4 week old doe with swollen vent.

[Ozarkansas]

So I have 4 week old litter of Beveren babies. 1 buck and 3 does. The runt is a doe and has bad pinched hindquarters. She will be culled anyway, but I was going to wait so we could get a meal out of her. Today I noticed she feels really skinny, I flipped her to make sure there are no signs of diarrhea. She is pleanty clean but her vent is really swollen and it seems to hurt her when I touch it. Does anyone know what would cause this in a 4 week old? Do y'all think I should cull now incase it's contagious? Thanks! <br /><br /> -- Wed Dec 13, 2017 2:51 pm -- <br /><br /> Hard for me to get pics that show how bad it is, but here's one

 

[Homer]

It makes me think vent disease Ozark. Shot of Pen G once a week for 3 weeks would cure that up. (given sub-q by weight)

It could be urine scald but you said she was clean...Is the hutch dry and clean?

 

[Ozarkansas]

Thank you Homer! Yes she is very clean and dry. The hutch has an all wire floor, they still have a DRY nestbox. I considered giving her peniccillin already, but she weighs less than 2 lbs and she is a cull anyway so not sure if that would be worth it. Does anyone know how to even make sure so little medicine gets in the rabbit? When I did 10 lb rabbits they got a very small dose and always end up with a few drops on their fur. What are the chances of this spreading to her siblings are mother? Is it safe to have her with them? Also what causes it? I had an older Dutch buck with an extremely mild case just before she was born, but I was very careful to not let it spread to the other rabbits.

 

[Marinea]

If it is vent disease, know that it is very contagious. And in a kit that young, I would be very worried about losing it to diarrhea which often comes with pen G.

Considering it was/is a runt, has weight issues and now this, I would probably cull it now and keep a close eye on the other kits, the doe and the buck that fathered the litter.

 

[Ozarkansas]

Today she is much better, though still a little swollen. Does anyone think it's possible one of her siblings bit her or something? Marinea, yes I should probably just cull her now, she is really cute but I have to cull her sooner or later because of the bad pinched hindquarters :|

 

[Homer]

Today she is much better, though still a little swollen. Does anyone think it's possible one of her siblings bit her or something? Marinea, yes I should probably just cull her now, she is really cute but I have to cull her sooner or later because of the bad pinched hindquarters :|

It's possible but you should be able to see a bite mark. Maybe Mom stepped on her or something. :shrug:

 

[Ozarkansas]

Turns out it is an injury of some kind. The swelling has gone down dramatically, and there is a srcatch on her with a bit of blood on her fur this morning. I will continue to keep an eye on her, but I'm pretty sure it is nothing more than a scratch Thanks Everybunny!
Edit: can't spell srcatch :roll:

 

[Marinea]

It's strange to be thankful for an injury, but yay!