[jennymckee]

My baby kits were fine yesterday morning. (They were 5 days old.) I lost 2 that night. It seemed to be some kind of illness. They would open their mouths and sort of scream and struggle to breathe. They seemed to have been fed because their bellies were rounded. Then this morning I checked and had lost two more. Two others seemed barely alive. I seemed to keep them alive by massaging their chests slowly. I now have only two surviving, one barely. What can I do to save them? What are they dying from? I noticed they were wet yesterday afternoon; like the mother had peed on them, so I warmed them up in a towel. Did I do more harm than good?

 

[bridge]

Sorry for your loss. I have had that too. It seems that it is a terrible respiratory infection and most likely the rest will also perish. Ventilation is the key to raising healthy bunnies. I tried giving my nursing doe long acting penicillin injections so that the babies would also get medication. In the end, all of my litter died. I culled the doe. Does the doe sneeze or have thick white mucous coming out of her nose? Coud be pasturella. If your kits die, cull the doe and clean the cage with bleach and water. Also clean everything that the doe and kits touched. Feeders, Waterers, resting boards, and nest. Hope that the kits live and that I am wrong. Remember that this is JMPO. LOL

 

[wynterwren]

Hi Jenny,

Just a thought here...Did the babies die from the strongest to the weakest? A doe's milk comes in 3-4 days after she kindles, sometimes she produces too much milk and babies become bloated. Bloated babies will have difficulty breathing..When kits overfeed their metabolism changes and their systems begin to shut down. It's weird I know...but a round, tight tummy isn't necessarily a good thing in a baby bunny...round tummies that still have a lot of give are what you're looking for.

Suzi