# rabbit kit missing a back foot!



## magic

ok so my holland lop just gave birth to five little kits today! she made a beautiful nest and then ended up having them on the cage floor soo i quickly found them and warmed them under a heat lamp and placed them in the nest. I just went to check on them again and the first kit that i picked up i found had a missing back foot!!! i dont know if it got bitten off or if it was from being born on the wire or it could have been born that way. Anyway, does this kit have any chance at surviving? will it be able to walk if it does survive!?

sorry this is so long but please reply if u have ever had or heard of this happening!


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## canyontrailgoats

Ouch!  . Is it bleeding or swollen?


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## magic

here are some pics, i know they r not great.













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it seems to be alittle bloody which makes me think it was bitten or broken off. will it die from infection? i cant tell but it looks like the other foot my be alittle swollen.


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## ksalvagno

That doesn't look good but I don't know much about kits.


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## magic

should i put anything on it like antibiotic?


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## Talron

That looks like it was bitten off, it's trauma of some sort, that baby wasn't born like that. 
I dont have experience with rabbits but I do with other small animals.
With a animal that young if you want to try and save it I'd take it to the vet. I've dealt with amputations before but never on such a young animal.
You keep it clean and keep them on antibiotics and usually everything heals up on its own I've never even had to use stitches. Animals can get around fine missing a limb if you can save it.


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## magic

talron , ok thanks i will put so anitbiotic on tomorrow, i dont want to stress the doe out any more tonight. i hope he makes it but im not sure if i will be able to give him away with a missing leg.


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## Talron

Some people like the odd or disabled ones I'm one of those people actually I pick the underdogs. I wouldn't get to attached because his mom might take things into her own paws since he's so injured.  But if he does make it then I'm sure he could find a home.


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## magic

i would love to keep him too! but i have 4 rabbits right now and dont know if i can handle anymore  but if i have to i will keep him! i know not to get attached to any of them this early!


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## canyontrailgoats

You could look into bottle feeding, so the mom can't hurt him.


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## KW Farms

If it were mine, I personally would put it down. That's not a deformity, but an amputation. I'm sure it's in a lot of pain and with babies that tiny, it's going to be hard to do much to help it. It may heal just fine, but its quality of life may be hindered once it's grown and it could be a long road to recovery for this little one. The most humane thing for it may be to have it euthanized.


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## goathiker

As a child I had a three legged rabbit named Hippity Hop. He had the same problem...His mother raised him just fine and he was my pet for a while. When my father discovered that the family had no interest in eating Hippity Hop, he was turned loose at Ona State Park where my dad was a ranger. We saw him there for many years afterward and later started seeing his kits. (someone must have turned a doe loose as well)

Ona Beach State Park now has a stable population of feral rabbits...All descended from my three legged Hippity Hop.


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## Talron

KW Farms said:


> If it were mine, I personally would put it down. That's not a deformity, but an amputation. I'm sure it's in a lot of pain and with babies that tiny, it's going to be hard to do much to help it. It may heal just fine, but its quality of life may be hindered once it's grown and it could be a long road to recovery for this little one. The most humane thing for it may be to have it euthanized.


You would be surprised how fast small animals heal, honestly he'll be just fine without it if he makes it and I think every animal deserves a fighting chance.
My most recent dealings with amputation was with a rat who had half his tail amputated in a fight, I know people will think thats not as bad as a leg, but to a rat their tail is just as important. He healed in less than a month. Never went to the vet or anything. He was fine and happy and still is.

On another note did the baby make it?


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## magic

thank you for all the replies! all the kits are doing well today! they are fed and happy. the injured kit is doing good and seems to be healing fast, it now has a scab. i havent put any antibiotics on it but i will if it starts to look worse. im not going to put him down or take him to a vet. im just going to let nature happen and hope he survives. i have seen many pics and videos of rabbits missing feet so i think if he does make he can hace a happy life. i will keep everyone updated!


