Nethies

Ive been pondering today (dangerous :shock: )

Is it physically possible to breed a show standered, flat faced nethie who doesnt develop dental and breathing issues :?
Mae has a flat face but not as bad as some and she has dental issue and sounds snuffly because of the shape of her face, now as far as I know you cant show or breed (at least responsibly) animals with such problems, is Mae just unlucky or does every flat faced nethie suffer with these issues?


Please dont turn this into a anti breeding debate Im truely interested in whether or not its possible!

Rimmi is a breed standerd flat face nethie... he doesnt have dental problems yet and is almost two

See....?

TeflonsShadow said:

Rimmi is a breed standerd flat face nethie... he doesnt have dental problems yet and is almost two

See....?

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:shock::shock: scary Rimmi! :lol:

paulinejoe said:

:shock::shock: scary Rimmi! :lol:

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Hes opening his mouth so we can see his chompers!

Thats Rimmi,love him, but Lils,However, is an entirely different problem.I believe she is a x breed, but she has very nethie qualities, not to mention dental probs, spinal probs and snuffles.But like i said, she is a x breed.

Tika (last bunny in my siggy) was a show standard simese sable Nethie and developed breathing problems aged 2. Despite the best care she died suddenly over night in September 2009.

Yes it's perfectly possible. My oldest nethie at the moment will be 6 this year and has neither respiratory or dental problems front or back.

Genetically if they are bred right teeth shouldn't be an issue at all tbh. As for snuffliness no rabbit should have that unless there is an underlying issue whether it's medical or allergies.

Edited to add: you are also right about showing. Your rabbit would get dq'd and you would be asked to take it out of the show if it was snuffly and dq'd for teeth problems with the breeder getting a talking to from the judge!
Unfortunately becausevthey are a small cute looking rabbit a lot of backyard breeders breed any old nethie together and perhaps don't notice teeth problems or perhaps health problems which then get passed to unsuspecting people wanting a pet. If you see or have a well bred nethie you shouldn't see these problems at all

Tinkerbell had a massive jaw abscess and also front teeth problems. I've included a large pic of her so you can see how big it was, this developed over a couple of days



Wasn't she beautiful, despite the abscess?

I lost her at age 3

She was beautiful. I never knew that Nethies could suffer. I guess I have pinpointed Tika's problems, we never did get to the bottom of it despite plenty of trips to the vets.

She was lovely Lilly that's one thing I have never had a problem with, with a nethie is abcess poor girl I have seen teeth problems my first nethie dido had it and I had a smoke who had it luckily all my chins have never had a problem but I know their lines really well and went to a fantastic breeder who has kept them for years and years. Amazing the difference!

Sullybun said:

Yes it's perfectly possible. My oldest nethie at the moment will be 6 this year and has neither respiratory or dental problems front or back.

Genetically if they are bred right teeth shouldn't be an issue at all tbh. As for snuffliness no rabbit should have that unless there is an underlying issue whether it's medical or allergies.

Edited to add: you are also right about showing. Your rabbit would get dq'd and you would be asked to take it out of the show if it was snuffly and dq'd for teeth problems with the breeder getting a talking to from the judge!
Unfortunately becausevthey are a small cute looking rabbit a lot of backyard breeders breed any old nethie together and perhaps don't notice teeth problems or perhaps health problems which then get passed to unsuspecting people wanting a pet. If you see or have a well bred nethie you shouldn't see these problems at all

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Glad you arrived on here

But yes, what she said ^

yes, mine are quite flat faced and dont have any teeth problems

Nice toofies Rimmi!

*lily* said:

Tinkerbell had a massive jaw abscess and also front teeth problems. I've included a large pic of her so you can see how big it was, this developed over a couple of days

Wasn't she beautiful, despite the abscess?

I lost her at age 3

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Oh poor baby she was truely beautiful

Sullybun said:

Yes it's perfectly possible. My oldest nethie at the moment will be 6 this year and has neither respiratory or dental problems front or back.

Genetically if they are bred right teeth shouldn't be an issue at all tbh. As for snuffliness no rabbit should have that unless there is an underlying issue whether it's medical or allergies.

Edited to add: you are also right about showing. Your rabbit would get dq'd and you would be asked to take it out of the show if it was snuffly and dq'd for teeth problems with the breeder getting a talking to from the judge!
Unfortunately becausevthey are a small cute looking rabbit a lot of backyard breeders breed any old nethie together and perhaps don't notice teeth problems or perhaps health problems which then get passed to unsuspecting people wanting a pet. If you see or have a well bred nethie you shouldn't see these problems at all

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Thankyou for explaining :wave: its a shame that bad breeders ruin beautiful bunnies
Mae has had a vet check just yesterday and the vet has said she makes snuffly noises when excited/angry/breathing fast because of the shape of her face, she has previously had anti biotics (septrin) but they didnt touch the noise and she has no discharge :wave:

Thanks everyone, just goes to show what decent breeding does for the bunnies

I have three genetically linked nethies, and two of them struggle with respiratory issues that cause them to make noises whhen stressed, or when they eat. Badger is far more severe and on a miriad of meds (so do be ready incase your nethie does deteriorate), but the Dopeys, whilst both showing different symptoms of Badger's issue, are not unwell enough to need meds to help them breathe, even though one is vocal and one likes to cough.

