My rabbits is paralyzed.

[CanucksStar#17]

One of my female rabbits gave birth Thursday night. She is normally a very good mom but 5 babies died from getting to cold. 4 babies are still alive but very hungry. This morning when I checked the babies I noticed her back feet looking weird, I thought her foot was somehow caught in the wire, when I moved her foot she kinda slithered forward dragging her back feet. I took her out of her cage and put her in a playpen that I put my rabbits in, she is moving around a bit but can not move her back legs.
Has this ever happened to you guys before? I know I will have to put her down but I don't want to do it yet because I want her to raise her babies. Do you guys think she is in pain?
If you think it is ok to keep her keep her till the babies are old enough to eat solid food then how am I supposed to get her to feed them? There is no way I will be able to get her in or out of the nesting box, should I put the babies in a box with no top on it and put her on them and then take her off after a couple minutes?
I will not be able to hand feed the babies! I have tried so many times and they have all died, and I can't stand to watch more babies die!

 

[Miss M]

There are three possibilities I can think of.

One, she bruised her back. You would want to keep her in a small space like an animal carrier, with food and water right within reach of her mouth, so she can reach them without moving much. You would expect to start seeing improvement in a few days at the most.

Two, she broke her back. This is not terribly common, but it is something rabbits are particularly susceptible to. Their hind legs are so very powerful, that an unusual movement accompanied by a strong thrust with the back legs can easily end in a broken back. She could have gotten startled by something. It's just that easy.

Three is Encephalitozoon cuniculi, a parasite/fungus (there's some debate) which can cause hindquarter paralysis in rabbits. It's my understanding that this particular effect of E. cuniculi is usually seen in older rabbits, though.

I think one of the first two is likely.

You should be able to tell from her body language whether she is in pain. She doesn't look relaxed, her ears may be partially or totally laid back, her eyes may look squinted, and she may be grinding her teeth.

If she's in pain, you can give her good amounts of willow twigs, which contain salicylates -- basically, aspirin that grows on trees. Or you can give her chewable baby aspirin, up to a whole one twice a day. You may need to hide it inside a raisin.

I would try to make her comfortable until the babies can survive without her, but if she doesn't start improving, it would be time to put her down at that point.

Also, I would bring the babies to her, not her to the babies. Less chance of further damage or pain. :clover:

If she has not improved at all within a few days, it's likely broken, not bruised.

 

[CanucksStar#17]

How do I bring the babies to her? Do hold them while the nurse or do I put them in something? I will put her in a carrying cage right away. <br /><br /> -- Sat May 31, 2014 12:08 pm -- <br /><br /> So my brother tells me that Thursday night she was in the nesting box and he thought she was eating the babies so he pulled her out of the nesting box. Could that have done it? The nest was a mess and it looked like he really, really pulled her out.

 

[Miss M]

How do I bring the babies to her? Do hold them while the nurse or do I put them in something?

You shouldn't have to hold them, just put them next to her belly. You can see if she will lay on her side like a cat to let them nurse for a few minutes, or you may need to help her support herself so they can get under her -- the way they normally feed.

Then put them back in their nest box until the next feeding. They usually feed twice a day. Look out... as they grow, you'll have to get creative at keeping them in the nest box. You have some issues indoors that you don't have out in a cage.

So my brother tells me that Thursday night she was in the nesting box and he thought she was eating the babies so he pulled her out of the nesting box. Could that have done it? The nest was a mess and it looked like he really, really pulled her out.

Yes, it sounds like he caught her in the middle of cleaning up. The doe will usually eat all the placentas and clean up the blood, so you're left just with dry babies in a furred nest. Some does will eat stillborn babies, too. It's not unheard-of that a doe eats her kits, but it is not common at all.

If she was kicking as he pulled her out, it's entirely possible that the injury happened then.

It's also possible that the ones that got chilled did so because she didn't have the opportunity to finish cleaning her nest or pulling fur for them.

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE:

Since that happened Thursday night and there's a good chance her injury is related to that, I think she may have a bruised back rather than a broken one. Rabbits can recover from a bruised back, sometimes completely. The timing is right -- it would be reasonable for it to take a couple of days for the swelling to get to the point at which it would cause loss of control.

