Fifteen years ago

Today marks fifteen years since we brought Mabel and Dijon home to join our family.

We had lost Neroli in July 2011, and during her last weeks, as we cared for her (she had developed spondylosis of the spine), we decided we would adopt a pair of rabbits when the time came, rather than having another single rabbit. Our three children had never known their home without Nelly, and had utmost respect for her; however, even though they were to be family rabbits, not the children’s pets, local rescues were (understandably) reluctant to rehome rabbits in a house with young children (aged 9, 5, and 3). Rather than buy from a pet shop, we went to a breeder – something we wouldn’t contemplate now. 

We spotted the breeder’s advert in a local newspaper – last remaining rabbits from two litters for sale, Dutch rabbits, and their website stated that these were to be the final litters. 

Although it was very soon after losing Neroli, we decided to contact them, as we particularly wanted more Dutch rabbits, preferably babies (again, not the way we’d choose to select rabbits nowadays), and this seemed like a perfect opportunity – besides, we wouldn’t be collecting them for a few weeks, and might feel more ready by then. ‘Cottage Dutch Rabbits’ was a small enterprise run by two teenage girls in their parents’ back garden, in a village a couple of miles from our home. They emailed some more photos of the babies. 

 We visited, and the girls introduced us to the babies.

  

We also met the parents. The two litters shared the same father, Luigi – a yellow Dutch; the mothers were Lily – a yellow Dutch, and Coco – a chocolate brown Dutch. 

It was obvious that they adored their rabbits and were relatively knowledgeable. We chose a yellow male from Lily’s litter – Dijon, and a black Dutch from Coco’s litter – Mabel. We were told that the half-siblings would be put in a hutch together, to bond, as soon as they were ready to leave their mothers.

In preparation for their arrival, we bought a larger puppy crate as their base in our living room – in line with the welfare standards at that time! 

 

A month later, the babies were ready to be collected, and we brought them home. Here they are, exploring their cage, with our children watching. 

 

Right from the start, we could see their personalities. 

“We've named the black doe 'Mabel' and the yellow buck 'Dijon'. Even at just 8wks they have such different appearances and personalities. Dijon is very stocky already, I think he will be muscular like his father, Luiji. He's a very happy-go-lucky clown of a boy, lots of running around, crazy binkies, then flopping over on his side in a very undignified manner. Very affectionate like his mother (Lily). He is intent on coming out of the cage when we open the door, either pushing through or making a sudden run at us as we sit at the door! Mabel is very slim, dainty, with a longer nose, like her mother (Coco – a chocolate Dutch). She is gentle and quiet, not as excitable, and a bit shy. Apparently, her mother used to usher all the babies back into the bedroom part of the hutch when they ventured out and so for most of this morning, she chose to sit in the darkest corner of the cage. She loves her cuddles, and comes forward as we approach, but more carefully. I think she's the silent leader – Dijon copies everything she does!”

(Bunnymad archives, August 2011)

We followed RWAF advice at that time, keeping them in the crate for a few days before allowing them to explore our living room. Now, we remember Dijon as a big softie, and a cuddle monster, so it’s hard to believe that in those first few days, he would sometimes lunge and nip fingers! 

“I think Dijon's going to be hard work. She's a little angel, so affectionate, but he is a bundle of energy, mounting her, racing around the cage, nibbling fingers if they're poked in the cage, and this morning he deliberately bit me as I put my hand in. I caught him trying to do it a few times today but each time I've seen it coming and just cuddled him firmly instead. Have told the children no fingers through the cage!”

(Bunnymad archives, August 2011)

It was hard work, caring for two energetic baby bunnies, having been used to an elderly disabled rabbit, but they soon settled down, and saw the children through the majority of their school years… Dijon even lived to see our eldest son leave home and adopt his own four-legged small furry companion, Clementine the hamster.

Tuppence-worth

This photo, taken in the late 1950s, is the only picture of Tuppence, my Mum’s childhood rabbit. It appears that Tuppence looked a lot like Mr Snoop… although I’m certain Mr Snoop would have something to say about being wheeled down the road in a doll’s pram for his nails to be trimmed at the vet’s (my Mum says she was never charged!).

Apparently, my Mum’s friend, who attended Dartford Grammar, brought home a couple of baby rabbits when one of the classroom rabbits had a litter. She kept one rabbit, Penny, and gave Tuppence to my Mum (the babies were all named after coinage denominations). My Mum remembers buying bran to mix with warm water in cold weather, with chopped carrot and other veggies. She also recalls putting potato peelings in the oven until crisp, which Tuppence loved!

