Can Rabbit break their ears?

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This topic has 4sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 5 months ago by LBJ10.

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- 09/07/2022 at 8:01 AM
  GrayDustie
  Participant
  9 posts
  I’m currently fostering 4 baby bunnies (and their mamma bunny) they are 2 months old and brothers, today I saw that one of them has a floppy ear, they are not Lops, and was wondering if their ears could break? He doesn’t seem to be able to keep it up and it flops around when he walks, other than that he seems fine, still eating and playing, they are still nursing and sometimes kick each other in order to nurse, could he have damaged it that way?
- 09/07/2022 at 9:47 AM
  Bam
  Moderator
  17025 posts
  They cant exactly break their ears, but they can hurt the muscles that keep them upright. I had a bun that got a droopy ear after a fight with another bun. It took like a week for it to come up again. There was no visible damage to the ear.
- 09/07/2022 at 4:02 PM
  Wick & Fable
  Moderator
  5831 posts
  Agreed with @Bam — “breaking” their ears is not really something we see with rabbits as opposed to them injuring their ears, resulting in a change in its shape/composition.
  
  I’ve seen droopy ears associated with malnutrition, and it can occur if there is an ear infection in the “lopped” ear.
  
  I will mention that, unless you 100% know the father, it could be normal lopping of ears– at the rescue I volunteer for, we’ve definitely fostered litters with mixes of ear upright/flops across the babies due to natural genetics.
  
  The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
  - 09/07/2022 at 5:50 PM
    GrayDustie
    Participant
    9 posts
    Is there anything I can do to help him heal? The dad bun isn’t a Lop, neither is the mom, I have also seen the ears in Lop bunnies and his looks just flopped. My mom also informed me that apparently he was in a weird position while feeding and after he finished is when we noticed the flopped ear, it was also red at the base but no other type o damage can be seen.
- 09/07/2022 at 6:16 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17213 posts
  The cartilage that supports their ears can be damaged too. Nerve damage or inflammation that puts pressure on the nerves can also cause an ear to droop. But… I think the most likely scenario here is a little lop got mixed into the bloodline. This causes a “helicopter” look, where the ear doesn’t completely flop over.
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