Rabbit paranoia again – are her back legs “weird”, or is it just me? (video)

[redbunbun]

This is starting to become an epidemic… whenever I get a new rabbit, I freak out about some (possibly imagined) health concern or another! Sorry for forcing you all to be on the receiving end of my bunny baby paranoia, BB – I just don’t want to call my vet until I’m sure something is actually wrong.

Sukka, our new French lop girl, moves very strangely compared to Tossu, our New Zealand Red male. I’m not sure if this is just due to her “lopness”, since I’ve really mostly dealt with straight-eared bunnies until now, or if there’s something strange going on with her back legs? I’ve been monitoring it since she arrived (last Sunday). She stands on her hind feet normally, cleans them, and they certainly feel strong when she kicks back with them (tested it…). And yet, her movement just looks off to me.

 VIDEO HERE

AND HERE

AND HERE

Am I being crazy? To me, her back legs look “weak” and “left behind” when she hops, and the position of them is very “outward-facing” compared to our Tossu’s “normal” gait. They also look very large in comparison to Tossu’s little bunny boots, but I feel like that may be due to her future large size. The floor is linoleum, but I’ve tested her gait on a mat as well, and it didn’t look all that different – just less sliding of the back feet, which is understandable. It’s not really the sliding that I’m worried about.

I finally posted this thread because a friend of mine (a chinchilla person, not a bunny person) came to see her today, and she pointed out (on her own, without me having said anything about it) that Sukka’s back legs look weird.

I think it’s official. I’m a crazy rabbit lady. Please, darling BB, set my mind at ease once again. If I’m (once again) worried about nothing… please enjoy the cute videos of the cute bunny!

[Tessie]

She looks fine to me! Fear not!

[marinabunny]

Her walk actually reminds me a lot of my bunny, I dont think there’s anything to worry about

[redbunbun]

That’s very relieving to hear, thank you, guys!

I wonder if it’s a breed thing, then? Her gait is decidedly different from Tossu’s, who keeps his hindquarters much more “underneath himself” as he moves, and his back legs don’t splay out nearly as much to the side, they’re more parallel to each other.

This video of Tossu is a few months old, but you can see his hop in it quite well. That hasn’t changed much, even though he’s grown quite a bit since then. His legs are much more… “with the movement”! This has really thrown me off. Well, I’m sure you guys are right, and it’s just the way Sukka moves. I suppose I’ll have to try and get used to it!

[Sindri]

My rabbits walk around like that when they are walking on a service that they are too comfortable on. So I agree with the others that your bunny is normal and of course very cute!

[JackRabbit]

The hop is a big butt lop thing, nothing to worry about. The feet pointing outward like that isn’t really splaying, it comes from the bunny having pinched hindquarters — not perfect for the breed, so like the vast majority of us here, you bunny is “pet quality” and not “show quality”! My Kieko is a sweet diva mutt bunny, Moshi is larger than the breed standard for holland lops and his beautiful ears are long and soft, and Marlee has pinched hindquarters — all three “pet quality” and and I wouldn’t change a thing about them!

[redbunbun]

Posted By JackRabbit on 7/24/2015 10:11 PM

The hop is a big butt lop thing, nothing to worry about. The feet pointing outward like that isn’t really splaying, it comes from the bunny having pinched hindquarters — not perfect for the breed, so like the vast majority of us here, you bunny is “pet quality” and not “show quality”! My Kieko is a sweet diva mutt bunny, Moshi is larger than the breed standard for holland lops and his beautiful ears are long and soft, and Marlee has pinched hindquarters — all three “pet quality” and and I wouldn’t change a thing about them!

Ah, I’d never heard of the term “pinched hindquarters” before. Googling it, it would seem you’re right! It is indeed an (apparently quite common) conformational defect. Sukka has, at the very least, “cowhocks”, and possibly pinched hindquarters as well. I wasn’t thinking of showing her anyway, so I’m not bothered by that not being an option; her coloration isn’t up to standard anyway and I haven’t even bothered Tossu by taking him to shows, even though he is show quality. I’m too lazy an owner with no interest in shows, and I don’t want to stress my rabbits by forcing them into such a scary environment.

I am, however, a bit worried if such a conformational defect will have any ramifications regarding her health in the long run, and if there’s anything I can do about that. I’ve mostly been able to find that pinched rabbits can have difficulties birthing, which won’t be an issue for Sukka since she is most definitely not going to be bred and will be spayed as soon as possible. In horses, at least, conformational defects of the feet often lead to issues later in life, though rabbits are considerably smaller and hardier animals.

[JackRabbit]

If memory serves, pinched hindquarters may result in an increased tendency for arthritis, but I think arthritis may be somewhat common in older buns anyway. I think Oxbow makes a joint health supplement. I’m planning on talking with our vet about that at some point (my bunnies are turning two soon)

[redbunbun]

Oh, wonderful – if you get some new info on the matter, it would be lovely if you could share that! It’s good to be prepared, and it would be nice to know if there’s anything I can do to lessen the chances of Sukka developing problems because of this.

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