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apples and neuturing

22 10:39:31

Question
my 1 year old rabbit loves eating apples, i only give him a slice but i take the seeds out, i was wondering can he eat them with the peelings on as long as i slice them and get the seeds out. how often can he eat the apples and how much at a time can he have. i also have 3 netherland dwarfs, the oldest being 3 months old. how old do they have to be for me to get them fixed.? please let me know. thank you very much millie

Answer
Hi Millie,

yes it is good to take the seeds out, they can kill them.  If you are like me you just cut that whole little area of the apple slice out.

Apples are high in calories and sugar, which for rabbits, means you have to really limit how much you give them.  I would, and this is me, would not give them more than a 1/2 inch wide (at the fat end) slice per day.  These are treats for rabbits, they are not a meal or regular food.  Treats need to be very regulated. If not they can throw off the gut bacteria and cause gi stasis and/or gas pain, and you risk the rabbit getting obese.

I would not feed any of the young rabbits any fruit at all, and severely limit greens at this age.  Their gut bacteria at this early in their life is not set up to handle fruits and veggies, and it can cause them to have diarrhea and die.  I have had to answer many questions from people from cases like this.  

As far as getting your rabbits fixed, you mention they are dwarfs, so they should hit sexual maturity sometime between 3 1/2 months and 6 months old (general range).  It can happen earlier or be delayed longer but that is the general range.

I would suggest that you, at this point, separate these little guys into different cages that are at least 2-3 inches apart, if you will be keeping them in the same room.  I would also now never allow them to play together or be able to physically contact each other.  They are going to hit maturity at different times, and the one who hits it first will start mounting and exerting dominance over the two who haven't.  Pregnancies could also occur.  So split them up now and don't put them together until they are fixed.

Generally you will notice behavior changes that indicate sexual maturity.  For males you may get a glimpse of the testicles under the tail.  (They can pull them back in at will so you may not always see them.)  Males and females will start marking their territory by more pellets and urinating.  Males and females may spray you to makr you as 'theirs'.  Females may get more cage aggressive when putting your hands in their cages.

Generally you will notice the changes.  When you do see these signs, they have hit sexual maturity and you can then safely have them fixed by a GOOD RABBIT VET.  Not all vets are.  I would start here if you don't have one:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

and find a House Rabbit Society recommended vet in your area.

Write back anytime.  Lee