I think I'm calmed down enough now

to tell you about my morning.

I went out at 5:45 like I always do to feed in the barn.  The horses weren't in the barn like they usually are, but were standing outside the barn and did NOT want to come in.  When I coaxed Diggs in for breakfast with his hay, he would grab a bite and turn and wheel out of the stall.  Hap didn't want to come in at all and stayed outside on the far side of the fence leading up to the barn.  Hm.... very odd, but I attributed it to the windy morning and the noise of light rain against the tin roof of the barn.

So, I get them as settled as they will be and I turn to go feed the bunnies.  Oddly, I notice 2 of the hanging water bottles have been knocked off, but occasionally that does happen (usually only 1, but ...shrug....whatever...right?).  I get Pippin his banana treat and I notice there are large gobs of fur pulled out lying on the bottom of his hutch.  Hm..... again....... Then I go to feed Newman his banana, and as I hand that to him, I notice there is blood on the food cup in his hutch.  WTF?

Then I take a closer look at Newman, who is sitting kinda quietly by the door to his hutch (and I should note that all the hutch doors are closely and securely latched) and he's got something dark stuck to the thick fur around his neck ruff.  I reach in and pick him up and there is blood all over his front legs and under his belly.  So much so, that I can't really tell where its coming from.  I get him onto a towel and into the bunny travel case I've got.  I look into his hutch, because really - how the hell.....and there is something dark lurking in the hay that's fallen into the droppings pan beneath his hutch.

I tear into the house to get some heavy leather gloves - and D - who luckily was home and drinking his coffee.  I haul all the other bunnies out and into their travel cages.  Ostara has a little bit of blood on her paws, but no active bleeding that I can see. 

The thing in the cage moves again and I can see 2 beady eyes. At first, we thought it was a ferret, but it was a wild (or mostly wild - there was a domesticated mink farm near here a few years ago) mink.  We got two pieces of metal strips and duct taped them to the one opening the mink could get through in the 3-inch high space underneath the hutch, where the pan is.

I got the buns in the house, checked Pippin and Ostara over.  Pippin was fine - he apparently just lost some hair.  Ostara had 2 paws cut, but I cleaned those and sprayed Bactine on them.  D got them settled while I whisked Newman off to the exotic pet/animal ER.  They had to clip a lot of hair off just to figure out how badly he was hurt - and it was pretty bad.  He had one back toe that had the toenail chewed off and opened up pretty badly - that just got one suture to close it.  The front paws were a mess.  He has lost all his toes on both feet - the flesh is gone down to the bone, and the vet had to do a flap closure with sutures for all of those.

He's home now, though, and resting with pressure bandages on in a big dog crate in the garage (where all the bunnies are until I can completely firebomb the wire of the outdoor hutches).  He's got a minimum of 2 weeks (and more likely a month or 2) of injectable penicillin for an antibiotic and a big vial of pain medications.  He did drink some water and ate some Cheerios when we got home tho, which is a good sign.  The vet was frankly surprised at his condition.  Newman was a little shocky when I got him into the hospital, but once they got the worst of the bleeders shut down, he rebounded pretty well.  Heart and respiration sounds were good, only a little elevated when we left after 2 hours.

When I got home, Animal Control was here.  The officer kept saying "what the hell IS that?" as she was trying to get the mink into the animal cage.  She and D managed to safely get the mink out from the hutch dropping pan and into the animal cage.  It is going in to be put down this afternoon and then tested for rabies.  We should have results sometime on Monday, and hopefully this will be negative, since D and I would both have to get treated because of the amount of blood, and the bunnies would likely all have to be put down as well because I can't be sure they weren't all infected (obviously Newman and Ostara who got bitten, but I have no idea if the other 3 boys were exposed or not).

Here's the perpetrator:

Assuming no nasty cooties, Newman's still got a long recovery ahead.  His pressure bandages on his front feet come off tomorrow and we have daily wound cleanings to do.  I need to keep all the fur on his feet clipped as best I can, to keep it from laying over the suture lines.  He has a checkup in a week to be sure the vet doesn't need to clean off any dead tissue, and Newman gets lots of head scratches and "good boy!" praises for being such a brave little man.

