Rabbits fainting?

[flickerfarkle]

Yeah, I know this is a question better asked at back yard herds but there's a hiccup with my account over there and I don't have the time or the inclination to straighten it out so I'm asking here.

Can rabbits faint? I tried picking up a 7 week-old silver fox doe (I bought for breeding meat rabbits) by grabbing her across the scruff of her neck and then scooping up her legs underneath her (as shown by Slightly Rednecked on YouTube). She squealed and kicked and then ... went limp.

I figured I'd been too rough (I was as gentle as I knew how to be) and had broken her neck. I laid her down and she lay motionless for a few seconds, then her ears started to twitch and I could tell her chest was rising and falling.

I don't know that she had ever stopped breathing. I didn't think to look until after she started moving but when I did think to, her belly was rising and falling.

A few more seconds and she sat up, then a few more and she looked normal, except she wasn't moving much. Now she's moved to one of the back corners of her cage and sitting there. I just fed them (I only feed once a day) and she usually makes a mad dash to the food but that was about 20 minutes ago but as far as I can tell she hasn't come out of that corner.

I know bucks can faint, fall-off an and all, but are does known to do it as well? I did a quick web search and found that rabbits can have seizures but that's not what this appeared to be. There was no twitching or convulsions, she went limp and I thought she was stone dead.

My second question is, if picking her up always causes so much commotion, how on earth can I breed her?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Does sound like she was so scared she fainted, which is from a rapid change in blood pressure. If a rabbit isn't used to handling that can be normal to be fearful of being picked up. It's like a predator grabbed it.

As far as breeding it depends why you are breeding her. For meat it shouldn't matter.

 

[cassie]

It is very possible your rabbit has a weak heart. That can happen in all species. If it were me, I wouldn't breed her, but I would eat her. There are too many good rabbits out there to fool around with those with health and temperament issues. They just aren't worth the trouble.

 

[flickerfarkle]

Thank you for the replies.

This morning she appeared absolutely normal and all her food from the night before was gone. When I fed her this evening, she acted like she was starving to death (= back to normal).

 

[cassie]

Just a comment. I am not saying your rabbit has heart issues. I have no way of knowing that for sure, but I have had animals that did. It was diagnosed at necropsy. Keep in mind you are unlikely to see any symptoms at all unless and until she is under stress. Animals can compensate a lot.