Nervous new baby bunny... advice please!

Hello every one - my first post!

I am looking for a little advice please. We have an 8 month old spayed female rescue bunny called April, she is half french lop we think.. a big girl anyway! Yesterday we took in an 11 week old dwarf lop male ( un neutered obviously) as his owners other two rabits attacked him and they couldnt keep him. He is currently in a ferplast indoor cage in our kitchen - April lives outside in a huge run area. Now obviously I am keen to try them together, however I noticed a few hard scabs on his back last night - he has about 3, one is about the size of a 20p piece and really hard lump underneath it. I can see two puncture marks so it is obviously the bites from the other rabbits. He doesnt object to me touching it but he is extreemly timid and didnt eat for about 4 hours. He just sits still in the corner of the cage ( all his food is eaten this morning though phew) I think he is going to be very nervous of April and she is going to pick up on that isnt she? Or... might she mother him? How soon do you think I should try them together? Should I wait until he is completely healed and neutered first before I try bonding them? Thanks in advance for any advice!

Personally, I think you should give him time to recover and have him neutered before introducing her. The memory of being attacked is probably still fresh to him and I think it could be likely he will be nervous of her...there's no telling how she will react to him either and she *could* go for him...thus making the problem worse. Sounds like the poor wee boy needs time to settle in, get used to nice peoples and have a bit of "me" time . Just as long as he's got you I'm sure he will be fine for a little while.

Thankyou. Thats what I'll do then - he has been much better this afternoon - more active - he sleeps alot - is that normal for baby rabbits? I havent seen him drink much - he has a bowl and a bottle. He has eaten lots of greens, hay amd pellets though. He just needs his confidence building. Is there anything I can put onto the wounds or should I leave them alone? I wondered whether to bathe the worst one to soften and lift it and see if it is pussy underneath or not?

It would be best to get him checked over by a vet. Bites can turn into abscesses and they are nasty things to get rid of.

I would definitely not introduce him to April just yet as he has just had a rotten experience with other rabbits and probably won't be happy to meet her yet. Also, you need to make sure he isn't carrying any illnesses that he could pass onto April.

Oh bless him poor little chap. I second what Nickie has said, lumps can turn into abscesses and they can be fatal. Once he has had time to settle, introduce them on neutral territory and I am sure they will be great friends!

Thankyou so much for the advice - hmm absesses sound nasty? How will I know if he has one? I think tomorrow I will get him some antibiotics to be on the safe side.

take him to the vet is your best bet, they can check him over and let you know if there is anything else wrong with him that you may not be able to see.

Hi there,

Welcome to HH!

Well done for taking this little chap in.

I would deffo get him checked out at the vets, he will prob need a course of antibiotics just to prevent any infection, especially if there is a little lump there already, best just to be on the safe side.

I would wait a little while before attempting bonding as he has had a lot of change in a short time and is likely to be nervous of other rabbits.

If you have any questions please let us know, we are always happy to help.

Katie x

I apologise in advance for the content of this post because it is going to be icky.

When rabbits get abscesses they can be very serious. It is because the pus produced by a rabbit lacks an enzyme that makes it liquid. In humans, an abscess is opened and often a drain is inserted to allow the liquid to come out. However, with rabbits, the consistency is like mayonnaise (apologies for the comparison, but you might lose weight so it could be win win!). Also, rabbit abscesses form in a kind of bubble which has thick walls. This capsule has to be manually cleaned out by the vet and because of the consistency of the pus, will not drain like a human abscess.

That is why they are so dangerous and can be fatal.

Hope I haven't grossed anyone out too much.

I agree with everyone else about the wounds, vets is your best bet! Good luck hope it all goes okay x

Ah poor little guy hope all goes well at the vets. Sounds like he has had a really stressfull time and it may take a while for him to gain confidence. My rabbits certainly slept more as babies than they do now. U may notice a shift in him in a few wks where he just seems more at ease. Rory who i have had for 4 wks, will sleep on me when i hold him, but if he is asleep on the floor and i walk past he will jump up, i dont think he is entirely sure of my intentions towards him, where as my other 2 that i have had for 4 mnths will stay flopped where they are even if i hoover round them! Alot has to do with their own personality and experiances too. Does he have somewhere he can hide? I have a pet carrier that rory has adopted as his bed, it has a fleece blanket inside and a toy bunny and monkey that he cuddles up to. We have this as his 'safe space' and when he is in there we dont disturb him.
When he feels entirely safe in his new home and completely healed, it may be that he is ready to be neutered anyhow!

Will be looking out to see how he gets on

https://2img.net/h/i803.photobucket.com/albums/yy313/choccybiccy_album/Rabbits%20and%20Piggies/329.jpg

He was given Septarin a banana tasting liquid, but his scabs are OK - no sign of absess and should fall off in a few days! Here is a picture of him - he is called Womble! He is borrowing the guineapigs run for this afternoon and is next door to April so they can chat. Overnight he is in an indoor cage with us in the kitchen so he can get used to us being around and being handled.

Please let us know how he gets on love, he is beautiful.

Hugs

Jo xx

[quote="Felix&Willow"] Does he have somewhere he can hide? I have a pet carrier that rory has adopted as his bed, it has a fleece blanket inside and a toy bunny and monkey that he cuddles up to. We have this as his 'safe space' and when he is in there we dont disturb him.
When he feels entirely safe in his new home and completely healed, it may be that he is ready to be neutered anyhow! quote]

He has a cat igloo with straw inside it and a teddy bear to snuggle up to! The lady at the rescue suggested April has a teddy too and that I swap them about to get them used to each others scent? He seems to love straw - he digs in it and really burrows around in it - the first time he has seen it maybe? He was a house rabbit for a week but in a pet shop before that - no idea where he was bred though :-(

This is April! ( One ear up and one ear always lopped!)

And here! She is huge already!

Aww poor little fella. I hope he gets better soon and that in the distant future him and April can be friends. My baby bunny sleeps alot too. One minutes he's racing about doing big binkys then the next minute he's fast asleep with bunny hoppers kicked back! :-) good look with the vets

Katie

Xxx

I would certainly take him to the vet's and let the vet look at the bites marks, better to be safe than sorry and I would give both rabbits time to heal and settle.

They are both bonnie rabbits, Good Luck with them

Ah gorgeous I love the name too! Womble! You could cal him Uncle Bulgaria when he is not naughty!

I have seen posts where others have said about cross-scenting, makes alot of sense that that would be a good way of doing it by swapping teddies over.

Beautifullbuns, im sure they will make a very happy couple in time to come.

Great the vet thought the bite marks were ok, very good news

What lovely babies, please let us know how he gets on love.

Hugs
Jo xx