Rabbit bleeding, dog bite?

[BigBlossom]

I have a giant rabbit, her name is Blossom. She free ranges during the day with our chickens and today I let my dog out to go to the toilet and he chased her up to her above ground hutch. I got him inside and went to check on her, there was blood in her hutch! I started to panic thinking he had bitten her but I couldn't find any wounds anywhere. Bare in mind she does have very thick fur and lots of fat (being giant) so it's harder to see. She wasn't too startled as she generally enjoys playing with dogs so I gave her some snacks and a cuddle and she seems perfectly fine now. I just don't understand where the blood has come from. I didn't check the upstairs hutch this morning, just let her out, so it could have been there before & she does share the hutch with 3 of our chickens (perfectly safe- they were raised together and she is best friends with them) but the chickens don't show any signs of bleeding either. I'm just very confused and it seems like a big coincidence that I only noticed the blood after my dog chased her. Any ideas?

 

[tonibun]

Hello there and welcome. In my experience the most common cause of blood in a rabbit's hutch comes from a claw which has been torn out. This could be the answer. Is your Blossom spayed? I would clean the blood up and check tomorrow and if there is more blood take her to your Vets before they close for Christmas.

 

[Mackers]

Ditto to the above. Is she spayed? Are you also SURE it was blood rather than a deep red/orange wee?

 

[Jack's-Jane]

I have a giant rabbit, her name is Blossom. She free ranges during the day with our chickens and today I let my dog out to go to the toilet and he chased her up to her above ground hutch. I got him inside and went to check on her, there was blood in her hutch! I started to panic thinking he had bitten her but I couldn't find any wounds anywhere. Bare in mind she does have very thick fur and lots of fat (being giant) so it's harder to see. She wasn't too startled as she generally enjoys playing with dogs so I gave her some snacks and a cuddle and she seems perfectly fine now. I just don't understand where the blood has come from. I didn't check the upstairs hutch this morning, just let her out, so it could have been there before & she does share the hutch with 3 of our chickens (perfectly safe- they were raised together and she is best friends with them) but the chickens don't show any signs of bleeding either. I'm just very confused and it seems like a big coincidence that I only noticed the blood after my dog chased her. Any ideas?

Are you sure it is blood and not orange wee ? If you are sure that it is blood then as tonibun has suggested it may be that she has a torn nail. These can bleed profusely.

Have you checked your Doe's undercarriage for signs of blood around her genitals ?

Is she your only Rabbit ?

Personally I would not house Chickens with a Rabbit, but I believe it may be common practice in the USA. Not sure if that is where you are located.

 

[BigBlossom]

Thanks for all the comments, to answer you're questions; no she is not spayed, yes she is the only rabbit, I don't think a claw has been torn out but she won't let me thoroughly check her back feet. I am sure it's blood, there's not enough of it in the same spot for it to be a wee patch. I live in the UK, there are multiple hutches in our garden but she chooses to sleep upstairs with the three oldest hens. She ate again tonight and seems perfectly fine just freezes up a little when the back door opens, I think she's scared he will come out and chase her again (from now on he will be on a lead when he's in the garden). I will check for anymore blood in the morning.

 

[Mackers]

Please get her checked out by the vet. If she is unspayed then, depending on her age, there's a very high risk of uterine cancer. I took a bunny who was 'weeing blood' to a non-bunny-savvy vet and he told me it wouldn't be cancer and was most likely a urine infection. Sadly, I believed him. Bunge died a year later after having an emergency spay at a very bunny savvy vet. Unfortunately it was too late and the cancer had already spread.

Obviously I'm not a vet and it might not be a cancer BUT don't be fobbed off and most importantly, don't ignore it. I would highly recommend spaying to eliminate the risk. Don't lose your bunny like I did.

