Okay.......Rabbit People.....health question

[KingsCalls]

My step-daughter is 9 yrs. old. She only handles the bunny while I'm with her and she was instructed on how to pick it up and how to hold it. She is always very gentle with it. I stopped letting anyone handle it as soon as I noticed it was acting funny. I bought some ear mite meds and have applied this to the bunnies ears. I am hoping this works as most people seem to think it might have ear mites and this is what is causing it to act this way. Thanks....

 

[hooligan]

I would take her to the vet if things do not improve within a few days but make sure the vet is knowledgable with rabbits or the wrong thing could be prescribed.

 

[Skyesrocket]

If it does turn out to be wry neck here is a very good link:
http://www.barbibrownsbunnies.com/ecuniculi.htm

I have a doe here with wry neck. She has been this way for a couple of years. She will never recover from it, but she is happy and friendly and gets lots of special treatment.

The squealing doesn't sound like wry neck though. That seems to indicate some kind of pain.
If you have been giving her lettuce or fresh grass or whatever for a treat, I would stop. Give her hay, rabbit pellets and water only.
Do her poops look normal? Is her bottom wet? It could be a stomach problem from treats.

 

[hooligan]

How old is the rabbit again?
If you can get Standlee hay pellets at your local Atwoods, those would be great bc they are nothing but pressed hay. My bunns LOVE them and you can get orchard grass and timothy. A 50# bag is about $12. They are in the horse section but my rabbits have no problem eating them, as they are larger than normal pellets.

 

[EllyMae]

Wry neck is exactly what I was thinking.

BTW, in response to commoncoop and farmerkitty regarding female cage aggression. I have to add that I have had many female rabbits that become cage aggressive by the time they reach sexual maturity. In fact, I own one such rabbit right now. She isn't always like that, just during her "time of the month", or should I call it her "MANY times of the month", lol. My bucks are always sweetie pies.

 

[hooligan]

Before Lucy was spayed she was a cage monster but a love bug when she was roaming the house.
Jack Jack is aggressive to my bf but LOVES me, he is now in need of a neuter

 

[Ugly Cowboy]

I had a rat once when I was a kid that was actin fine for a long time, then I went and looked in the cage one day and he was actually rollin around the cage, and he had been fine the day before. The vet said somethin was wrong with the fluid in his inner ears. Just a thought...

 

[gypsy2621]

Quote:
With the symptoms you have described it sounds like the rabbitis having a seizure.
rabbits generally only scream when scared or in pain.

I am only asking this as a means to get to the bottom of the issue at hand, and for the fact that I have 4 grandchildren, not to start an argument.

Could your daughter possibly have gone in with out your knowing it?
Picked the bunny up and it jumped from her hands and hit its head?

Head tilt( wry neck) and ear mites do not show in this manner, Wry neck will almost imediately start the head twistingthough slightly at first in an upward turn. yes it can cause seizures.
Generally caused by a parasite that gets into the spinal fluid or brain.

Ear mites will make an ear droop, near constant head shaking, constant scratching the ears.

Genetics can play a huge part in the problem at hand also. keep in mind Netherlands are bred back in whats called a line breeding, meaning their bred to parents and other siblings to maintain the small size.

Vetting a rabbit can be most expensive and if the vet has no clue how to treat a rabbit it can mean the death of a rabbit. Make sure your vet knows rabbits and their quirks.

 

[chickbea]

How is bunny doing now?

 

[KingsCalls]

The little rabbit died Tuesday. I had called our vet and she said to bring it in but, when I got home the bunny was dead. I talked to a lady that raises netherland dwarfs and she said, that young dwarfs get stressed very easy and they will act in different ways due to the stress. She stated that during a show, that people were poking at one of her dwarfs and making it jumpy. She had to watch it to make them stop. The rabbit died before the fair was over! She says they are easily over stressed and being that young, it was just too much for the bunny. I am talking to a breeder near me trying to obtain another. She has e-mailed me several times telling me the do's and don'ts of netherland dwarfs.

Thanks for all your replies about possible causes of it's symptoms....they were a big help.