back legs look weak !

Question
hi , I have a 4 and a half week old bunny , he is a blue magpie harlequin . I got him about a week ago and his back legs look a little bit weak  . when he walks I can notice that he struggles abit moving his hind legs but at the same time , I also notice that when he stands his back legs go like a cats legs when he stands up and when he lays down in his bed he lays with his legs sped out behind him sometimes. its hard to explain , but he hasn't had any diarrhea and he eats fine and drinks fine . im just curious to see why his back legs are like that.  and a little worried !

Answer
Dear Bri,

Your bunny may have weak connective tissue in his hip joints.  But also, if he is walking on slick floors (e.g., tile, linoleum, hardwood), this will exacerbate the condition and possibly make it permanent.  Some rabbits are born with weak joints like this, and require bracing as babies so that they can develop muscle strength and grow straight bones until they can walk well on their own.  You can find instructions for this here:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/splayleg.html

Most importantly, get him onto a surface with good traction, such as cotton bathmats with traction backing.  That alone will help.  But if the legs continue to splay out, consider the bracing in the article above to avoid a lifelong problem.

If your baby is 4.5 weeks old, he is too young to be weaned.  So also be very vigilant for any signs of runny stool, very common in babies taken from their mothers earlier than 8 weeks of age.  For more information on this, please see:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

I hope this helps.

Dana