Why do my kits keep dying?

bikegurl":1cn9ef3r said:

I am now having this same problem....should I start a new thread, or is this ok?

I autopsied the one that died this morning(there has been one dead or nearly dead each morning for the last 4 days), and the liver was clear, but the intestines were full of dark mushy paste, and the colon had only a few tiny, hard pellets instead of the long row of smooth round droppings normally present. This kit wasn't dead when I found it, but it was cold, would scream if it was touched(even by its mother), and was doing the seizure thing the OP described. These babies are 6 weeks old and fed grass hay, clover, grass, dandelions, apple branches, willow branches, oats, wheat and peas. The oats, wheat and peas they get only in the evening and I've been finding the dead ones only in the morning. The first one I found was extremely thin....and I had noticed that the previous day.

Thanks.

-- Tue Nov 15, 2016 12:37 pm --

I'm thinking, after doing some research...some kind of enteritis. But....I'm at a loss of how to treat! I think, for now, I'll hold off on the clover for the does with litters....since there may be fungus growing on it since the cooler damper weather has set in...

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IMHO you're feeding to many fresh foods to too young kits. Limit feed to just hay and pellets. Baby simethicone may help. Introduce fresh food one at a time and in small quantities.

Fresh foods aren't a problem for kits just out of the nest box if that is what the doe has been eating. If the doe has been fed a pellet and hay diet with just occasional fresh food for treats, then fresh foods must be introduced gradually.

I've successfully raised a number of litters this way...with no problems. These guys are 6 weeks old, and still with mom. They had access to fresh foods the moment they left the nestbox (~3 weeks), since that is what their mom eats. I'm pretty confident that the fresh greens alone aren't causing the issue....more like something on them(molds, mildews, bacteria), or an imbalance in the diet. They do get plenty of fiber. There were no deaths yesterday....and I didn't feed greens or grains....since there could be molds in both.

Thanks for the responses! <br /><br /> -- Fri Nov 18, 2016 1:10 pm -- <br /><br /> I lost another two this morning. We went two days with no losses, and now two in one. The days with no losses I only fed hay and peas. Last night I fed wheat in addition to everything else. The wheat is rather contaminated with corn and also has some grain moths. Needless to say, I won't be feeding any more wheat!

My question is....could corn be doing this? Or is it more likely to be another contaminant such as molds?

quite frankly we can't tell you if any feed is the issue.

What "I" can tell you is this

- the fact that you are losing them slowly speaks less to a feed contamination issue and more a disease/bacteria issue.

- the fact that you lose two here, one there, and feed given doesn't matter, again speaks to a disease/bacteria issue.

You need to FIRST stand and watch them. You are looking for subtle signs that they are not feeling quite right. Sitting hunched, eyes slit or looking 'off', sitting alone, moving a touch slower then the others, if you offer feed and they aren't eagerly joining the others for it, so you aren't just looking at them. You are closely observing them for ANYTHING that is off. THOSE you leave in the cage, the rest you pull out.

The ones you pull out put in a place where they can explore but not create a problem (I have small xpens that I use). First watch..who sets quiet without wanting to do anything? Who hops not quite right? who has a fuller belly than the others (not as in overeaten full but as in gassy/rounder)... Put them back in the cage.

Then pick up the rest one by one... look at their bums, feel their tummies - no bloat, no unusual feel, look into their eyes, ears, mouth, in other words give them a thorough going over. ANYTHING remotely suspicious or not totally healthy toss back into the cage. The rest... put them in a new cage with sufficient hay... and touch of oatmeal... enough to help them transition and over the course of a week bring them back to regular rations.

The ones left in the original cage... cull them. turn them into dinner or snake food. Don't hesitant wondering, just do it. Then take the cage, wash it, sanitize it and set it in the sun for a minimum of three days turning it over and around a couple times a day. Snowstorms work well too.

I have battled intestinal stuff with my buns FAR too long to mess around... and my herd i've culled and culled and culled some more and I have MOSTLY beaten it back and have learned it's better to eat them if I am suspicious of them (even if they are small but most meat buns at weaning age are at least as big a polish and that edible in my eyes) then is it have unusable dead stock.

Things I've learned.
Unlike many I don't feed them as much as they want, in fact I will somewhat underfeed them between 4-6 weeks. Enough they grow well, but not enough they grow fast. THIS is working REALLY REALLY well. I wean them at that underfed rate and then at 8 weeks I will feed them an adult ration. I started doing that this year.
Cull like mad. Don't keep anything that ever has a sick day.. not ever.
Wean smart. Feed chives/garlic greens/onion stems etc before you wean.
Watch them like a hawk and pull out healthy from unhealthy sooner than later.
what you feed doesn't matter.

Interestingly enough I have learned I can sell kits and they THRIVE, like TOTALLY thrive in whatever environment they go into. Even if I have a sibling die at home...kit not here does fine. So whatever "THING" I have here I am more and more convinced it is airborne, not feed, soil, or whatever. So my main course of attack is breed against it, and it's working plus the slight underfeeding. Since I've started that, I've not lost even one kit.

Ladysown, thank you very much for posting about your experiences with this problem and about how you deal with it.

I admit I've been feeling something at a loss about this problem. In all the years I raised rabbits, I lost only one kit in the colony to something that sounded similar. And since it was only one, I never managed to develop a strategy to deal with it. Your input has been very enlightening and I'm sure other members will find it helpful.

Thank you so much for posting such a detailed response! It was very helpful.

If you really want to know, a fecal float at the local vet will get your answer ... but, in my experience this year, its intestinal coccidiosis and aggressive treatment/culling is the only solution along with aggressive cage/container cleaning.

I bought the hand held propane torch from local hardware store and torched all cages, j-feeders, and metal water dishes. Combined with Corrid treatment, cocci are gone and herd is healthy again ... finally! <br /><br /> -- Sun Dec 11, 2016 1:15 pm -- <br /><br />

jeannie":2050odfk said:

I had a lady whose kits kept dying.
The last litter was bought to me at 2 days old (with the mama) to find out was wrong.

I soon found that the doe was peeing in the nest box and the ammonia was the cause of the kits deaths.
I changed out the straw every other day and no more kits died.

Hope this helps

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Actually, probably wasn't doe peeing, rather was kits peeing on each other ... what goes in (milk) must come out

Either way, cleaning the nest was best solution!