Runty rabbit?

[SarahoftheChick]

We've had our rabbits for a little over a year now. This is the first time I've had a runt. She seems to be ok, but I worry about the little gal. I am raising my rabbits for meat but if she makes it, I may just find a home for her. Does anyone have any experience with runts? What should I be watching out for? When will I know it's too late?





The runty one is below on this pic.


Runty is on the right. Oreo, their mother is on the bottom. She is a great mom.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Sometimes runty babies end up doing fine and actually grow up to be a similar size as their litter mates. Sometimes they are too small to compete with the other babies and die of malnutrition, but a lot of times they do just fine.

Sometimes you can have what are termed "peanut" babies and those never do well. From the pictures you posted, anatomically this baby seems fine (at least on the outside) and so as long as she/he drinks and eats she should be fine. If she makes it to adulthood (or slaughter age) I would imagine she would be fine to eat, maybe just smaller. I would probably not use her as a breeder though.

 

[Bunnylady]

There are a lot of possible reasons why a baby would not be growing as well as its siblings. It may have been somewhat nutrient deprived before birth, or it might have something developmentally wrong with it. While it's human nature to "root for the underdog," it is not a good idea to keep such an animal in a breeding program. Since you don't know what's wrong with it, you can't know if it might be something that could be passed on to offspring.

I've had a few "not-quite-rights" over the years. Most wind up solving the dilemma for me by dying at a very young age. I've had a few that managed to grow up, but that were still obviously not robust, "normal" animals. I feel like I can't in good conscience sell such animals, so I have given them away, hoping that the person that took them understood the uncertain nature of the health of the rabbit in question.