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If the problem was the feed (and from everything you've said, it sure sounds like it) the damage shouldn't be teterogenic or mutagenic. Basically, it's really, really hard for feed issues to cause genetic damage. The animals that ate the bad feed might not perform as well as they did before they interacted with whatever toxin, but their young should be fine, genetically. Rabbits are pretty good at bouncing back from things like this, it's part of what makes them useful as lab animals. I'm thinking of how often rabbits are used for reproductive toxicity studies.


My best guess for what contaminated your feed, based on what you said, is that either some of the feed got sprayed with some of the newer herbicides that haven't been fully studied in all forms of livestock (ahem, they normally don't do nearly enough research on mammalian impacts of herbicides in my NOT so humble opinion, says the child raised with a disabled father from Agent Orange exposure- it took them 30 YEARS to admit that's what was going on, and about 10 times the hospital's told us to make final arrangements, so it's a subject that I have quite the soap box about), or your feed might have had some sort of mold contamination.


Either way, if it helps, the kits will probably reproduce fine, even if the ones who were in the does during this crazy badness may not be quite as perfect at gaining weight on schedule as they might have otherwise been. You weren't even injecting the does with lead, or herbicides, or other


The odds are really, really low from everything I know about reproductive toxicology (not as much as I should) that you're going to have serious, long-term impacts from this. Some clean food and time should clear it up.


If the issue was mold, mycotoxins reduce vitamins A, D3, E, K and thiamine available in the feed and in the rabbit's bodies, and sometimes what actually kills the rabbit is a deficiency in one of these vitamins. Maybe giving treats that are high in these vitamins for the next few days could help them get back in their groove?


As a quick side note, I do know some people who use barely fodder (sprout barley seeds for 7-8 days) as a rabbit feed, and the buns seem to realy enjoy it. I know that wheat fodder and barely fodder are sometimes fed to get animals past reproductive toxicity issues, or in the case of a disaster, like Fukashima radiation. Grass fodder's also been used to bump reproduction rates for animals like older prize bulls (it can dramatically increase sperm production) and can bump the size and health of rabbit litters.


Perhaps feeding a bit of wheatgrass or barely fodder would help get them back on track faster?


I am so sorry you're dealing with this. I hope this is helpful, not annoying.


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