My Flemish giant died in front of me. A few questions:

[iHop]

Hello all, I'm new here.

Our 18-month-old giant Flemish passed yesterday. He was calm and happy as could be, grazing in the back yard. Suddenly he became disoriented, began violently kicking, gave a good grunt, then fell on his side with agonal breathing. After about 5 gasps, he died. I was just stunned. Any ideas? I hope we didn't do anything wrong...

 

[Popsicles]

I’m so sorry to hear that it must have been so distressing for you it could have been a seizure due to any number of underlying issues, it’s difficult to say. If it was a hot day it’s possible he had very severe heat stroke?
Again, I’m so sorry

 

[iHop]

Thanks. It was a warm day, but no warmer than the past two months. He wasn't lethargic either. My impression was he had a heart attack or his gut twisted. He was so big that perhaps it was difficult for me to think of him as delicate

 

[Popsicles]

The things you’ve described really sound like a seizure, which could have been anything from a tumour to poison to genetic epilepsy. I understand that, we assume nothing will ever happen to our babies! I’m so sorry for you I can’t imagine how you must have felt seeing that <3

 

[iHop]

Is there a good list of poisons I could access?

 

[doodlebugger]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I live in Kentucky. We have raised two Flemish Giants, and neither of them lived to be older than 4. At the age of two, we had one female who passed away from a thymoma. There are a couple of things that come to mind. The first would be whether you have any neighbors that have been spraying chemicals? We live across from a farm, and we cannot take our rabbits outdoors because they spray the fields with fertilizer and such. That can be carried over from the fields by the wind and get in our yard. Same if they are spraying yards for weeds, or anything. It could have been a heart attack brought on by a scare. There are far too many things that it *could* be. Without an autopsy, it would be impossible to know, and even then, you might not get an answer. I hear what you are saying about being difficult to think of him as delicate, but a rabbit is a rabbit and when they get sick, it can go downhill very quickly. Our vet told us that she was taking care of baby bunnies from her rescue, and that someone came around the corner, and it scared one of the babies so bad that it had an immediate heart attack and died instantly.

What kind of habitat did he live in? Was he only an outdoor bunny or do you keep him inside and take him out? Yesterday it looks like it was in the mid 80's there, so it's possible that was way too hot if he was only in the sun and there was no shade. If he was too dehydrated, or anything like that, it could have made him sick. It's just hard to tell with the limited details you have given. If you are going to continue to raise rabbits, then make sure you build your knowledge because they are more delicate than most people realize.

 

[iHop]

Thanks for the info. He was mostly an indoor bunny --- we'd let him outside to exercise every other day or so (big shaded grassy area under three trees). It was warm that day, but temperatures were comfortable in the shade. He was alert, lots of binkies, and enjoying the grass. He had the seizure when he was stretched out, relaxing next to the gate. I noticed nothing that could've spooked him. We're in a subdivision and heavily fenced in, so I'm not entirely sure to what extent our neighbors are using pesticides. We got him at 3 months old and the breeder raised him on pellets only and he refused hay of any kind in any form. (Unlike our mini lops who love hay, naturally.) Perhaps his diet was problematic? He ate pellets with a healthy mix of greens and veggies.

 

[doodlebugger]

Thanks for the info. He was mostly an indoor bunny --- we'd let him outside to exercise every other day or so (big shaded grassy area under three trees). It was warm that day, but temperatures were comfortable in the shade. He was alert, lots of binkies, and enjoying the grass. He had the seizure when he was stretched out, relaxing next to the gate. I noticed nothing that could've spooked him. We're in a subdivision and heavily fenced in, so I'm not entirely sure to what extent our neighbors are using pesticides. We got him at 3 months old and the breeder raised him on pellets only and he refused hay of any kind in any form. (Unlike our mini lops who love hay, naturally.) Perhaps his diet was problematic? He ate pellets with a healthy mix of greens and veggies.

I doubt it was his diet. Our first Flemish Giant didn't eat a lot of hay and only ate his pellets, small bits of banana with meds, and greens and he lived to be four. You will probably never know the answer as to why he passed. It could be genetic, it could have been something he came in contact with, or it could have been anything. Just try to have peace knowing you did your best by him until the end.

 

[iHop]

Thanks so much.

 

[Blue eyes]

You may want to contact the breeder to find out if they have experienced anything similar with their rabbits or any that they sold. I'm not familiar with breeding but I would think the breeder may be interested in a a necropsy to rule out any possible defects or health issues in their breeding lines.