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## sweetgoats

I use to raise 100's of rabbits as a kid. When that happened normally they do not live because mom eats them. I am sure she bit it off. How many litters has she had? 

It seems like several of out rabbits had them on the wire with that beautiful nest they would make.


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## magic

sweetgoats this is her second litter, she didnt eat any kits last time but none were missing any limbs. im not sure she will eat him since she is not even interested in eatting the after birth like she should. when would she kill him if she is going to or is it different all the time?


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## canyontrailgoats

Rabbits usually eat their young within the first few days, if they're going to....stress is the main cause of cannibalism, a nervous and freaked out doe will eat her kits for some reason. So try to keep everything peaceful and calm around her pen.

Oh and lop rabbits are more likely to eat their young than other breeds, not sure why.


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## magic

canyontrailgoats thats interesting about lops! i keep all my rabbits inside and have her cage separated from the rest in a different room to keep her away from nosie and other pets.


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## DancingHoovesFarm

I think she bit it of by accident when cleaning them off. It's fairly common in rabbits (I heard of one that bit of her babies ear one time :/ ) . If the baby makes it it should be fine. I have had it happen before and they do fine. Just like a dog or cat with 3 legs. They will adapt.  


Sent from my iPhone using Goat Spot app.


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## dnchck

oh so sad..hope he makes it!!!


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## magic

dnchck, darakato thank you 

just and update on his other foot, it does have a cut on it but it looks alot better than yesterday and seems to also be healing quickly.


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## fredbschneider

From my experience in breeding rabbits cannibalism is most prominent if it's the doe's first litter. Or I've had cases where they didn't get separated from other rabbits in time and the other rabbits would eat them. My doe Thumper lived to be ten years old, and she was the runt who had half her ears eaten off, scars all over her face and body, and a massive hole in her head all the way down to the skull. They heal pretty quickly, and if the mom was going to bite anymore she probably would have by now.

My guess is that maybe the kit got its leg stuck in the wire and the mom bit it off to free it. Good luck!


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## Jessica84

I had a doe eat her kits back let as well. Out of all the litters there was only the one. I just figured she thought it was the umbilical cord by mistake. He made it to at least 2 months old when he went to live with his new family.


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## magic

jessica84 thats what i was thinking might have happened, thats great your boy made it to a happy home!

fredbschneider thats amazing about thumper! with her first litter the runt died after three days because it couldnt nurse, i found it in the morning and she had not eatten it. i think it all depends on the doe and if they are stressed which would make sense for a first time mother doe to be stressed! and i think you are right that she would have killed him by now.


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## magic

just checked on them and the injured kit is doing great! even fatter than two other kits which i tried to help nurse. of these two one of them is the runt and is so weak he could barely attach to a teat to nurse  i will try to help him again tonight but i have afeeling he wont make it.


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## canyontrailgoats

Take some milk, put it in an eye dropper and feed the runt until his belly is a little rounded. We did this with two of our kits and saved them.


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## magic

canyontrailgoats i work at a dairy goat farm so tonight i will bring home some milk and try to feed them. i just tried to have them nurse again but the runt not doing so well. the other small kit is sooo wrinkly and can nurse better than the runt but not great.


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## canyontrailgoats

Good luck, I hope they make it!


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## Talron

Glad he's doing okay I hope you can get the others to come around.


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## magic

i brought home a gallon of goat milk but when i got home the runt had already died  i am glad it didnt suffer long. the other small kit is so wrinkly. i fed it from the dropper but i cant tell if its belly got much bigger because of the wrinkles. it did pee twice so idk if thats good, but after drinking alittle it kinda just fell asleep. soo if it is still alive in the morning i shall feed him again.


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## canyontrailgoats

Sorry about the runt  . Peeing is a good sign, hopefully the surviving one will be more energetic in the morning.


