Early weaned kits (graphic - updated)

[Zass]

Have a litter of nine from a young doe who just hasn't been able to nurse full term yet. Poor thing had a run in with mastitis the first go, weaning 10 at three weeks old.
It was my fault, had her on a wooden floored hutch in 90% humidity and summer heat. She's a super heavy milker. Won't ever do that again.

(gave the doe azithromycin, mastitis cleared right up, but the milk supply went with it)
Fed the kits pellets, high quality timothy hay and pedialyte. Had a 60% survival rate, with the kits having abnormally large bellies (Still have one, still looks odd, butchered one yesterday too, just to have a look inside and check for signs of disease) Clean livers and organs.

I usually don't lose kits unless they are runts who just failed to thrive. So a 60% survival rate is pretty bad for me.

This go she has nine, and contracted some GI issue.(it's moving around my rabbitry, most of the does have it now, but not nearly as bad. I brought in two new does recently, even with quarantine, and washing hands/changing clothes frequently, I must have spread it)

She was two days off feed. Lost her milk, at three weeks again.
(I've nursed her through the worst of the illness, her appetite is back, and she's made some normal poops for me.)

I'm giving oats, mashed pumpkin(they go nuts for it, when they weren't paying much attention the pellets, so I've kept up with it), manna pro sho feed, and timothy and alfalfa hay cubes to the kits. So far I haven't seen any loss of condition or diarrhea like I did last time, BUT it's only been a week.

Any wisdom, advice?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

It sounds like you are doing all you can for them. It is not uncommon for does to stop nursing or slow down greatly at three weeks. In a colony or wild setting they would likely be pregnant already and be weaning the litter with kits due in a week.

The distended bellies is strange though. Was there a lot of gas in the intestines?

 

[Zass]

Not at all, actually, other then the live rabbits odd shape they looked really good inside. Gall bladder a bit small and was empty, so was the bladder. *shrugs*

Still trying to figure out how to get pics on here.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

The gall bladder empties and fills according to the stage they are in digesting their food.

I always express the bladder immediately after dispatch prior to skinning and gutting. Sometimes they are very full, and other times empty, so that is normal too.

Still trying to figure out how to get pics on here.

Since we are so picture obsessed here, we have not one, but TWO tutorials on posting pics! Hopefully one of the methods described will help you:

attachment-tutorial-t5.html
picture-tutorial-t6003.html

 

[Zass]

Is it OK to post autopsy pics on here?

This was my last batch of early weaned rabbits. They struggled,(6 out of 10 survived) took forever to reach 5 lbs. (16 weeks)

Killed because someone mentioned the possibility of Hepatic coccidiosis and I wanted to have a look inside.
Lost the really good pic of the organs, but you can get a decent view from what I have I think.

See the big belly? maybe it's just me.

dug through my computers recycle bin...found a better pic!

 

[Miss M]

Yes, pictures of this sort are acceptable here in "Rabbit Care" and in "Meat Rabbits". The note of "graphic" in the title is extremely helpful.

I've never seen a rabbit taxidermy form before.

The second picture... just for future reference, it would be much easier to see things if you mopped up the work area, or moved everything to a clean background. Rinsing the lungs would be good... I actually find it difficult to tell where the lungs end and your hand begins.

I really can't tell anything from the pictures, so maybe someone else can help out with that.

 

[Zass]

I don't actually do taxidermy myself, but I know many people who do. Having a form on hand can be helpful for sizing.
That first pic (since deleted) wasn't intended as an autopsy photo, it's just what my daughter happened to take that day.
It "may" have been preserved for shock value...
I'm pretty sure the heart and lungs were clear, they never had any breathing issues it was the size of the belly and guts that seemed odd to me.
(again sorry for the macabre image, my photographer is 9 years old, and doing quite well, I think, even if she's seemed to have been more interested in taking gory images than useful autopsy ones!)
The I'll make sure we pay attention to those tips for future autopsy pics though! Thank you.
is this any better? anyone see anything unusual here that I don't recognize?

 

[MaggieJ]

I don't see any problems with the organs or guts. The rabbit did have a "big gut" but nothing that would have triggered alarm bells for me. It might simply be because it was older when butchered. Young fryers tend to look more slender.

If hepatic coccidiosis is present, there will be distinct whitish nodules in the liver, clearly visible on the surface. There may be just a few or it may be peppered with them.