This past month has been beautiful with perfect spring weather. I have definitely enjoyed the warmth, the rain and the mosquito-free evenings. The only show this month was the Netherland Dwarf Nationals. I went there looking for a replacement for Judy Hops; while I was unsuccessful in my search, I did find out that how national rabbit shows are run. Here are the two main things I discovered. First, all the pre-assembled cages had pine shavings for bedding. Duke, my heard buck is allergic to pine, and with all the hundreds of cages having pine for bedding, he would have had a lot of trouble. This is besides the fact that pine is not good for rabbits to bed on. According to my rabbit veterinarian (she is an actual rabbit vet and not a cat vet), the oils in pine, what makes it smell good to us, causes respiratory issues which often lead to pneumonia and death in rabbits, gerbils, and hamsters. Second, the owner of the rabbit did not place their rabbit on the judging table. Instead, there were volunteers who went around collecting rabbits as the judge was ready for them. While this shouldn’t be a problem, what I saw was people incorrectly picking up the rabbits which was causing them stress. The correct way to pick up a rabbit is to take one hand and place it under the chest of the rabbit (if the rabbit is small enough, you can actually wrap your hand around the chest and shoulders of the rabbit), then take your other hand and scoop up the back legs by sliding your hand down the rabbits back and under its tail. Lift the rabbit with both hands and place it in the your arms like a football with its head between your elbow and side. This way the rabbit is fully supported and in a position least likely to hurt its self if they should struggle. What I saw at the Nationals, was the rabbit being picked up by the scruff of skin on its back and shoulders, this was causing the rabbits to kick with their back legs. The back legs of a rabbit are the strongest part and therefore, the heaviest part of a rabbit. So when they are unsupported, they will place a lot of strain on the spine of the rabbit, add to this the natural struggling of a rabbit pick up like this, and you greatly increase the risk for broken backs and other injures. The other way the rabbits were being picked up was by a method called “loining”. This is where the rabbit is grabbed with one hand, from the top with the persons fingers and thumb just in front of the hips, squeezed tight, and pick them up without any other support for the rest of the rabbit. The problem with this is that it is easy to cause accidental, internal injuries, especially if its a pregnant doe. Also, the rabbit will struggle, which increases the injury factor. Thankfully, I did not see any rabbits that were injured or that were too worn out from the rough handling. I am glad that I was able to attend the Nationals as it was my first and it was really good to see all the colors of rabbits I had only read about.
My bunnies are doing well, with the exception that Duke is not interested in does for some reason. I will be looking into this and in the mean time will be using Nerf’s Snickers as my herd buck. Chester, my French Angora, got his second trim of the year, and as it was still cool at night, he got to wear pajamas till his wool grew a little longer. This is Chester in his pajamas.
I would like to thank Stephanie with Razzle Dazzle Rabbitry & Yarns LLC, for this great pajama tip. The reasoning behind this is simple; angora wool is 7 times warmer than sheep’s wool, so when you shear an angora, the temperature change could be enough to chill the rabbit and cause them to get sick. Rabbits in general, but especially Angoras, have delicate immune and respiratory systems, therefore, you have to take extra precautions for keeping them healthy. That’s why you use pajamas to help them stay warm after shearing. Note on shearing, Chester is a very busy bunny, so he does not have time for long sessions with a “hair stylist” brushing and combing all the loose wool from his coat. Instead, he would rather get sheared and be off chasing the cat, or playing with the dogs as soon as possible. Until next time, Happy Hopping!!
Laughing Lapins 