Hey Rabbit-Keepers, What is This? **UPDATE**NOW WHAT?**

[texasgal]

Good pics of sexing a rabbit ..

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/sexing.shtml

Really, at that age, shouldn't be hard.

 

[txchickie]

You hug him, squeeze him, and never let him go!!!


Or you send him to Texas to me

 

[chickenlover95]

That would be a righnlander. I don't know if I spelled that right! LOL

 

[RabbitMage]

Rhinelanders are fairly uncommon and have a different body shape and fur type. The color is the same, though, but I doubt the OP has a Rhinelander.

 

[chinbunny1]

Its a mutt. Probably an escaped pet. Ask your neighbors if they are missing a rabbit. Rabbits are smart little suckers. They can figure out how to let themselves out of a cage. A lot of them are capable of opening cage doors, and escaping.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

To me, the photo makes it look like it has normal fur, coloring/pattern of a Rhinelander cull, body shape of an arched breed/ possible meat breed mix (mutt). I'd say it's definitely a pet/meat rabbit. Perhaps something someone got from a pet store or a breeder as a cull (poor example of it's breed). I'm leaning towards pet mutt.

That's my guess. It's cute.

Since you don't know what it's been eating, it's safe to give it water in a heavy ceramic crock or other bowl it can't tip over, and a piece of toast, or Cheerios, or uncooked old-fashioned rolled oats (best choice), and timothy/oat/orchard grass hay if you have it, and one baby carrot or piece of raw sweet potato just to get him eating without upsetting his system. Go to the store for pellets later if you can't find his owner. A feed store is more likely to have high quality rabbit pellets. Pet store rabbit food is junk.

A lot of pet rabbit owners or first time rabbit owners dont' house their rabbits properly and they get loose and dig out of their yard. He may not be a dumped rabbit. I'd canvas the neighborhood and ask around to find out who has rabbits. You may get a lead that way. Domestic rabbits are unlikely to travel far from home before they are found by human or predator.

If you can't find the owner that way, you can usually make a report with your local shelter. If the owner looks there, they'll be able to find you via the shelter. Posting signs up around the neighborhood might help as well.

If you decide you've done all you can to find the owner and can't, you could keep it I suppose. The best book for rabbits is Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits by Bob Bennett. Alternatively, you could join the American Rabbit Breeders Association (you don't have to breed your rabbit to be a member) and you'll receive Domestic Rabbit magazine and the ARBA official handbook Raising Better Rabbits and Cavies (guinea pigs) for FREE. The magazine alone is worth the membership fee.

Good luck.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Quote:
WHAT?!? Sounds like they need to employee some new people! Rabbits are VERY easy to sex.

If it is an intact male, when you flip it over, you will see the "sacks" just under the tale-they won't have any hari on them. If not, it is either female or a nuetered male.

To sex, use thumb and index finger, one on top, one on the bottom of the "hole". If, when pressed, it opens into a slit, it's female, if it has a protrusion, it's male. At that age and size, that rabbit should be EXTREMELY easy to sex.

I agree. My son could possitively ID a 6 week male or female when he was 6 years old. Haha

I'll clarify that both males and female will have something protrude when you place your thumb behind their anus and your forefinger just above their "pee area" and PRESS while slightly moving your thumb and forefinger apart. Most people don't press hard enough. You won't hurt the rabbit. If there is a slit or line on the protrusion - its a female, if you see a dot or no line - it's a male.

Males over 3 - 6 months will have visible, hairless scrotum.

On another note, that is not a Mini-Rex or any kind of Rex by any means. Btw, how much does it weigh?

 

[mekasmom]

Quote:
Oh my goodness! And they call themselves animal specialists?
Does have a v-shaped vent with a slit while males have a little pop up button with a hole in it. Just open the vent and see what the inner parts look like. You can tell from about 2-3 weeks of age on once you learn to see the difference. Male almost always pop up which can help you too, while females have a vent.

 

[SproutGirl]

So here's the update: we found the rabbit's owner. They live down the street from us. They told us that he gets out through the cat door. That sounded strange, so we suggested closing the cat door or watching the rabbit when he's out. They shrugged. Well, a couple of days later, we saw the rabbit in our yard again playing with our cat at about 11 at night. It was pretty cute until the neighbor's German Shepard came over to investigate the rabbit. So, we caught the rabbit again, and returned him the next day. We suggested that if they wouldn't close the cat door or watch the rabbit, that they might put chicken wire over the areas in the fence where he gets out of their yard, but their response was that there are too many places where he gets out to bother doing that. They don't have that big of a yard. We live in a suburban-type neighborhood--this isn't exactly the country. There's a construction site down the street, and cars speed through our neighborhood all the time. It doesn't seem like the owners care at all. And now, he's back! We saw him running down the street again last night. I just want to take him to the Humane Society. What do you all think of that? Should I just ignore him and let him become road kill?

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Okay, this would be me.

ARGH! I would once again return their rabbit and give them fair warning that if you find it roaming again, because they refuse to give it a proper enclosure, that you will take it to the shelter and they'll have to pay the fine to get it returned. If they just shrug that off, then you can mention to them that rabbit is considered one of the healthiest meats one can eat and is delicious gourmet food. *slurp*

Or you could take a slightly nicer approach and tell them that Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits by Bob Bennett is the best book out there for the serious rabbit owner and it's only $15. It even has plans and ideas for proper rabbit enclosures.

Unfortunately, people like this are hard to teach. They think domestic rabbits should be kept "naturally" but don't get that they are NOT wild animals and don't get that they are top of the menu for just about every other animal in your neighborhood. Some people......