Tuppence lived in a hutch in the garden, built by my Grandad, who, each night, went out with a wooden cover that fitted across the front, for protection – obviously they loved her, and gave her the best care available at that time. My Mum was about eleven years old when she got Tuppence, and had started work when Tuppence died. It’s incredible that this bunny lived for over six years, given her diet.

I was reminded of Tuppence by a recent encounter. A friend told me that her rabbit was very unwell with stasis; however, my attempts to convince her that the rabbit needed to see a vet were futile: she was treating the rabbit at home, using her own “tried-and-tested” stasis remedy (that included pain killers for humans). From the knowledge I’ve acquired over the years, I was able to state exactly why this treatment could do more harm than good, but it did not help. Why? Because her rabbits had each recovered from stasis when she’d used this remedy in the past. I had to bite my lip, but kept thinking of the anti-elephant powder story: an old man sprinkled a white powder on the roads every day. When he was asked what he was doing, he answered that it was elephant powder. The person then remarked, “But there are no elephants!”, to which he replied, “It must be working then!”.

My friend’s satisfaction with the ‘success’ of her home remedy made me think of Tuppence: Tuppence lived a relatively long life on a diet of bran, carrots, and potato peelings; however, with the knowledge I’ve acquired, I know that this was not a suitable diet. Tuppence was just lucky, or perhaps any problems went undetected, and so her diet was never changed. The difference between these two rabbit examples is the availability of information. Rabbit care information in the 1950s was scarce and still mostly focussed on raising rabbits for meat; nowadays, we have easy access to a massive repository of specialist knowledge, and even rabbit welfare organisations. Of course, we do need to be careful when choosing which advice to follow, so it’s always safest to check the information available from the most reputable source – RWAF.

We have made mistakes when caring for our rabbits, and can certainly see, in hindsight, where things could have been improved, especially with the knowledge we have today. However, we have tried, over the years, to keep up to date with the latest welfare advice and to improve care of our bunnies as we learn. Just because we’ve always done something in the past and encountered no problems does not mean it is the correct thing to do or that it’s working. The lesson is to avoid confirmation bias, question outdated habits, and, above all, keep learning!

 

Hot cross buns

 Mr Snoop turning off his fan.

 

Today is the hottest May day on record. Yesterday, the temperature here reached around 32°C, and last night, records were broken, with temperatures remaining in the high teens. It’s currently 33°C here in southeast England, and is forecast to be a ‘tropical night’, with temperatures staying above 20°C.

As temperatures surge, it’s hard to know what to do to help the bunnies. Heat health alerts are in place for humans, but rabbits cope even more poorly with heat than we do. Anything above 25°C is too hot for them, as they struggle to regulate their body temperature. In the wild, rabbits can retreat to their underground burrows to avoid the heat (they also tend to be active only during the cooler twilight hours), but our domestic rabbits don’t have that option, and, to make matters worse, many breeds have thicker fur than their wild cousins; also, they don’t have the option to move so freely to find a place to keep cool.

In high temperatures, rabbits can suffer from heatstroke, and the heat also increases the risk of gut stasis, due to dehydration, and the risk of flystrike.

The current exceptional heat was very sudden, demonstrating that we need plans in place for making them comfortable and keeping them healthy. This late-May heatwave might be exceptional, but the temperature records are being rewritten every year now.

So, what can we do? Bringing them into an air-conditioned room is ideal, but not all of us have that option, so here are some suggestions.

Monitor

Probably the most obvious but also the most vital measure is to keep an eye on the weather, so that we can take steps in time, and to monitor our rabbits’ behaviour and health, so we can respond accordingly.

Provide shade and ensure airflow

Check that rabbits have large areas of shade throughout the day (shadows move!). The air needs to be moving to keep them cool. A gazebo could be placed over the enclosure, or a damp towel draped over (but not enclosing them) can give an evaporative cooling effect. If temperatures are high, it’s often safest to bring outdoor rabbits inside to a cool, quiet room. Sheds might seem like they offer shade, but they can become dangerously hot without appropriate measures to keep them cool. For indoor rabbits, close curtains/blinds, and move them to a cooler room if necessary. Most rabbits are sensible about moving to shade if temperatures soar, but elderly and other less mobile rabbits might find it harder to move out of direct sunlight, so they should be restricted to shady areas during daytime.

Dijon often chose to lie in full sun.

