Rabbit trouble... I think she is sick.

[PineBurrowPeeps]

It's okay. Just move onward and upward by learning how to care for them properly, how many rabbits do you have right now?

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Alfalfa hay is OK if the doe is nursing a litter OR you are feeding just weaned kits.
Other than that it's too rich and cause the rabbit to become overweight which goes hand in hand with reproduction problems in doe rabbits, but you said your doe is thin so I suspect something else is going on here.

Check her all over, ears, skin, mouth. Put her on her back (she'll struggle) and pull back her lips and look at her teeth, make sure they aren't overgrown. This could cause her pain when she eats, making her thin.

After she lost the other litter, did she spring back to normal or has she been slowly going downhill health wise? I'm trying to figure out if the problem was the last litter or this one.

 

[warmfuzzies]

Quote:
No, this is a different doe. I have two. I would NEVER intentionally deprive a kindling doe of a nest box. I had no idea she could be pregnent, and we had not bred her yet, because we did not have the cages set up properly for breeding. And, they did not freeze to death. It was warm that day. After I saw my second does kits, I realized that they were not full term. i am sure the stress of the auction, and moving, did not help that doe.

The ones that froze to death were in a nest, in a VERY protected spot, in an enclosed cage, with a heavy carpet over the top. I did not bring them in, because I thought that would be to traumatic for the mother, and she would abandon them.

I do need to read more, but do not think I am taking up this venture lightly. I always read several books about anything I start to do, but I do know you can always learn more. Which is why I post on here.

 

[warmfuzzies]

OK. I will go look at her. She seemed fine after the last litter, and they were doing GREAT. They were very fat and growing well. She has seemed great up untill the last day or two.

She has lost weight since the last litter, but has seemed fine as far as appetite, activity level, alertness, etc.

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

yes alfalfa hay is the best and rabbits will live on corn even with the alfalfa hay
I think your rabbit has a cold and may die
you do need to get rabbit pellets soon but if you have whole corn feed it to the rabbit with the alfalfa hay

The doe will not get better by its self
I raised many many rabbits and fed pellets
but this rabbit has something else wrong with her
call a vet and see if he can examine her
the discharge seems serious to me
go to
http://www.goole.com
enter rabit with discharge and see what comes up

from
rabbit vet, female rabbits, dutch rabbit: Dear Suzy, Unspayed, unbred female rabbits have a very high risk of uterine cancer and pyometra ...
en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/2008/4/Dutch-Rabbit-female-discharge.htm - -

Answer
,

Unspayed, unbred female rabbits have a very high risk of uterine cancer and pyometra (infection of the uterus). Spaying a female rabbit while she's still relatively young (as your bunny is) is very important to prevent these potentially life-threatening disorders.

If there is a smell, this suggests infection. I would certainly try to get her to a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

for examination, diagnosis and treatment.

If you have no choice but the rural vet, then please ask her if she can spay a rabbit, even if she has to consult with other vets online to learn the best methods for this, as well as safe anesthesia (usually isoflurane or sevoflurane).

Another possibility is a urinary tract problem:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/urinary.html

or possibly a GI tract problem, as she has mushy poop. But this is usually secondary to another health problem. Please also see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

I hope this helps get you started.

Dana

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Glenda, I agree with what you have said except for the alfalfa part and the corn is a no-no for buns for feed...

The thing is we are talking about farm rabbits here. Not pet rabbits (I don't think anyway). I have a pet holland lop bunny who lives inside and is nuetered. I also have an angora rabbit for fiber and breeding who lives inside currently but will be going out soon he is not going to be nuetered because I plan to breed him.
Most people raising rabbits for meat or farm animals are not going to spay and nueter them when the point is to make more of them. Nor take them to the vet. The cost of vet services far outweighs the worth of the rabbit as a livestock animal on a farm.
Most of us will acknowlege when a rabbit is sick, try to remedy the situation ourselves and if all else fails the rabbit passes away or we put it down to end it's suffering.

