Rabbit 2 and 3 Flashcards
What age do rabbits reach sexual maturity?
16-20 weeks
- Does slightly earlier than bucks
- Small breeds (4-5 months)
- Large (5-6)
What type of ovulators and how many KITS per year?
- Induced ovulators - common to have phantom pregs = reflex
- 60 kits per year
- ovulate 10-13 hrs after coitus
Gestation length
30-33 days
Name of parturition
Kindling - lasts around 30 mins
How are young born
altricial and require maternal care (no hair, eyes and ears closed) Hares are more developed!
Type of uterus
Duplex uterus with left and right cervix with separate uterine horns
Kits feeding habits
- feed only once/twice daily for 3-5 minutes
- Rabbit milk has higher fat (9%), protein (13%) and calorie content than other mammalian milk
- Solid food 18-21 days as stomach pH starts to drop
How many times does a does water requirement go up dueing lactation
10 X during lactation!
Sexing rabbits
- Best to do at weaning (5-8 weeks)
- Keep checking
- males no nips
- HARD!
- Penis be extruded using gentle digital pressure from 2 months old
- male 2 hairless ‘pockets’ can be seen either side of urogenital area = scent glands
Testes
- Descend 10-14 weeks
- Large epidydimal fat pads
- Open inguinal canal meaning testes can easily be retracted into abdomen
Accessory sex glands
• Seminal vesicles, prostate, paired bulbourethral glands
What age can we castrate?
3 months
Positives to castration
- Entire males will often fight
- Can castrate each other with their teeth
- Castration reduces aggression, stops spraying so easier to litter train, no babies, allow to be housed with other rabbit either sex
Vagina
Large and saccular
Thin walled and flacid, can look like bladder!
Why neuter female rabbits
- Negate pseudo pregnancy
- Reduce risk of uterine cancer
- Reduced aggression of female rabbits
- Negates risk of uterine pyometra or carcinoma - uterus cancer which they can get from young age
- Reduce risk of mammary tumour
- Population control
When neutering what to think of
Uterus and ovarian pedicle are friable so require gentle tissue handling
Why is pseudopregnancy very possible
• Caused by infertile mating or presence of a male nearby (sometimes spontaneous ovulation) – may see changes in hormones and false-pregnancy like changes in behaviour
• One false pregnancy, often leads to more
- CL secretes progesterone, mammary glands enlarge, nest building
Integument - scent glands
3 sets, present in both sexes:
• Inguinal (either side of genitals
• Submental (under the chin)
• Anal
Rabbit Feet
- No footpads, just fur
- Can predispose to ulcerative conditions
- Ulcerative pododermatitis
- Generally exacerbated by hard cage surfaces and unhygienic conditions
- More common in overweight animals or those with thin coat (rex)
Rabbit skeleton
- very light and flexible
2. Indoor living makes prone to osteoporosis and fractures
What makes rabbits more prone to osteoporosis
- Indoor living
- Obesity
- not enough Vit D, therefore calcium uptake
- Low calcium diets
Vertebral formula
- C7, T12, L7, S4,Cd 16 (variable)
* Powerful epaxial and hindlimb muscles
How many digits?
• 5 digits on forelimb, 4 on hindlimb
At rest, how much hindlimb rests on the floor
• At rest entire plantar aspect of hindlimb from toes to hock rests on ground
Region most likely to break and why
Lumbar - kicking out
Rabbit skin is
REEEEAlly thin, if cut will get bigger often
2. they are furry ALLLL over, apart from nose, scrotum adn inhuinal area
What are the hair types?
3
- Long guard hairs
- Short guard hair
- Undercoat
Molt
twice yearly molt – spring/autumn
• Starts at head, travels down body
• They look rubbish during this time (can get depressed)
• Does develop large dewlaps
• which are normal, BUT can be much larger if rabbit is overweight
Rabbits and Ca
- absorb ALL dietary Ca and then excrete via kidney
- most mammals absorb enough to maintain serum Ca within range
- For rabs this means serum Ca concs much higher than other mammals and fluctuates
- Kidneys are unipapilate
Urine
- high pH 8-9
2. colour pale yellow to dark red
What deos urine look like of rabs with high Ca levels.
Excessive prolonged Ca intake can result in what?
