Doe looking very thin

[II Arrows]

My cali mix doe had her first litter 4 weeks ago. Her 3 kits and her 1 foster kit are thriving, their dooing really well. I can't say the same for her. I never weighed her but I do know she definitely lost a lot of weight in these past 4 weeks. She doesn't seem to want anything to do with the pellet feed. I just fed her some good hay and a handfull of old fashioned oats and she was loving that.......or just that hungry. She does drink water. my wife said she gave some fresh Khale yesterday and a celery stalk today and she ate thoes too. I'm a little concerned because my other BNZ doe has double the kits and is perfectly fine. My little cali mix is skin and bones. Would 4 kits take that much out of her? Or could there be an underlying issue that I'm not seeing. Any help or information would be greatly appreciated, thanks <br /><br /> -- Fri May 01, 2015 7:02 pm -- <br /><br /> Last sunday feeding her kits

 

[Zass]

If she's feeding kits, she will definitely need to eat more.

If she were mine, I'd keep giving her the oats and hay for as long as she's refusing pellets, along with greens like dandelion, kale, and whatever else she's accustomed to getting. I'd also offer a tablespoon or two of black oil sunflower seeds a day for additional fat and protein. Pellet refusing does usually do well for me on such a diet

The appearance of rapid weight loss is sometimes a sign of dehydration, so check her and her cage over carefully for any sign of diarrhea, and consider offering her a homemade electrolyte mix or purchased drink if you see any signs of it. My go-to is unflavored pedialyte.

 

[II Arrows]

Thank you Zass, I know this is neither here nor there but all of my rabbits get manna pro select series feed. I do mix in a big bag of Boss sunflower seeds to one 50 pound bag of feed so all of my rabbits do get some sort of boss seads daily. My wife and I haven't noticed any diarrhea but I have noticed mushy poo once or twice . I thought perhaps that was her night droppings. My wife did notice her on more then one occasion licking up some of her own pee even though she has both salt and miniral spools in her hutch. Should I try the pedialyte? Can the kits have that as well? I do have 2 water bottles in her hutch.

 

[Zass]

Mushy poo might just be cecotropes.

Hmmh. You can try if you feel she's dehydrated.
It's very safe, and even good for kits.
Since she's already getting boss mixed with her pellets, that's probably plenty.

If lactating or pregnant does are being fussy about feed, I like to just give them whatever they want. :lol: Maybe they know something I don't.

There is also a possibility she may have parasites.

 

[the reluctant farmer]

If you have pumpkin seeds around, give her a tablespoon of those. It might stimulate her appetite and could help if she does have parasites.

 

[II Arrows]

Pumpkin seeds raw? Or the kind you find in a bag like sunflower seeds? I feed my chickens pumpkins when I have them because I've always been told it's a natural de wormer, would that promote the same benefits to rabbits? I'll definitely be getting some electrolytes tomorrow.

 

[Zass]

I use raw de shelled pumpkin seeds from a local grocery store for worming, but I've given seeds shell and all with no problems. Like boss, they will munch the shells right up.

 

[Susie570]

You could also try giving her a little piece of banana. My doe was nuts over banana when she was nursing.