My Bunny’s ear looks dislocated

[Bunny Foofoo]

When I went to give My Bunny Foofoo  his breakfast this morning I noticed one ear was down. Later I noticed that he actually can’t lift it any more. He was fine last night. I am worried. He doesn’t seem to be in any pain and will let me move it around. I am a new bunny owner and he is sort of a rescued bunny. I am trying to get his vet records as his first owner did take good care of him and had him neutered. I should mention I am his third owner.

[RabbitPam]

I would check it again and as soon as it’s morning you should call a vet. If the rescue has his records and a vet there, you could bring him with you to pick them up for the vet to see him. Ask them if this has happened to him before.

How old is he? Some bunnies do end up with one ear up and one down, but you need to be sure it’s not something wrong. Is his hearing giving him trouble? Can you see any color change or spots, white or black? What is his breed?

[Bunny Foofoo]

I didn’t get him from a rescue place. I adopted him because his owners, my neighbors, were taking bad care of him and he was basically living in my front yard. He had excaped from his hutch after biting the Dad. But he is a very gentle bunny. My neighbor was in the habit of picking the bunny up by his scruff. Anyhow, they didn’t care that he was living wild and after a month of feeding him on my front porch and worring about him getting hurt I went to my neighbors and asked if I could have him. They gave me his hutch and some food. They were not his original owners. They took over his care from a friend who could no longer keep him and she is the one who had him neutered. I am going to try to get my neighbors to get me in contact with the original owner so I can get a little more info on him. I have had him about 2 weeks now not counting when he was living in my yard and I had not seen his ear do this before. He does not seem as curious and playful as usual tonight.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

HUh….I really don’t think they can dislocate an ear-but one of my ‘up eared’ rabbits has one down and one up when she’s angry or sick or after her surgery-so for me, with her it’s an indicator that she’s not feeling well. Rabbit’s hide sickeness (as they are prey animals, sick animals get picked off by predators so they hide sickness) so when they give indicators that they are ill (runny eyes, runny nose, not eating, not moving around, not pooping, not eating, not drinking-any of these) they are VERY ill. I’d get your bun in as SOON as possible for just a checkup and make sure your bun isn’t ill.
{{VIBES}} and Welcome to the forum. Glad you rescued the bunny! Please keep us posted on how things go!!

[QueSará]

Hmm, bunnies’ ears can lop even up to a year old or so. How old is he?

[Bunny Foofoo]

Thanks for all the advice. This site is great for a new Bunny owner like me.
I don’t know his age. He’s definatly full grown. I’m thinking he’s not well because when I brought him in for play time tonight all he wanted to do was lie under the couch instead of going exploring, running and hopping. I’m definatly taking him to the vet first thing Monday morning.

Also if it’s just lopped. would he still have movement or would it just hang there?

[BinkyBunny]

The ear I am not sure about. I had a bunny that was a “lop or not” meaning she could put her ears up and down. And some bunnies, depending on age, and if they have a lop breed somewhere in their ancestry, can have sort of this up and down, or airplane ears. You should ask the previous owners if they have seen this happen before. But if a muscle in the ear was damaged, I could see where that might do this too. Did the other owners ever pick up the rabbit by it’s ears? (I know you said you saw by it’s scruff, but unfortunately some people do pick up bunnies by their ears too.

The thing that is really concerning me though is his behavior change. It may be related to the ear, but it may not be. I don’t know what his diet is, but what does he normally eat? Some foods can cause tummy upsets. Has he been eating and pooping? If not, or he refuses to eat tomorrow or is worse, looks lethargic then this can turn into an emergency. Once a rabbit stops eating and pooping, they can go downhill very fast (within 24 hours) so please keep us updated, but seek emergency vet care if he is not better.

[Bunny Foofoo]

I don’t know if he was picked up by his ears but judging by the other things i saw happen to him over there nothing would surprise me.  Although it’s been 2 weeks sinse they had contact with him so I doubt this is connected to there poor treatment.  His appatite is fine and he is pooping regular. As for his diet I usually purchase greens from the store and pick dandylions and/or blackberry from the yard. I wash both the store bought items and the harvested ones. I chop and mix them up for him. He gets unlimited timithy hay and bunny food. He also gets a piece of apple in the morning and at night when he comes in for about an hour i will let him find 2 raisins and a baby carrot. One thing that is courious about his diet is that he has been munching on the dead leaves from my camilia tree. I wasn’t sure if this was safe so I raked them out of his “yard”, the next day he ate a few live ones growing in his reach. That is the day before his ear did this. Do you think there could be a connection. I wish I could get him to a vet today and didn’t have to wait till monday.
Also I looked in his ear last night while he was in and it looked just as pink and healthy as his other one.

[Bunny Foofoo]

I have been trying to post a picture of him with his ear down but apparently it’s beyond my abilities

[jerseygirl]

Does he let you touch the suspect ear? Might be worth checking inside it with a good light. Is it bent at the base where the cartilage is thicker or completely down against the cheek like lop rabbits?

The camellia is non-toxic but I do not know if rabbits can safely eat much of it. I wouldn’t think it’s related to the ear- you’d see other digestive signs if he was upset by eating those. Maybe a bug has gotten into his ear or he’s gotten an insect bite. Is the ear warm to touch compared to the other?

[MooBunnay]

Hmm, I’m sorry to hear he isn’t feeling well. Hopefully the vet can help you. It is a very good sign that he is still eating and pooping as normal, so maybe it is just something normal and he is OK. Let us know how it goes tomorrow!

[Bunny Foofoo]

Thanks No the ear feels fine. It lays flat against his cheek. He will let me move it however I can’t put it in normal position. He appears to have no muscle control of it at all.

I’m glad I don’t have to move him away from the camelia tree, it’s such a nice spot for him.

