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Expert: Pam Enve - 10/19/2009


Question
We rescued a bunny/rabbit from a lady who was going to let it go in a park in los angeles. It sounded ridiculous to do such a thing so we offered to care for it. We named him/her vincent. Not sure of the sex. It's the smallest thing we've ever seen. He's no bigger than a dumbo rat you can get at a pet store. We were wondering how to go about proper feeding, a proper home, and really the ins and outs. Everything we find online is oriented towards large in home rabbits. This is not a large, out of cage rabbit. Also, it seems it has a red something or other in the area of where the genitals or butt may be. It also looks like urine stained hair around the lower abdomen and genitals. If you can please email me I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advance

Answer
Hi Erica,

The site does not allow us to have your e-mail but I can help you here.  

The bunny probably has hutch burn.  It would be best if you could take it to the vet.  They will be able to give you some medicine for the hutch burn and also give it a health check-up, they will also be able to tell you if it is a boy or girl.  If you don't have a vet try this site:

http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

As for caring for it you can either feed it good quality pellets or veggies.  The most important thing is that it be allowed to have timothy hay 24 hours a day, make sure it is timothy and not alfalfa.  This site will tell you about each type of diet:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html

Regardless of the size as long as your house is bunny proof you can let it out a couple times a day to play.  If you are worried about it getting into something you could use a large panel dog cage for it to run around.  Rabbits need exercise a few times a day.  You want a cage that is at least 1 square foot per pound.  Considering you said the rabbit is small I would suggest a 24x24 cage at a minimum.  This will give the bunny a little bit of floor space to run around.

I am a bit concerned about the size.  The smallest rabbit is a Britannia Petite.  They weigh anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2.  This is a photo of what they look like:

http://www.britanniapetites.com/

Other bunnies should not be that small and it makes me wonder if it is malnourished.

The House Rabbit Society is the best resource for pet bunnies.  I suggest you look through their site.

http://www.rabbit.org

Good luck

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Pam Enve

Experience

I have raised and shown several breeds of rabbits over the past 15 years. I worked as a Paramedic for over 15 years and then went back to school to become a NYS certified veterinary technician. I did not work in the field long due to an unexpected disability but in the short time I was employed it was with a veterinarian who worked solely with exotic animals. I have a basic knowledge of meat breeds but absolutely have no clue how to process them. I am uncomforable answering questions about rabbits raised for meat but if you cant find someone else I will do my best to help. All animals need care even farm and meat animals. I have been studying rabbit behavior for over 7 years. I teach color coat genetics at our local universities animal science class and although the class is based on dogs and cats I still have a thorough knowledge of color genetics of rabbits as well as genetics pertaining to the health of rabbits. I enjoy working with difficult bunnies. I spend 100% of my time with my rabbits and helping others to train theirs. I am NOT part of the House Rabbit Society, but believe they have the best interest of the animals at heart and that is what is important. Many breeders will outright tell you the HRS is bad, and many HRS members will tell you that all breeders are bad. Neither is the case but in any situation you are always going to find people who will disagree. The most important issue I can stress is that breeding must be "responsible" no matter what you intend to use the rabbits for. It is competely irresponsible to breed rabbits just because you want to. If you want to eat them I have no problem with that, but if you have a litter of say 6-10 rabbits and only bred them for fun, you better have figured out what you are going to do with those kits or before you know it you are going to have 600 rabbits in yours house and you aren't going to have a place to sleep.

Organizations
American Rabbit Breeder's Association. Little Angels Animal Sanctuary. Humane Farmers of America.

Education/Credentials
Certified Veterinary Technician. ARBA licensed registrar. Full-time Farmer. My father ran a thoroughbred horse rescue my entire life. He was diagnosed with cancer 5 years ago and although he is in remission he has decided it is time to retire. I was appointed CEO of his organization and his sanctuary was private. I, with the help of my husband are in the process of acquiring our 501(c)3 IRS tax exemption status. Rather than breeding rabbits we have now taken on the task of rescuing unwanted pet rabbits as well as some farm animals. I still remain a member of the ARBA and still teach genetics as well as register and promote the breeding of only purebred and genetically sound animals.

Awards and Honors
Volunteer of the year 2008, dedication above and beyond.

Past/Present Clients
I was employed by an exotic animal hospital for 2 years. I left due to a disability. I now spend all of my time training my rabbits and helping others to properly train and bond theirs.

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