After our last guest post from VetDepot.com Katharine Sullivan sent us this great photo of her bunny Stu-Bob getting his medication. Very cute!! Feel free to share your photos with us on our Facebook page or you can send them to lorna@britishbunnies.co.uk.
A Rabbit Owner’s Guide to Administering Medication
Administering medication to a rabbit for the first time can be a stressful task for both parties involved. Rabbits are often sensitive in nature and might not be receptive to simply swallowing a pill or not putting up a struggle against eye drops. To make the process as easy as possible for both you and your furry companion, keep these few helpful tips in mind:
•Ask the Expert:
Your best source for any information relating to your rabbit’s medication or health is always your pet’s veterinarian. When a pet medication of any kind is prescribed, pay careful attention to your vet’s directions. If your rabbit is prescribed ear or eye drops, your vet will likely demonstrate the correct way to administer these drops. So, make sure to pay attention and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
•Get Set Up for Success:
Some rabbits may be most comfortable on the floor, while others may need to be placed on a table or counter top to avoid them simply hopping away. Rabbits that are especially squirmy might need to be wrapped in a towel or blanket to keep them still and comfortable. Also make sure you have all of your supplies (medication, treats, syringes, etc.) set up beforehand so that you’re not scrambling to unscrew a cap or load a syringe while trying to hold a wiggling bunny.
•Disguise Oral Medications as a Tasty Treat:
First try simply offering the tablet to your rabbit in your hand, believe it or not, some rabbits will take it! If not, try putting the tablet in a yummy treat like a piece of banana. Some tablets can be crushed using a pill crusher and mixed in with your rabbit’s favourite foods like apple sauce. Just make sure he consumes the entirety of whatever foods you choose to mix the medication with!
Not unlike medication in tablet form, the first step in administering liquid oral medication is offering it straight to your furry companion in a small dish. If that doesn’t work, mix the liquid in with some of your rabbit’s favourite foods. If neither of these methods prove to be effective, you might try putting the medication in a syringe and slowly squirting the liquid into your rabbit’s mouth behind his front teeth.
•Stick to a Routine:
Lastly, if the medication is one your rabbit will be on for an extended period of time, routine is extremely important. Your rabbit will be less likely to get stressed out if he’s settled into a usual series of events when it comes to administering medication.
Have you heard about this great competition run by BUAV? They are a leading UK animal protection organisation working to create a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals.
Today they are marking the first anniversary of their No Cruel Cosmetics campaign, to end the sale of new animal tested cosmetics and toiletries in the EU. Many people are unaware that despite UK and EU bans on animal testing for cosmetics, products can still be tested on animals outside Europe and then imported for sale. A
marketing ban which would end this cruelty is due to come into effect in 2013. However, it is now in danger of a delay, putting thousands more animals at risk.
To raise awareness they are launching a fantastic ‘Rabbits are Special’ competition to highlight their continued use in tests for cosmetics sold in the UK and EU. They are you to upload a picture of your rabbit to their flickr page with a description about why he or she is so special for a chance to win a No Cruel Cosmetics goody bag containing specially selected beauty products from BUAV certified companies.
So what are you waiting for, check out the competition details.
What a great little video from the RSPCA.
As you know, giving your rabbits lots of attention, toys, objects to play with and a suitable rabbit companion for company is good for their physical and emotional well being…and can be great fun for owners too!
Find lots of tips on keeping bunnies happy and busy visit: RSPCA and of course British Bunnies
Guy Fawkes night is here and there will be lots of pretty fireworks displays tonight. Don’t forget that your pets will not be joining you to ahhhh and oooohhh.
If you must keep your animals outside please try to sound proof an area of their home and give them extra bedding so they can burrow and hide. Consider adding blankets, an old duvet, or cardboard to allow your bunny to create a safe haven. Make sure they still have an area to see out of too. Distractions are useful too, try playing the radio and leaving lots of toys.
Fireworks will be confusing and frightening for your rabbit, please consider bringing them indoors for a couple of nights to reduce the risk of stress. If you do this you should keep them in a cool room so that when they go back outdoors they are not shocked by the outside temperature.
Prizes of Forum Meet Up Sept 2011
Thank you to everyone who took part in the British Bunnies Forum Meet Up and thank you to our lovely sponsors at Shelfridges and also Obi and Bailey. We had some great entries to our competitions and here are the following winners:
Forum Quiz – expertly won by Charlotte McLatchie
Funny Bunny Photo Competition – AliDuncan
Poetry – Franklyrabbit won this competition with the following poem:
MY RABBIT HAS A HABBIT
OF WIGGLING HIS NOSE
MY BUNNY
IS FUNNY
I LOVE HIM LOADS
MY BUN
IS A HUN
FROM HIS NOSE TO HIS TOES!
