Sore Hocks:

Sore hocks are something that is very common, but can be very dangerous when let go. Almost all rabbits will get sore hocks, once in their life time, their are many prevention for sore hocks and a few treatments for it. Lets talk about sore hocks.
Sore hocks, sounds painful, but all it really is, is calloused feet on a rabbit. Or some flesh showing on the feet, sometimes it bleeds from time to time. My rabbits have gotten sore hocks, but it has never got merely bare to where it bleeds or shows skin. I do not have a picture to show you what sore hocks look like myself, so here's from Google.com:


Above is what sore hocks start as, this is just like calloused feet, the rabbit just lost a little fur on his feet, this is not too bad. Here you may want to consider using a wood floor in the rabbit cage instead of a wire floor, this will take off a lot of pressure, I promise. This is not a DQ at a rabbit show.


Now, this is more serious, here you want to talk to your Vet. or take more prevention to keep this from getting worse. When sore hocks look like this, you can get a DQ at a rabbit show.

Ways To prevent sore hocks:

-> prevention and treatment are the same for sore hocks.

-> Use wood floors instead of wire floors

-> use a rest bored ( can be found a pet supply stores ) Or old cutting bored to let the rabbits have the option to sit on.

-> Use chapstick or lip balm or lotion on the feet every 2 days to keep them from getting worse. 

* people have found many creative ways to prevent sore hocks talk to your Vet. *

Rabbit Fact #80:

Have you happened to look at your rabbits waste? Have you saw it on the ground, pan or bottom of hutch? You have probably noticed red urine in your rabbits waste. Red urine is not too serious unless it is bloody. Red urine just happens naturally from time to time due to incomplete breakdown of food. I have noticed that when I feed hay or something else with the pellets it is not as bad. But, if the red urine is a bright vibrant red, you may want to contact the vet.

Weaning kits:

Weather you have raises your own successful litter or not, you know baby rabbits need to be weaned. Just like a calf has to be weaned or a human infant has to be weaned, a baby rabbit must be weaned. Baby rabbits can be weaned from 4 to 8 weeks old, the factors of when you should wean your rabbits is: how old they are, how much they weight, and how many rabbits there are in the cage. We usually wean our rabbits when they are 5 1/2 to 6 weeks depending on these factors. When you wean your rabbits it is a good idea to sex them ( discussed earlier), and tattoo them ( discussed as well). Then you should fill out the rabbits pedigree if he has one that way, they can be ready to sell without any rushes.
when you wean the babies you want to wean one at a time, from biggest sized bunny to the smallest one, that way the runt of the litter has a chance of getting bigger. Then you want to place the bunnies in a grow out pen together, contact with siblings is more important than contact with the mother. Bunnies that do not have contact with rabbits like their siblings tend to have trouble breeding and growing. If their are no siblings in the litter you may want to place him in a grow out pen with other rabbits his size and age or with a guini pig.

Rabbit Fact# 79:

The largest breed of rabbit is the Flemish Giant, this beast has a minimum weight limit of 13 lbs. These rabbits are raised at Calico Creek Rabbitry, and are dearly loved. These rabbits are very lovable.

To the left is Encore one of our very own rabbits. There are seven colors of this breed, Blue, Black, Fawn, Sandy, Light- Gray, Steel Gray, and White.

Ways to get involved:

Thinking about helping young show rabbits? Thinking about showing rabbits yourself? Just wanting to learn about rabbits? There are many ways to get involved in the rabbit world. You can join the A.R.B.A you can be any age to be a member of this organization. This organization is the largest of its kind. Dedicated to making the shoe rabbit the best it can be. We are not in the A.B.A but plan to be in the future, you do not have to be a member to go to a regular show.  Below is a link to get you to their website:
https://www.arba.net/
Her you can find your way to get your information. Another way to to join 4-H or become a 4-H leader, you have to be a certain to be a 4-H member for Greene county Pa. The age is 8 to 18, this age varies by county and state. 4-H is strongly encouraged by me, as I have had many memorable experiences,  this gives the youth to make choices and learn new things. Here is a link to the 4-H website as you can find what you need to know:
http://www.4-h.org/

Rabbit Fact #78:

The smallest breed of rabbit is the Netherland Dwarf that only weights about 2 lbs. There is like 27 different groups/ varieties of this guy. And is liked very much as pet for youth breeders and is widely popular.

Rabbit Fact # 77:

A rabbits fur is called a pelt.

Rabbit Fact # 76:

Most doe rabbits have 8 nipples to nurse 8 kits. So many breeders breed two does on the same day so they have babies on the same day, that way if one doe has 4 kits and the other doe has10 you can put 2 kits from the other doe to the first one. I do this most of the time just in case something happens. Although we have never successfully fostered a baby kit our self, it is best to let nature take its course. Some breeders have had a doe have 14 kits and nurse them all. Have you ever fostered a kit?

Rabbit fact: #75:

A doe rabbit can have from 1 to 24 kits in one litter.