 

[MightyMax]

I have a giant rabbit, her name is Blossom. She free ranges during the day with our chickens and today I let my dog out to go to the toilet and he chased her up to her above ground hutch. I got him inside and went to check on her, there was blood in her hutch! I started to panic thinking he had bitten her but I couldn't find any wounds anywhere. Bare in mind she does have very thick fur and lots of fat (being giant) so it's harder to see. She wasn't too startled as she generally enjoys playing with dogs so I gave her some snacks and a cuddle and she seems perfectly fine now. I just don't understand where the blood has come from. I didn't check the upstairs hutch this morning, just let her out, so it could have been there before & she does share the hutch with 3 of our chickens (perfectly safe- they were raised together and she is best friends with them) but the chickens don't show any signs of bleeding either. I'm just very confused and it seems like a big coincidence that I only noticed the blood after my dog chased her. Any ideas?

Hi there and welcome to the Forum :wave:

Sorry to hear of Blossom's bleeding. A torn out claw would be the obvious suggestion but you don't think it's that? If she has thick fur, perhaps there's a little nick to her skin that's not obvious on first look? (you say she has thick fur)

I would keep a close eye on her, and try and have another check all over of her (skin, fur and nails) just to satisfy yourself there's no injury that could be becoming infected. You don't want any out of hours vet visits over the christmas period if they can be avoided :shock:

Best of luck xx

 

[Hoppla]

Is she spayed? A rabbit a found had blood on her back 2 days after I found her, 2 days after that I found 3 babies under my bed- alive and healthy.

If she is not spayed, check if there are any babies.

Otherwise do get her checked out by a vet.
Fingers crossed all is well.

 

[parsnipbun]

Hi and welcome:

With an unspayed female, if there are no bites and no claw damage, then uterine issues are most likely. A very very high percentage of female buns get uterine cancer by 5 years old and so a spay (carried out by a confident and bunny savvy vet) is of high importance for any female bun.

However an accident' with one of the hens is also possible - I have hens and rabbits - who do not share living areas as the two species can share parasites which can be a very real issue - especially mites, worms and lice but also cocci in various forms - but they have occassionally met in the garden and the instinct of all hens is to peck at things and they have powerful beaks, this can be a problem with eyes of course but also somethimes other parts of body. I no longer let the hens in the garden because of this. (they have their own meadow).

I am assuming as you are in uk that she is vaccinated against myxi and vhd1 and vhd 2 - the later two being haemmoragic diseases which can result in blood loss before death.

 

[BigBlossom]

I'm getting a lot of comments which I am very grateful for but I'm not sure I can reply to them all individually. When I got Blossom I was not aware of how important it was to spay female rabbits and now I feel guilty for not doing so. I would like to get her spayed but she has grown very big and doesn't like being confined or held, I would be worried transport to the vets would be too much stress for her to handle. She is 4 years old now (giant rabbits usually live 4-6). Like mightymax said I think it may have been a nick, possibly from the dog, that's hidden under her thick fur. She seems to be okay but I will check on her in the morning.

 

[Jack's-Jane]

I'm getting a lot of comments which I am very grateful for but I'm not sure I can reply to them all individually. When I got Blossom I was not aware of how important it was to spay female rabbits and now I feel guilty for not doing so. I would like to get her spayed but she has grown very big and doesn't like being confined or held, I would be worried transport to the vets would be too much stress for her to handle. She is 4 years old now (giant rabbits usually live 4-6). Like mightymax said I think it may have been a nick, possibly from the dog, that's hidden under her thick fur. She seems to be okay but I will check on her in the morning.

I hope that all is well ?

 

[BigBlossom]

She is fine! She ate her breakfast like normal and seems very content. There was no more blood in the hutch. I will still keep an eye on her of course.

 

[Mackers]

Glad to hear she seems her normal self.

 

[MightyMax]

She is fine! She ate her breakfast like normal and seems very content. There was no more blood in the hutch. I will still keep an eye on her of course.

Good to hear this

 

[Babsie]

Is she spayed? A rabbit a found had blood on her back 2 days after I found her, 2 days after that I found 3 babies under my bed- alive and healthy.

If she is not spayed, check if there are any babies.

Otherwise do get her checked out by a vet.
Fingers crossed all is well.

Apparently she is not spayed but is the only rabbit.

 

[Jack's-Jane]

She is fine! She ate her breakfast like normal and seems very content. There was no more blood in the hutch. I will still keep an eye on her of course.

I hope all remains well x