Is there something wrong with this?

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Farm Girl

Farm Girl

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Feb 24, 2010
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I've noticed that my doe's eurine has been a lot darker than usual, and her berries have been smaller.
Is there something wrong if it is darker?

She might be having kits, around the 4th if that might cause it.
And the only change in feed has been giving them a handful of weeds everyday.
I would appreciate any advice.

Thanks, Farm Girl
 
The weeds could certainly cause a colour change in the urine but they should not cause the "berries" to be smaller. Do you feed her hay? Grass hay may help because of the amount of fibre in it.

It sounds to me as though, just possibly, she may not be drinking as much water as usual. I guess that could go with getting greens to eat... My rabbits do not consume nearly as much water as when I used to feed pellets. You could try wetting the greens a bit to increase moisture intake if you think that may be contributing to this situation.

My only concern with the smaller berries is that they may indicate the beginning of a blockage problem, although feeding greens should make this unlikely. Are the berries just smaller or are they also dryer? Is there visible hair in the berries?
 
Maggie has a point,
there may be a case of woolblock in the making.
If you do see string of pearls/Berries attache by a hair
hanging from the cage-wire floor it would mean that the
grass-hay was doing it's job by moving the blockage through.
You might want to increase the amount of grass-hay and water.
Red urine and many other shades of color are not always an indicator
of a problem.
Ottersatin. :eek:ldtimer:
 
Thank you Maggie and Ottersatin.

Yes, I feed them hay almost every day. I'm not sure if they are dryer, I'll have to run out and check.
It seemed like her berries were always bigger than the other rabbits her size, but they seemed to have gotten smaller the last couple days.

I'm glad to hear the darker urine is not a problem. :)
 
How big is she in the belly? It could be she has an unusually large litter or large babies that are causing pressure on her bladder and intestines. You ladies that have been pregnant know about that.
 
Do you use apple cider vinegar in the rabbits' drinking water? It's something you might want to consider trying, just 2 tablespoons to the gallon. A lot of rabbits will drink more with ACV in the water and it has trace elements and mild acidity to offset bladder sludge. I'd offer a second crock or bottle of water with ACV rather than a switch-out until you see how it is received.
 

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