# Rabbit can't move back legs?



## freedomfrom4 (Jul 27, 2009)

He was fine yesterday but today he can't move his back legs. He is walking on his front and dragging his back. I read about the other angora that fell and hurt herself, but this fella has been in a hutch and not fallen? I will probably put him down, but is he safe to eat? What are the likley chance this is a rabbit disaese? Do I need to do something to protect the rest of the rabbits? He is in a hutch that I was getting ready to pitch so I will probablly just toss it. It has built in boxes that the rabbits poo in and jump up on. They are hard to clean and gather lots of poo.

So do we eat him or not?
Do ya think it is something contagious? and if so what do I do for the rest of the rabbits.

It is sad cause it is my oldest sons pet but we did just get 6 babies from him. Not the same, but it does help. This poor kid all his pets die. His rooster, goat and rabbit.


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## Devoville (Mar 23, 2009)

To be honest I would keep him away from the other rabbits for sure. Sometimes unexplained paralysis is caused by E.C which is the disease that causes head tilt. A lot of times the symptoms are different depending on where the parasites have lodged in the rabbits body. Try some ivermectin and treat like its head tilt unless you know for sure its an injury Barbi Brown's Bunnies has a very good website with info on that


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## PulpFaction (Jul 23, 2009)

Like I just told the other poster, rabbits can break their own backs surprisingly easily. If it was very sudden and there are no other symptoms and the rabbit seems otherwise very healthy, I wouldn't hesitate to butcher him out for food if his injury shows no signs of improvement in the next few days. Is there any crackling at all when you pick him up?

If you do opt to treat him with ivermectin, however, it would not be safe to eat the meat if it proves to be a physical injury.


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## Devoville (Mar 23, 2009)

I'm sorry I thought he was a pet of the son's. I can't see offering the poor boy his pet for dinner unless he was expecting the rabbit to be dinner all along? I just feel bad for him losing his pets. BTW the description of the hutch sounds like it may have contributed to this.. if its EC. so might be good to get rid of it.


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## trinityoaks (Sep 17, 2008)

If it's a back injury, there's something you can do to find out whether or not it's broken, and to help it heal if it's not. I've done this, and it works. Thanks go to Danaus for telling me about this.

Get a plastic box or tub just bigger than the rabbit. Put some peat moss or other absorbent material in the bottom (to absorb urine), then a layer of hay (grass hay is ideal). Put the rabbit in the box and pack it with hay so that he can't move.

Make a mixture of half water, half milk (powdered, 2%, whatever you have is fine), and add about a Tbsp of brandy per pint. Put this in his water bottle in place of water, and place it and some food where he can reach them without moving. I found it best to bring the rabbit inside where I could keep an eye on him and also to make sure the milk doesn't spoil. Move him as little as possible during this time, and do not take him out of the box at all.

At the end of three days, you should see some improvement and increased mobility. It may take several more weeks before he's back up to full speed, but he should recover completely. If there's no sign of improvement after three days, his back is probably broken and he should be put down.

Sometimes rabbits can injure their backs just by getting too excited and running and jumping against the side of the cage. We think our buck got hurt trying to get to the doe in the next cage which, before the day of his injury, he couldn't see.


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