HELP! baby bunnies keep dying!

[Chickin Out]

Hi. Experienced bunny person here. This is a heartbreaking situation and I understand how you feel.
Bunnies are extremely delicate, especially the baby ones, and they can be fine one minute and then hours later dead.
This sounds to me like either respiratory distress or gastrointestinal problem.
Either one can kill babies quickly. They are both common in Rabbits.
can you tell me if their poop looks normal? Any diarrhea? Any mucus?
you did the right thing by providing heat. When they are sick like that they become hypothermic, and then you can't do anything to help them until they warm up because a hypothermic Rabbit cannot metabolize medicine. whether it is respiratory or gastrointestinal, you had better try to get your hands on some antibiotics as fast as you can.
Enrofloxacin, sold under the brand name baytril, trimethoprim sulfa are safe oral antibiotics. Penicillin is only safe by subcutaneous injection. Given orally it is deadly. you also need a pain medicine called meloxicam.
Also tell me what their diet is. Is it identical to their Mother's?
how is the ventilation in their living quarters? Are they able to get a lot of fresh air? Sorry for so many questions, but it's hard to figure out what's wrong without them.

 

[FolkSonginC]

Hi. Experienced bunny person here. This is a heartbreaking situation and I understand how you feel.
Bunnies are extremely delicate, especially the baby ones, and they can be fine one minute and then hours later dead.
This sounds to me like either respiratory distress or gastrointestinal problem.
Either one can kill babies quickly. They are both common in Rabbits.
can you tell me if their poop looks normal? Any diarrhea? Any mucus?
you did the right thing by providing heat. When they are sick like that they become hypothermic, and then you can't do anything to help them until they warm up because a hypothermic Rabbit cannot metabolize medicine. whether it is respiratory or gastrointestinal, you had better try to get your hands on some antibiotics as fast as you can.
Enrofloxacin, sold under the brand name baytril, trimethoprim sulfa are safe oral antibiotics. Penicillin is only safe by subcutaneous injection. Given orally it is deadly. you also need a pain medicine called meloxicam.
Also tell me what their diet is. Is it identical to their Mother's?
how is the ventilation in their living quarters? Are they able to get a lot of fresh air? Sorry for so many questions, but it's hard to figure out what's wrong without them.

No problem, thank you for the help. I will have to check their poop in the morning as I just cleaned everything and went to bed, but when the first one died I noticed a clear mucus-y looking discharge from his butt. I didn't check the last two because I didn't think much of it. Are any of those medicines something I can buy/administer myself? If the others are sick I won't have access to a vet in time (I live on an island, long ferry trip) and if the others were any example they only have a couple hours from the onset of symptoms. But I'm going in to town tomorrow and I could pick something up. Their diet is pretty much identical to the mom, but I'm careful not to give them too many greens because I was worried about diarrhea. Ventilation is very good, they're in my living room and there's fresh air coming in through multiple screen doors almost 24/7.

The third one seemed to die in exactly the same way as the second: This time I noticed it was a little wobbly several hours before it got bad, and when it did get worse it was just as horrifying. He opened his mouth as wide as he could and screamed, it was gut wrenching and I'm glad I'm the only one who saw it. I told the rest of my family he was resting peacefully.

 

[Chickin Out]

Molly, I am going to private message you my phone number. That way you can text me and get an instant response. Or you can message me here but I can't respond as quickly probably.

 

[Chickin Out]

I know exactly what you are describing. That scream of pain/fear is heart-wrenching and something you can't forget. I rescued a group of rabbits several years ago and had to battle their health issues.
The mucus you described is usually indicative of bacterial overgrowth in the GI tract. It is difficult to treat yourself without a veterinarian, but I will do my best considering your situation.
If you have a feed store or a pet store that sells aquarium supplies, you can probably get over the counter antibiotics. Sometimes they are sold for medicating fish. You cannot use amoxicillin. So try the feed stores first.
For the pain medicine, you do need a prescription, especially to get it fast. see if you know someone who has a cat or dog who has had it prescribed and might have leftover medicine. It is meloxicam, sold under the brand name Metacam and various other names. It's also sold as Mobic.
time is of the essence so it is good that you are going in the morning. I am sorry to tell you this, but it is possible you will lose the entire litter. If you do, you should make sure not to let that doe get pregnant again.
in the meantime, the best you can do is make sure they have plenty of fresh clean water, fresh hay and the baby pellets accessible.
If you can, also get Oasis brand liquid guinea pig vitamins while you are in town. I recommend them. You have to give them separately from the antibiotics because they interact. But they are good for building up the mother.

 

[NatJ]

I am sorry to tell you this, but it is possible you will lose the entire litter. If you do, you should make sure not to let that doe get pregnant again.

Would that be something genetic, or a disease the doe carries?

 

[Chickin Out]

Would that be something genetic, or a disease the doe carries?

It could be either. Most likely, it's a bacterial infection. You might be able to clear it up with antibiotics, but it would take a while and in the meantime, would have to keep her from getting pregnant.
It could also be a genetic problem from inbreeding.

 

[AltonaAcres]

What colors were the kits? 'Charlies', broken colored rabbits with less than 10% coloring have GI issues. what color were both parents? A broken x a broken creates 25% Charlies.

 

[FolkSonginC]

What colors were the kits? 'Charlies', broken colored rabbits with less than 10% coloring have GI issues. what color were both parents? A broken x a broken creates 25% Charlies.

No charlies, mom is solid castor and dad is a broken tort. I had no idea that charlies had GI issues though

 

[AltonaAcres]

Neither did I until I had some major issues with one a couple of years ago. Good to know it wasn't that. Rabbit kits can have SIDS but it is usually brought on by acute injury or harm to the spinal cord or head. How are the others doing? Were they healthy and thriving until now? It could be that while nursing the mom stepped on them.