2 of my baby rabbits died suddenly

[Dublinperky]

I am sorry I haven't posted this sooner I have been really upset. 2 out of the nine my 9 kits have died. One died on Tuesday and the other on Thursday night. They both seemed to have the same symptoms. Through the day they seemed very tired and didn't hang with the rest of the babies. Then later on it would only lay on its side and seemed to weak to hold its head. If you tried to pick it up it wold get like little spazzums that looked like little seizures. The first one we tried to let him nurse with Nessa on his own to see if he wasn't getting enough milk. He wasn't even strong enough to nurse though. Then we tried to feed some KMR and goats milk mix that we have been feeding the cottontails. It didn't help and he died in my arms. The second on Thursday I noticed later on because I had not had the bunnies out to play in the house yet because I was at a thing for school. When I went to check on it it was almost died. Before I could even do anything he was dead in my moms arms. Today another one is acting the same way that the first one was (when it seemed tired and wouldn't hang with the others). I have been letting him nurse with Nessa right now since he still seems to be strong enough. I just don't know what could be happening or even what to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am also posting this same thread in the Rabbitry and Showroom section if that is a better place for it.

Aly!ray:

 

[Maureen Las]

Hi Aly ,
I am really sorry that you are losing the babies. I am glad that you are also posting in the rabbitry as I think this sometimes happens.
Were these babies any smaller than the other rabbits? ..do you think they nursed as much the first few days or were they sort of pushed out by the others?

 

[Dublinperky]

They were the two smallest I forgot to mention that. The first (I named her Roision) was the runt and the second (named Emmet) was almost the same size as the others but still a little smaller. The one that is sick now is the third smallest. Do you think that since it is such a large litter not all of them could get milk? When you could see their bellies as a baby all of them had the same size little ping pong ball belly.

Aly!

 

[Maureen Las]

I know that often in the rabbitry I read about "peanuts" which are the smallest ones.
it' is possible that they did not get enough milk or possibly they are just not strong enough (overall) to make it.
Whateve...r it is nothing wrong that you are doing.

 

[tonyshuman]

I'm so sorry you lost those two guys.

Peanuts look very different than normal babies in terms of how their heads look. It is possible that these two guys just didn't have the ability to thrive. The mom only has so much milk, and at such a young age, it's hard to determine what went wrong. Posting in the rabbitry might gain you some more input. A baby that young is very fragile and may die for no apparent reason.

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

Sorry for your loss. This is something that we see in wild rabbits all the time. Rabbits are about the most delicate of all mammals to hand feed....and for that matter just to survive. We had some problems earlier this year with losing cottontails to severe gut problems at about a week old. Same symptoms you noted. Seems to be a bacterial problem most likely clostridium...just as happens in stasis situations. We have had some success with using Metronidazole but in reality.....it just wasn't meant to be.

Something you did say raised my concerns.....you mentioned KMR and Goat's Milk in the same sentence as cottontails. KMR and Goat's Milk are inappropriate for rabbits. That idea comes from years ago when itwas thought cats and rabbits were similar (and some vetsstill think that way with medical treatments). We now know that it isn't the correct nutrition for a rabbit. It's OK to use short term to condition the gut to formula. But long term, it is nothing close to what mom's milk is and falls far short in nutritional values. Even the professional formulas we use in rehab can't match the nutrients in rabbit milk....we are getting closer but we aren't there yet. The formulas I feed are much higher in protein and fat and is fortified with proper components that KMR and Goat's Milk are lacking. We have several formulas we use with rabbits but this year it seems we are having more success with Pet Ag 33/40...aka Esbilac Puppy Powder. It has to be the powder and not the pre-mixed stuff. The powder is much higher in fat and protein and contains more fortified components.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Are the baby cottontails near Nessa and her babies? Are you washing your hands after touching the cottontails and then going to the babies? The baby cottontails might have something that have now been transfered to Nessa's babies.

Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly before handling different sets of babies/rabbits. Keep the cottontails far away from Nessa and her babies.

That's really all I can say, I don't know what they could have.

So sorry you're losing the babies. I hope someone comes along with an idea as to what it might be.

Emily

 

[Dublinperky]

ra7751 wrote:

Something you did say raised my concerns.....you mentioned KMR and Goat's Milk in the same sentence as cottontails. KMR and Goat's Milk are inappropriate for rabbits. That idea comes from years ago when itwas thought cats and rabbits were similar (and some vetsstill think that way with medical treatments). We now know that it isn't the correct nutrition for a rabbit. It's OK to use short term to condition the gut to formula. But long term, it is nothing close to what mom's milk is and falls far short in nutritional values. Even the professional formulas we use in rehab can't match the nutrients in rabbit milk....we are getting closer but we aren't there yet. The formulas I feed are much higher in protein and fat and is fortified with proper components that KMR and Goat's Milk are lacking. We have several formulas we use with rabbits but this year it seems we are having more success with Pet Ag 33/40...aka Esbilac Puppy Powder. It has to be the powder and not the pre-mixed stuff. The powder is much higher in fat and protein and contains more fortified components.

That is the mixture that the rehabber uses. I am trying to stick to one thing so it is really hard getting mixed information. I don't think it is good for the babies to be switching food all the time either.

As for touching the cottontails then the babies. First of all I don't touch the cottontail at all. And second of all even when I open the cage to check on them I scrub my hands. I am kind of a germiphobic when it comes to that stuff.

Aly!

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

angieluv wrote:

I know that often in the rabbitry I read about "peanuts" which are the smallest ones.
it' is possible that they did not get enough milk or possibly they are just not strong enough (overall) to make it.
Whateve...r it is nothing wrong that you are doing.

Just to clarify-

Peanuts are not just small, runty babies that fail to thrive and grow. They are actually kits that get a double-dwarfing gene. This is what gives them their small size, however, being double-dwarfed is fatal. No amount of supplemental feeding will support them as they are genetically programmed to die, basically.

Occasionally, they will live a bit longer than usual...sometimes up to two weeks. I know of one peanut that survived and is a year or two old now, but he has a lot of developmental issues. Generally speaking, they have a 99.9% fatality rate.

 

[Dublinperky]

They were not peanuts. Peanuts are usually deformed and wouldn't seem to be doing well before. Also I don't think that Californians have any dwarf genes to pass down.

Aly!

 

[Flashy]

How is the third one that concerned you doing?