- Thick and creamy
2. Urine stones
What diseases are the French, english dwarf adn mini lop prone to
• Dwarf and mini Prone to dental disease due to shortened jaw causing maleclusion and tear duct can be more convultued
• Ear problems
2. French and English
• Issues with ears (ear infections and abrasion)
• French boxy head - dental
• English quite prone to problems of heat loss due to hugeee ears
Lion head rabbit
- shortened skull
2. Stressed quite easily so not best with kids
Angora
- Wool type coat
- Bred for fibre
- Find it difficult to groom
- Extremely long and therefore easily matted undercoat
- Often dirty bottom as find it hard to eat caecotrophs
Rex
- 2-4 kg
* Short dense fur, areas in contact with ground can be easily abraided
Himilayan
- 1-2 kg
* Distinctive markings of while face and collar
Giant rabbit breeds, weight and issues
- Continental giants
- Flemish giant
- 11kg
- Prone to artheritis
- Issues with weight on hocks and foot pads
Belgian hare
- 3-4 kg
* Treat like rabbit, not hare
New Zealand rabbit
- NZ red
- NZ white
- V good pet rabbit, docile, very few problems, white can suffer with albeno eyes
Netherland dwarf
- 0.5 kg
- Wild so not best for children v quick
- Boxy head v probe to dental disease
What legislation are rabbits under
1. Animal Welfare act 2006 •5 freedoms/needs 2. Codes of practise for keeping rabbits • NI, Wales, Scotland, England 3. England - protected under welfare of farmed animals regulation (2007)
Routine health checks
- Myxomatosis YEARLY. Flies can act as vectors so EVEN indoor rabs can get it but more common
- RHD - Viral haemorrhagic disease caused by caliciviris: high mortality and sudden haemorrhage through nose.
- can affect both indoor or outdoor
Rabbit behaviour
- Social and gregarious species
- small family groups, don’t like newbies
- kept with companion NOT guinea pig as causes respiratory diseases
- Hide pain and injuries (wont make nosies) - prey species
- territorial so when cleaning try not to disturb scent marking
Why shouldn’t you keep rabbits and guinea pigs together?
- R can bully
rabbits can give guinea pigs - Bordatella bronciseptica bacteria which rabbits can have asymptomatically but v problematic to GP!
NAme of the main respiratory disease for rabbits
Pasturella
How much mroe Ca will pregnant, feeding young and growing rabs need?
calcium 0.6-1% MORE Ca which is required for optimal health
Rabbit diet:
- at least 80% hay or grass AD LIB!
mixture of timothy, fescue, cocksfoot and meadowgrass ideal - Alfalfa ONLY for growing or pregnant (high protein and Ca, low fibre)
- Supplement with edible wild leafy plants, carrots, spinach, rocket etc
- fruit ONLY as treat or training aid
- Cereal and concentrate mixes are bad
Why are cereal and concentrate mixes bad?
o High protein, high calorie o Selective feeding o Reduced caecotrophy o Boredom eat high calory, no more eating for rest of day o Dental disease o Obesity
Why are we moving away from museli with rabbits?
- hihgly selective feeders
- will choose grains and pulses over grass pellets
- problematic as no good for grinding teeth, high in calories, sometimes Ca balance not right
- reduced caecotrophy can result in dirty botty and vit an mineral imbalance
How to gain rabs trust:
- Any stress can reduce gut motility significantly
- Especially problematic in the vets! – cats and dogs about
- Take time, handle on floor, on a towel
- Let them come to you/feel “in charge” – sit on the floor, let them see you
- Do not touch nose, however stroking round cheeks and chin can mimic natural mutual grooming behaviour
- Don’t pick up if you can avoid it.
- Tip of nose sensitive
- Stroke cheeks and chin, natural grooming behaviour
- Food is good!
Handling advice
Ideally introduce from young
• Support hind limbs (if kick out can cause serious damage to spine), keep spine straight
• As little as possible!!!
• Never by the ears, avoid scruff
• Never use Tonic immobility in the place of anesthesia or sedation. They are fully aware, just in state where pretending to be dead. increases cortisol, resp and HR
Environment and housing
1. difficult to recreate as warrens are extensive Must have: - Sit up with ears erect - Stand up - Hop - Lie down fully stretched - Play - Eat and drink - Maintain hygiene - 10-20oC - prone to ehat stroke - Variety of levels and spaces o Chance to dig, stand on top of things, access to outside - Scent marking surfaces - Access to outside BIGGER IS BETTER
What do dirty environments predispose to
- Flystrike/myiasis which can quickly escalate to maggots
- Pododermatitis - bones in contact with ground and v little protection apart from hair
- Respiratory disease - poor ventilation, ammonia can cause pneumonia
