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If a rabbit is deprived of natural light....

C

charlie82

Mama Doe
Can it affect their growth...

I picked up some baby rabbits today to take over to a rescue. I was shocked by how small they were.They are 13 weeks old and look around 7 weeks old, they were tiny! I don't think the owner was lying because the buck had testicles that were close to dropping, but they were scarily small rabbits.

I wondered where she kept the others, then she opened a small outhouse that was in her yard (about 4ft by 5ft) and they were in there. The parent rabbits were far too small and I was told they were a year old but I have never ever seen rabbits of their breed that are so small. The five week old kits that were there could fit on the palm of my hand. I am worried that they are kept most of the time in that outhouse and it is pitch black as there is no natural sunlight, or any light at all. :(
 
IMO thats cruel. I would *think* it would have some effect on them yes :?

Have you got the parents?
 
raine said:
Is she giving up the parents?
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Nope!

She is giving two of the youngest babies to her sister too.... I don't know what to do or say. I tried to give her some friendly advice, but she has the attitude 'I know best' so I have to be careful what I say so that I can get hold of the others. :(
 
I dont know but I would imagine not having light would affect them. If she wont give them up, can you not call the rspca?
 
happypreso said:
I dont know but I would imagine not having light would affect them. If she wont give them up, can you not call the rspca?
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No because they look otherwise very well cared for so I doubt the RSPCA would have any reason to take them away. I'm wondering if the babies are small because the parents are so small. I have just never seen such small lops. The male has seen a vet because he was neutered...so I would hope that if there was a concern about his size the vet would have said something!!
 
I think I will politely send her a message just asking if she has them out daily, because I told her my concern about their size when I was there.
 
minimack said:
what kind of rabbits are they?
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There photos are in rabbits in need (4 12 weeks old babies). They are lionhead x lops but about as small as a medium nethie. (didn't look like they had any nethie in them though, not like a standard lionhead) just looked like standard lops but very very small.
 
:? I know that when I picked up some bunnies from london once that they were 12 weeks old but the size of 6 week olds. My vet could not believe it but she checked for plums and they were indeed there, they were just so small.
I know though that these bunnies while still alive, had been able to eat the bare minimum, not way near enough for growing baby bunnies. I really dont know if lack of light would affect them in this way too. :?:?
We still have one here now and he is now a normal size, having now been eating a normal diet.
So if its lack of light, and not breed, then perhaps they will grow more yet now that they'll be kept in better surroundings. :)
 
Is it possible that they have a different type of dwarfing gene from those normally seen? Someone told me there are a couple of hundred types of dwarfing gene in rabbits, so maybe these are minilops with a different dwarfing gene? Or even minilops crossed with a small breed like polish or nethie?
 
Fairy13 said:
:? I know that when I picked up some bunnies from london once that they were 12 weeks old but the size of 6 week olds. My vet could not believe it but she checked for plums and they were indeed there, they were just so small.
I know though that these bunnies while still alive, had been able to eat the bare minimum, not way near enough for growing baby bunnies. I really dont know if lack of light would affect them in this way too. :?:?
We still have one here now and he is now a normal size, having now been eating a normal diet.
So if its lack of light, and not breed, then perhaps they will grow more yet now that they'll be kept in better surroundings. :)
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I think you could be right. Mum was eating standard pet shop muesli, and nothing else other than hay...even that didn't seem to be a lot. I doubt she's been feeding her adlib, so they have probably been deprived of enough food. Mum was on the skinny side but I'm not surprised considering she's had two litters so close together and is so small herself. I just wish people would listen to advice. I'm going to give her loads of care information, she will probably think i'm crazy but I don't care, I don't like the thought of them suffering.
 
If she is keeping Rabbits without any light at all then that is cruel and I expect the RSPCA would take them away..or at least they should:?
 
charlie82 said:
I think you could be right. Mum was eating standard pet shop muesli, and nothing else other than hay...even that didn't seem to be a lot. I doubt she's been feeding her adlib, so they have probably been deprived of enough food. Mum was on the skinny side but I'm not surprised considering she's had two litters so close together and is so small herself. I just wish people would listen to advice. I'm going to give her loads of care information, she will probably think i'm crazy but I don't care, I don't like the thought of them suffering.
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Oh thats sad :( The ones we picked up consisted of the 12 week old litter, who were tiny and were being kept in with their dad, he wasnt a bad size so i think he'd been getting most of their food too.
Then there had been another litter straight after which had died.
And then a litter still with mum who were a couple of weeks old. Mumbun when we took her was the worst for wear, her fur had started to fall out and she was skin and bone. My vet said from where her body had been making milk to supply the babies so long, she had started to suffer for it :(
They were getting a tiny saucer with a sprinkle of bun muesli, a little hand ful of hay daily and a little handful of veg. It was really pitiful.

Good luck with getting through to her, there isnt much else you can do I guess. At least you've managed to get some away. x x
 
Poor bunnies!

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesnt no sunlight inhibit vit D production, which affects calcium metabolism, which affects bone density? Which may affect growth?? (Or something)

Pleased they're growing now :D
 
honeybunny said:
If she is keeping Rabbits without any light at all then that is cruel and I expect the RSPCA would take them away..or at least they should:?
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I don't know for definite if she is. Just wondered if that was potentially what could have caused these rabbits to be so small....but perhaps it is genetics.
I know she has had the oldest ones in the house for a few weeks now since the youngest litter came along, but I just found it disturbing seeing them shut in that outhouse.
 
natandfluffs said:
Poor bunnies!

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesnt no sunlight inhibit vit D production, which affects calcium metabolism, which affects bone density? Which may affect growth?? (Or something)

Pleased they're growing now :D
Click to expand...


yep..that's what I was concerned about.
 
Fairy13 said:
Oh thats sad :( The ones we picked up consisted of the 12 week old litter, who were tiny and were being kept in with their dad, he wasnt a bad size so i think he'd been getting most of their food too.
Then there had been another litter straight after which had died.
And then a litter still with mum who were a couple of weeks old. Mumbun when we took her was the worst for wear, her fur had started to fall out and she was skin and bone. My vet said from where her body had been making milk to supply the babies so long, she had started to suffer for it :(
They were getting a tiny saucer with a sprinkle of bun muesli, a little hand ful of hay daily and a little handful of veg. It was really pitiful.

Good luck with getting through to her, there isnt much else you can do I guess. At least you've managed to get some away. x x
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That's so sad :(

I don't want her to keep any of the youngest babies to be honest, but what can I do... to her I am just someone who has taken them off her so that it isn't her worry anymore, and to be honest she didn't seem the kind of person to be bothered about where they were going. The mum and dad didn't look too bad, just small and mum was a bit thin.

I just hope she doesn't keep them in that outhouse all of the time....sad thing is she probably thinks it's ideal because it will keep them sheltered. She had some carpet down for them.
 
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