Bunny cant hold its ear up

Question
QUESTION: I recently got a male rex rabbit that is going on 6 weeks old. Yesterday his right ear started to "flop" over and he isn't able to hold it up or control where it moves. He is still eating/drinking normally and running around, but cant lift his ear. It looks like it might be swollen, but I'm not sure, and he lets me touch the ear without any problem. Is there any advice you can give me as to what might be the problem, if there is one? I can't find anything about this online, and I didn't think that a rex's ears were supposed to "flop" like a lops do?

ANSWER: Dear Kari,

You're right:  Rex rabbit ears, if the bunny is a purebred Rex, should not lop.  However, some breeders are just now developing (ugh) lop rabbits with rex fur, and it's possible that your little guy is one of those.

Lop babies start to drop their ears at about the age of 6-8 weeks, so the timing would be just about right.

Still, an ear infection or ear mites also can cause an ear to droop, and if you think the ear may be swollen.  You can read more about the safe (and not safe) treatment of ear mites here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html

If it's an ear infection, antibiotics will be necessary to solve the problem.  Since you're not sure, it would be wise for you to get him to a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

for a checkup to be sure he's okay, and to have him treated if there is a problem.

I hope this helps!

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The guy that I got my bunny from raises Rex rabbits for meat, but I just wanted mine as a pet and to save him. I did see both the mom and dad, and after talking with my boyfriend, I believe that the dad was a rex and the mom was a lop. But, his left ear still hasn't fallen over and its actually leaning more to the right side with the other ear. Do both ears usually drop at the same time, or are they different?

Answer
Dear Kari,

If only one of your bunny's parent's was a lop, then your bunny might be one of those very cute "unicorn" bunnies with only one ear up and one ear down.  :)  Sometimes both ears go sideways (the "helicopter" bunny).

The genes that control lopping of the ears are several, and unless both parents are lops, you can get plenty of lop variations that are sort of "in between" the full lop condition.

But they are all very cute.  And your bunny is very lucky to have been saved by you.

Good luck,

Dana