Keep her as still as possible. Be careful in your use of willow or aspirin. They could reduce pain and help swelling go down, but they can also inhibit the clotting of blood. If she has any bleeding associated with her injury, willow or aspirin could make the problem worse. I would use them if she is in pain, but I would not use them if she is not.

You may find that, while you have not had success hand-raising kits on your own, you may be able to supplement what they get from their mother, helping them to make it.

Just remember that rabbit milk is very rich, so formula should be as well. Also, cow's milk based formula like KMR is often not well tolerated. Evaporated goat's milk can be found in most grocery stores with the condensed milk and sweetened condensed milk.

If the babies are getting a good bit from their mother, you probably don't need to supplement. If they're getting some, but not quite enough, straight evaporated goat's milk should be fine. If they're just not getting much from her at all, the goat's milk still would probably do the trick... I've had great success with a richer mix, though. formula-feeding-baby-bunnies-pics-vids-t3691.html

 

[a7736100]

You want to keep her indoors where there are no flies. If she can't clean her butt she might end up with fly strike.

 

[CanucksStar#17]

Ok everything just got a lot worse! I tried to let the babies nurse off of her, but she isn't giving any milk.
I know a lot of you have had success with hand raising your babies but I haven't had a rabbit live with me feeding it.
I am going to try to do everything I can to keep these rabbits alive, but I'm going to need your help!
I used to feed the babies fresh cows milk, until I found out that they will die if they drink cows milk. So I fed the one baby goats milk (I had to buy it because none of our goats were milking at the time) I even let him live with his siblings so he would stay warm and she would clean him but he slowly starved to death.

Should I put something in the goats milk?
How much do I feed them?
How should I feed them?
How often should I feed them?
Should I try to let them nurse off of their mom?

I really need your help. I can't stand to watch another baby die of starvation!

 

[Zass]

Miss M's thread about hand raising baby rabbits has a goats milk based formula that I've also had a lot of success with this year. It's a lot richer than regular goats milk.

1/2 Cup canned evaporated goat's milk, undiluted
1/2 Tablespoon corn syrup
1 Egg yolk

She also discusses overfeeding, and a few other really important subjects that I cannot remember off hand, anyway, I'd strongly recommend reading the while thread.

There is also this thread all about people's tips for hand raising babies:
tips-for-handraising-kits-t2486.html

 

[CanucksStar#17]

I don't have corn syrup, or evaporated goats milk. Can I use real goats milk and honey? Or should I just use goats milk and egg yolk?

 

[Zass]

I'd add the egg yolk for sure, the corn syrup is for sugar and easy to digest calories. It seems like it would be the safest thing to leave out. Real goats milk is definitely better than no goats milk at all.

I would not use honey in place of corn syrup. Honey is considered unsafe for human infants, which are quite a bit more durable than baby rabbits.

I use karo light corn syrup, (chemically pretty much pure glucose), which I feel is the safest sugar to give to babies. I know that human infants are sometimes given water with glucose to help hydrate them.
Miss M also mentions using light corn syrup in her thread. It's not very expensive. Perhaps you could give them the real goats milk with egg yolk for now and then pick up the rest of the ingredients whenever you get the chance? They are all things carried by walmart or most larger grocery stores.

 

[Sagebrush]

I would think that the regular goats milk will be fine to use. Make small batches and only warm up what you need to feed everyone so it lasts longer. Good luck and keep us updated!

I see Zass beat me to it.

 

[Miss M]

You can also make your own syrup from one part sugar and one part water. Heat on the stove or in a glass bowl or glass measuring cup in the microwave until boiling, stirring occasionally until all the sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool. A portion of it can be cooled by spooning it out into a different metal or glass container. Metal will cool it fastest.

I specify glass for the microwave, because the syrup will get too hot to trust plastic.

Like Sagebrush said, regular goat's milk will be fine, just not as nutrient-dense as evaporated goat's milk. (of course, if it's raw goat's milk, that comes with its own advantages)

Good luck!!! Go slow and keep a towel handy -- they get it in their noses very easily, especially so young.

