Bad scare, Hopefully ok now...

[Susie570]

I went in and gave the baby/momma cage it's ration of pellets, oats and a sprinkle of probios this morning. As usual, the baby piranhas dove into the feeder and started gobbling the food. A few seconds later, I heard a horrible coughing sound and one off the babies was coughing and choking with yellow mucous all over its nose and mouth.

I immediately thought "oh no.... it's P".

I grabbed the baby out and cleaned it's face with a tissue, then kind of, gently but firmly shook it with its head toward the floor, then wiped it's face again. Little bun settled down and seemed perfectly normal again. Of course at that point, I'm feeling sick, thinking all of our rabbits are going to die. I carefully checked each baby, all appeared totally fine.

I finally put the little bun back in with the others, it immediately dive back into the food again. I haven't seen any further evidence of sneezing/choking in the last couple of hours.

I just now did a search on this and read, several sources, that it sounds like the baby may have been choking on its food. Has anyone else had this experience and rabbits turned out to be ok?

 

[Dood]

My babies are usually not so ravenous as I try to keep their feeder full and they always have hay to nibble on :shrug: although I have heard of others kits acting this way

 

[Susie570]

They always have hay, I stopped letting them free feed on pellets after they all got mushy poop butts. I haven't seen that since (the mushy butts). Maybe I should let them free feed again?

 

[EnglishSpot]

Mine are in love with pellets too, but I keep them stocked with a lot of hay. I have never seen hay disappear so fast!!!! I know what you mean by piranhas!!

 

[Susie570]

I've been afraid to let them free feed after the mushy butt incident... it's so difficult to know what the right thing to do is! :x maybe I should let them free feed again. They all seem to be doing great, side from this one choking/coughing issue... which I'm still worried about! But I guess the fact that it coincided with feeding leans more toward choking instead of P. I hope!!!

 

[Marinea]

Is it possible the little one aspirated the Probios? I have never used it, so I don't know if it is a powder, but that could explain it.

 

[Susie570]

Is it possible the little one aspirated the Probios? I have never used it, so I don't know if it is a powder, but that could explain it.

You know, I did think about that. Maybe that's what happened... I hope that was all it was, poor little guy.

 

[MaggieJ]

If the poopy butt is a thing of the past, you can certainly begin to increase the amount of pellets you give them. Chances are their digestive systems are mature enough to handle free feeding by now, but I still suggest increasing the amounts gradually over a period of days. As long as the poopy butt doesn't return, they should be fine.

 

[PSFAngoras]

I did have one of my rex kits a couple years ago do the same thing, but since I couldn't find a way to dislodged the pellet I culled the kit so it would suffer choking to death. Mine were on free feed all the time, so I don't know how it came about, but it happened. None of the other kits ever exhibited any symptoms of anything, so it had to have just been choking.

 

[Susie570]

Thanks everyone, that all makes me feel better. Obviously, the kits are all on high watch for any signs of snotty noses, but everyone seems to be doing great right now. I found a bag of timothy hay I had previously purchased at the pet store and I gave them a little of that as well. I'll gradually increase their pellets (with oats) over the next few days until they are on free feed again.

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

Don't know what kind of feeders you have for the little ones. I use shallow kitty cat dishes. They eat like pigs. Some litters are better than others regarding waste.

Anyway, when I read your description, I thought maybe the little one had gotten to the bottom of a dusty feed bin and aspirated some of the dust. My dishes get dust from the kits biting the pellets in half. I'll even get does that start sneezing because they breath in some dust. The green dusty noses give them away.

Once they're out of the nest boxes, I make sure the litters get plenty of hay and water.

Good luck to you!

 

[Susie570]

Don't know what kind of feeders you have for the little ones. I use shallow kitty cat dishes. They eat like pigs. Some litters are better than others regarding waste.

Anyway, when I read your description, I thought maybe the little one had gotten to the bottom of a dusty feed bin and aspirated some of the dust.

Thanks Although I'm really worried about the potential for the dreaded P, I now suspect (hope) it just got badly choked, maybe on the probios powder. I feed them in a metal pan that hooks to the side of the cage, but I may go back to the tall feeders with the dust free bottoms. I'll still worry about it all night, I'm sure.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I would still be very worried since you described the mucous as yellow. If it aspirated pellets, the discharge should have been dark green and pasty.

If you place your hand around the kit's chest you should be able to feel whether or not there is congestion in the lungs... You can feel them "gurgling". You might need to compare it to a healthy kit so you will feel the difference.

I hope I am wrong- but I would continue to watch him carefully. Good.luck. :clover:

 

[Susie570]

Yeah, that's what worried me. I have read other counts of people seeing yellow mucous when their rabbit choked though, so hopefully that's all it was. His lungs seemed clear after it was over and he was hopping around like nothing happened. The probios powder has a yellowish tint to it,so maybe that was it. I'll see them all in just a few minutes when I head to the shop. Here's to hoping... <br /><br /> -- Mon Mar 02, 2015 10:21 am -- <br /><br /> Well... I'm still don't feel like we're 100% in the clear. All babies appeared bright eyed and healthy when I inspected them this morning. I gave them pellets mixed with oats (which, of course, put them into a feeding frenzy) and then watched/listened very carefully. I did hear the occasional cough/sneeze while they were eating. Each time I heard something, I would snatch up the suspected kit (much to its annoyance) and inspect the nose/mouth area. They all appeared free from any sort of mucous or eye discharge. So... I don't know. Are they just getting themselves irritated while chowing down, or is there something wrong?

This is more concerning since the doe did start sneezing a while back, and has never completely stopped. What I mean is, that she will sneeze occasionally, but I've never seen any discolored mucous from her or any additional signs of concern. I do have dusty hay, but our buck hasn't sneezed at all, that I've ever noticed. I guess the only thing to do is continue to watch the little buggers and medicate myself for the anxiety this rabbit rearing is causing.