Helpful Tips

These are just some helpful tips I’ve learned over the last year that I’d like to share with you.

BREEDING

If you decide you want to breed your doe, one way to see how receptive to the buck she will be is by turning her over on her back and checking her vent. If it is a pinkish-purple color, chances are she’ll be very receptive to mating. If it is whitish, she may not be very receptive. ALWAYS put the doe in the buck’s cage, never the other way around. The doe may harm the buck by warding him off in an attempt to protect her territory. You have a successful mating when the buck grunts and falls to the side of the doe. You will want to have the buck do this at least twice to assure a successful breeding. The best thing to do is put the doe in with the buck in the morning, let them mate, return the doe to her cage. In the evening, or the following morning, let them mate again. Make sure you keep track of the day you mate the doe, as you will want to put a nestbox in with your doe 27 days after the mating occurred. The gestation period of a rabbit is usually 28-31 days. Most does kindle on day 30. The doe will only feed her litter once or twice per day, often in the early morning and late evening hours. As long as the kits are fat and warm, you know they are being cared for. Don’t fret if you don’t see the doe in with her kits at all times, as rabbits just don’t do this. The doe only sees to them a couple times per day, and that is all.

MEDICATIONS and TIPS

These are some medications that can be used to treat various ailments:

VetRx, Tetracycline, Penicillin G, LA 200, Bactrim, Baytril, and Tylan 50 are all good to help treat the common cold, pneumonia, and snuffles. If you know for sure you’ve got a snuffles case, isolate the rabbit immediately, as it spreads quickly to other rabbits. There is no cure for snuffles, or Pasteurella, as the bacteria is known as. You can mask the symptoms, but they will return. The best way to truly identify if you have pasteurella bacteria is by having your vet do a culture.

Monostat 7, Preperation H are good to help ease and heal sore hocks. If they become infected, you will need to lance open the sore and drain the infection, and soak in epsom salts twice per day, and then use a topical antibiotic such as Neosporin, or something from your vet.

Injectable Ivomec 1 % solution is great for fur mites. The formula to figure out the dosage is as follows:

weight of rabbit in pounds, divided by 2.2, multiplied by 400, divided by 10,000 = cc to give


When administering Ivomec, it is imperative that you base the dosage on the weight of the rabbit for it to properly work. You can give either as an injection under the skin, or orally by drawing up the desired amount in the syringe, removing the needle, and squirting in the side of the mouth. You need to administer the Ivomec once every two weeks for three consecutive treatments to kill off all existing mites and their eggs. You will also need to treat the environment weekly with a pyrethrin spray to kill any eggs and mites that are living on the cage and surroundings.

Any over the counter Athlete’s Foot spray is great to treat ringworm with. Spray on the infected areas once every four days until condition is cleared up.

Lavender or pine needles are used to bring on contractions in pregnant rabbits.

Eyebright Tea can be used to help ease irritated or infected eyes.

Meat tenderizer in pineapple juice is good for eliminating fur block.

For diarrhea, use Kaopectate.

These are a few tips:

If your rabbit goes off feed, try giving fresh sage or parsley. If that doesn’t work, try making a mixture of molasses and oats or oatmeal and putting it over the pellets.

To remove urine stains on white rabbits, mix up a paste of cornstarch and vinegar, and apply to the stain. Allow to dry overnight. Comb out of the fur in the morning.

To help with conditioning your rabbit, feed black oil sunflower seeds to help with the sheen of the coat. Be careful not to overdo it though, as they are very high in fat and protein, and if overused, can cause the rabbit to go into a molt. Wheat Germ Oil is also good for the coat. To build flesh on your rabbit, feed oats. They will not add fat, just firm flesh.

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