I have a proven doe, with 7 10-day kits, who seems to have developed mastitis. She is not eating, drinking very little, does not move around much, but is feeding the babies. Taking her to a vet is not an option. I've been putting warm compresses on her a few times a day. She developed this 2 days ago. Today, when I took the compress away, there appears to be some dark colored substance, but not much. Is there anything else I can do for her? I could let another doe foster her babies, but that doe has 8 babies herself. Any suggestions is greatly appreciated.
Edited to say that she is a New Zealand White, this is her 4 litter since I got her over a year ago. No changes in food or environment. Lives outside.
I would not recommend fostering the kits since at least some of them may have the bacteria in their mouths and transfer it to the new doe. Also, taking all the kits away suddenly may cause her mammary glands to get clogged full of milk, which can add to the mastitis problem.
Warm compresses are good; if you can gently (gently!) - express some of the fluid, that may also help by relieving pressure and eliminating some of the pathogens. Be careful to wash your hands and anything that touches the fluid since it is full of germs. Application of neosporin (
not neosporin plus) to the area may also help. Massage it (gently!) so that it can get into the gland.
You can give the doe any combination of these plants:
- Echinacea: from your yard if you live in a warm area that still has live plants, from a health food store if not. If you get the capsules from a store, mix about four of them into a gallon of water. If you have fresh, just offer them to her. Echinacea is a good one to collect and dry for winter use.
- Plantain: antimicrobial, soothing to mucous membranes; same note about collecting and drying.
- Lemon Balm: antibacterial, antiviral, calming
- Willow: an excellent anti-inflammatory and natural analgesic. Rabbits can self-medicate for pain.
Strawberry: leaves and berries both are antiseptic and can help tempt the rabbit to eat or drink.
Keeping her eating and especially drinking is really important so that she doesn't develop more problems. Putting something nice in her water (strawberry?) or offer her strawberry and/or parsley which are appetite stimulants. In fact at this point I'd give her anything she wants at all, just to keep her insides moving.
Mint: I would not suggest using this unless the situation is grave and you remove the bunnies, but mint is pretty effective in helping does dry up. Stopping milk production will starve out the bacteria producing the mastitis. You can frequently find live plants sold as seasonings in the grocery area of stores, WalMart for instance.
