Dead baby, mom not eating

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Cali

Cali

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I feel really horrible, but my blue satin (Bonnie) has not been eating her cubes and seemed to drop weight almost overnight. I went and bought pellets again as I want to get her back up to a healthy weight so I'll keep them all on pellets for now until I get my husbandry skills in order.
Now she's not eating, not even her favorite treats, not her pellets either. Is there anything I can do for her to entice her to eat? I'm worried I'll lose her. She had one baby sometime today, on the wire. It is dead :( I'm not sure if she still has more babies in her or not. She is a first time mom. Any advice?
 
She may not be eating right now because she is in labor.

Parsley is good for stimulating the appetite. I would also give her electrolytes. You can make your own. I especially like the suggestions in part 2:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5875270_make-el ... ution.html

Rabbits don't eat if they don't get enough fluids, so hopefully she will drink more of the solution than plain water.
 
Thank you MSD, I'll whip up some electrolytes now and see if I can get her to drink that.
 
You could also give here one or two TUMS antacids tablets. Rabbit seem to prefer the fruity ones. This would give her a calcium boost which may help her through labour.

Lavender buds or sage (fresh or dried) will help her expel whatever may still be in her uterus. I'd give it a try if you are worried. Most good grocery stores carry fresh herbs, so you should be able to find sage even if you can't get lavender.
 
If you can't get her to drink the electrolytes, you can mix molasses (preferably blackstrap, as it is nutritious) into water, or even give her lightly sweetened tea. Electrolytes would probably be better, though. And definitely try the Tums.

:clover: :clover: :clover:
 
Offered tums, electrolytes, parsley.. will pick up some sage from the store today and try that. No more babies and she hasn't touched anything, including water. She shouldn't be in labor this long, right? Should I try to give her a couple drops of electrolytes or water with a syringe?
 
when my ND doe had an extended labor (3 days) I gave her raspberry tea, sage, and a dried bread cube with some molasses on it. Oh yeah I syringe fed her the tea.
 
Cali":12bia8e3 said:
I went and bought pellets again as I want to get her back up to a healthy weight so I'll keep them all on pellets for now until I get my husbandry skills in order.
Click to expand...
what do you mean by that. What did you have them on....
and yes she can be in labour for a long time off and on. She could still have some babies in there. Give her some oatmeal .. and then let nature takes it course. I dont think she is done. Dont bug her to much. She might not have any more babies until tonight or tomorrow.
 
JessicaR":2h8pix4b said:
when my ND doe had an extended labor (3 days) I gave her raspberry tea, sage, and a dried bread cube with some molasses on it. Oh yeah I syringe fed her the tea.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I've seen a lot about raspberry tea on here.. any specific brand or type?


Mary Ann's Rabbitry":2h8pix4b said:
what do you mean by that. What did you have them on....
Click to expand...
They were on alfalfa + minerals, but they were wasting a lot so I changed from alfalfa hay to cubes.

Mary Ann's Rabbitry":2h8pix4b said:
and yes she can be in labour for a long time off and on. She could still have some babies in there. Give her some oatmeal .. and then let nature takes it course. I dont think she is done. Dont bug her to much. She might not have any more babies until tonight or tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Cooked oatmeal or dry?
 
Mary Ann's Rabbitry":38k0ev2f said:
I have to ask.... Is there anything else you had them on besides alfalfa hay and minerals.
Click to expand...
They get fresh "treats" like spinach, and I made banana/flax 'cookies' as well, they were getting 1/2 of one each morning. Aside from things like that, yes just alfalfa and minerals. The others were doing fine on that, but Bonnie refused to eat the cubes.
 
spinach and alfalafa is to much for any rabbit... YOu should have some grains in there too. but i see now you have them on pellets. If there has been no babies seen yesterday. Then i dont think she is going to have any more. ..Rabbits need more than alfalafa hay and minerals as a sole diet.. You can get away with it for a little time. But you will have problems over time with kits. Not growing well ect.
My rabbits dont like the cubes at all. Even my pig dont like them. ...Is mom eating yet.
 
They are back on pellets and now with coastal hay instead of alfalfa.

She has perked up but isn't really eating. I just took her some oatmeal. She's drinking some water and did drink some (thought not much) of the electrolyte mixture that MSD suggested.
 
Thanks guys :)

No more kits, so I guess she's done. It doesn't look like she's eaten any pellets or oatmeal but she was munching on her hay this morning and looking more alert and active. Once she puts some weight back on I'll rebreed her.
 
She drank a little, but today and yesterday has hardly had anything to drink. My friend fed her a carrot which she did eat, but she hasn't touched her pellets or hay and you don't even have to touch her to see that she is skin and bones. I syringe fed her some mushed up pellets with electrolyte mixture. Should I continue to syringe feed for a couple of days? I am about to pull my hair out. She is such a nice doe and I don't want to lose her, but she won't eat.
 
Cali,

there is something more going on with your doe than a husbandry error on your part. She should have improved by now if the change to cubes versus hay was at the root of her problem.

In my opinion, you should put her down. With such rapid weight loss she is probably suffering and it would be the kindest thing to do for her.
 
Sorry to hear your having a hard time with your doe, MamaSheepdog might be right, can you tell if she is dehydrated? Pick up the skin on her shoulders it should go right back down again, if it doesn't or goes back down slowly, she's dehydrated. If she is dehydrated she won't eat and should not be encouraged to eat until well hydrated. You can try a syringe or dropper to get her to drink, no food until she she is hydrated. Giving food to a dehydrated animal causes further dehydration. If you decide to try and she is dehydrated then you will probably want to give her some water every hour until she improves. If she doesn't improve by morning then if she were mine I'd put her down. Again I'm so sorry you are having to go through this with your doe.
 

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