Doe not feeding her kit after C-Section

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Tes25

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My rabbit (lionhead) had 1 baby on Wednesday (2 days old now). She ended up needing a c-section for the remaining 2 that did not survive. The baby weighed 1.1 ounces yesterday. Today it weighs 1.09 ounces. It is very wrinkling and the belly does not look full. Should I assume that my rabbit is not feeding her kit? She also has started using the makeshift nest as her litter pan. She has not used her litter pan since the baby was born. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
 

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Sorry you're having this problem. Can you turn the doe over and look to see if her nipples have milk? It could be that the trauma of the surgery has interfered with her milk production. It could also mean the the kit is too weak to feed.

I don't know how much you can handle the doe so soon after surgery, but some people put a towel across their laps with a sort of pocket between their legs. They position the doe over the pocket and slip the kits under. It's a bit tricky but something you could try.

If that doesn't work, you can try hand-feeding the kit. With a kit so young, the chances of it surviving are not wonderful, but here are some threads to help you along.

updated-hand-feeding-formula-t27372.html

formula-feeding-baby-bunnies-pics-vids-t3691.html

tips-for-handraising-kits-t2486.html

:good-luck: and welcome to RabbitTalk. :hi:
 
Thank you MaggieJ. I spoke with the vet and she said to start the baby on kitty milk. Chances are her milk isn't coming in and she may not want the baby rooting around where she had surgery. She's on antibiotics and pain medication. My rabbit isn't eating or drinking so I have to start her on Critical Care.
 
Very tough situation, Tes. :cry: It doesn't sound like the chances for either of them are very good. I'm so sorry.

I've never heard of a rabbit having a c-section, except immediately post-mortem in an attempt to save the kits. What made the vet decide to choose that route instead of giving her something to cause contractions that would have expelled the dead kits?
 
Most kits will not survive on kitten formula. :(
I can only provide my own theory as to why..
Formulas for dogs and cats are intended to be given every 4 hours.
Rabbits only feed every 12-24 hours, and have very thick almost syrupy milk.
I personally believe KMR has too much water, and puts far too much strain on a baby rabbit's kidneys.

But theories aside, it is pretty well known that KMR rabbits rarely make it. Good luck, :clover: and read over the tips very carefully as there is a ton of useful information there. :)

For the rabbit off feed, you can try offering tempting foods like cilantro from the grocery store, or old fashioned oatmeal. If those don't work, force feeding critical care is good. Mashed pumpkin is also very good, as it's high soluble fiber content makes it excellent for gently stimulating intestinal movement.

Any rabbit on antibiotics should also be given probiotics, like benebac for small animals.
 
Tes, I edited your title slightly because I thought more people might read it. Unfed kits are pretty common . . . Your situation is not. Hope you don't mind.

Zass, what you say about KMR makes sense to me. I think Homer's "new improved" formula offers the best chance for the kit.

Tes, I'm wondering what antibiotic the vet prescribed. Some really disagree with rabbits and may account for her not eating and drinking. The only antibiotic I have ever used on rabbits was Pen-G with Procaine and that was administered subcutaneously.
 
Panda (my doe) was having contractions and seemed to be pushing after the first kit was born. I got concerned and called the animal hospital. I was told to bring her in to be seen. Panda was examined and had an x-ray. The vet said that the remaining 2 had large heads and she would not be able to have them naturally. At the time the vet did not know if the 2 were alive or dead. It was decided that a c-section was the best option for both the 2 babies and Panda.

Thank you for the tip on cilantro and oatmeal. I have both and will try it tonight :) I have only been able to get her to eat a few small cubes of apples. Apples are her favorite out of everything. Normally she would fling everything out of her bowl to get to the apples to eat first.

I have printed out Homer’s recipe and will be running out and trying to gather all of the ingredient. I read through the whole thread and picked up some good pointers.

The medications that Panda is on is Enrofloxacin and Matacam. Both are being given to her orally. I’ll be picking up probiotics for her as well tonight.

