RexRabbit
Well-Known Member
This is Bobbie (Roberta) My friend Theorescued her and 14 other Rabbitsfrom a Rabbit Farm wherethey had been kept in an 18 inch square cage
The cages were stacked on top of each other and as Bobbie was on the bottom level all the wee and poo from above fell on her day and nightShe had no hay and in her cage with her were here 5 five day old kitsBobbie had severe Pasteurellosis causing both lower and upper respiratory tract infection and conjunctivitisShe also had symptoms of active ECHer feet were all ulcerated from the wire cage base and filthBasically Bobbie was dyingWhat we did not know at first was that she was also pregnant AGAIN
Bobbie managed to continue feeding her kits, whom I call 'The Boblets', but had to be started on Penicillin Injections, Fenbendazole, and Metacam to try to keep her alive and treat her Pasteurella and EC.
It soon became apparent that Bobbie was pregnant again and she was so weak she could not stand upShe would cough and splutter and gasp for air My Vet advised me to wean The Boblets from her, even though they were only 4 weeks old. They were eating well and I supplemented them with Goats Milk and probiotics. My Vet said Bobbie was too sick to have a C-Section and that she may well die giving Birth to her next litter My Vet said Bobbie's only chance of survival IF she got through the birthing was to immediately remove the newborns Me and my Vet discussed this at length as its such a major decision. In the end we agreed that Bobbie's life had to be put first so the newborns would be removed and I would attempt to hand rear them. We knew this was very unlikely to be successful but the alternatives were to leave them with Bobbie and lose them AND her or euthanise the newborns straight away We felt giving them a chance, albeit a small one, was the best option . Bobbie had 8 more kits. Three were stillbornI attempted to hand rear three and my friend Janice took two. Sadly we were not successfulI called the newborns 'The Bobleteenies' The one who lived the longest ( 7 days) I became very attatched to. I called him 'Cal' and my heart broke when he died
Some people told me I was a 'baby Rabbit killer' for taking the newborns from Bobbie. But I acted on Vets advice. Bobbie had no milk and was dying herself. She could not stand up, let alone feed a litter of kitsI got a lot of hate mail, it was horrible
Shortly after giving Birth Bobbie took a turn for the worseShe developed Penicillin induced enteritisFor several days we thought we would lose herBut thanks to all the treatment my Vet advised, which included Questran, High doses of Vitamin C, Sub-cutaneous fluids, analgesia, probiotics and syringe feeds Bobbie survived!!
She still had some nasal discharge from her infection so my Vet advised administering antibiotic drops into Bobbies nostrils. We could not risk systemic antibiotics again. I am thrilled to say that Bobbie's Respiratory Tract symptoms have now resolvedInfact she was well enough to have her first Myxomatosis Vaccination a couple of weeks ago. The Boblets (now called Little Bill, John-Boy, Bree, Peggy-Sue and Nellie) are doing OK, although three of them did develop symptoms of Pasteurella. It was obvious that some would given how sick their Mum Bobbie had been.
Bobbie is slowly gaining weight and has become a fun loving affectionate Bunny
Janex
The cages were stacked on top of each other and as Bobbie was on the bottom level all the wee and poo from above fell on her day and nightShe had no hay and in her cage with her were here 5 five day old kitsBobbie had severe Pasteurellosis causing both lower and upper respiratory tract infection and conjunctivitisShe also had symptoms of active ECHer feet were all ulcerated from the wire cage base and filthBasically Bobbie was dyingWhat we did not know at first was that she was also pregnant AGAIN
Bobbie managed to continue feeding her kits, whom I call 'The Boblets', but had to be started on Penicillin Injections, Fenbendazole, and Metacam to try to keep her alive and treat her Pasteurella and EC.
It soon became apparent that Bobbie was pregnant again and she was so weak she could not stand up
She would cough and splutter and gasp for air My Vet advised me to wean The Boblets from her, even though they were only 4 weeks old. They were eating well and I supplemented them with Goats Milk and probiotics. My Vet said Bobbie was too sick to have a C-Section and that she may well die giving Birth to her next litter My Vet said Bobbie's only chance of survival IF she got through the birthing was to immediately remove the newborns Me and my Vet discussed this at length as its such a major decision. In the end we agreed that Bobbie's life had to be put first so the newborns would be removed and I would attempt to hand rear them. We knew this was very unlikely to be successful but the alternatives were to leave them with Bobbie and lose them AND her or euthanise the newborns straight away We felt giving them a chance, albeit a small one, was the best option . Bobbie had 8 more kits. Three were stillbornI attempted to hand rear three and my friend Janice took two. Sadly we were not successfulI called the newborns 'The Bobleteenies' The one who lived the longest ( 7 days) I became very attatched to. I called him 'Cal' and my heart broke when he died
Some people told me I was a 'baby Rabbit killer' for taking the newborns from Bobbie. But I acted on Vets advice. Bobbie had no milk and was dying herself. She could not stand up, let alone feed a litter of kits
I got a lot of hate mail, it was horrible Shortly after giving Birth Bobbie took a turn for the worse
She developed Penicillin induced enteritisFor several days we thought we would lose herBut thanks to all the treatment my Vet advised, which included Questran, High doses of Vitamin C, Sub-cutaneous fluids, analgesia, probiotics and syringe feeds Bobbie survived!!She still had some nasal discharge from her infection so my Vet advised administering antibiotic drops into Bobbies nostrils. We could not risk systemic antibiotics again. I am thrilled to say that Bobbie's Respiratory Tract symptoms have now resolved
Infact she was well enough to have her first Myxomatosis Vaccination a couple of weeks ago. The Boblets (now called Little Bill, John-Boy, Bree, Peggy-Sue and Nellie) are doing OK, although three of them did develop symptoms of Pasteurella. It was obvious that some would given how sick their Mum Bobbie had been.
Bobbie is slowly gaining weight and has become a fun loving affectionate Bunny
Janex
