So as most of you know my Maizy had 9 kits 4 weeks ago and she has done such a wonderful job with them. Unfortunately I went outside to feed all the rabbits last night and found 1 in the middle of the cage all by its lonesome. I figured that was fine, sometimes they don't mind sitting by themselves. I went ahead and filled up the food and water for everyone and she still hadn't moved. Her eyes were a bit groggy so I picked her up and sat her down. When I did this, she fell over on her side and just kind of flopped there like she was trying to get the energy to get back on her feet but just couldn't. I actually felt around on her this time to see what might be the problem and found that she was nothing but fur and bones. Uh oh! All this was, of course, right before we get ready to leave for New Years with my brother.... :roll:
I run her inside, knowing she needs to eat and probably drink. Even though all the kits are 4 weeks and eating pellets and drinking water, (along with the milk from momma,) she just didn't have the strength to get her own. I brought momma in too and sat her on my lap on her back and put the kit on top of her. She didn't even have enough energy to nurse.
So, remembering my chicken medic training from the army, :mrgreen: I took some water and mixed it with sugar, put it in a dropper syringe and put a few drops on her nose. The gates were opened!!! She wanted to suck that thing dry. Ok, good. Huston, we have progress.
I put her on Maizy again but still nothing. So I put a drop of the sugar water on Maizy's nipple and put the kit next to that. She latched! Aren't I smart
The end....
Nothing came out of the tit. I figure Maizy had just finished feeding her other kits and hadn't reproduced anything yet. I don't think it's Maizy's fault though. She a wonderful mom but what can you expect when your food goes from pellets to fodder/hay back to pellets in a months time? (Fodder was molded so wasn't left with a choice.) I don't think Maizy could produce enough milk like she had all the time before having her diet thrown in chaos.
Ok, well, she is 4 weeks old and capable of eating pellets and drinking water on her own. Time for her to start making an effort here. I brought in some pellets, crushed them into crumble, mixed them with sugar water let them soak. I then took said syringe and sucked up a few drops. (Wasn't much since, even though the crumble was mushy, it was still too large for the syringe.)
After doing this a few times she seemed to have a bit more energy so I took some of the dry crumble in my hand and hand fed her a few. She took to it, albeit, very small. It was a sign that she had enough energy now to do this on her own.
We don't have a cage or anything for the inside, and I didn't want to put her back outside where she would have to fight for her food when she barely had enough energy now to stand so I put the kit in a cardboard box with a bowl of water and some food and hay. I also put some oats in there, just in case. I figured it wouldn't hurt anything...I hope. I was worried about the bowl of water though. For one, I thought she might spill it and it soak through to my hardwood floor. Yes, call me mean but I spend much time on these floors and try everything I can to keep them looking good. Another reason I was worried was because I wasn't sure if she would know to drink out of it since she's used to the ball bearing waters. I took my chances though and was pleasantly surprised that she drank half of it when I returned the next year.
I think she is out of the woods now but I also believe that without assistance she won't make it. So my plan right now is to go out and bring mommy in and try to nurse her this morning since rabbit milk is far more fattening than pellets, hay and oats. Is there anything else that I can do to help this rabbit along? Thanks for reading and sorry for it being soooo long.
I run her inside, knowing she needs to eat and probably drink. Even though all the kits are 4 weeks and eating pellets and drinking water, (along with the milk from momma,) she just didn't have the strength to get her own. I brought momma in too and sat her on my lap on her back and put the kit on top of her. She didn't even have enough energy to nurse.
So, remembering my chicken medic training from the army, :mrgreen: I took some water and mixed it with sugar, put it in a dropper syringe and put a few drops on her nose. The gates were opened!!! She wanted to suck that thing dry. Ok, good. Huston, we have progress.
I put her on Maizy again but still nothing. So I put a drop of the sugar water on Maizy's nipple and put the kit next to that. She latched! Aren't I smart
The end....Nothing came out of the tit.
I figure Maizy had just finished feeding her other kits and hadn't reproduced anything yet. I don't think it's Maizy's fault though. She a wonderful mom but what can you expect when your food goes from pellets to fodder/hay back to pellets in a months time? (Fodder was molded so wasn't left with a choice.) I don't think Maizy could produce enough milk like she had all the time before having her diet thrown in chaos.Ok, well, she is 4 weeks old and capable of eating pellets and drinking water on her own. Time for her to start making an effort here. I brought in some pellets, crushed them into crumble, mixed them with sugar water let them soak. I then took said syringe and sucked up a few drops. (Wasn't much since, even though the crumble was mushy, it was still too large for the syringe.)
After doing this a few times she seemed to have a bit more energy so I took some of the dry crumble in my hand and hand fed her a few. She took to it, albeit, very small. It was a sign that she had enough energy now to do this on her own.
We don't have a cage or anything for the inside, and I didn't want to put her back outside where she would have to fight for her food when she barely had enough energy now to stand so I put the kit in a cardboard box with a bowl of water and some food and hay. I also put some oats in there, just in case. I figured it wouldn't hurt anything...I hope. I was worried about the bowl of water though. For one, I thought she might spill it and it soak through to my hardwood floor. Yes, call me mean but I spend much time on these floors and try everything I can to keep them looking good. Another reason I was worried was because I wasn't sure if she would know to drink out of it since she's used to the ball bearing waters. I took my chances though and was pleasantly surprised that she drank half of it when I returned the next year.
I think she is out of the woods now but I also believe that without assistance she won't make it. So my plan right now is to go out and bring mommy in and try to nurse her this morning since rabbit milk is far more fattening than pellets, hay and oats. Is there anything else that I can do to help this rabbit along? Thanks for reading and sorry for it being soooo long.