Maggie, thank you for updating the title! :)

Does anyone know about how much I should be feeding the kit? What is the best way to keep it warm? Panda did not build a proper nest. She only put some fur in her litter pan. She didn’t do anything with the straw, bedding and nesting box. The kit seems to always feel cold.
 
The kit probably is cold - even at normal room temperature one small kit cannot keep itself warm without an excellent nest. And a cold kit cannot digest milk, so it is important to get it warm and keep it warm.

For the moment you can warm a towel in the dryer to help it while you get a proper nest ready. If the doe is using the nest box for a litter box, use something different for the kit.

Put in lots of hay and make a hollow in it with your fist. Line it with soft insulating material: fur, dryer lint, feathers from a pillow and teased cotton batting or cotton balls all work. Fill a bottle (a screw-cap wine bottle works well) with hot water, pull a sock over it so it is not too hot and lay it along one side of the nest. The kit will move itself toward or away from it as needed.

It would be a good idea to warm the nest cavity before putting the kit in. Maybe a jar of hot water for ten minutes then take it out and put the kit in. It's easier to keep a kit warm than to warm it afterwards.

Hope this is helpful. :clover:
 
This is a great idea. My sister told me that with her's that she put on a tank top and put her kit in her shirt. Looks like I will be making it a proper nest tonight in a new box.

Thank you so much!!!
 
You're very welcome, Tes!

Yes, bunnies or chicks in the bra or under a tank top is classic! How you keep the kit warm isn't important -- keeping it warm is!

If you sister has a lot of experience with rabbits, be sure to draw on her for suggestions as well as members here.
 
She's doesn't have a whole lot of experience with rabbits. She's had her's for about 6 months and has had 2 litters. She didn't have any issues with her litters. I was hoping that her rabbit was still nursing but she's not.

I wasn't able to find colostrum supplement and Bene Bac probiotic powder at the local Wal-Mart. The pet stores were closed. I will start calling around tomorrow. I also built her a nest and lined it with a mixture of a soft bedding and Panda's fur (she didn't remove much fur to completely line the nest). Hoping for a good night and Panda starts feeling well enough to start feeding her kit.

I thought I would include some information concerning her c-section in case anyone else ever has to go through this.
The total cost for a c-section at an Orlando Florida animal hospital was $863.25 (includes spay). The spay was discounted since I was being changed for a c-section as well. $335.83 was just for anesthesia and medication. An exam and x-ray were preformed first (x-ray and exam costed $142.). The vet looked at Panda's bone structure and the head size of the babies. I was shown the x-ray. The vet said that there was a real high possibility that Panda wouldn't make it through surgery because rabbits generally do not do well. Luckily she pulled through like a champ. I had to bring the baby to the vet's office on the hopes that Panda would feed her baby. They kept both for 24 hours. The follow up appointment to remove the sutures is 10 days post surgery. I was also told that she should never get pregnant again because of the trauma to the uterus. I was also told that because she had a c-section that she has a high risk of developing uterus cancer in the next 2 years. Both of these lead me to the decision to have her spayed. The vet called the day after she was picked up (make sure you talk to the vet and not someone at the front desk). The vet wanted to know is she was eating and drinking and how much. She also asked about if she was going potty and how much. In Panda's case, she has had diarrhea. The vet then asked questions concerning the kit and if it felt warm and what it was looking like. After I told her that it was very wrinkly, she asked if I tried putting the kit close to her. I had tried that and Panda immediately moved to the opposite side of her pen. Because Panda has barely been eating and drinking, the vet said to start her on Critical care. She is on an antibiotic that she is taking twice a day for 10 days. She's also on a pain medication once a day for 7 days. We're ending day 3 since the surgery. Panda still hasn't eaten much and has barely drank anything. I was able to get the kit to eat 1.5 cc with a syringe and was able to get it to urine after eating.
 
Thanks for the detailed information about the c-section, Tes. It's bound to help someone down the line awhile.

