# Will a rabbit eat its own foot?



## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

I found one of my Lionheads dead in his cage. I wasn't sure why he died, but when I took him out his foot had been eaten. The skin was all gone down to the bones and even some of the bones had been eaten. He was fine yesterday running around his cage and there was no blood. They're in hanging cages which are about 5 feet off the ground. Dogs can't get in there. I can't see how anything could have gotten to him. Would a rabbit eat his own foot? And if so, why?


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

This is really out there, but did he get it stuck somewhere, somehow? I know in the wild an animal will chew off a limb to get out of a trap :shrug:. I am sorry for the loss of your bunny.

Hmmm, could a predator have climbed up and managed to pull his little leg out? What about a flying predator? A cat can climb, too.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

I suspect rats. They can pull a foot ( or any part that fits through the wire) out and have a grand snack. 
Likely that was done AFTER the death though. I have seen poultry carcasses picked clean by rats, in short order.

Sorry about your bunny.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

In all my years of raising rabbits I have never experienced anything like it. No blood anywhere. No reason the rabbit should have died. He was fine yesterday. I didn't notice anything wrong with his foot yesterday, but then I didn't pull him out and inspect him. It was totally bizarre. I suspected a rat since we have some HUGE ones that live in the buildings out there, but I didn't know how the rat could hang upside down and eat it. Yuck. Sigh.  Poor bunny.


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

If there was no blood, then odds are it was eaten after he died, which is a little bit of comfort I hope


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## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

I'm in agreement with Shygal, and I also suspect rats. It's really quite amazing just how skinny they can make their bodies in order to squeeze into a cage, so it doesn't mean that a rat had to "hang upside down" in order to eat the foot. You have a rodent control problem.

Pat Lamar


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

Pat Lamar said:


> I'm in agreement with Shygal, and I also suspect rats. It's really quite amazing just how skinny they can make their bodies in order to squeeze into a cage, so it doesn't mean that a rat had to "hang upside down" in order to eat the foot. You have a rodent control problem.
> 
> Pat Lamar


Yeah I know we do. Can't keep cats around to kill the rats because the dogs "control" the cat population. We've had more car wiring destroyed by rats around here because they get up in the engines and eat the wiring and make nests on top of the engine.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Do you have open "j" feeders on the outside of your cages? Rats and mink can get inside those feeders and into the cage. A rat being inside the cage would be enough to give the poor rabbit a heart attack.

Sorry about your buck. Hope you get whatever did it.


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## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

That's right! I plumb forgot about the J-feeders! You can buy covers for the outside portion of the J-Feeders from the rabbit equipment companies. That should slow the rats down.

Pat Lamar


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## Cheribelle (Jul 23, 2007)

I have used a piece of wood 2X4 in top of the feeders, cut it to fit into the feeder and put it on top of your pellets. Had to do that to keep the babies from getting out! 
Really, you need to get some good rat poison out. 
Another one that will pull pieces of bunnies or chickens out through the wire is a racoon. Your dogs should be keeping those out tho, especially if they are "cat control"


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

I never thought about the feeder either. You may well be right. Better start making covers for those feeders. My son did shoot a very large rat that was creeping around out there. Don't know if it's what killed the bunny, but it was tearing open feed sacks too, so it needed to go. Thank you for the tip!


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