Lost my doe

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coyotejoe

coyotejoe

Well-known member
Joined
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Location
Troy, Montana
As some will recall I narrowed down the herd to one buck and one doe for the move from Colorado to Montana. This morning I found my doe in her nest box stiff and cold. I have no idea except maybe the heat, it was 98 degrees yesterday but they were in shade and had plenty of water. In fact the only thing I have noticed is that she has for several days not been drinking much water, not as much as the buck, even though it has been hot. She had been bred 10 days ago and was still eating normally but not drinking much. I don't know, it's just a real bummer. Now I have to find a new doe or two, either that or just make Bucky a pet and forget raising meat rabbits. Fortunately I was not particularly attached to her but it is a pain none the less.
 
It's always a shock to lose one suddenly. :( Rabbits tend to hide all signs of illness as long as they can.

Do you use water bottles or crocks for the rabbits? I heard of a case where a rabbit got dehydrated because the water bottle nozzle wasn't working right. It looked like the rabbit had plenty of water, but it couldn't get it. The rabbit survived but the vet bill came to around $1000. So just a reminder to everyone who uses bottles to check the nozzles regularly.
 
Aww, sorry, Joe. :(

The heat may have been a factor, especially with high humidity, but you should have seen signs on the corpse. Rabbits tilt up their heads and drool when in heat distress. Did the fur around her mouth and chin look spiky or matted?

Whatever the cause, I am sorry you lost her.

Don't give up on the meat rabbits, though! I'm sure you can find some good does nearby.
 
Thanks to all. I never saw any signs of distress as you describe, during the hottest part of the day both bunnies would just lie down and pant a bit but if I disturbed them they reacted in normal lively fashion. I do have water bottles but haven't unpacked them since the move, both bunnies were drinking from bowls. That's how I could judge that she was not drinking so much for the past few days, her water bowl was never very low whereas Bucky's was sometimes dry after 8 or 10 hours. She died in her nest box which was actually the first time I've seen her use the box.
 
Heat and humidity like that are a real problem Joe. I keep a supply of frozen 1 litter water bottles for the rabbits in the summer. When it hits 80 degrees every rabbit that is outside gets one. The hotter it gets the closer they get to those things. They will also lick the condensation off of them to get a cool drink.

Just my $.02 worth.
 
Rather low humidity here but hot for sure, it hit 100 degrees for a bit yesterday and is off to a good start today, I'm really surprised, I thought moving north meant cooler temps.
 
Yes, I'm told "winters are long but to compensate the days are short". As of now it is still light till nearly 10:00 PM.
 
It seems to fly in the face of logic, but I regularly see temps 100* and up in the plains and up the eastern seaboard. Meanwhile, it's 94* here (not far from the Gulf of Mexico). I don't get it.
 
And here I am whining when it hits 30c/86F for several days in a row. The humidity this year is unbelievable for this area. It's been so wet everything is still green, usually by now everything is brown and crunchy.
 
coyotejoe":2x5m3hn0 said:
Thanks to all. I never saw any signs of distress as you describe, during the hottest part of the day both bunnies would just lie down and pant a bit but if I disturbed them they reacted in normal lively fashion. I do have water bottles but haven't unpacked them since the move, both bunnies were drinking from bowls. That's how I could judge that she was not drinking so much for the past few days, her water bowl was never very low whereas Bucky's was sometimes dry after 8 or 10 hours. She died in her nest box which was actually the first time I've seen her use the box.
Click to expand...

sometimes ,--we have to just except ,that there will be unexplained losses ,[-but it still sucks]... as amazing as rabbits are ,they are still very fragile sometimes.
 

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