Sudden loss of litter?

[Doc Oc]

So I had a litter born on Halloween, all was right as rain until Christmas. I know it has been some time, but I'm hoping maybe someone in the rabbit community here knows more than I do and could bring some closure.

So it was a litter of 5 and the mom in a cage. I was treating one kit for pink eye and that was resolving itself nicely, otherwise everyone was perfectly healthy. Then, Christmas even I set my buns up with enough water and food for 4 days, intending to spend christmas away.

Leaving them the 24th at night, everyone was perfectly fine. Then, when I got back on the 26th in the morning I'd lost 4 of the 5 kits.:bunnyangel:
2 had been dead for awhile but the other two died while I was trying to save them. I checked their temperatures and for any physical wounds but found nothing. There was still more than enough water and food, so that wasn't it.

The two that were still alive when I got home had exactly the same symptoms. They couldn't move, but they were breathing and their heart was beating. When they did move it wasn't voluntary and they would stretch out into a back bend and paddle their legs. I felt for broken bones and found nothing. Both had head tilt.

There was no discharge orally, nasally, or from their vents. They looked like perfectly normal rabbits aside from their symptoms. One was gasping for air like a fish but the other wasn't.

I did consult a vet and she said she felt no broken bones or abnormalities. The only thing she could come up with is sudden-onset pneumonia.

But, the thing that really confuses me is that the mom and her remaining kit are perfectly okay. Nothing wrong at all.
:rip:

Any insight would be appreciated, thank you in advance!
Doc Oc

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

The symptoms you describe sound familiar to me as possible signs of coccidiosis. I have a friend who recently went through a bout of cocci. She would lose rabbits very suddenly, with no symptoms other than what you are describing. They rabbits would become immobile, arch their backs, legs would paddle. They died quickly and randomly. She lost all of her young babies and a few older adults.

Here is a link with a little more about it: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Protozoal_diseases/Cocc_en.htm

However, the only way to know for sure is to have a necropsy performed on the rabbits that have passed. I'm guessing it's too late for this.

For the surviving rabbits, I would recommend treating them all with a preventative round of Corid:

"Corid is used as prevention and for treatment. For prevention Corid recommends 5 mg/day for every 2.2 lbs of body weight given for 21 days. For treatment of an effected animal the recommendation is 10mg/day for every 2.2 lbs of body weight given for 5 days. http://www.corid.com/pdf/CORID20.pdf . Or you can mix 1 teaspoon per gallon of water. Do not give less than 5 days. It is also available at http://www.kwcages.com"
(http://www.welshrabbitry.com/health.html#corid)

 

[woahlookitsme]

I'm so glad you answered this Julie. I knew I had heard of rabbits that died like this but couldn't remember the reason. Good luck in treating your bunnies

 

[Doc Oc]

The symptoms you describe sound familiar to me as possible signs of coccidiosis. I have a friend who recently went through a bout of cocci. She would lose rabbits very suddenly, with no symptoms other than what you are describing. They rabbits would become immobile, arch their backs, legs would paddle. They died quickly and randomly. She lost all of her young babies and a few older adults.

Here is a link with a little more about it: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Protozoal_diseases/Cocc_en.htm

However, the only way to know for sure is to have a necropsy performed on the rabbits that have passed. I'm guessing it's too late for this.

For the surviving rabbits, I would recommend treating them all with a preventative round of Corid:

"Corid is used as prevention and for treatment. For prevention Corid recommends 5 mg/day for every 2.2 lbs of body weight given for 21 days. For treatment of an effected animal the recommendation is 10mg/day for every 2.2 lbs of body weight given for 5 days. http://www.corid.com/pdf/CORID20.pdf . Or you can mix 1 teaspoon per gallon of water. Do not give less than 5 days. It is also available at http://www.kwcages.com"
(http://www.welshrabbitry.com/health.html#corid)

Thank you very much! I will pick some up this weekend and start all of my buns on it!
Is it okay to treat if you have a nursing litter? I have one due tomorrow... Should I wait...? I was also planning a round of deworming, would you suggest I wait until after the litter was weaned for that?

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I have treated my whole herd (pregnant does, nursing does, weanlings, babies included) with Corid and have not had problems. My thought is that, if you suspect you're dealing with cocci, it's better to get rid of it immediately than dance around it and treat in rounds because that means you still have rabbits around that could be carrying/passing it on.

As far as deworming, I only treat dry bucks and does over 6 months old. There's really no urgency with that kind of preventative.

 

[Doc Oc]

My thought is that, if you suspect you're dealing with cocci, it's better to get rid of it immediately than dance around it and treat in rounds because that means you still have rabbits around that could be carrying/passing it on.

Thank you very much, I'm buying some tonight and starting the treatments asap!