Blind Kit?

[Graceful Rabbitry]

I was doing my morning feed when I noticed the runt of the litter had a foggy eye, this same eye took longer to fully open. What should I do?

 

[user 8990]

Are you certain that he can’t see?

 

[ladysown]

Any eye that takes longer to open needs to be opened. It's often a sign of nestbox eye even if you don't see a lot of pus.

Give it time. Sometimes they clear, and sometimes, they don't. If nestbox eye is an issue in your herd you need to be mindful of your genetic pool.

 

[Graceful Rabbitry]

Any eye that takes longer to open needs to be opened. It's often a sign of nestbox eye even if you don't see a lot of pus.

Give it time. Sometimes they clear, and sometimes, they don't. If nestbox eye is an issue in your herd you need to be mindful of your genetic pool.

I have never had any nest box eye in my herd. It was just closed in the corner. We held a warm rag on it for about 2 minutes and it finished opening. No other problems with it until now.

 

[Graceful Rabbitry]

Are you certain that try he can’t see?

I think she can see very little.

 

[Alaska Satin]

I was doing my morning feed when I noticed the runt of the litter had a foggy eye, this same eye took longer to fully open. What should I do?
View attachment 32505

The way her pupil is dilated when it's not particularly dark makes me think you might be right about her being blind. However, as long as it doesn't look infected/irritated - and it does not - you'll just have to wait and see. I've had a bunny with pretty serious-looking "nest box eye," which resulted in a cloudy iris, end up looking and acting perfectly normal.

Incidentally, it's pretty common for REW rabbits to end up partially or completely blind, not related to a cloudy iris but to the fact that they have no pigment to protect the eyes from UV damage. Some people think this may be why REWs and Californians do that weird head-weaving movement.

 

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

The way her pupil is dilated when it's not particularly dark makes me think you might be right about her being blind. However, as long as it doesn't look infected/irritated - and it does not - you'll just have to wait and see. I've had a bunny with pretty serious-looking "nest box eye," which resulted in a cloudy iris, end up looking and acting perfectly normal.

Incidentally, it's pretty common for REW rabbits to end up partially or completely blind, not related to a cloudy iris but to the fact that they have no pigment to protect the eyes from UV damage. Some people think this may be why REWs and Californians do that weird head-weaving movement.

What head movement are you talking about? Can you describe it?

 

[Buknee]

Her eye looks like one of my previous kits that was blind.

I have had issue with nestbox eye off and on. My very first litter had it. The mama of the litter was very aggressive so I pretty much left the kits alone for the first 2-3 weeks. By the time the kits were coming out of the nestbox, one little one had it in both eyes. I bought some Terramycin and treated it faithfully. It was too late though as she was blind in both eyes. Thankfully she was a meat rabbit.

I now handle my kits daily from day one. If I see an issue I clean it with a warm cloth. That usually does the trick. Sometimes it takes a few days. I have had to use Terramycin on a few.

 

[Alaska Satin]

What head movement are you talking about? Can you describe it?

The rabbit sits with its head low and sways it back and forth in a rhythmic motion. I've never seen a rabbit with eyes other than pink do it, but all my REWs and cals do it. It's kind of like when people move their head side-to-side trying to get a sense of perspective

 

[seashore]

I was doing my morning feed when I noticed the runt of the litter had a foggy eye, this same eye took longer to fully open. What should I do?
View attachment 32505

Treat that eye with a squirt of saline once a day. One of ours with a gunky eye was milky like that when it finally opened and it cleared up. See thread Baby's eye won't open all the way

 

[judymac]

The rabbit sits with its head low and sways it back and forth in a rhythmic motion. I've never seen a rabbit with eyes other than pink do it, but all my REWs and cals do it. It's kind of like when people move their head side-to-side trying to get a sense of perspective

They call it "scanning" or "weaving", the rabbit slowly turns its head to the right, and then left, and back again, like they are scanning the area on sentry duty. It's so funny to see a herd of albino rabbits housed in hanging multiple adjoined cages, as they often begin to scan in unison, starting the cages to sway back and forth with their weaving.

 

[Graceful Rabbitry]

Treat that eye with a squirt of saline once a day. One of ours with a gunky eye was milky like that when it finally opened and it cleared up. See thread Baby's eye won't open all the way

I will try that!