help with a struggling baby?

sweetie08171990 · Aug 16, 2012

i have a domestic baby lionhead cross it is 8 days old we call him champ he was doing good until this morn when he stopped breathing twice and went into an almost rigamortis like state i cupped my hands and blew into them and rubbed his back and belly until he started breathing again but i dont know why this is happening i think maybe he was too cold? has this every happened to anyone elses baby? i dont want too loose him hes all i got left :'(

MamaSheepdog · Aug 16, 2012

That doesn't sound good at all. First off, get him warm. Put some towels in the dryer and warm them up. Make a little hollow in them and put him in the dryer (make sure to tell everybody in the house that he is in there and not to turn it on!) while you prepare other means of keeping him warm.

If you have a heating pad, you can put that under half of the nest box, using a low setting. If he gets too warm he needs to be able to move away from the heat. If not, you can fill a glass jar or bottle with hot water and put a thick sock over it or wrap it in a cloth and put that in the nest.

Does he look like he has been fed?

fed-vs-unfed-kit-pictures-t3052.html

If not, you may be able to supplement him.

formula-feeding-baby-bunnies-pics-vids-t3691.html

tips-for-handraising-kits-t2486.html

Good luck with the little guy.

OneAcreFarm · Aug 16, 2012

I don't have any better advice for you than MSD, but I hope that he gets better.

sweetie08171990 · Aug 16, 2012

i have been formula feeding him for 4 days now i had 3 and the other two passed i got the mom a few weeks ago and i didnt know she was pregnant already so i didnt give her a nesting box with no where to go she abandoned her litter or 6 3 died the first 4 days so i took the other 3 and now this little guy is the last of the litter.he seems to be doing better now that he is warmed up i used a grain bag and he took to it really well but now i am wondering if he should be so lathargic he doesnt really move a whole bunch and when i pick him up he doesnt struggle he just kind of flops over. is this normal for kits? :bunnyhop:

MamaSheepdog · Aug 16, 2012

No, I'm sorry, it isn't. Healthy kits should "pop" around when they feel movement near them- they are looking for the teats when they do that. With him being so inactive I am afraid he is dying.

Don't blame yourself- I have yet to hear of anyone successfully raising rabbit kits without the mother having at least some milk.
At least you tried to give him a chance.

MaggieJ · Aug 16, 2012

I'm sorry you are having this problem, sweetie. MamaSheepdog is right... It is almost impossible to raise kits on formula if they have not had at least some rabbit milk. You have done very well keeping him alive this long and what you have learned will help you down the road if you have to hand-feed older kits. Keep him warm and continue to care for him, but be prepared to let nature take its course.

sweetie08171990 · Aug 16, 2012

if i feed him more often do you think it would help right now he is eating twice a day but if it will help ill feed him more often. is there anything other than the kmr i can provide for extra nourishment? __________ Thu Aug 16, 2012 1:53 pm __________ ok weird question here but umm can rabbits drink human breast milk im just thinking if it is the colostrum he is lacking (read it on google) then would it help?

LindseysWoolies · Aug 16, 2012

Do you happen to have any other litters to foster to? I have had success with fostering babies a week apart in age.

MamaSheepdog · Aug 16, 2012

This link has a good recipe for milk replacer with colostrum:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/orphan.html

sweetie08171990 · Aug 16, 2012

thanks for the recipie i will try it i noticed he had passed some really smelly gas and i know this can be associated with bloat i gave him some infacol drops and he seems to have perked up a bit... hoping he will hang in there he sure is a little fighter

MamaSheepdog · Aug 16, 2012

Best of luck with the little guy! The gas drops are a great idea. I would give him some every day whether he looks like he needs it or not. A little probiotic paste might help him too. The type used for goats is a good option if you can't find any specifically for rabbits.

sweetie08171990 · Aug 16, 2012

whei will for sure. i have already had him for 4 days and he just keeps on fighting even if he doesnt make it he is going to go out of this big world fighting. where would i find the probiotic paste?

Piper · Aug 16, 2012

Wonder if (in a pinch) natural yogurt, brought to room temp, will help - in case the stores are already closed. __________ Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:42 pm __________ I do not see MSD, as being logged in. Do you have a Tractor Supply, near? Google Tractor Supply, their site has an zip code store locator, to see if one is near you. Then call them and make sure it is in stock.
http://tsc.tractorsupply.com/tractor/Probiotics

MamaSheepdog · Aug 16, 2012

Piper":3srmsxzo said:
Do you have a Tractor Supply, near?

Do they have TSC in Canada? :hmm:

You can find probiotics at a feed store. If you don't have any near you, you could try giving some type of human grade probiotics from a health food store.

One member here sometimes makes a slurry out of poop from a healthy rabbit mixed with water. Mama bunny's poop would be a great choice. It is not as disgusting or foreign as it sounds- baby foals and donkeys (and perhaps all other grazing animals for all I know) eat the feces of their mothers to acquire the right gut flora. They usually do that about the time they start nibbling hay or grass, so it might be to help with the transition to food other than milk. I don't know if it would be a little early for the rabbit or not.

Since your bunny is now eight days old, I think it might have a chance after all. I would start offering rolled old fashioned oatmeal to him. Just sprinkle it in the nest, along with some hay. Sometimes kits start nibbling hay even before their eyes open. You could also soak some oatmeal in the formula and offer that at feeding time- if he refuses it give him his normal feeding and try again the next day.

3mina · Aug 16, 2012

TSC isn't in Canada, or at least it isn't in Alberta. Sweetie, if you've got a Nutters in Lethbridge go there they'll have probiotics. They should have them at the drug store as well.

BTW, welcome to the forum, I'm in Edmonton

MaggieJ · Aug 16, 2012

MamaSheepdog":1ao1uato said:
Do they have TSC in Canada? :hmm:

We have TSC here in Ontario... not sure about Alberta. I think the range of merchandise may vary though.

Miss M · Aug 16, 2012

I just wanted to point out that the behavior in the first post sounds like seizures.

Glad the little fighter's doing better, though!

sweetie08171990 · Aug 17, 2012

thank you to everyone for all your help we had a bit of a rough day but i gave him some infacol infant gas drops and have been massaging his belly alot which he really seems to enjoy i am concerned about giving him his mothers fecies because the vet was really specific that it should be her night droppings the soft squishy ones. i will give him some hay and oatmeal tonight in case he gets hungry tonight while i am asleep and i am going to get up in a few hours to check on him i also poured a little bit of my breast milk into his formula when i pumped for my daughter as the vetrinarian said that would almost be as good as his mums colostrum i will get back to everyone in the morning and let you all know how the little guy is doing

Piper · Aug 17, 2012

Well, I have heard, that it helps to have more than one litter, at a time. Hope it works.

skysthelimit · Aug 17, 2012

Piper":1crbztvr said:
Well, I have heard, that it helps to have more than one litter, at a time. Hope it works.

that is not always possible. in the beginning I only had two does, and even now with nearly 10 working does, they will not all breed at the same time. litters are a week apart at best.

help with a struggling baby?

Help Support Rabbit Talk Forum:

Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Member

Well-known member

Administrator

Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Member

Well-known member

Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Administrator

Well-known member

Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Join the conversation!

Join today and get all the highlights of this community direct to your inbox. It's FREE!