I would definitely keep trying them on her. Hopefully, she will get some milk in to help out with!

If some or all of them don't make it, remember that you are doing all that is humanly possible.

And I hate to bring it up, but if you feel the most humane thing to do is to dispatch them, no one here will fault you for it. More than one member has found themselves in that position. Babies this young are extremely difficult to save with no help from the doe. If you try, we will cheer you on and cry with you if it doesn't work. If you put them down, we will do our best to help pick up the pieces.

 

[CanucksStar#17]

Thanks for all your help!!! I was remembering back to when I tried hand raising rabbits before and since I have never been successful I wondered if the most humane thing to do was to just put them down. I talked to my parents and they agreed that it would be better to put them out of their misery then to have them stave to death, which is likely what would happen.
So I got my brothers to put them down. I am still sad about having to do that but deep down I know that it was the right thing to do.
Once again thanks everyone for your help!

 

[Miss M]

It is very sad, but probably the right decision.

We've formula-fed many babies with great results, BUT we've never been in your situation. We've always had help from the doe. We've never been left trying to feed kits only 2 days old with no help from the doe. From what I've read, it is nearly impossible to save them that young on your own.

If they had been just a few days older, the outlook would have been a lot better.

Give your brothers a hug for me ... putting baby bunnies down probably wasn't easy for them.

Any news on your doe?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Sorry to hear about your doe and her litter. A friend of mine had the same thing happen with a doe while we were away at a show. We never did figure out what caused it. Luckily she had other does to foster the kits to though.

I have had a few rabbits suffer back injuries too, and have given them a day or two to show improvement. Beyond that I felt it was just too cruel because they can't express their bladders so it has to be done manually by me by pressing on the abdomen... and they aren't able to poop on their own either, so that must add discomfort as well.

All of the rabbits that I have necropsied after the fact have shown bruising around the spinal column. More often than not the meat has a definite urine odor, so I don't even feed it to the dogs.

Obviously that toxicity can't be easy to overcome even if they were to recover, so I will no longer put them through the suffering in the hope that it is only bruising.

For her sake, if you haven't already done so, I would put her down.

((Hugs))

 

[Sagebrush]

I agree whole heartedly with MamaSheepdog, I would put her out of any pain she may be in. I hate to see animals suffer. I am so very sorry that you had to put down the kits, it is never easy to do so. I am glad that your brothers where willing to help you with the terrible task. :encourage:

 

[CanucksStar#17]

Sorry it took me so long to reply to you guys! I had bronchitis and was staying in bed for the majority of the time, I am also on a new computer and it keeps telling me to update Java so I have been having trouble getting on here.

I got my brothers to put her down last night, for the first few days she could still move her feet, but she couldn't last night, she couldn't clean herself and she was in pain. I fed her some Dandelions and dandelion leaves so she could have something yummy before she died. It was very hard for me to get my brothers to do it because, she isn't just any rabbit, she is my best rabbit she was the best Mom I've ever had and she was so nice and lived a way to short of a life. What makes everything worse is that I don't even have a baby from her! I have never known a better mother then her, when it came time for her to have her babies I didn't even have to worry about her at all. All my other rabbits I do, I check them every couple hours but not her, I didn't have to she did a very good job herself and I was never needed. In all her batches of babies only 2 of her babies died not counting this last one. My other rabbit who has had one less batch has had 10 babies die. Moss was an amazing rabbit! And I wish that she was still here!!

 

[Sagebrush]

I am so very sorry for your loss CanucksStar#17. It is never easy to loose a rabbit. Even harder when you have such a bond with them. At least she is no longer in pain. :grouphug2:

 

[CanucksStar#17]

Thank You sagebrush! Yes at least she isn't suffering any longer!! I know she had a good life.

 

[Miss M]

You did the best you could to give her a chance at recovering. I am so sorry you had to put her down, but since her condition had deteriorated, that was definitely the right decision.

You gave her a good life, and I know she must have loved those dandelions. :grouphug: