Edited: I think we're about to lose her =(

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Cottie

Cottie

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I'm not sure if we have a problem or not.

My questionably expecting doe has a lump next to her vulva. Every time I hop in the colony to water them, I give them a quick look over. I noticed her vulva was HUGE and she has a lump - that resembles one of the male's testicles - next to it. I tried to get a picture, but it didn't accurately show lump in question.

Any ideas? I separated her so I could keep an eye out. It's probably nothing, but I really don't have a clue...
 
No, sorry, that is a new one for me. I don't like the sound of it though.

Could it be a warble? The lump would have a hole for the maggot to breathe through. Although disgusting, a maggot is preferable to a tumor in my opinion. :roll:

If it is a warble, you need to pull it out with forceps without tearing it in half (not easy at all) and disinfect the wound tract.
 
I didn't see any wounds that would indicate something got in.<br /><br />__________ Sat Jun 01, 2013 6:52 pm __________<br /><br />Now she's got a smaller lump on the other side as well. Heavy breathing, and extremely sedate about being handled (she usually isn't).
 
Not that. It looks like something is bulging out from under the skin. I'm worried that a) she was pregnant and can't get them out or b) she has some kind of growths that are making her look extremely pregnant.<br /><br />__________ Sun Jun 02, 2013 11:41 am __________<br /><br />She's got her butt parked in the nest box I gave her. She hasn't pulled any fur.

I've been checking on her every half an hour or so. This time I pulled her out. I didn't even have to move fur to see the lump. As soon as I put her back in the cage, she hopped in the nest box and squatted. I could see her tighten up, almost like she was constipated. But she's been pooping just fine. I've been fasting her for 12 hours, providing tons of water (she's gone through two 16 ounce bottles since 5PM last night), in the hopes that maybe she had something a bit impacted. Not so, I can see she's cleaning her colon out real well.

What are my next steps? Wait and see?
 
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Not yet, Dood. I know I need to. Giving her a little more time then I'll try to figure out how to do it.
 
Any reason as to why she is being fasted? I would offer her all the yummy food she could eat to keep up her strength and hydration.

Not sure what it could be... I would guess a stuck kit OR some kind of growth/abscess that is stopping the kits coming out? Honestly I would most likely cull her at this point to avoid suffering. But if you want to try something maybe put a lubricated finger inside of her and feel around/loosen up possible stuck kit.

Can you try take some pictures? And I hope this isn't insensitive. But any chance if she does pass away or you humanely dispatch her... could you please necropsy and post pictures of your findings? This could be very informative for the rest of us here.
 
I'm thinking prolapse, is it red and does it directly come out of the vulva?
My doe had it few weeks back and she was put to sleep by the vet.. it was all over facebook.
 
I probed. Nothing blocking.

A few observations...hmmmm...fun....I held her on her back, on my lap. To my right, I felt something hard, but nothing symmetrically matching to the left. I'm not sure how wide a rabbit's pelvis is supposed to be, but it seemed quite narrow to me. The probing enflamed her more, to an excessive degree. The fur on the base of her tail and around her vent is yellow from urine - she's always been a very fastidious rabbit, and the cage is on top of a tubberware bin with a ridged lid, so she isn't sitting in her own urine.

The nest box has become a litter box, but I don't think on purpose. I think she is jumping in and straining. She's eliminating properly.

She isn't making any sounds of discomfort, but she is much more sedate than usual. She's not a mean girl typically, but she isn't very fond of being handled.

What I am most concerned about at THIS moment is her brother was the first one we culled due to infection. I *assumed* he had the growth on his right testicle due to our other male attacking him. However, it now seems suspect that she has a lump in the same region.

I don't think it's an abscess, though. The lump is squishy (think partially filled water balloon), without any form of margin, and the size seems to correlate to the engorgement of her vulva. Also rules out a cyst. I'm thinking she has some kind of internal bleed or prolapse, but it's just a total guess.

OK, time to go see if I can get pictures of what it looks like...

__________ Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:17 pm __________

It's difficult to really see the lump. But the dark, shiny area is raised ~1/4 to 1/2 inch, with a small round squish to it. It needs to be felt.

DSC_0299.jpg

I'm on the fence about culling. I don't want to cull if there's nothing wrong with her. I'm also curious if her brother's problem was NOT an infection from attack. He was pretty miserable toward the end, though.<br /><br />__________ Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:25 pm __________<br /><br />And, for reference, here was my thread on her brother.

what-do-i-do-buck-injury-getting-worse-t15044.html

I'm going to go check the other rabbit from the same litter to see if he has any weirdness going on. My current working theory is some kind of growth in that area. I may have missed it with the other since his testicle would have initially masked the "lump". Since it missed it, it could have continued to grow until it erupted and became infected.
 
Sorry, RJ-

I have no idea what that might be. It does not sound like an abscess since it is squishy- you may be right that it is filled with blood, but it could also be a hernia. If a loop of her intestine is being forced through and does not resolve after the birth, you will likely need to cull her.

Since she doesn't seem to be in pain, I would see how the delivery goes. :clover:

In case she dies, or you have to cull her at the last minute, do you have any other does that you could foster the kits to?
 
Sorry for the bad photo, used boyfriend's phone. I'm going with something is herniated or ruptured. This is how she looked after I felt for lodged kits again.
imagejpeg_2.jpg

Very engorged/enflamed, dark red and mottled. I'm not sure what's going on or how we'll proceed...
 
I happened to check a doe the morning of the day she kindled, and her vulva looked just like that- it was HUGE, almost the size of a nickel in diameter.

As long as she is not grinding her teeth in pain, I say give her a chance.
 
Yes, ma'am. =)

I'm going to check on her again - probably won't handle her - before bed. We aren't going to do anything before tomorrow morning, and it will all depend on how she's doing.

I mean, c'mon, I once had a 56 hour labor and I was only trying to push one mini out. =)
 
I'm with MSD on this one, give her a chance..I've been around raising rabbits since I was born and also raise them now that I have a home of my own. All I am saying is in 26 years it never fails that almost every year I'm faced with something weird, abnormal, or something I've never seen before and it never fails to blow my mind what rabbits can come up with! I hope for the best of luck for you, keep us posted on what's going on with your doe. It could be a learning experience for us all here since it seems not a lot of us have ran across your situation.

Good luck to you and your doe :) I really hope for the best for both of ya! :clover:
 
How is she doing today?

Hoping for good news, and a nest full of popples! :clover:
 

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