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## magic

so this morning, of the four kits, two were very small and wrinkly and two nice and fat. one of the small ones i managed to get nice and fat again so hopefully he will be good for the night. however the smaller one just about died in my hands while i was feeding it. poor thing


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## Talron

Mom might be overwhelmed or know something is wrong with them so not feeding them. :c
I'd keep up the hand feeding you might just have to take over for the ones she's not taking care of.


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## magic

two babies left and they are doing great! one of the surviving ones is the one missing a foot! he seems to be the fattest healthiest one, the scab on his stump is starting to come off as it heals.


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## canyontrailgoats

I'm glad they survived! The mutilated one is a fighter for sure...so how many kits were there originally?


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## Talron

Anyway you can ship Stumpy to me? xD I wish I could drive! So glad he's doing good.
They're both so adorable.


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## magic

canyontrailgoats he definitely is! there was five to start with and sadly only ended up with two, i am amazed that this one survived out of all of them!
talron, haha! you will have to fight me for him! i am really hoping to keep him! thanks, im glad they are doing good too


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## Naunnie

Oh! They are adorable! Great job Magic! Please take pictures often so we can see these little guys grow up.

When my Brother and I were little kids, we had a doe eat her young. We were devastated....well more like horrified! The man that gave her to us, had convinced us we could get rich raising Rabbits! When we called him, he told us she ate them because we had not provided her with a salt/mineral wheel. Well that just broke our hearts. We did something wrong! We never raised anymore Rabbits. I don't know if that's true but I have never forgotten it. The pet bunny my Grandson has now....has a mineral wheel. Anyone care to put this old womans heart to rest?


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## FarmerJen

Naunnie, I very much doubt that a mineral or salt block would have anything to do with it. I've not raised rabbits, but I used to raise hamsters, and have worked with a cat rescue for years. It's perfectly natural (and even adaptive) for animals to eat their young. Without humans to intervene, disabled or unhealthy babies WILL die. A 3 legged rabbit wouldn't stand much chance in the wild (goathikers rabbit was very lucky to live that long in the wild with not only a disability, but also having been domesticated). Animal moms know that unhealthy babies wont make it, so it's a waste of resources trying to keep them alive. Allowing them to live could attract unwanted predator attention. Allowing them to die and NOT eating them would definitely draw in predators, due to the odor of a carcass. 

Now, with human intervention, this is all different. I have a cat that was born with both of his front legs severely deformed. In the wild, he wouldn't stand a chance - he can't even use his front paws as defense, and he certainly couldn't outrun anything. However, since I've removed the risk of predators, he is now 11 years old and is the most personable cat you'd ever meet. I used to take him to events and parades and he LOVED it. I've known many 3 legged animals who are perfectly content and I know OF a few two legged animals (check out Faith the Dog online) that also lead happy lives. Even older amputees adapt... but especially when they're BORN with a deformity... they really dont know any different. 

Kudos to you magic for not giving up on this little guy.


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## J.O.Y. Farm

Naunnie said:


> Oh! They are adorable! Great job Magic! Please take pictures often so we can see these little guys grow up.
> 
> When my Brother and I were little kids, we had a doe eat her young. We were devastated....well more like horrified! The man that gave her to us, had convinced us we could get rich raising Rabbits! When we called him, he told us she ate them because we had not provided her with a salt/mineral wheel. Well that just broke our hearts. We did something wrong! We never raised anymore Rabbits. I don't know if that's true but I have never forgotten it. The pet bunny my Grandson has now....has a mineral wheel. Anyone care to put this old womans heart to rest?


I've bred rabbits on and off for a while... We've on and off had mineral/salt wheels in for them... Sometimes, the first time mommas will eat the kits.. We had one that did that... The second time we bred her she had four kits that she took great care of  or if they are really scared or feel threatened then sometimes they eat them then too.. 
I've raised plenty of them without a mineral wheel...


