Young rabbit kits

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NZminilops

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I have a litter of seven and they are 14 days old now, and only two have both eyes open. Of the rest some have one eye and some neither. In the previous litter all eyes were open by this age. One had an eye open but that eye is now fused shut again.

Any ideas on what I can do to help them? I have cotton buds and human antiseptic but I think that would be too strong for little ones eyes.
 
According to some other posts, theireyesshould openby day 14,and if any have are still shut,you should gently try opening them by using a warm compress then gently pull open.Eyes closed past 14 days can get infected.

My vet also told me that black or green tea works as a rinse (as long as it was made with boiling water and the solution was stored in the fridge) and human sterile saline solution works, too.

Hope they're okay!

Also,here's a really photo-intensive thread of somebunny else's baby journal (but it may take a looooog time to load!

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=13039&forum_id



sas :)amd the gang :bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance:
 
Pipp's suggestions are good, and the human saline solution makes an excellent eye rinse. You can also try a little vaseline or a tiny amount of triple antibiotic ointment rubbed on the eyelid.

Pam
 
Thank you very much :),

I tried a cotton bud (like the things you clean your ears out with) soaked in warm water with a pinch of salt in it and just gently soaked one bunnies eyes with it and they came open after a few minutes. That was the best I could do for the moment. Not sure what triple antibiotic would be here but I will take a look at the chemist in the morning.

The rabbit wasn't too impressed with this however and peed right into my face which was pretty funny now that I think back on it.

I will try with the rest tomorrow when it's stopped raining and I can go outside to get them without arsing over on the muddy ground. I don't want to risk falling over with a kit on my hands.
 
Avoid using tap water and table salt due to the minerals and impurities, which can be extremely irritating to the eyes. (I've used tap water in my eyes a couple times when I didn't have any sterile saline on hand, and it was very irritating -- the impurities can also lead to infection.)



Pam
 
I have a random question---could you use contact solution for something like this in an emergency, or would that be a no-no because of all the added chemicals to store contact lenses?

Sorry if that was a stupid question :embarrassed:

Ellie
 
Not a stupid question at all!

Multi-purpose solutions can be used in a pinch (I use my contact lens multi-purpose solution to rinse my eyes).



Pam
 
I would not put anything in their eyes that I wouldn't put into mine ;). I have a water distiller and I put the merest pinch of salt in a bowl full of distilled rain water, plus a little bit of cold tea as that is supposed to be very soothing. I am happy to report that 24 hours later all eyes are now open. They do seem to be 'slower' than the previous litter at all the milestones, I am gathering that it is a combination of a large litter for the doe and the cold weather perhaps? The runt is doing well and is just like a miniature version of the others, very pretty little thing.
 

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