All my rabbits are dying

[pietru]

I lose 1 or 2 every day. Lost 8 so far. No sign of anything on them. I have no idea what is happening. I feed them only pellets for now, they have water at all times. I don't have so many left and would really like to keep them but I don't know what to do. I guess this is a major downfall of colony raising.


Any tips would be appreciated.

[MaggieJ]

I'd like to be able to help you, Pietru, but I'd need a lot more information. First of all, please add your location to your profile. So many rabbit questions are related to location that this is essential.

How many rabbits do you have and how big is the colony. Is it an outdoor colony or indoor? What are the ages of the rabbits you are losing... Are they adults, young kits, recently weaned fryers or what? Any sign of diarrhea or bloating? Have you changed brands of pellets lately? Or opened a new bag? Do you feed hay? Has your weather been extremely hot?

I know this seems like too many questions, but we need information in order to try to pinpoint a likely cause. One more question... Have you opened up any of the dead rabbits to look for the cause of death? If the liver is spotty, for instance, it might be coccidiosis. If the lungs were not normal pinkish colour, it might mean a respiratory infection. And so forth.

[brody]

how long had you kept them in their colony? If they are on new ground it sounds like a toxin may be at work - if they've been in one location a long time it sounds like it could be a parasite - or coccidia at work

give us more info and I bet we can come up with likely causes and even better suggestions for minimizing losses

a question I'd add to maggie's list is what's the density of the rabbits - ie what space do how many rabbits have?

[Danaus29]

Are you finding bodies or are they just missing? What condition are the bodies in? How are you feeding the pellets, in dishes or on the ground?

[Skykomish]

I lost a whole litter over the last 2 days to heatstroke. If its 80+ they will die if they can't find shade. Rabbits don't drink more when its hot, and they can only sweat out of their noses, which isn't very efficient. Brought all my valuable rabbits in the house where its cooler yesterday. Lesson learned.

[pietru]

First I had 6 in cages. After I finished building my outdoor colony setup I released the 7 (end of june). They didn't fight at all and had 2-3 litters from them in a colony setup. End of July I buy 6 more rabbits and leave them in cages for a month inside the colony. 5 does and 1 buck (I already had one buck loose). They all had kits and I released them all in the colony beginning of august. They weren't accepted at all first and were being chased a lot. It took 2-3 weeks but they ended up getting along...even the 2 bucks.

So far one of the new does died, 6 kits (1.5 months old) and my new buck died.
One day they seem fine, the next day I find them dead. They seem to have some sort of secretion in the corner of their eyes, quite small tough.

Could a parasite spread in water? because I am using poultry waterers. I change the water everyday but its never clean when I change it. I think using drip waterers would be a good start.

I really doubt heat is an issue since 80% of the setup is in the shade and they have burrows everywhere

[MaggieJ]

I agree that it does not sound heat-related.

You need to give us the information we asked for if you want us to be able to help you.

[pietru]

Oops I missed a post sorry.

I feed only pellets and they all come from the same company. I use a bag a week. I am on the 2nd bag since it all started. I was feeding broccoli leaves too but after the 1st one died I stopped so they are only on pellets now. I use metal an plastic bowls for the pellets. They get kicked over from times to times.

I didn't check internal organs since I didn't know what to look for but now I know. I will do it with the next one.

I will post a video of my setup later today so it should help with the diagnosis.

[brody]

I am worried that your new rabbits brought a disease in with them
I'm not sure of your timing as you say you got the new rabbits at the end of July and let them out in early August
(you also said you have had them in cages for a month)


I would add hay to your diet now .. and consider the new rabbits very carefully - I'm trying to think what they might carry that would infect weanies and kill one of them but not infect everybody at the same speed

have you heard or seen sneezing? laboured breathing?
do the rabbits have dirty front feet?

[Terry W]

One must keep in mind, when colony raising rabbits---even though we use the word 'colony' which indicates a more natural way of life for these buns, they are still CONFINED!!! In a truly natural setting, rabbit colonies permit all the adults to come and go at will- they are not all carrying on their daily life functions within the same square footage. Coccidiosis is not the only parasite that thrives in colony situations. Can you move the confinement area- think more along the lines of MIG (managed intensive grazing) programs-- where the focus is on SOIL health and fertility. That will permit Nature to resolve some sanitation issues for you

[MaggieJ]

It does rather sound as though the problem is one that came with the new rabbits. It is always a good idea to quarantine new animals well away from the original ones and to feed/water the new arrivals last so as to avoid carrying anything from one group to the other. Something to keep in mind for the future.

Feeding hay in addtion to the pellets is a good idea. All rabbits benefit from the roughage (fibre) and for weaning age rabbits it can help to prevent weaning enteritis. A covered hay rack to keep the hay dry and off the ground is best. Since they are also getting pellets, a good grass hay is your best bet.

Given that you mention no sign of diarrhea and you do mention a slight secretion from the eyes, it is possible that it is a pasteurella infection (snuffles). Perhaps it was lying dormant until the rabbits were stressed by their release into the colony and resulting conflicts. Stress can make pasteurella flare up. I am by no means sure that is the problem, but it is my best guess at the moment.

Terry W's suggestion of moving the colony is a good one if it is feasible. In any case, in your place I would be removing all the new rabbits and their offspring to cages. If they show any further signs of illness, I would put them down. In any rabbitry it is important to avoid the spread of disease, but in a colony setting one needs to pay special attention because the rabbits have so much contact with each other.

Colonies seem to work best if no new rabbits are added and the numbers are maintained or increased through reproduction of the original stock. Inbreeding is not the problem in rabbits that is can be in other livestock and "new blood" only rarely needs to be added - and that after appropriate quarantine.

[o&itw]

Originally Posted by Skykomish

I lost a whole litter over the last 2 days to heatstroke. If its 80+ they will die if they can't find shade. Rabbits don't drink more when its hot, and they can only sweat out of their noses, which isn't very efficient. Brought all my valuable rabbits in the house where its cooler yesterday. Lesson learned.

Thanks Sky, The "sweat out of their noses" thing answers a lot of questions that have been bugging me for a while.

[MaggieJ]

Pietru, did you rule out the possibility of the rabbits having found a toxic plant somewhere in the colony?

[arachyd]

I would tend to think they caught something from the newer rabbits. The reason for keeping them separate is to prevent the spread of diseases. Keeping them in cages inside the colony area is not any real separation. I hope the colony recovers.