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Rabbits went into boarding, came back injured :(

I

ImAFruitBasket

New Kit
Hi there. First post here, looks like a really useful forum so will probably become a regular user :)

I have 4 rabbits. There's Oreo (girl) and Milkshake (boy, neutered) who are brother and sister. They are 14 months old now. They had babies (keepin' it in the family... :shock:) and we now have Doris and Domino - both girls and 6 months old. The mum and dad share a hutch and the two babies share a hutch.

All rabbits have had a vaccination and are chipped.

Last week, they went to a pet boarding place for 10 days whilst we went on holiday. They were in good health. When I picked them up, the man mentioned Oreo had a scratch above her eye but didn't know how as he didn't notice Oreo and Milkshake fighting. When I got them home, I inspected closer and the whole of the fur above her left eye has gone. You can see her eye socket with two little pin type holes which are red (blood maybe?). It has been a couple of days since they have been home and it looks like it is starting to heal, but the fur isn't coming back yet.
Also, Domino has got what can only be described as little nicks on her ears. There are 5 of them in total, around 1cm diameter, they are bright pink and look deep and sore. One of the nicks is at the top of the ear and it has changed the shape of her ear. It's bank holiday weekend so I'm not going to be able to get into the vets until Tuesday now so was wondering if anyone knows what it might be? Have they picked up something from this boarding place? He had about 20 rabbits there, all kept separately though. Or could it be the rabbits have been fighting/asserting dominance whilst in a 'strange' place? Doris has a little scratch on her nose as well. Do I need to clean them up and if so, what with?

Sorry for the long post, tried to keep it as informative as I could incase someone has experienced something similar.
 
Hi, is Oreo spayed? If not that would be my best guess based on the information you've given. Unspayed females show a great deal of hormonal and territorial aggression (which would be triggered by a sudden change in territory), suffer from pseudopregnancies and have an 80-90% chance of contracting uterine cancer in the first 5 years of life.
 
Hellow and welcome. Sorry your bunnies came home with injuries. I agree with the first poster but we will never really know I suppose. I hope they turn out to be fine, just keep an eye on them and if you are not happy take them for a check up.
 
Hi. Thanks for the reply. No, Oreo isn't spayed. I asked about it at the vets when she went for a check up after having her first litter and they said it wouldn't make much of a difference to her behaviour. I will definitely look into it again though, it would be good to know she feels calmer and reducing risks later on in life.
 
I would get all three females spayed sooner rather than later for their health and well-being. Two unspayed females will certainly start fighting.

Rabbits can smell another rabbit a mile off, so being kept physically separate, while preventing injury, wouldn't solve the problem.

If your rabbits aren't eating it's a good idea to get them to the vet asap. Hopefully it's just the stress of it all and nothing more serious but best to be safe. Keep us updated? :) Best of luck x
 
Given the advice of your last vet I would look for a new one. Spaying a doe is so important that any good rabbit vet would know. If you say where you are people on here can help you find one.
 
ImAFruitBasket said:
Even though they were kept separate? The two that came back most injured are hardly eating as well at the moment. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Click to expand...

Yes, if they could smell other rabbits either directly or on the person it could set them off.

Neutering females has many health benefits so it sounds like your vet doesn't know much about rabbits.
 
This is one of the reasons I only board neutered rabbits, just the smell of an un-neutered rabbit nearby can upset a bond, resulting in injuries like OP's rabbits have sustained.

Spaying females is very important too, I'm not local but there are lots of people local to you on here and I'm sure one of them can suggest a local rabbit savvy vet :)
 
ImAFruitBasket said:
Thank you. I'm going to get them spayed definitely. Might look elsewhere though than the current vets.
Click to expand...


Yes, I found an absolutely excellent vet for spaying that wasn't the one I normally use. Their price was great and the aftercare was better. It does pay to shop around :D
 
catherine09 said:
This is one of the reasons I only board neutered rabbits, just the smell of an un-neutered rabbit nearby can upset a bond, resulting in injuries like OP's rabbits have sustained.

Spaying females is very important too, I'm not local but there are lots of people local to you on here and I'm sure one of them can suggest a local rabbit savvy vet :)
Click to expand...


This is the first time I have put them in boarding. Usually a family member will look after them but it wasn't an option this time. Wont be doing it again in a hurry though. Will be getting them spayed,thankyou xx
 
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