few friends of mine raise Jersey's and they brush them twice a week.

 

[butsy]

good luck

 

[SilverBirchRabbitry]

Awe ! He's so cute ! He appears to have angora in him

 

[Flash Gordon]

he is a cutie!!...he would def be more comfortable if he had something to stand on in his cage,,,his feetsies look like their about to fall thru the slats...give him something to hide in also ..all bunnies need a place to run if they get scared,,,a cardboard box cut out two openings for him...2 is important they always need an escape route ..he might not use it if theres only 1 hole....nor many bunnies like to be picked up,,,most of the time we get down on their level to give them love,,if u wanna hold him just make sure u have a firm grip on him..if he tries to jump just hold on tight and get down low towards the floor in case he gets outta ur hands that way he wont fall all the way from ur standing position......as long as ive had buns i still have a few of em that catch me off guard and go to bonzai outta my hands i just learned to squat down real quick..or cover their eyes that always helps when their scared too....give him time and he will blossom into a happy binkying bunny...i think its awesome that u are researching about ur new bun....sounds like hes gonna be a very lucky bunny living with you ...good luck and keep us updated ...The HipHops

 

[pamnock]

Blaze_Amita wrote:

as for the brushing, if i am not mistaken, he is just like a larger version of a jersey wooley, correct? A few friends of mine raise Jersey's and they brush them twice a week.

Very different coat type.

 

[pamnock]

kilroy238 wrote:

Thanks for the reply I know this wasn't the best choice of rooms as I cover many topics but the What Breed Is My Bunny? fit my most immediate question.

Angora aka Angola

 

[Whiskerz]

Cute bun..He looks to be some type of Angora (mix) to me.
And like Flash Gordon said, His feet seam to be having trouble standing on that wire, try putting something down for him to stand on. Cardboard would even work. Just something for him to rest his little feetsies on :biggrin:
What kind of cage is he in? Do you plan to get him a new cage? there are lots of good ideas in http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_forum.php?id=93 if you do plan to get a new cage.
And as far as his fur goes, it does look a bit matted, I would just start off by shaving him down and let nice new clean fur grow in. Juts keep brushing him while its growing back and he will look like a totally different bunny after its all grown out :nod

Keep us updated!

 

[Whiskerz]

p.s. Any more pictures of Stew?:wiggle

 

[jcl_24]

Looking forward to hearing more about Stew

Jo

 

[Hunybuny]

Rrrr, Cute. Maybe unexpected but you gonna get attatched. The post says it all.

 

[amalie]

I'm probably a bit late here but I wouldn't recommend seeing a dog groomer for a rabbit with an English Angora type coat, their fur doesn't do well with clippers (German Angora is a completely different story on the other hand) it's too light and clogs blades. You're probably far better to do it yourself with a good pair of scissors - that way you can do it in a clam, familiar environment over a longer period of time to reduce stress. Just be careful you don't snip his skin because those matts can be right on the skin.

I wouldn't recommend bathing him either, I'd even try to limit wiping, wet fur will tangle easily and you'll probably find that after a decent haircut and brushing he'll come up quite clean.

Once he's clipped I'd recommend brushing him daily until his coat comes back in, then you could probably cut it back to a full groom a couple of times a week. Blowing his coat with a pet blower/vacuum in reverse will help keep it clean too - or you can use a hair dryer on cool (but that doesn't really clean them, just puffs them up and helps expose knots).

My English Angora Buck (in my avatar) came to me in poor condition with felted mats to his skin, it took me a good two weeks to clean him up and get him clipped right back - I did it slowly so as not to stress him too much.

Your bunny certainly looks like an English Angora cross (or a poor example purebreed) he has those tell-tale facial furnishings (see his cheeks) but he doesn't have the ear firnishings - cheerleader pom poms. He's gorgeous, hopefully he has the EA's smoochy nature as well they're so easy to bond with and such lovely family memebers.