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## Naunnie

Thanks Jen. We have had several occasions to teach the children about "survival of the fittest" here in the boonies. Not all wild rescues need to be rescued. We adopted a dog that lost a front leg several years back. She was an adult and adjusted just fine. My DD is bottle raising 2 kittens right now. The Vet suspects he has congenital mega-colon He is doing great! Pretty sure Mom abandoned him on the neighbors front lawn because of his "uniqueness". 

Skyla, Thank you too! Best I can remember, that Doe was a first and only one time momma! We have had several pet rabbits thru the years and don't ever remember one eating up the wheels! We must have been providing all their needs with the treats!:wink:

Please forgive me Magic. I did not mean to high-jack your post. It just brought up a memory.


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## magic

wow thank you for all the posts! 
naunni, i dont give my rabbits any salt wheels either, it wasnt your fault she ate them. sorry i havent updated in awhile but both kits are doing great! the scab on the three legged ones stump just came off yesterday so the skin is alittle sensitive. i believe it is starting to grow fur over it ( hopfully it becomes completly covered by fur). their eyes are open and they are 17 days old today


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## Naunnie

You made my day Magic! Thank you for the updates and sweet pictures. :dance:


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## HappyCaliGoats

Aw! I love stumpy! So glad he's doing well! Thanx for the updated pix! Keep 'em coming! 


Newbie to Nubian dairy goats! 2 nubian does, 1 Nubian buck, 1 Pygmy doe, 1 Pygmy/ Nigerian wether, and 1 alpine/ guernsey wether! Plus the rest of the farm pets which would take the whole page to list  

Sent from my iPad using Goat Forum


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## Sylvie

Very cute bunnies!



Naunnie said:


> When my Brother and I were little kids, we had a doe eat her young. We were devastated....well more like horrified! The man that gave her to us, had convinced us we could get rich raising Rabbits! When we called him, he told us she ate them because we had not provided her with a salt/mineral wheel. Well that just broke our hearts. We did something wrong! We never raised anymore Rabbits. I don't know if that's true but I have never forgotten it. The pet bunny my Grandson has now....has a mineral wheel. Anyone care to put this old womans heart to rest?


I was told by a wise old rabbit breeder  to break up some raw bacon for the doe after she gave birth, and she would eat that instead of her kittens.


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## AintGotNoCreekRanch

Updated pics PLEASE


❤Chelbi in Southern Texas❤


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## magic

it has been awhile since i posted on here, but here are a couple updated pics of Maverick! his stump is healing good, it doesnt look infected or anything. i keep him in a large guinea pig cage with a fleece bottom as to not harm his stump. the only thing i help him with is cleaning his ears! lol!


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## DappledBoers

He is so cute.. And very lucky to have you! Sounds like he's got a great life


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## ksalvagno

He is too cute! That is great he is doing so well.


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## AintGotNoCreekRanch

Yay he's do cute!


❤Chelbi in Southern Texas❤


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## J.O.Y. Farm

What an adorable little guy! Glad he's doing so well!


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## BoulderOaks

Glad to see he's fat and healthy! 

A couple years ago, I had a Wooly baby whose mother bit off a rear leg at the exact same spot. I didn't put anything on the wound and left him with his littermates. Mom did just fine feeding and caring for them and I named the kit Tripod. The only problem he had was that he couldn't be kept in a wire bottom cage because the stump would catch in the holes. He currently lives in a pet home and I get frequent updates. He's a fat little dude, but he can jump and run just as fast as her 4-legged rabbits.


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## magic

thanks everyone  ! sundewfarms, thats exactly what happened to mine! he is very fast and is probably the most friendly and calm of all my rabbits! im so happy i kept him so that i know he will get good care  here are some pics if his little stump


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## canyontrailgoats

Wow, he got big! A missing leg didn't slow HIM down


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## BoulderOaks

Stumpy little tripod bunnies just know they're special


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## CritterCarnival

Very cute little guy! So glad he is doing so well, he is obviously a well loved little bunn-bunn.


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