[Bunny Foofoo]

Well now that I went out and watched him for a while he might have a bug in his ear.
He is scratching at it and shaking his head.

[RabbitPam]

Hi, It’s Monday morning where I am, so just want to wish you luck getting him in to see a vet. It sounds like he could be feeling unwell from something he’s eaten. Are you keeping him outside part or most of the time?
The foods you listed seems to be a lot of variety, and I worry about outdoor grasses and trees having pesticides or other things like bugs that are airborne. Depending on what the vet says, you could cut him back to basics for a while – hay, pellets, water and dark leafy greens only. The blackberries, apples, raisins and carrots are all sweets and will be fattening if on a daily basis.

BFooFoo, is this the neighbor that you saw about a month ago that you were thinking of approaching to give advice because of how they were (or not) caring for their bunny? Am I thinking of another member? You rescued this little guy either way, which is really good of you. I’m not sure you should bother with the first owner. The vet will see where he is as of today and take it from there.

[Barbie]

Hi. I’m sorry to hear about the problems your bun is having with his ear Let us know how things go with the vet! ((((healing vibes!)))

[RachelB]

Hope that things go well at the vet for you. If it is possible I would recommend moving your bunny inside for all or most of the day. There are a lot of things outside that are harmful for a bunny. Even though he will have less total room to run around at least he will be safe and healthy!! Is it possible for you to move him inside with you full time? My two guys live in my kitchen/dining room. They have run time in the morning and evenings for a few hours around the entire downstairs.

It will take a little bit of work to get him to be used to using a litterbox…. but shouldnt take too long (bunnies are really smart!!). But besides that bunnies are great pets to have inside. This way you can spend more time with him playing games and watching him.

Good luck at the vets!!
PS whats your bunnies name??

[Bunny Foofoo]

I am going to look at the options for making him an indoor bunny. Or at least how to set things up so he can spend nights inside. I think he would be easy to litter box train as he already has a pooping spot in his outdoor home and isn’t a bunny that just poops everywhere. As far as that goes the first time I brought him in for play time he dropped a few raisins but that was the only time. I am more worried about the urin. He wouldn’t be able to roam the house freely though as my Elderly Mother in law would let him outside.

 

Thank you everyone for all the support and consern it has meant allot to this new bunny owner.

[Bunny Foofoo]

Probably is,  I did get on this web site right away and start researching what was involved. Although I wasn’t going to give them advise they aren’t the type to take it, you know?  I just wanted to ask him for the bunny. The day before I finnally got the bunny away from there I had seen thie kids chasing the poor bunny around the yard and poking him with a stick.

I don’t let him eat any of the dandylions or blackberry leaves with out washing them thouroughly first. Also I don’t use pestcides. I did one year several years ago and noticed a significant reduction of birds nesting in the trees, also I have an indoor outdoor cat and I don’t want her  to  get poisoned either.

Thanks for the advice

[Bunny Foofoo]

Thanks every body for all the support

Well Bunny Foofoo went to the vet today and it turns out that the cartilage in his ear is broken. The vet said it had actually happened before I aquired my bun. When I asked why it had been normal looking all the time I had him and didn’t fall untill saturday. He said that the ear was swollen and the swelling kept the ear up. As soon as the swelling went away then his ear fell. He won’t get better but fortunatly he’s not in any pain. He’s just going to be lopsided for the rest of his life. The Dr. asked if I knew how so much stress got put on his ear? Gee I wonder???

I would like to add that the vet gave me an A+ for bunny care.

[Furface]

Well, he’s very cute. I’m glad he’s not in pain. Good for you, rescuing him. Welcome to the forum.

[jerseygirl]

It’s good he’s not experiencing any discomfort. I think you took FooFoo in at just the right time. Worse injuries and subsequent pain may have had him in much more dire straits. Least now he can have a safe and secure home. I can see him in your avatar, looking curious and cute!

[RabbitPam]

Oh, FooFoo, you saved him in the nick of time. As long as he’s not in pain it is kind of cute looking. I am just so dismayed about his treatment 0 kids with sticks! – that I’m glad you stepped in and took him.

Indoors at night is much better. I’m sure with time you’ll work out the best solution within the household for him. We are here to give you ideas as well as support, and some of the housing arrangements for bunnies here can get pretty creative.

[RachelB]

Im so happy that you were able to rescue bunny Foofoo!! Im sure that he will be very happy with you! If you can keep him inside that would probably be better for his health. Even if he cant roam your house all the time a small (4x4ft) cage during the day time with a few hours of play time out of the cage would be a much safer situation than being outside! Check out the cool cages that area described on here. Most people use x-pens (dog play pens) or NIC wire cubes to make their bunny cages.

Hope Bunny Foofoo is feeling better soon!!

[bunnytowne]

Poor bunny.   I wonder how long that ear had been swollen.  How many times he  must have been picked up my his ears.

OH I wish people would think.  How would they like to be picked up my their ears and neck.  

Glad to know he will have a good happy life with you

[MooBunnay]

That is great that you got your bunny to the vet so quickly and that the vet was able to help you out. I think you’d really enjoy having FooFoo as an indoor bun so let us know if there is any questions you have about how you could transition him. I’m glad his ear is not in any pain.

[shlbysmom]

i wish more people were like you u seen that poor bunny being abused and u done something about it ! im so happy there are people like you out n the world i just wish there wernt people like the ones u got him from but at least u stepped up and got the poor little guy and u r showing alot of repsonability in trying to learn and do right with him so i really hope you have a good life with him and u should definatly bring him inside WAY SAFER and they live longer to if there inside

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

GREAT News!! I mean-not about your bun being man-handled, but that you know, and found out and have a good vet!! And that he’s not in pain

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