I found a rabbit!!!!

[barnbunny]

I am a total animal person..who hasnever had a rabbit but did recieve a pretty bad bite from oneonce. When out trail riding the other day, a neighborinformed me they saw a rabbit- young- and it came right up to them, atesome carrots, then left. Today, while hanging around thebarn, the rabbit showed up in the horse paddock! It is brownand white with straight ears, and it is small, though it does not looklike a baby, maybe a young adult?

I got carrots and went up to the rabbit, who came over, thenpicked him up and took him (her?) into an empty stall. Then Igot a cat carrier, put sawdust and shavings in the bottom, and broughthim home (a mile away, maybe less). My mom was not thrilledbut oh well. I scrubbed out our extra large dog crate (canfit a hulking 120 lb lab) and he is in there right now with water andcarrots and bannanas. And a good coating ofshavings/sawdust. So, since then (that was about two hoursago), we put up posters in the neighborhood and I have been reading alittle on rabbits.

I am located in So. New Hampshire, just in case anyone knowsof a lost bunny. I will bring hay (it is mainly grass hay)home tonight for it. I also have Blue Seal Trotter- it is analfalfa based horse grain (pellet)- I do not know if a tiny bit of thatwould be ok? I do not know what else to do, it is in mygarage as we have two dogs, and we notified the SPCA although I don'twant to bring it there because it seems like something they would bequick to euthanize. I don't like rabbits, normally, theydon't really seem like an interesting animal. But this is thesweetest rabbit I have ever met. He lets me pet him, and holdhim, and obviously was someone's pet :-(. I hope they did notabandon him or something. If they did maybe I can convince mymom to keep him.:?

 

[LuvaBun]

Hey Barnbunny, Welcome, and well done forrescuing the little fella (girl?) Sawdust and shavings aren't the bestthing for a rabbit, straw or shredded undyed paper is better. Hay isideal, though I'm not too sure about the alfalfa pellets (others onthis site will be able to give you better infoon that).

Does the rabbit look OK _ no obvious injuries or anything? Heseemsa friendly one - lots of rabbits won't come up topeople, especially ones they don't know, so he may be a well loved pet!

If you have looked through this site, you will probably have seen thatwe don't think of rabbits as an uniteresting animal, and I bet in a fewdays, you won't either .

Good luck. Like I say, others here will be able to give you more practical advise

Jan

 

[gjsara]

chances are that the bunny was abbanded millionsof rabbits become homeless each year due too people not being informedbefore the buy the bunny, people expect rabbits to behave like a dog ora cat would when in fact they are rabbits and only behave as rabbitsdo. it is very sweet of you to take the bunny in its chances of survingin the wild would have been slim to none due to its markings it wouldbe easy prey. if you do decide that you are going to keep thebunny then please note carrots arnt a bunnys main sorce offoood a bugs bunny wolud make you think carrots should only be given asa treat, your rabbit should have unlimited TIMOTHY hay (alfalfa is notgood) along with pelllets.good luck with your new freind i will giveyou some websites to look over to learn more about your furry friend.

http://www.michiganrabbitrescue.org/soyourchild.htm

http://earthhome.tripod.com/saferab.html

http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittalk_intro.html

http://www.rabbit.org/care/index.html

http://www.allearssac.org/poison.html

sara

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Alfalfa pellets are essentially the same forhorses and rabbits, for now they will be fine for the rabbit. Hay isnot a good bedding, however. The rabbit may eat whatit wentto the bathroom on andthat is not safe for your rabbitshealth! Pine shavings are ok but saw dust is a bad idea, strawis a much better idea. The rabbit should have access to clean water andhay, timothy would be best but alfalfa will do for now, so it canalways have some to eat. The rabbit may be young, but it's impossiblefor us to be sure without a picture, it may just be a small breed ofrabbit.

Since it is so friendly it was probably just recently lost or let freeas some cases may be. Considering you said it is white and brown(spotted?) I'm pretty sure it's not a wild bunny at all.

 

[barnbunny]

Thank you! The bunny, overall, looksok. Weight is ok, and no obvious injuries although it was wetfrom being out all night in the rain. (Of course, I have noidea how long it was out for). It is on a mixture of sawdustand shavings right now. THe saw dust is heavy, and not"dusty" ? if that explains it. Why is it bad? (I ama complete newbie, so I have a lot of dumb questions ). Itis cushy and we use it in the stalls. I will switch to pineshavings if it stays for longer than a day or so, and will certainlybring home some hay. Our hay is local grass hay, it mighthave a little timothy or alfalfa mixed into it, but it is basicallyjust grass hay. It is good quality though, as our olderhorses maintain their weight well on it.

