Help! Our Baby Bunnies R Dying

my_family_farm · #1 09/06/04, 09:44 PM

Help! We are just starting out trying to raise rabbits. I bought this doe already pregnant and she delivered beautifully. However, now the babies are dying one at a time every day or so. They would turn 4 weeks on Thursday if this last one lives, she gave birth to six. They have been healthy and growing well. One minute they'll be hopping around and dead the next. :waa: Please help if you have any ideas or advice for us. Thank you so much.

kathy H · #2 09/06/04, 10:37 PM

Is she killing them? If she is some thing is scaring her, dogs, snakes ect. If not are they eating pellets? if so take it off them and just feed oat or grass hay for a few days.

kathy H · #3 09/06/04, 10:39 PM

Also make sure they can get to and use the type of water you are using.

my_family_farm · #4 09/07/04, 09:16 AM

I truly do not believe she is killing them. They seem to be dying on their own. We still have the one left as of this morning. I do have pellets in the cage for her to eat, so I will go to the barn and take those out. The baby does have access to the water bottle, I saw it drinking from it this morning when I went to feed. The other day (when we had more bunnies) I checked them and did some mowing. Within 20 minutes or so I came back and our last little white baby was cold and hard just stretched out on the bottom of the cage. Is there any illness that could cause this sort of "quick" death in these young bunnies? If she were doing it, should I take the last bunny out? What do I do to save this baby?

Thank you for all of your help and concern. Molly

BamaSuzy · #5 09/07/04, 01:51 PM

Please let us know if the last bunny lives. I've never had a problem like this and I've raised bunnies for years. Usually if any are going to die they die on me the first day and then the remainder live.

The only ones Ihad to die were two wild ones I raised on a medicine dropper for two weeks who then both died suddenly.

chickflick · #6 09/07/04, 05:54 PM

CREEP FEEDER!!!!!!! Take that baby out and Feed it!! Could be as simple as that... Mama eating all the feed and babies not getting any! They should have/could have been eating on their own now for a week at least! ?????

Might try some puppy/kitten formula to help get back on track and keep pellets offered. Also.. some 4-H'rs have a mixture of bread and milk and ?? other stuff to fatten up babies for meat pens.. find a website of theirs. Might be on there.

kathy H · #7 09/07/04, 06:17 PM

You were mowing? how near the rabbits? Some thing isnt right. There is a stomach problem young rabbits get[ dont have my arba rabbit book] that is made worse by pellets so that is why I would go with hay for a couple days then re introduce pellets slowly. Might be worth it to wean baby now at four weeks incase she is killing them, but if she is you dont want to use a doe of hers as replacment. I had a rabbit line which got strokes and died just as you describe but the does lived to about two years before it showed up so I dont think this is your problem. If it were me I would pull the baby and put it in its own cage and see if it lives, if it does it was probably her doing some thing. Is this her first litter? The stomach problem I metioned causes pot belly in the babys seems to me it was called entris? or something like that.

Haggis · #8 09/07/04, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chickflick

CREEP FEEDER!!!!!!! Take that baby out and Feed it!! Could be as simple as that... Mama eating all the feed and babies not getting any! They should have/could have been eating on their own now for a week at least! ?????

Might try some puppy/kitten formula to help get back on track and keep pellets offered. Also.. some 4-H'rs have a mixture of bread and milk and ?? other stuff to fatten up babies for meat pens.. find a website of theirs. Might be on there.

I agree that they are not getting anything to eat. We raise several hundred kits a year and only lose 2 or 3 of those to heat, crushing, or what ever. We start giving our kits hay on the 10th day; enough so that the doe can't eat it all. The kits need it to help their digestive system and it gives them something they can reach that the doe can't hog for herself.

my_family_farm · #9 09/07/04, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BamaSuzy

Please let us know if the last bunny lives. I've never had a problem like this and I've raised bunnies for years. Usually if any are going to die they die on me the first day and then the remainder live.

The only ones Ihad to die were two wild ones I raised on a medicine dropper for two weeks who then both died suddenly.

I will certainly let you all know how this little one does. We have taken the baby out of the cage with momma and given it hay. We will check on it again shortly and see how things are. We appreciate all of your thoughtfulness and help.

Rouen · #10 09/07/04, 07:27 PM

I've heard of loud noises killing young rabbits..

my_family_farm · #11 09/07/04, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kathy H

You were mowing? how near the rabbits? Some thing isnt right. There is a stomach problem young rabbits get[ dont have my arba rabbit book] that is made worse by pellets so that is why I would go with hay for a couple days then re introduce pellets slowly. Might be worth it to wean baby now at four weeks incase she is killing them, but if she is you dont want to use a doe of hers as replacment. I had a rabbit line which got strokes and died just as you describe but the does lived to about two years before it showed up so I dont think this is your problem. If it were me I would pull the baby and put it in its own cage and see if it lives, if it does it was probably her doing some thing. Is this her first litter? The stomach problem I metioned causes pot belly in the babys seems to me it was called entris? or something like that.

Tonight it is cold and rainy so we have brought the baby in the house in a box. He has access to hay and water. Bringing him in was more for us since our children are little and so concerned, this way we can all stay dry tonight. Seems to be of good size and health, but we are only learning.
I mow about 10 acres of our land on a riding mower, so its hard to say how close I was to the bunnies. I'll keep you informed on how he does.
Thank you!!

Christiaan · #12 09/08/04, 02:22 AM

Coccidiosis might be the culprit if they've been exposed in any way to chicken droppings. I once lost some young rabbits over a few weeks due to pellets that had been contaminated at the store.

my_family_farm · #13 09/10/04, 09:40 PM

thanks for all the help. the last of the babies died. still not sure what went wrong.and i do have chickens so that may have somthin to do with it...thanx again every 1