2 week old kit out of nest box and breathing weird :(

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Juci

Juci

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When I went to feed the rabbits this morning it took me a while to notice that this kit was out of the nest. I gave everyone food and then emptied water out of a pretty large water bowl, went away to get water to refill it, and when I came back the baby was curled up inside the bowl. I have no idea if he was out all night hiding somewhere or just came out while I was getting water.

I was going to put him back in with the others but he just doesn’t seem right to me. Breathing heavy and making this clicking noise in his nose. Not moving very much, but he has spurts of energy where he tried to hop around. I put him next to the mom and she licked him a little but then hopped away.

Is he sick? Is there anything I can do for him? Right now I still have him separated from the others in case it’s sickness and he’s wrapped up in my shirt. It’s a colder morning than usual, but I live in the tropics so it’s not that cold, probably 55-60 degrees out. Could he have gotten chilled overnight at those temps?

I really appreciate any help or advice anyone has. 💕 he was born December 23rd in case that helps.
 

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Update: Unfortunately the baby bunny just died in my arms. His condition declined so fast, I’m shocked. The breathing turned into gasping and within minutes he was gone. 😔

I’m going to change and wash everything and check on the rest of the litter. If anyone knows anything about what could have been done earlier, or if there’s anything to do now about the rest of the litter - if it’s a disease- I’d still like to hear it. Maybe this thread can help someone else too someday.
 
My understanding and practice is to swap out the straw from a nest at about 1.5 to 2 weeks with all fresh straw. The reason? By then you've got a lot of droppings and urine built up in the nest and it can cause eye infections in the kits......and maybe even the respiratory infection you've encountered. By two weeks, I always remove the nestbox entirely, refresh the cage with fresh straw (in the winter because the babes still need it). The kits begin eating pellets at 2 weeks and this provides a way for them to get in and out of the nest easily so they can begin transitioning from mom's milk to pellets. By 4 weeks I completely wean because mom would do so if in the wild at 4 weeks, too.
 
KelleyBee said:
My understanding and practice is to swap out the straw from a nest at about 1.5 to 2 weeks with all fresh straw. The reason? By then you've got a lot of droppings and urine built up in the nest and it can cause eye infections in the kits......and maybe even the respiratory infection you've encountered. By two weeks, I always remove the nestbox entirely, refresh the cage with fresh straw (in the winter because the babes still need it). The kits begin eating pellets at 2 weeks and this provides a way for them to get in and out of the nest easily so they can begin transitioning from mom's milk to pellets. By 4 weeks I completely wean because mom would do so if in the wild at 4 weeks, too.
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Thank you for the info. I will definitely take your advice to heart and do this in the future and make sure there’s only fresh hay in the entire pen when this doe is pregnant. She’s an early nester I guess cause she stashed hay on day 12-16 the second time in a row, and I wasn’t expecting it (her second litter). When I saw her hay stashing I changed it out, but it’s definitely possible that she used some older hay before I did that.

For the record for anyone else encountering this, my setup is a pen and hutch where the doe has free access to a yard. These babies were born in an underground burrow that she dug herself. The same burrow worked for her first litter where all babies were very healthy. I’m not trying to say that this setup won’t work for someone else or maybe a different climate, but I think I’m going to switch to traditional nesting boxes for a while. This way I can have more control over sanitizing/cleanliness.
 
Aloha. I really like the burrow. I was told by the lady I bought my doe from that I should leave a little bit of poo in the nest because it helps build their immune systems. I think we all do a good job at cleaning up after them and that is probably the least of our worries, right? Your bunnies are super cute so have fun with the rest of them and just keep an eye on them. Aloha.
 
I agree with the nest changing but we do it by at a week, the kits get eye infections very easily. We turn the box over after two weeks like they said but do not remove it until about 3 weeks. And if at all possible we leave our kits with their mom until at least 8 weeks. This is so the kits (unless they are headed to freezer camp) develop good gut flora for longevity. If going to camp does not matter so much. Just offering our input. Praying the rest of your babies thrive!
 
