help!! babies dying!!

[jil101ca]

I've lost 2 since yesterday and one more is notexpected to make it through the day.. they are all from the orphanedlitter whose mom died on Dec 31 when they were just coming up to 4weeks. the litter is now 5 1/2 weeks. I don't know why mom died, shedidn't show any signs of being sick.I just came back from the vet andhe said that the baby boy has enteritis. he said that thebaby can't tolerate his food, has a bacteria buildup and will die asthere is nothing he(the vet) can do as his GI system had shutdown.I though this was something the babies got when theyfirst started eating? I seem to be running few weeks behindwith baby health trouble. Some from the same litter also have eyeinfections, but only the boys. The girls seem fine but are also in adifferent cage.they are also bigger than the boys.I have 2litters, 5 1/2 weeks and 7 1/2 weeks, seperated into boys and girls.the older boys are also ok. Could these problems be from the mom dyingbefore she was done teaching all of them? thanks for any input thatmight save this little boy.He is my hubby's favorite.

 

[aurora369]

Get some pedialyte or similar electrolyte drinkfor rehydrating children. Syringe feed the little one as muchas you can get into him, the runny poo will dehydrate him quickly sokeeping him hydrated is very important.

Did the mother have any runny poos or odd symptons when shedied? She could have been a carrier or died of enteritisherself.

As far as I know there is no medicine that can be given, just keep thebaby hydrated and feed a slurry of mashed up pellets to keep nutrientsup.

I hope someone else with more knowlede steps up with some helpful information.

But enteritis is very typical at this age, and many babies die from it. I've never had it, but have heard of it.

--Dawn

 

[Pipp]

here's an article from the Resource Center:

Recommended Articles:

Enteritis Complexes: Coccidiosis, Mucoid Enteropathy, andEnterotoxemia (Pamela Alley) - describes the different intestinalailments that commonly cause diarrheain rabbits.
http://www.showbunny.com/gastrointestinal.htm


sas ray:

 

[jil101ca]

Very informative post, thanks for that. I havebeen checking him every hour and giving allthe babies newbotttles with warm water in them (it's very cold out right now, -18 c).He seems to be a little more lively tonight and is drinking on his ownand having a little nibble of hay. The hay i'm feeding right now isfrom a different source than i normally buy from, doesn't seem to bethe same quality. My regular farmer was away on holidays. Could that bemy problem? it's not musty or moldy just not as nice as i normaly get.Hopefully tommorrow will have happy news.

 

[aurora369]

Even though he is drinking water on his own, ifhis poos have been even slightly mushy or runny I would start givinghim some pedialyte as soon as possible. You can find it atmost pharmacies or some grocery stores.

The electrolytes in the pedialyte will really help him to regain whathe lost with runny poos. It can make a difference betweenlife and death by keeping him properly hydrated.

Eating hay is a good sign. As long as the hay has not gonebad, then it should be fine. What difference in quality areyou noticing? It may just be a different cut of hay, as thehay will be different depending on what time of year they cut it.

I hope he picks up and gets better, poor little guy.

--Dawn

 

[jodi]

any updats on how the little one is doing? I hope he will be ok.

 

[JAK Rabbitry]

I belive Doc's Rabbit Enhancer is supposed to''cut loses from entrii....however it's spelled, I skip over words alot''. ITs a pelleted supplement, so like somebody else mentioned, youcan crush it up and syringe feed it in moosh form. I find a hand heldcoffee grinder works just dandy. You can also buy a powderedelectrolyte on this website (along with Doc's) that may help out.

www.klubertanz.com

 

[jil101ca]

Smokey passed away during the night despite allmy attempts, he put up a good fight and we thought he would make itthrough this. that makes 3 from this litter. This morning 2 more fromthe same litter are having the same troubles.A boy and a girl.I'msyrynge (sp?) feeding them electrolytes and a mush and every waterbottle has elctrolytes in it on recommendation from a vet.Thevet said the problem is from the mom dying and the babies nothaving access to cecal droppings as thebabies are over theusual age for this problem and there is nothing he can do except letnature take it's course. I thought they would be ok without mom as theywere all eating real food at the time without any problems.Is there notsomethingI can give them for the diarea like peptobismo orsomething? I'm afraid that I'm going to loose the wholelitterand that would be devastatiing.I can't affordto take them all to the vet whom i'm starting to think may be not verywell informed on the rabbit.should I remove the pellets and only feedhay??the sick ones aren't eating the pellets only hay.The vet alsoseems to think this is not contagious

 

[aurora369]

Do any of your other rabbits leavececals? If you could find some cecals from a healthy bunnyand feed it to the babies, that would help.

I'm sorry the little one didn't make it, but it's a hard battle once they start showing symptoms.

I'm not sure if there is any medication you can give the other babies, but perhaps some of the breeders could suggest something.

--Dawn

 

[jil101ca]

I've been looking for cecals from the others butcan't seem to find any.I don't know if the others are eating them orthey are getting lost under the cages.So far the rest of sick babiesseem to be holding their own. Touch wood.