Bath a rabbit?

poultryprincess · #1 01/04/05, 10:08 PM

I know this may sound like a stupid question, but I honestly don't know the answer.....can I bathe my rabbit? He has been sharing the pen/coop with the chickens. Now he has ear mites. I have put him in a cage to treat him & of course he hates it. (He is used to total freedom) The ear is almost totally clear, but I noticed a bit of an odor. I thoght of maybe using a cloth to clean inside the ear, & then give him a warm bath. Any tips from someone experienced would be appreciated....and any snickers will be tolerated:haha: ** Since I am asking about Mr. Bigilsworth, I wonder about getting him a girlfriend. I heard that he will luv her to death, is that true. I can give him a coop 80 sq.ft & outside pen of 500 sq ft. < I could buy him a girlfriend that is "fixed" @ the animal shelter > I would even buy him a few girlfriends, but Only if it is not a death sentence for the girls.....I separated him because He was constantly luvin' the muscovy ducks! When the big drake went to defend the girls, the rabbit started luvin' Him

That's just plain wrong:no: :no:

Critter183 · #2 01/04/05, 10:16 PM

well, if you can bath rats, why not rabbits? hehehe

My daughter's rat needed a bath. I guess the males have oily skin from what I read, and he was looking rather yellow. My daughter found out from her friend, who has several rats, how to do it, and did, cept the rat died, or appeared to have died.

She was crying, histerical, in the bathroom, with a limp rat laying on the edge of the sink. He was really limp, and not breething when I picked him up.

I was pondering performing mouth to mouth on this rodent, when I pressed gently on his chest a few times, and all of a sudden his ear twiched a couple of times and his breething started up again. Rodent CPR works I guess.

She swears his head never went under water. I tend to believe her. He coughed up no water when he was revived. He did nothing when he was revived cept act like his old self.

I don't know if he died, fainted, had a stroke or what, but I do know I am one kid's hero right now.

westbrook · #3 01/04/05, 10:19 PM

Yes you can bathe him. Many people bathe their pet/house rabbits...heck they can even be kitty litter box trained. For me an easy way to treat for mites is every 3 months I drop 3 drops of Ivomec on the back of their necks.

Have you visited the rabbits area futher down the main page? They have a thread about raising rabbits in open pens. I did for a year and because I run a commercial operation it didn't work for me. However for personal/family meat it works great.
This means that you will have baby bunnies every 32 days until you remove all the males! this could be serious. They would have to be contained or you would have rabbits eating your garden, the neighbors garden and peoples gardens for miles around!

It wouldn't matter if you get him another male or a fixed female, he will still try to mate them...remember the ducks? <smile>

DayBird · #4 01/04/05, 10:20 PM

:haha: :haha: :haha: :haha: :haha:
Way too much information. :no:

Sure, you can bathe a rabbit. Make sure it's something gentle you shampoo him with, though. At my petstore, we sell 3 different kinds of liquid shampoos marketed just for rabbits. There's one spray deodorant, 2 powders and a wipe. You could even use something that is recommended for a kitten. That would be safe to use. Just make sure you dry him off, use a hair dryer if you have to.

A couple of injections of ivermectin will clear up any mites he has.

As for the rest of it, there's a rabbit forum on Homesteading Today. It's waaayyyyyy down at the bottom of the list. There are a couple of threads on there about colony breeding rabbits. If you had several female rabbits, I don't think your single male would give too much "attention" to any one female.

You do want to know that you have a reason for breeding the rabbits. If you're going to eat them, that's fine. If you have a market for the babies to be sold into the pet industry, that's fine. Just don't breed the rabbits because it might be fun, with no though of what you're going to do with the babies. As for adopting spayed females from a shelter, I personally think that's a marvelous idea. The shelter, however, probably would not like you keeping them outside. Just be honest with what you're wanting to do.

Frontier_oaks · #5 01/04/05, 10:22 PM

rabbits do get sick easy when wet like that so make sure you dry him quickly

herefordman · #6 01/04/05, 10:53 PM

Bathe a bunny in Ontario ?
Boy I hope he's not outside, better let him stay in where its warm and dry for a long time before you let him out and find him stuck to the ground somewhere.
As an ex-Ontarian, its cold way back there !!!

BamaSuzy · #7 01/05/05, 02:27 AM

I wouldn't keep the bunny with chickens because they can pick up diseases from each other. Adopting a "fixed" female would likely be your best bet for a companion for him but allow them to get to know each other gradually...it's best not to just dump them in an area together, no matter how big, until they get used to each other.

Also put the girl bunny in with the boy when they are getting used to each other...females can be really territorial and can harm or even kill male bunnies....I don't know if that's true with fixed females but I'd be really careful...

Put them in cages near each other for a few days, then let them spend a little time together each day until they gradually are together all the time (IF they get along o.k.)

And yes, please, don't let two bunnies simply "make" babies unless you are breeding them for a specific purpose...there is nothing sadder than to see lots of bunnies who have no purpose and then just keep breeding amongst themselves until you have hundreds....it's not fair to the bunnies....best wishes...

And yes, I have bathed a few of my rabbits before, if they have been sick and soiled themselves or something like that....but you MUST make sure they don't get chilled during the bath and during the time you are drying them.

Oilpatch197 · #8 01/05/05, 03:18 AM

So do rabbits fight when you try to give them a bath? Like cats?

DayBird · #9 01/05/05, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oilpatch197

So do rabbits fight when you try to give them a bath? Like cats?

Some do, but most don't. I've bathed lots of rabbits. I believe it depends on your attitude and how calm you are. If you're really nervous, the animal picks up on that. When dealing with any animal, you must appear to be confident and in control. Be gentle and move slowly and deliberately, talking to the animal all the time.

poultryprincess · #10 01/05/05, 08:17 PM

Thanx for all the great tips.....a bathing we will go! I hope this Ivomec or Ivermectin is available @ the pet shop. I will go tomorrow & get some. I have been using Mineral oil drops.** I want to clarify one thing - I am NOT looking for any offspring. That's what started this whole mess. I raise white rocks, turkeys & ducks for the freezer. I tried rabbits one year, and found out my sensitive hubby couldn't handle it. I am Italian & used to eating rabbit. DH would take a forkful & not be hungry anymore. I wanted the buck to go to "freezer camp" but DH didn't want him to go. I only wanted to have rabbits to Eat, not as pets...........the same thing happened to the drake & 2 of the offspring ducks, oh yeh and 2 of the old chickens. (When the ducks went to camp DH was upset for 2 weeks!!!) SOOOOO there will be No procreation going on.....only bunny luv. As long as the buck won't kill the fixed female with luv I don't mind spending the $ on a girlfriend. < a food rabbit is $8. a fixed one is $30. > ** And not to worry, the buck will be in the house caged for a few days if he gets a bath. The weather IS cold up here, tonite it will be 20 below with the windchill. ** I have not seen the Rabbit listing for some time on this site....am I missing something? THANX AGAIN!