All for now......

Comments

[Shawn Esterly]

My goodness, what a story. I'm glad it wasn't worse. I've never seen a mink before.
Shawn

[Rebecca]

Oh, how horrible! I hope that they don't find any rabies, and Newman's recovery is as easy and swift as possible.

[Carole]

Oh, Ann. I know how much you love your bunnies. I'm sorry this happened. I suggest the perp be made into a coat.

[Denise]

Nasty Nasty creature!! And what smart horses you have! boy. So glad it didn't come after you!
oooh!!!
Best Hugs!

[susan]

Oh my gawd, that's so frightening. Poor babies.

[Judy]

Damn it. I've always felt sort of badly when friends in the fur biz tell me that the only thing a mink is good for is its fur, that they are THE nastiest animals aboard. I see them occasionally running a the edge of the pond. The remind me of a small fisher. Apparently just as mean and dangerous. I am so sorry to hear all this. Poor buns, poor you. Take care. Lucky you found them when you did.

[Nicole]

I'm so sorry. Poor Newman, I hope he feels better soon. It's amazing how horses will let you know that something in the barn (or neighborhood) just isn't as it should be. My horses and llamas are great at sounding the alarm. Take care of all the critters...

[Nanette]

Oh no! I'm so sorry about sweet Newman! I'm so glad they gave him pain meds - I often have trouble convincing the vets here to give them to my bunnies. I will keep him (and all of you!)in my thoughts and send healing vibes.

[Rachel H]

Wow, what a hell of an ordeal. Glad Newman rebounded so well, and sending wishes for that to continue.

[Karen]

Wow, that is awful! I hope the tests come out ok and that your poor bunny heals fast.

[margene]

Please, please, please dear goddess make sure that mink is healthy (AND DEAD!) What a nightmare for you ALL. Horses are so smart. I feel for Newman and the other bunnies and for you, too.

[Stitch-n-Snitch]

Holy Cow!!!! Here's hoping for a speedy recovery. :)

[loribird]

I think you need a mink-fur hat. Or Newman does.

[vanessa]

omg anne, i don't even know what to say! how utterly awful!

[June]

Ohgghhh.... So sorry to hear about this!

[Norma]

Oh, Anne, how horrific. My uncle's friends used to raise minks in Quebec, and we used to go to the mink farm from time to time. We were always told that minks were vicious, vicious animals. And your poor little bunnies, locked in hutches and unable to get away (not that they could anyway), and the horses spooked, too. Poor, sweet guys. My heart is with you, Honey. You must have been shocked, too. I'm so sorry.

[Cathy]

OMG!! When you said you had a stressful day - you weren't kidding! OMG!! My heart will stay in my throat til the entire family gets the all-clear. Give Norman more treats from me, too.

[Chris]

When you first told me what happened, I held it together pretty good, but reading it, even knowing what was coming, just loosed the flood gates. Poor Newman, poor you! And the wait for the test result - well, we're all sending good thoughts for you. Hugs!!!

[Marcia]

Oh, Anne, I am SO sorry to hear this! What a horror...I'll say a prayer that everyone is okay, especially Newman (but not the damn mink!). I'm getting chills just thinking about this....

[AmyP]

Oh, no! You poor things :(
Give the buns a nice treat from me, wont you?

[minnie]

wow! i'm so sorry your little guys had to go through that. how the hell did it get in there in the first place?

explains the horses, though.

here's hoping all is well, and good recovery for everybody (including your nerves)

[Sara]

ugh, ugh ugh. Scary, and here's hope for no rabies. Poor bunnies.

[Leslie]

That's a BIG mink! We have them here but they are much smaller. I've lost a few chickens to them, but not any rabbits so far. Norman must be quite a healthy fellow!

[Miriam]

OMG! That bloody little mink! I hope Newman heals quickly and that there's not any rabies problem. It would be very sad to loose all your bunnies.

[Elizabeth]

Poor bunnies! Hoping for no rabies and a speedy recovery for all.