How are they doing this morning? It's going to be most important to get fluids as well as Critical Care into your doe. Are you using a syringe (without the needle) ?
 
do you know anyone with a rabbit with babies who would be willing to foster that kit for you? that will give the kit the very best chance of survival.
 
Kinda off topic but a question that I keep asking myself -

Had the doe not had the c section what happens ? Wouldn't she simply reabsorb those fetus' ??? Making the c section .... unnecessary ??

Please correct me if my theory is wrong ....
 
Ramjet":fs44y8vx said:
Kinda off topic but a question that I keep asking myself -

Had the doe not had the c section what happens ? Wouldn't she simply reabsorb those fetus' ??? Making the c section .... unnecessary ??

Please correct me if my theory is wrong ....

Most of the time when an animal has a stuck fetus, the fetus dies, and infection sets in killing the mom. Sometimes, earlier complications such as stress, exhaustion or blood loss will kill them before the infection. Full term fetuses are generally to large to reabsorb. They will sometimes calcify but that is pretty rare and generally happens when the fetus dies before the animal actually goes into labor.

It has been known to happy in humans when a woman couldn't give birth but it is very very very very rare (like 2 cases in modern times rare not an exact number but you get the picture).

-- Sat Feb 20, 2016 3:31 pm --

A couple of cases of calcified fetuses in humans. A quick scan of these reminded me that calcification generally occurs when the fetus develops outside the uterus (a very rare occurrence on it's own). Some of the historical accounts I read were really sad. Like the woman was full term and went into labor but couldn't deliver and actually felt her baby quit kicking but there was no way to remove it.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/50-year-old ... -in-chile/

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/40-year-old ... ian-woman/

-- Sat Feb 20, 2016 3:33 pm --

And here is an interesting paper on calcification of fetuses in a rabbit. This one interestingly has calcified fetuses of different ages.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3966279/ <br /><br /> -- Sat Feb 20, 2016 3:35 pm -- <br /><br /> Tes25, I hope I haven't totally sidetracked your thread. I hope your doe and baby are doing well.
 
Even though the babies had died; Panda was still in labor and kept trying to push out the babies. The labor didn't stop with the birth of the 1st kit. I wasn't given options from the Vet. I was told that she needed to have the surgery after the x-ray was viewed. The vet did tell me that there was a high chance that Panda wouldn't make it though surgery due to her being exhausted and because she was under a lot of stress. <br /><br /> -- Sat Feb 20, 2016 4:37 pm -- <br /><br /> Panda is doing a lot better today. She's still not very active but I think it's probably because she's still sore from surgery. I was able to get her to eat some and she took some water from a dish (she wasn't drinking from her water bottle).

I made the trek today from Orlando to St Pete where my sister lives (2 1/2 hours). We tried to get the baby to nurse but her rabbit's milk has dried up. I was hoping! Other than her, I do not know of anyone else that has rabbits.

I was able to get the baby to eat a total of 2 cc today. I haven't been able to get it to take more than 1 cc at a time. So I did 2 feedings. I was reading that it should be eating 4-5 cc's a day. I figures multiple feedings would be better than not getting enough. It's still wrinkly and not a filled out plump bunny yet. The kit weighed 1.09 ounces yesterday morning. This morning it weighed 1.03 ounces. My goal is to keep it warm and to start gaining weight instead of loosing more. The wine bottle worked great. The kit wiggles right next to it and that's where it was this morning. It was pretty lethargic last night but has been more active today.
 
It sounds to me, Tes, as though you are doing really well in a very stressful situation. :goodjob: You must be very dedicated to your rabbits. :) I just hope those vet bills don't leave you too strapped.

I'm glad to hear that Panda is doing better. Giving her a water bowl was a good idea . . . less effort for her to get what she needs.

You're doing well with the kit too, by the sound of it. Any gain is spectacular in this situation. Hang in there! :clover:
 
Thank you Maggie. I will do everything I can for this bunny to live. We're quickly becoming very attached. Luckily I was able to pay the vet bill without it causing a financial burden.

