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Dirty Smelly Bunny, can I bathe her?

K

kelpopp

New Kit
Hello

We collected 2 beautiful rabbits today - we found out about them by a friend who told us that her neighbour was looking to 'get rid' of them. We went along to collect them and they were living on the balcony of the 4th floor of a tower block. By living on the balcony I mean living on the balcony - without a hutch or a shelter and on the concrete floor of the balcony - no hay or straw or anything! We'd never seen anything like it! Also resident on the bacony was a mini motorbike and loads of tools...

We bought them home and they're now happily expolring our old chicken shed (the last of our ex-batts passed about a month ago at the grand old age of 7!) Anyway, the shed they're in in a 6 foot x 4 foot one, we've put a dog kennel in for them to sleep in and covered the floor in straw, they have hay in the kennel and a big bunch of hay tied up with string and suspended off the floor for munching on. The chickens were free range so we don't have a run (yet!) but our neighbour has lent us an old kitten pen she had which we've cobbled together as a 4 foot by 3 foot run. We're going to build a much bigger run tomorow so this one is just a temoporary fix.

Anyway, sorry to waffle on, my question is this. One of the bunnies is snowy white but I think living on concrete and not being cleaned has led to her standing in wee for a lot of the time because she is smelly and the fur on ther back feet, belly and bottom is yellow. Will this be making her sore? Can I bathe her and if so, whats the best way and what should I use (human baby shampoo/kitten shampoo/puppy shampoo etc?)

Also - and this could be the wrong section so I apologise in advance- both bunnies are beautifully friendly - they come up to us to be stroked, take food from our hands and seem to really enjoy our company but they thrash and kick if they are picked up. I don't intend to pick them up much if they'd rather I didn't but I wonder if theres anything I can do to make it less stressful for them (and me!) Can I teach them to be calm when being handled or would it be kinder to them to leave them be and just not pick them up unless its absolutely necessary?

Sorry for the long post, Thanks a lot!

Kelly xx
 
kelpopp said:
Hello

We collected 2 beautiful rabbits today - we found out about them by a friend who told us that her neighbour was looking to 'get rid' of them. We went along to collect them and they were living on the balcony of the 4th floor of a tower block. By living on the balcony I mean living on the balcony - without a hutch or a shelter and on the concrete floor of the balcony - no hay or straw or anything! We'd never seen anything like it! Also resident on the bacony was a mini motorbike and loads of tools...

We bought them home and they're now happily expolring our old chicken shed (the last of our ex-batts passed about a month ago at the grand old age of 7!) Anyway, the shed they're in in a 6 foot x 4 foot one, we've put a dog kennel in for them to sleep in and covered the floor in straw, they have hay in the kennel and a big bunch of hay tied up with string and suspended off the floor for munching on. The chickens were free range so we don't have a run (yet!) but our neighbour has lent us an old kitten pen she had which we've cobbled together as a 4 foot by 3 foot run. We're going to build a much bigger run tomorow so this one is just a temoporary fix.

Anyway, sorry to waffle on, my question is this. One of the bunnies is snowy white but I think living on concrete and not being cleaned has led to her standing in wee for a lot of the time because she is smelly and the fur on ther back feet, belly and bottom is yellow. Will this be making her sore? Can I bathe her and if so, whats the best way and what should I use (human baby shampoo/kitten shampoo/puppy shampoo etc?)

Also - and this could be the wrong section so I apologise in advance- both bunnies are beautifully friendly - they come up to us to be stroked, take food from our hands and seem to really enjoy our company but they thrash and kick if they are picked up. I don't intend to pick them up much if they'd rather I didn't but I wonder if theres anything I can do to make it less stressful for them (and me!) Can I teach them to be calm when being handled or would it be kinder to them to leave them be and just not pick them up unless its absolutely necessary?

Sorry for the long post, Thanks a lot!

Kelly xx
Click to expand...

Wow, well done for taking them! What a situation they were in!

As for her bum if it's just staining I'd leave it, it will grow out eventually. If it's wet then yes I'd clean it up maybe with a wet flannel and dry well. Try not to saturate their fur unless it's bad as they'll struggle if they are wet and outside.