SO WHEREVER I GO, HE’S COMING AS WELL
‘COS WE ARE THE BEST OF BUDDIES … CAN’T YOU TELL
Well done everyone.
The final competition – the Forum Flag Hunt – is still going and has been found to be very difficult. So keep an eye on the forum and I’ll post clues on where to look for them. Good luck.
The next Forum Meet Up will run on 25th of September from 6.30 pm until 9 pm. Please join us, it’s free to take part. Make sure you have registered on the forum with plenty of time to spare, any new accounts will need to be activated by the forum administrator. www.britishbunnies.co.uk/forum
The following competitions will be run:
Sponsored by Shelfridges
Forum Quiz – with first and second prizes
Forum Flag Hunt
Sponsored by our very own forum members Obi and Bailey
Funny Bunny Photo Competition
Poetry
Tell Me More You Say??
The Quiz:
The Forum Quiz will take place between 6.45pm and 7.45pm.
As each question is posted points will be awarded to the fastest responders with the correct answer. First person to post the correct answer will receive 5 points, all other correct responses will receive 3 points. Each question will be posted in a new thread, when a new question has been posted we will accept no more answers to the previous question.
First Prize will be a selection of treats which includes Naturals Carrotys, Boredom Breakers Alfalfa Chips and a Naturals Carrot Woodroll.
Second Prize is a bag of Naturals Carrotys.
The Flag Hunt:
British Bunnies has hidden four flags in the forum, you can look for them now. A fifth one will be posted during the Forum Meet Up at 8 pm.
Each flag will be sitting next to one or two letters. When you have found the five flags you will have the right combination of letters to form the secret word. The first person to post the secret word on the British Bunnies forum will win Naturals Carrotys and Cloverleaf Cookies.
Funny Bunny Competition:
Just post a funny picture of your bunny(s) during the Meet Up, one entry per bunny. The prize for the funniest picture is a basket of Boredom Breakers Play Veg Carrots.
Poetry Competition:
This is just a bit of fun. Try to write a poem and post it on our forum during the Meet Up. It can be as short or as long as you wish. The extra challenge is you must make sure you use the word rabbit. The prize for the best poem wins Naturals Fun Balls and a Catwalk Cleaners Brush for cleaning your hutches.
It is beneficial to have a pet insurance plan in place because it is impossible to predict if your pet will become seriously ill or injured. People usually won’t go without health insurance for themselves, but they don’t value pet insurance as highly. This could be because people don’t know about the benefits of pet insurance and falsely believe it will be difficult to use. Some of the benefits can be seen below.
Dear British Bunnies
You may be aware that (as crazy as it sounds) the government are
currently consulting as to whether to LOWER standards that dictate the
welfare and levels of permitted suffering of animals in laboratories.
What you and your readers may not know is that each year approximately
10,138 rabbits are used in experiments, as well as millions of other
animals.
The number of animal experiments carried out in the UK rose by 3% last
year, according to government figures so it’s more vital than ever that
the standards currently in place are not lowered, it could result in
reduced inspections of laboratories, some animals suffering ‘severe’
pain and distress, and inhumane methods of killing.
The consultation is as a result of an EU directive aimed to regulate
animal experiments across the EU. Whilst the new laws will be an
improvement for some EU countries with little protection for lab
animals, for the UK this new Directive would significantly weaken the
standards we have worked hard to achieve.
We need to get 10,000 people to raise their voices to this consultation
urging the government not to dismantle current protections, we are
currently only on 2,000 so there’s a long way to go and the public only
has until the 5th September to have their say.
Here are some other supporting materials:
• Video: There is a video which explains the issue in simple terms.
[see embed code below]
• Ask: What we’re asking is that people visit:
http://www.giveanimalsavoice.org.uk/campaigns/lab-animals/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=rabbits&utm_campaign=research
and take part in the consultation. It only takes 5 minutes.
• Share: Then tell family and using the new sharing tool on the
website, or use the #LabAnimals hashtag
• Dr Maggy Jennings, head of the RSPCA’s research animals department,
said: “We urge the Government to respect public concern on this issue
and, at the very least, maintain the level of regulation that we
currently have. If they don’t, animal welfare, public confidence and
ultimately UK science will suffer”.
Thanks, Violet
RSPCA
It might have been quiet on this blog this month but it’s certainly been a busy time here at our home. Meet the new addition to our family Erin, born on the 8th of June.
She’s doing really well and settled in brilliantly.
As you can see Pepper is happy to sit with her quietly when she’s not at risk of a bump on the nose from a flying little hand. Dylan is just his usual self hiding behind the sofa during the day and visiting us in the evening. We’ve noticed that the bond between our two rabbits has strengthened as a result of the short period of less human contact, this is reassuring as they are content and unstressed. We’re looking forward to seeing how Erin and the rabbits interact in the future.