Day 6 update:
Panda is doing very well. She's reluctantly taking her medication. She's not very active. She's preferring to mainly rest. She's almost back to eating what she was presurgery. She still isn't showing any interest in taking care of her baby. She'll sniff her kit but when she quickly hops away when the kit touches her. I'm just glad that she's not aggressive towards her baby.

The kit is doing ok. My 9 year old daughter has a name for "her". It's Gia which means "God's precocious gift". We have been calling her a she. Gia has been pretty active. She loves to have her head and neck rubbed. If I lay her on my chest, she immediately calms down and is content. She's starting to get a little fuzz but not nearly enough to help keep her warm. I've increased the amount of times that I'm feeding her. She's eating 4 times a day now. She's having around 2 - 2.5 cc at each feeding. Tonight she surprised us all and had 3.5 cc. She not back to her birth weigh yet (1.1 oz). She's a little under 1 ounce. This is the reason I decided to increase the feedings to try and get a little weight on her. She's starting to poop and pee on her own now. She loves when I take a warm q-tip and rub her all over her body. The biggest challenge so far has been keeping her warm through the night. Nothing so far has lasted through the night. She's cold in the mornings. Today I ordered a Snuggle Safe Pet Bed (http://www.amazon.com/Snuggle-Safe-Pet- ... op?ie=UTF8). It got great reviews and it's suppose to last 10 hours. Some reviews said 12 hours. I can't wait to get it in and try it out. I'm hoping this is the solution we need. Her markings are starting to show a little more and it looks like she's going to look like her mommy. I'll post pictures tomorrow. She will quickly become a very spoiled bunny. Every day, we are thankful that she survived another day. I don't know when we can say that she is no longer in danger but we hope to see that day.
 
Try not be too discouraged by Panda's behavior towards the baby just yet. It is completely normal for does to ignore their nestlings any time except for feeding, which may last just a few minutes once or twice a day.

Gia's best chances of survival are still in Panda's milk at this point.
Sometimes it can take several days for milk supply to come in, especially if a doe was off feed.
I really think it might be too early to have given up on it entirely.

If they were mine, I would hold Gia under Panda to nurse a few times a day.
Upright, because rabbits nurse while standing over their babies.
Sometimes a doe just needs a little practice with feeding to catch onto what they need to do. She will never lay with the baby and keep it warm at this phase, but she may cuddle with it later if they both survive a few weeks.
 
I had this exact same problem with my youngest lionhead. She has mated 4 times and has either reabsorbed her kits around 20 days and/or had very large fetuses. The last pregnancy she had 1 large baby by emergency C-section she did not care for. I tried to keep it alive but it only lived 12-14 hours. It was about twice the size of the babies in her mother's litters.

The first pregnancy she had 1 dead enormous kit plus a partially reabsorbed kit, the second and third pregnancies she lost around 22-25 days (x-rays and behavior showed this), fourth time she had the C-section with one large bunny and 3 empty placentas (looked everywhere and never found any evidence of birth, even going through the litter box with gloves on).

Her nesting behavior each time was completely messed up. First building with straw at day 23-24, then fur pulling, then digging up the poorly constructed nests, then back to building with straw. It should be digging, straw building, then fur.

Try to keep the baby alive and see if the mother will accept it; you may need her to get another oxytocin shot to start lactating, if the vet allows it. If the mother does not nurse daily she will lose the ability very quickly. Mix heavy cream with the formula, not whipping cream--heavy cream can be hard to find. Baby will also need rabbit probiotics at some point.

Sorry about this long haul you have with the little baby, but it sounds so similar to what I went through it makes you wonder if there is something about this breed that causes this problem. Even down to the sniffing but otherwise paying no attention (she was at the vet an entire day and payed no attention to the kit). Let us know how it goes, fingers crossed.

BTW the vet said not to breed her again, so it's back to breeding her mama who never had any problems, neither did her siblings.
 
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