Scooter1A said:
Aloha. I really like the burrow. I was told by the lady I bought my doe from that I should leave a little bit of poo in the nest because it helps build their immune systems. I think we all do a good job at cleaning up after them and that is probably the least of our worries, right? Your bunnies are super cute so have fun with the rest of them and just keep an eye on them. Aloha.
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Aloha! Yeah it sounds like it’s a balancing act, like most things. Too sterile and you get problems, but also needs to be kept clean. And thank you! They are such cute little things. I hope I can keep them all safer and healthier in the future. :)
 
Sapphire16 said:
I agree with the nest changing but we do it by at a week, the kits get eye infections very easily. We turn the box over after two weeks like they said but do not remove it until about 3 weeks. And if at all possible we leave our kits with their mom until at least 8 weeks. This is so the kits (unless they are headed to freezer camp) develop good gut flora for longevity. If going to camp does not matter so much. Just offering our input. Praying the rest of your babies thrive!
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Thank you for this info- If I decide to keep any from this litter or anyone wants them as pets, I’ll definitely try waiting the extra 2 weeks to wean.
And thank you for the prayers too! They’ve worked so far,💕 all 5 of the other babies are doing well so hopefully they keep up the good health 🤞🏼. I moved them into a clean nesting box and the mom seems to not mind me moving them.
 

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I don't clean out the nestbox unless it's gross. Sometimes I'll just remove the gross bits and drop in some shavings... but normally I flip my boxes at a couple days past eye opening. Often depends on litter size too right? Small litters don't tend to get mucky, big litters do quite quickly. I choose to flip the box rather than remove it immediately as it gives the kits a safe place to huddle together with no breezes at all to bother them.
 
Well, I thought I was in the clear but now one of the other babies is sneezing and has a runny nose. Not sure if I should separate it from the rest or if that would be pointless since it’s already been with the others and had plenty of time to spread it. I hope it pulls through. 😔
 
More prayers coming! That's a tough decision. Is your hay or nesting material dusty? If you have some electrolytes or vita drops to give the new problem baby in a syringe that might help. Check its nose to see if there is next material clogging it. Mom isn't sneezing or showing any signs? Watch their eyes to make sure they are not getting infected. I'd look at the nesting material first or anything causing dust in their environment. Have some Terramycin on hand for their eyes.
 
Sapphire16 said:
More prayers coming! That's a tough decision. Is your hay or nesting material dusty? If you have some electrolytes or vita drops to give the new problem baby in a syringe that might help. Check its nose to see if there is next material clogging it. Mom isn't sneezing or showing any signs? Watch their eyes to make sure they are not getting infected. I'd look at the nesting material first or anything causing dust in their environment. Have some Terramycin on hand for their eyes.
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Thank you so much for the support. I really appreciate it, I’m scared for my buns. I try not to get attached to working animals, but it’s difficult not to. I had some nutri drops and just gave some to them, and I’ll see if I can get some terramycin when I go to town tomorrow.
I’m not sure about the hay. It is fresh but I bought it a few weeks ago, so it might have been dusty at the bottom of the bag. There’s also a layer of care fresh under it in the nest box, but never had a problem with that before. Maybe that was dusty?
The mom is now sneezing and wiping at her nose, but no snot that I can see and her eyes look clear. Yesterday I fed nasturtium leaves to the baby that was sneezing/snotty and today it seems to have cleared up. Baby seems fine and now only mom is sneezing. I’ve quarenteened the mom and babies all together for now and gave mom a bunch of nasturtium and oregano. The rabbit who was in the adjacent cage is now in my room so I can watch him. No sneezing or anything yet but he’s very low energy and seems depressed.
I ordered some Baytril and am hoping for the best in the meantime. 🙏🏼
 

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