Lost my best buck - bloat?

[emptycupranch]

I am so sad and disapointed! My favorite Rex buck, a tri-color named Confetti, died last night. He was only a year and a half. I don't know what happened, I had noticed that he looked off at feeding last night (no sniffles, just 'dull') and this morning he was dead. I did a postmortem on him and he looked super healthy, but his stomach was bloated full of green food particles and lots of water. His normal diet is some pellets, and a handful of hay 2x a day.

Yesterday morning I had given everybody a small carrot, top and all, any chance that had something to do with it? I can't think of any other thing that may have caused him to die. Can rabbits get and die from bloat?

Luckily I have 9 kits from a litter of 11 that he sired, I will be keeping a buck to replace him, and maybe a doe.

[ladysown]

yes, rabbits can bloat and die from it.
yes, sometimes rabbits just die...been there
How much carrot? used to greens? but overall i find that shouldn't cause bloat, more likely to cause poopy butt...

[jil101ca]

It is my experience that yes they can and very quickly too. I had a doe get "bloat" from 1 small teaspoon of rolled oats. go figure, everybody was feeding it as a treat so I thought I would. I managed to save her but haven't fed rolled oats to anybody since. They are funny critters.... sorry you lost your buck.

[MaggieJ]

So sorry you lost your buck.

If your rabbits do not usually get fresh foods, a whole carrot and top (even a small one) is a rather large portion, but I'm inclined to think there may have been something else going on with your buck. None of the other buns had problems, I take it, and they all got the same treat?

[emptycupranch]

Thanks for the input and condolences. Yes everybody received the same treat, a small baby carrot right from the garden, the ones too small to bother taking into the house. My buns don't get treats every day but about once a week in small quantities. There was no signs of carrot in his tummy so I don't know if it had anything to do with it after all?

It is really too bad that my doe that had 11 beautiful kits from him wouldn't breed back - I had her in with him every other day for the past two weeks and she just wouldn't accept. Darn rabbits

[pookshollow]

Sorry you lost him. It always seems to be the ones you like that keel over for no good reason.

[MaggieJ]

I doubt it was the carrot. Sometimes you just don't know why they die. It sucks.

[jhuebner]

yes, I'd imagine it was the green/moist treat. a change in diet especially a "wet food" can cause such things.

Wool/fir block can contribute. A rex molts like other short hair breeds I'd imagine (my Flemish are just a mess right now) We give all our woolly and not woolly papaya tablets (the ones from WalMart) a couple times a week. They all know when we open the bottle. They love them. Give it a try!

Sorry about your bunny...

JLH

[brody]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss