Three legged bun experiences

Primrose has a potentially great new home but the little bun she was going to live with broke his leg very badly today. His dad rushed him to the vets and they were able to save his life but not his leg. Obviously his dad has concerns about his bun and how he's going to cope with just three legs and also the recovery he is going to go through.

I am going to send him this link and I was wondering if anyone who has been through the experience of having a bun with three legs or nursing a bun through the op could just jot down a few thoughts, any advice or encouragement? It would be really appreciated. Thanks so much.

Poor Little Jeeves!

Well he's back home now and the vets prognosis was very good. It will take him a few weeks to heal up properly and get his stitches removed but once he gains his balance he should be able to get around almost as well as he used to!

He's happily drinking and eating which is great news but he's not happy about being locked in his cage for a few days as he's normally got the freedom of his own room to hop about in. He is doing lots of tooth purr still when he gets his nose stroked (his favourite!) so i hope that means he is doing well and happy (well as happy as you can be missing a leg!)

But he seems to be recovering nicely and hopefully after a good nights rest and sleep he will start to get back to his old happy bouncy self.

As i said the vet said within a few weeks he'll be moving around as though he never lost a leg but wondered if there were any caveats I should look out for, or any special arrangments I might need to consider once he is healed up from anyone who has gone through a similar horrific ordeal with their bunny.

Sorry for brief reply, bad night here

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=119649&highlight=harry

Janex

One of our buns, Decca, had a front leg amputated at the rescue before we re-homed him as he was a stray and it had an old fracture that could not be repaired.

Honestly, you'd never know the difference! He hops about with the best of them, and can happily sprint up and down the steps into their hutch. The only thing that is different is I think his back legs are stronger since his thump is by far the loudest!

Also, have recently seen a bunny recover very well and quickly from a back leg amputation too. By the next day, bun was balancing well and moving about with very few problems.

I adopted a bun called Heather when I was about 13. She had been abandoned at a farm where the owner had been lodging. A fox had got her through the bars of her cage and her front right foot had to be removed. She was perfectly happy and you would never had noticed that she got about on 3 legs!

Yes it was his rear right leg that had to come off, the silly boy was always a clumsy one when doing binkey and bouncing off walls and things and he trapped his leg in the corner of the outside of his cage when he landed after one such clumsy jump, he obviously tried to pull away but the leg was stuck fast and thats how he broke it. I'm just glad I was home when he did it and that there is a great vets 5 mins from me so he was in and under anathestic within 10 mins of hurting himself so hopefully he wasnt in pain for long.

He's happily napping now after a nice bunch of spinach and some liquid feed and a little drink of water, the wound looks horrible but thats because they had to shave the fur but hes managed to hop around his cage a little and is going to have to learn to clean himself a different way as the poor boy fell over onto his side when he tried it first time. Hopefully he'll learn to do that as well as hop along happily once he starts to come to terms with it and adjusts his balance I've been told!

Thanks for all the kind words!

poor little mite. Hope he heals soon and isn't too wobbly.

Hi :wave:

I used to have a bunny with a missing hind leg (he came to me like that, so I don't know how he lost it).

There are only a few things you really need to watch out for:

1) Make sure he gets lots of exercise to build up the muscle in his remaining back leg.

2) If he's an outdoor bun...don't allow him access to a run when the ground is wet because he will get wet and matted around his back end.

3) If he's an indoor bun...he won't ever be able to walk on smooth tiles or lino, so carpet or blankets are necessary.

4) He won't be able to clean his ear on the side with the missing leg, so you will need to do this for him. In my experience the best way to do this is to stick your finger down his ear every night and have a good scratch around to clear any debris and wax. Your finger should be too big to enter his ear canal, so there's isn't any risk of hurting him.

Good luck :thumb:

Amy

I have had a 3 legged Cali called Angel and she coped well :wave: She lost one of front legs :wave: It's more in detail in the other thread.

Thanks guys

Thinking of you and little Jeeves - I hope he makes a very speedy recovery

Goofball has 1 of her rear leg removed due to bone cancer, w/ 3 legs, it was tough for the first few weeks, but after that, she's doing just fine. Now, 10.5 mth. later, she is still quite happy

Well he seemed to have had a good night, been eating drinking, pooping and even using his litter tray for a wee which I was surprised with. Guzzled down some liqiuid feed first thing this am too and demanded a nose rub!

No more drips of blood from his stump which is good too.

Think I will leave him in the cage all day today and try him out on the floor tomorrow. Luckily his room is carpeted (well mostly as he chewed some of the edges when he was a youngster lol) so hoping he wont have any sliding balance issues once he sorts himself out.

He had a great day today, Chloe came round to see him and he was a very good boy, had him out on the carpet and he seems to be able to get around ok if a little ungainly (he was never the most graceful of bunnies anyway!)

Happily had a sniff around his room, a quick poo and wee in his litter tray (with a little ramp up into it I have made him) then settled down for a kip in his old favourite place under the sofa!


He's a bit quieter than usual but when it started to get dark he had a nice big yawn and stretch and is currently hopping around and getting better balance all the time. He has worked out how to tell me when he has an itchy ear on the side he cant scratch anymore so I've been doing the honours whenever he cocks his head up to the side for me.

Its great to have him back to something like his old loveable self.

Little Jeeves is a gorgeous bun!! and like Lee said managing amazingly well considering how recently he had the accident.

We had a three legged rescue bun called Hopper a few years back. He had to have a rear leg amputated after being found at the side of the road with it very badly damaged - we don't know how he got there, but he was rescued and treated by RSPCA after which we took him on. He started my love of bunnies. Most people to look at him were unaware he was missing a leg as he coped so well, he had even perfected thumping - quite a feat I imagine with one back leg. I didn't find him any harder to care for than any of my other buns, the only thing as mentioned on one of the other posts was I had to clean his ear on the side he was missing his leg. I would say don't worry too much your bun will adapt and hopefully give you many more years of their company and love - an incentive in itself. x.x.