Lost my chocolate magpie doe

I went out to feed this evening and she was dead. Had been for some time as she was stiff and cold. I opened her up to see if I could see anything and her stomach was rupchered. It's possible I cut into it when opening her up but I don't think so. Could digestive gasses cause that? Her liver was darker than normal but I think that was probably because she was dead? I didn't poke around to long or take pictures as she was aready pretty ripe.

She had eaten all her feed yesterday when I fed and didn't seem off in anyway. Her water bottle was full. It could have been the heat but she hadn't looked stressed earlier when we had a few days hotter than today. I had moved her to a new cage a few days ago. I guess it could have been stress related. I moved her a cage that was in deeper shade.

She had 12 day old kits. I've moved half of them over to another doe with kits the same age and culled the rest. Maybe the doe will accept them.

Thankfully I have another chocolate magpie doe that I've kept back that is a full sister. She won't be ready to breed until the fall. I guess I'm really fairly lucky, this is only the second adult rabbit that I have lost unexpectedly.

I'm so sorry! Those sudden deaths always left me asking why and wondering if I missed something. And losing a nursing doe is especially hard. I hope your other doe feeds the kits you gave her.

I don't think moving her to a shadier cage would be that stressful and it tends to rule out heat as a cause of death. If the stomach was ruptured, it could have been sudden bloat, which apparently can happen without warning.

Sorry you lost her.

Sorry for your loss.....

I've started a routine of dandelion or green onion (chives) weekly with my rabbits... bloat is an issue in my barn and I think it has something to do with the humidity or dampness as it seems worse in the spring and fall.

Dandelion is supposed to help with milk production and prevent or help with bloat, so a double benefit for nursing does.

Dandelion isn't very common here. We have acidic soils and it's too hot. We do have a few plants pop up every year but it's not something I can go out and feed everyday. I have started a plantain patch this year though. I know plantain helps with diarrhea, do you know if it helps with bloat?

The only time I have seen bloat was in fryers who were fed too much calf manna. I do think that green feed helps head off the problem and plantain is one of the best to regulate the GI system.

I came across this website and while I cannot vouch for all the information, I think it is worth a look.
http://www.edelweissranch.com/natural-r ... edies.html

Dillseed, chamomile and peppermint were all used back when for colicky babies, But never feed any of the mints to a pregnant or nursing doe. I'd do further research before using any of those for a rabbit. (Although you will recall in the Beatrix Potter books Peter Rabbit's mother gave him chamomile tea when he overindulged in Mr. McGregor's garden. Potter had numerous pet rabbits and probably knew what she was writing about.)

Sorry I can't be more precise in my suggestions, but I never had to deal with bloat in my rabbits.