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Suspicious Droppings...rats??

Mileycyrus

New Kit
Hi All, I have two gorgeous mini lops. One is a blue buck 6 months of age and the other is a blue point doe 7 months of age. The problem is with the doe, who is housed in a large double story hutch in our yard. We hope she is pregnant allthough could be a phantom pregancy. I have two questions...

1. The hutch floor is covered with hay etc but the floor of the hutch is basically the dirt of the yard. She continues to burrow, although I have tried to encourage a nest box, and she burrows quite deep. I continue to fill the holes with bricks, stones etc. Any advice?

2. She never seems to go up to the top of the hutch which is well covered and more secure from the elements. It's large up there but she continues to stay downstairs and I never see her up there? Anyway, there are strange small longish poops on the top level every day I go to change the water. The hutch seems secure and has fly screens on the open areas. Could rats be sneaking in some how? Or some other animal? How should I stop them/it and is there cause for worry? I have never seen a rat on my property before, so not sure what it is?
 
Hi

I see you are in Australia which makes some of the answers more difficult for most of us as the majority of the site is Uk (although there are others and you are VERY welcome:wave::wave::wave:).

If this were England then longer thin poos would suggest rats - how large are they (the poos not the rats). If a centimetre long and torpedo shape than I suggest this is rats and that somehow they have got into the hutch (perhaps by coming in through the burrow areas).

Rats are dangerous to rabbits (even adult and definitely babies) and the best way to stop this is to have her hutch and run placed on concrete slabs rather than on the dirt of the yard.

I see that she may be pregnant and rats would certainly be a huge issue here - basically they will kill the babies.

I am not sure what the situation is in Australia but in most countries where rabbits are kept as pets there are huge numbers of unwanted rabbits waiting for new homes in rescues (35,000 in rescue in UK alone). And for this reason - and many others relating to the health of the rabbits - it is better to have the male and female both neutered so that they can live happily (and baby free) together. Rabbits are usually very unhappy being kept singly as they are by nature colony and social animals. It is very distressing for them to be kept alone.

Perhaps this would also help you in that once neutered and kept together you will have more options for where to place their large hutch and run in a way that will prevent rats.
 
Further....

Hi, no squirrels in Australia but we have possums. They would be too large to get in. The poops are about half a cm, torpedo shaped... Mice maybe?? We have not seen any rodents in 10 yrs we have lived here.

Mini lop rabbits were only introduced in Australia from England about 10 years ago and they are very popular. We would like to breed one litter and then desex both.
 
Rabbits are natural diggers and would usually build an underground tunnel to give birth in. Obvious it's not as practical with pets as we don't want them digging out! The best option is to dig down slightly, then add a layer of mesh, then cover it back over, How deep you go is up to you, you can just do an inch so it stops her paws getting sore but she can't dig or you could go deeper so she can still dig a little tunnel. You might need to make the mesh more box shaped if you go deep so she can't go sideways.

Adding a above ground tunnel made from wood or cardboard (if it's protected for rain) will make her happier too so she doesn't have to dig her own.

Rabbits like a lot of exercise, so access to a run around 6'x4' or bigger if you can will help her burn of some energy so she has less for digging :)
 
I do agree with the others, they do sound like rodents of some description. Mice poops are tiny, about the size of a grain of rice or smaller; rats poops are a similar shape but much bigger. T

he thing that first occurred to me though when I read your post is a concern for any babies which may be birthed underground: female rabbits do not stay with their young -they literally revisit the nest once or maybe twice a day, so I would stop her from digging somehow as a matter of urgency, as if she is pregnant there is a huge risk that she will give birth underground where you won't be able to keep an eye on the babies, and/or that you won't know she has given birth and will accidentally fill the hole back in again on top of them - and that would just be awful :(
 
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