Standing an iced bottle of water in front of an electric fan can create a cool breeze, but ensure any cables are out of reach (USB rechargeable fans are best), and that rabbits can move away from the airflow if they wish. For indoor rabbits, close the windows, especially on the sunny side, during the hottest hours, and open in the evening and first thing in the morning, before temperatures rise.

Keep rabbits hydrated

Ensure water is refreshed regularly, and easily accessible, especially for less mobile rabbits. Provide a few extra bowls near their favourite resting places, to remind them to drink. It’s helpful to offer leaves which have been soaked in cold water.

Mabel was usually too busy to go indoors for water, so we provided extra bowls in the enclosure.

Provide cool items

All our rabbits have enjoyed resting against cooler items during hot weather. We use an ice pack and frozen water bottles – generally, the advice is to wrap these in old towels, so they’re not too cold, but Mr Snoop likes to chew fabric, so, for our bunnies, it’s safer not to. Ceramic tiles can also provide a patch for cooling down.

Yesterday, we bought a couple of SnuggleSafe Cool Pods – our bunnies often refuse to use anything we think is a good idea worth the price, but they took to them straightaway. The pads don’t need to be frozen – instead, they cool as the rabbit sits on/against them. As with the ice pack and water bottles, check for any signs of chewing.

Keep their trays and enclosure clean

Flystrike is more common during hot weather, especially if rabbits are sitting in a dirty area, so it’s even more important to keep their trays and environment clean.

Keep on top of brushing

Rabbits shed fur as the weather warms up, but it takes time – they can’t just switch to their summer clothes. Regular brushing helps remove excess fur, and reduces the amount ingested during grooming themselves/their companions, which could lead to gut stasis when combined with dehydration during hot weather. Long-haired rabbits should be trimmed.

Ebony having some help to remove her winter coat.

Dampen their ears

Rabbits can’t lose heat by sweating or panting, like other animals. They regulate their body temperature primarily through their ears, via the network of blood vessels. So, if they’re hot, some rabbits like to have their ears dampened with a cool wet cloth or mist spray, which creates an evaporative cooling effect.

Recognise heatstroke and act immediately

Knowing our rabbits well enough to spot signs of illness is essential, as they’ve retained their prey creature instinct to hide symptoms. Heatstroke develops quickly, so it’s important to be able to spot it. A rabbit suffering from heatstroke may be weak, lethargic, and panting. Their ears will be hot, there may be wetness around their nose, and as the heatstroke progresses, they may be confused and even suffer convulsions. It’s an extremely serious condition, which can be fatal, so requires immediate veterinary attention. Rabbits should be cooled down by dampening their ears with cool water, but they should never be submerged in cold water.

Here, the bunnies have been sensible today – they enjoyed some time on the patio first thing this morning, before the sun reached it. Then we closed the patio door and the curtains, and they’ve spent the day resting beneath the table, next to the various cold items, enjoying the occasional extra bunch of wet coriander. Stay cool everybun! 

 

 

 

Vaccination vet visit

Ebony and Mr Snoop have, today, been vaccinated against the new strain of Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease. 

Mr Snoop trying to hide the dog photo on his vaccination record card.

It’s taken a while to get hold of the new vaccine – many practices have been unable to source any from suppliers, but our vet kindly managed to order a pack of 10 vials – she now needs more rabbits to be brought to the surgery for this vaccine, to use the remaining vials. 

A look of disdain as they are shut in the carrier – Ebony saw it coming and evaded for nearly long enough to make us miss the appointment. 

The bunnies are already vaccinated against myxomatosis, the classic strain RHD (RHDV-1), and the variant strain RHD (RHDV-2) (they receive an annual injection of Nobivac® Myxo-RHD PLUS), but today’s vaccine (YURVAC® RHD) is to protect them against all strains of RHD, including the new “highly virulent strain” of RVHD-2. From now on, they’ll have two vaccinations a year: Nobivac and YURVAC. 

Two cross buns on the journey home.

The new strain has been found in mainland Europe. There’s no surveillance data available yet, to confirm its presence in the UK (even with post-mortems, there’s no test to identify which strain caused death), but it’s likely that it exists here; in December, the RWAF announced reports of rabbits who were vaccinated but died of RVHD2, which rang alarm bells for us. 

RHD is a horrendous disease (read more about it here), and rabbits who are affected often show few signs of illness, and die suddenly. It spreads quickly and easily, and can enter rabbits’ homes on hay, insects, or from guardians’ contaminated clothes or shoes. Hopefully, this new strain won't take a hold in the UK but it's good to know the bunnies are vaccinated.  

Below: Ebony and Mr Snoop realising they were finally free and angrily washing away the smell of hoomins.