So, guess what I'm trying to say is, keep an eye but it may be it doesn't progress any further

Of course not every nethie goes on to develop problems, but the very fact of the flatness of the face does predispose them to problems, whether they develop them or not. It's a simple question of location. In a standard pointy faced bunny, the teeth are located away from the sinuses, tear ducts etc.

Because a nethie face is flattened, the teeth are squashed into a much smaller space. So *if* their tooth roots overgrow, they will push into the tear ducts/sinuses etc simply because of where the teeth are in the jaw. There's no guarantee that they will have tooth root overgrowth, but there is pretty much a guarantee that if they do, it will be more problematic than in a bun whose face is a more 'wild' bunny shape where there is more room for those roots to grow into bone but not into other facial structure.

And more generally of course, the smaller the bun, the smaller the nasal passages. That means that if they do have any problem, those passages block up more quickly than they would in a bigger bun where there is more room for drainage. Of course you'd expect bigger buns to produce more exudate, but it is so thick that it is bound to cause more problems in smaller buns.

I would be interested to hear if there is such a thing as a netherland dwarf breeder who breeds netherland dwarves who all get to 8 years old without snuffles/respiratory problems. I personally suspect not - not least because the breeders I know of don't keep tabs on every rabbit they sell through its entire life.

Sky-O said:

I have three genetically linked nethies, and two of them struggle with respiratory issues that cause them to make noises whhen stressed, or when they eat. Badger is far more severe and on a miriad of meds (so do be ready incase your nethie does deteriorate), but the Dopeys, whilst both showing different symptoms of Badger's issue, are not unwell enough to need meds to help them breathe, even though one is vocal and one likes to cough.

So, guess what I'm trying to say is, keep an eye but it may be it doesn't progress any further

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Deffinatly ready just incase, waiting to get some more money then will be calling about insurence for them both (mae may be uninsurable though :roll: )


Ahh I see Santa. It would be very interesting to see what happens to them wouldnt it? Doubt it will ever happen though

I am rather upset to read this, but greatful for the info. I had no clue. When Tika was ill she had a runny nose and would be putting her head back gradually as she breathed, her breathing was quite fast as well.

The vet had never seen anything like it, because she was quite distressed she couldn't have an xray and we were given antibiotics, I took her to four other vets and we still couldn't get to the bottom of it.

Tika also snorted when she was relaxed.

She seemed to improve in the August but in the September we found her dead and it was such a shock as we thought she was on the road to recovery.

Are these typical symptoms of the Nethie problems?

SunshineandTwinkle said:

I am rather upset to read this, but greatful for the info. I had no clue. When Tika was ill she had a runny nose and would be putting her head back gradually as she breathed, her breathing was quite fast as well.

The vet had never seen anything like it, because she was quite distressed she couldn't have an xray and we were given antibiotics, I took her to four other vets and we still couldn't get to the bottom of it.

Tika also snorted when she was relaxed.

She seemed to improve in the August but in the September we found her dead and it was such a shock as we thought she was on the road to recovery.

Are these typical symptoms of the Nethie problems?

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Sorry Im not sure if its typical nethie but it does sound like some sort of infection to me Im not expert though sorry

SunshineandTwinkle said:

I am rather upset to read this, but greatful for the info. I had no clue. When Tika was ill she had a runny nose and would be putting her head back gradually as she breathed, her breathing was quite fast as well.

The vet had never seen anything like it, because she was quite distressed she couldn't have an xray and we were given antibiotics, I took her to four other vets and we still couldn't get to the bottom of it.

Tika also snorted when she was relaxed.

She seemed to improve in the August but in the September we found her dead and it was such a shock as we thought she was on the road to recovery.

Are these typical symptoms of the Nethie problems?

Click to expand...

I'm so sorry. That sounds so similar to what we've been through with my Badger and we have nearly lost him a couple of times, but thankfully, not yet.

He has larygeal issues (likely a genetic deformtiy given his cousins show milder symptoms) and is on a cocktail of meds that keep him alive. We too struggled to get a diagnosis but I just kept going back until my vets gave me and Badger a referral and that vet was brilliant with him. That vet, combined with a vet at our practice are the ones we owe his life to.

So sorry for your loss of your beautiful bunny *lily*