Saigo's Rabbits

MapleTwinkie

Today Saigo was spending a LOT of time in the backyard. He had chased around a rabbit earlier so I thought that he was just waiting around to see if the rabbit would come back.



When I went over, I realized Saigo was licking a baby rabbit that had left the nest. The rabbit was cold and shivering.




I was actually surprised Saigo didn't eat them (gross as that sounds). It was neat seeing him take care of the baby rabbits. I moved the little guy back into the litter and covered them. Saigo won't be going into the backyard until they're gone. Is there anything I should worry about in terms of diseases etc? Should I take him to the vet? He's had all his shots and stuff.

Zinja

Ninja was like that when I found baby kittens. Akitas make such good parents.

shibamistress

Wow, that's cool!

My Akita found a nest and he ate them. He thought they were squeaky toys I think. He was clearly surprised when they stopped squeaking, and then he ate them.

They can get parasites from rabbits, but from eating them, mostly. Worms--tapeworms maybe? And around here (NM) they can get tularemia or bubonic plague from fleas, but neither is common, thankfully, and probably this is regional specific. (Just looked up tularemia, which apparently can show up anywhere in the US). But again, I don't think it's common, and when my dogs catch rabbits, I let them eat them (not that I could likely get them away from them if I wanted to).

kgima

Saigo is so sweet ! I just asked our vet about rabbits & coyotes since we have lots of them in the neighborhood. He said the dogs are more likely to get fleas from the rabbits than any types of diseases (at least here in San Diego...) But, if you're worried, you could probably call them and ask since wildlife could carry different diseases depending on location.

WrylyBrindle

Reilly found a nest in our yard once, so I had to learn a bit about rabbits. Mom only visits around dawn and dusk to nurse them, so if you can throw an expen or some barrier around the nest during the meat of the day, you guys can still enjoy the yard and not worry about Saigo helping his bunnies too much. (Though that's VERY sweet of him!) Remember to take it down around suppertime so mom can sneak in, nurse and get out. She doesnt spend time near the babies. Rabbits are very hard to raise yourself- mostly because they need to eat some of their mom's pellets (rabbits digest their food 2x- pellets are not quite poop, but they emerge from the same place and get eaten again, THEN become poop on the second pass.) to develop proper digestive capabilities. Few wildlife rehabilitators will take on rabbits, and even the ones I spoke with encourage you to keep them in their nest and make room/time for mom's visits. Handling them - while not encourgaed, just because it is disturbing to them- will not cause the mother to reject them, so its ok to just tuck them back in the nest should any be taken out to play by their big red pal! It wont be very long before they are open-eyed and out and about, so enjoy watching out your window to see mom visit them!

jeffnkazuko

Good job Saigo! Yume would have at least killed them and maybe eaten them. SHe goes nuts whenever she sees or even smells a rabbit. Kazuko had a great time the other day when Yume took off after a couple deer in the park.

MapleTwinkie

@jeffnkazuko WOW, little Yume chased deer?! Saigo only goes after things smaller than him, lol. Squirrels, rabbits and birds. There are tons of rabbits in our area and he chases them all around the neighbourhood. That's why I was so suprised he didn't eat the babies.

rikumom

@MapleTwinkie,
Mei is jealous Saigo has his own rabbit farm!