Most bunnies don't like being picked up so try to only do it when necessary. To them it's a predator lifting them from their environment. They are much happier on their own paws.

And welcome to the forum! Xx
 
Well done you, sounds like they have moved from a complete hell hole to a beautiful palace, they will be loving it!

The staining will fade, as long as the skin is not red or inflammed and the fur is not wet then I would leave it. The smell will also fade as they will be living in cleaner conditions now.

As for being picked up, yip, some bunnies don't like it. Then some just take time to be fully comfortable with it :)
 
kelpopp said:
Hello

We collected 2 beautiful rabbits today - we found out about them by a friend who told us that her neighbour was looking to 'get rid' of them. We went along to collect them and they were living on the balcony of the 4th floor of a tower block. By living on the balcony I mean living on the balcony - without a hutch or a shelter and on the concrete floor of the balcony - no hay or straw or anything! We'd never seen anything like it! Also resident on the bacony was a mini motorbike and loads of tools...

We bought them home and they're now happily expolring our old chicken shed (the last of our ex-batts passed about a month ago at the grand old age of 7!) Anyway, the shed they're in in a 6 foot x 4 foot one, we've put a dog kennel in for them to sleep in and covered the floor in straw, they have hay in the kennel and a big bunch of hay tied up with string and suspended off the floor for munching on. The chickens were free range so we don't have a run (yet!) but our neighbour has lent us an old kitten pen she had which we've cobbled together as a 4 foot by 3 foot run. We're going to build a much bigger run tomorow so this one is just a temoporary fix.

Anyway, sorry to waffle on, my question is this. One of the bunnies is snowy white but I think living on concrete and not being cleaned has led to her standing in wee for a lot of the time because she is smelly and the fur on ther back feet, belly and bottom is yellow. Will this be making her sore? Can I bathe her and if so, whats the best way and what should I use (human baby shampoo/kitten shampoo/puppy shampoo etc?)

Also - and this could be the wrong section so I apologise in advance- both bunnies are beautifully friendly - they come up to us to be stroked, take food from our hands and seem to really enjoy our company but they thrash and kick if they are picked up. I don't intend to pick them up much if they'd rather I didn't but I wonder if theres anything I can do to make it less stressful for them (and me!) Can I teach them to be calm when being handled or would it be kinder to them to leave them be and just not pick them up unless its absolutely necessary?

Sorry for the long post, Thanks a lot!

Kelly xx
Click to expand...


Hi it is recommended that bunnies are only ever bathed if it is absolutely neccessary. I would check her skin to make sure she hasnt any burn marks from the urine, if she has then the bun should see a vet for further advice, my main worry is that the smell of the urine in her fur could attract flies and she could possibly succumb to fly strike. If you choose to bathe her then pets at home do a shampoo especially for rabbits it's called small animal shampoo and the shampoo itself is yellow in colour, it also kills any fleas or mites. If you choose to try and bathe her i would recommend putting a towel in the bottom of the sink so the bun can get some grip, wet the areas only that are affected by the urine and gently shampoo those areas only, thoroughly rinse the fur afterwards and wrap the bunny in a warm towel, place the bunny on your lap and gently dry her under belly as best you can, i would also keep the bunny in the house overnight as bathing can lower their body temp and it can take a while for their body to get back to normal, which is why i recommended only washing the area affected, to be honest it is hard to say without seeing pictures of how badly the bunny is affected, but from your description if it were me i would actually clean the area as their are too many risks that are greater by not doing so, urine burns,fly strike etc, if you are completely unsure give your local vet practice a ring and ask them.

But i would like to say well done you for rescuing them,what a horrible life they had andfrom the sound of it their life has vastly improved already, well done and i wish you lots of luck with them and many happy bunny hopping years to come.

PS from the life they had i would recommend that both bunnies are wormed straight away as you just don't know what those buns might have picked up :bunny::bunny::bunny::bunny:
 
I'd also recommend a vet visit for them both as soon as you can, with a bunny savvy vet to check them over :)
 
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