 

[warmfuzzies]

Thank you very much PineBurrow. You have exactly described the situation.

I was afraid to say, "no way this rabbit is seeing a vet"... I thought I would be accused of animal abuse or something.

I think, after watching her, that probably it was a case of abortion caused by a sudden food change. She does not have a runny nose or wheezieness. I will check her teeth later when DH gets home to help me, but the fact that it has coincided perfectly with the food change, leads me to believe that is it.

BUT I will be getting REAL rabbit food right away, and I will make sure she is still able to make a good nest, just in case.

Thank you so much! I really am learning a lot from you.

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Anytime. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions. Everyone has to start out somewhere.

 

[chinbunny1]

Jelly like, clear stool is usually a sign of muciod enteritis. Its easily treated with biosol, or neomyacin if its caught right away. You mix both medications 1 teaspoon per gallon of water, and add it right to the rabbits water. Surringe feed it every half hour till the illness clears up if you have to. You can also pick up dri tail at just about any pet shop or meijers, and give it to her every half hour till it clears up. Also give her some clean straw to eat. it will help clear up the diarrhea. I would not wait around to treat her either. cause this stuff will kill the rabbit within a matter of hours. Get her on medication ASAP.

Since you are raising rabbits, I suggest you get a current copy of the guidebook to raising better rabbits and cavies. It has a great medical section, and will help you out a lot with a sick rabbit. Its something that no rabbit breeder should go without. You can get it for free by joining the ARBA. Or you can purchase it off their website. www.arba.net

You need to keep your rabbits on the pellets. Going without for one day is fine. 2 days is not so good. Letting them go like that will take the condition off the rabbit. And yes there is a good chance it will get sick.

As far as the information that was provided to you from the HRS (Rabbit.org), do not trust anything that is from that website. It is often incorrect and biased. They are a rabbit rights organization. Especially the part about feeding them, as a lot of rabbits can get very sick from being fed that. They do not need a timothy based pellet. In fact, many rabbits, including pet ones cannot handle eating timothy pellets. I am not sure how big this rabbit is, but I know I feed my five pound standard chins, Florida whites, and Thriantas all 1 cup of pellets per day. What was recommended is not correct. feeding very little pellets like that will do more harm to the rabbit then good. You need to feed it a good quality pellet, that is high in fiber, and what it will clean up in one day. Also make sure the feed is low in protein. When you buy feed, make sure you buy enough so that you don't run out.

What type of hay are you feeding? If its alfalfa, then might be your problem. Feeding too much alfalfa will cause enteritis problems. Alfalfa is a great hay to feed as long as its done properly. It should be fed once a day, or once every other day in small amounts (a handful). Sometimes it is best to substitute timothy hay for the alfalfa as it is better for them.

And as far as losing the litter goes, it happens. All rabbits will lose litters now and then. So there is no reason for people to yell at, or lecture you over it. Rabbits are a prey species. You can breed the doe again after its lost the litter. I bring my litters inside at night, and take them out to the does in the morning. Even then, I still lose babies. Sometimes you can do what you can, and you will still lose them. Heck Ive lost two litters, and had three live ones this year. The first was due to an inexperienced Mom. The other was from a proven doe that I bred and raised myself. She decided to lay on them in the nest box after she gave birth. Both were rebred right away. The young doe had a successful litter of seven this morning, and the other is due in a couple of weeks.

Also bringing the next box to the doe during the day will not cause her to abandon them. You'll find she'll be very 'angry' when she sees her babies brought to her, and will jump right in and feed them.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Don't know if it's been mentioned, but corn is an absolute no no for rabbits! So be sure you are feeding non corn based feed. Put electrolytes in her water and watch her. Also make sure she is at a comfortable temperature (don't rabbits prefer a temperature around 50-60 degrees?) I'm not a rabbit person, so I'm not sure what to tell you, but good luck! Hope she pulls through!