So far no inquiries about the rabbit. How could anyoneabandon such a sweet animal? Is there any way to tell itsage? (We use teeth to guestimate horse age, would that workfor rabbits too?)

I understand about the carrots and bannanas not being a main diet- Ihave extensive experience with horses, and I have two parrots, who likethose things as a treat, but certainly it is not their maindiet.

The rabbits around here that are wild are brown. I have notactually seen one in this neighborhood (even though I have lived heremy whole life and have spent extensive time outdoors), but the onesclose by are all brown and run very fast when you try to getclose. Not like this guy who seemed kinda wandering("hmm..another garden! yum! I wonder if I can eat that grass?Oh look, a human! Carrots! Should I be concernedabout that large horse coming towards me? I do want acarrot..").

He is so cute, he is white and splattered with the light brown. A neighbor said he looked like a holsteiner cow.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

He definitely was someone's pet. Sadly many people set bunnies free when the novelty of having them wears off.

I don't really know why saw dust is bad for them, I'm assuming it'sbecause it gets in their lungs/nose/mouth. Cedar shavings are dangerousfor rabbits and can cause respiratory problems in the future.

Grass hay is ok, and considering the rabbit was loose for a while,grass that has not been treated with chemicals may also be picked forhim to eat along with hay. Veggies and fruits should be given inmoderation, it's a treat for them and the sugar that is in them are notparticularly healthy in large quantities for a bunny.

A rabbits age can be guesstimated by their teeth but I don't know howparticularly accurate it is with bunnies, I think it's a lot harder totell with rabbits compared to horses. If you have the rabbit for awhile and you notice it's still growing, you can be sure it's under ayear as most stop growing before they reach a year. Other may be ableto tell you other ways to guess the age.

 

[barnbunny]

Well..I looked at the rabbit again, and picked itup and petted it and held it in my arms. It is definitly amale. It has testicles..there is a lot of fur there and hedidn't seem to like me looking and that was all I was able to confirm,lol. I don't know how to tell whether he was spayed ornot...I would assume the prescence of said balls, though they do notlook really round and full, would make him unneutered? (Sorryfor the terminology, I really have no experience with rabbits and thesethings!!!!!) What is the difference between timothy/alfalfafor rabbits? One poster said ok and one poster siad alfalfawas bad? He has a big pile of grass he is munching on happily.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Both haysare ok, most people here picktimothy over alfalfa because timothy is higher in fiber and containsless minerals that rabbits do not need when they are full grown.Alfalfa is rich in minerals that adult rabbits do not need to stayhealthy.

 

[barnbunny]

UPDATE: Bunny just went home!! It is owned by afamily with a bunch of kids, they have a walk-in rabbit hutch and fourrabbits..they noticed this one was missing after the kids cleaned thecage. They brought its harness and leash and took it home.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Great news! I must congratulate you on trying tofind out as much as you could aboutrabbits so you couldproperly care for him for however long he ws going to stay. I'm so gladhe fround his home again and I'm sure he's thankful you took him intemporarily.

 

[panacrent]

yay! a happy ending

 

[Elf Mommy]

Of course....now you'll want one of your own

 

[barnbunny]

I'm thinking about it..but I might have to holdout for another puppy. So, the total reunited animalstotal for this year so far is:

2 pugs

2 Irish Wolfhounds (they make their presence quite known)

And a bunny!

And of course, now I want a pug, an irish wolfhound, and abunny. I will have to do more research on rabbits..One thing I really like (this might sound dumb) is that they arevegetarians. So am I. I have quite the problemfeeding canned cat food to cats. I do it because I have to,but it is an unpleasent experience. I would rather have arabbit then a cat!

 

[LuvaBun]

I'm so pleased everything worked out OK. You mostprobably saved that little bunny's life, so good on you.judging by your last post, animals seem to seek you out to get rescued

 

[Trina]

wow! congradulations!

 

[bluebird]

Im so glad the rabbit is okay and went back home,thank goodness you found it bunnnies wont last long outside.bluebird