We left the sales barn with three buck rabbits.
I got a white Holland Lop buck with blue eyes. I'm not sure if he has nasty eyes or if he's just gotten pocked in the eye, so he's definitely staying in quarantine for now. The cage he came in had no door, so we're going to have to find him a nice place to stay while in quarantine.
When the filthy cage was put up for auction there was a single bidder; a guy who was buying up rabbits to feed to his reptiles. So I outbid him. From what I could see through the nasty cage, there was a white rabbit and a brown rabbit.
The brown rabbit was clearly matted to the skin. His entire back and sides are a series of solid mats, like plate armor. I can see the potential under the mats. This is a good rabbit, but he's desperately in need of a major grooming overhaul.
Then I turned my attention to the white Jersey wooly (technically he's a broken black). At first he didn't look so bad. Then I picked him up. This rabbit is solid matting underneath, and despite looking fluffy, the is all matted underneath. I can't even find his genitals through the mats, and he's skeleton thin under all those mats. This guy is going to need as much work as the brown guy, but he's going to need to eat more to fatten up too.
Because I didn't particularly want Jersey Wooly rabbits, the broken black buck will be available for a new home as soon as I can get him back into proper body condition and groomed properly. the brown buck will be staying so long as #3 can keep up with grooming him.
In checking the bunnies I also noticed the rusted cage is more beat up than it seemed. The bottom panel was unattached at one corner, leaving it tipped and making a big gap where the bunnies could get out. I wired the bottom back into place to keep the boys safely contained. When I went to take the dirty piece of plyboard out of the back corner, I realized it was covering up a big chunk of missing floor. Yeah, so that plywood is staying in and we'll work on repairing the cage tomorrow when I have daylight to work with.
Anyway, the new boys do not have names yet. If anyone has any tips or pointers for getting the Jersey wooly boys cleaned up, please share with us!