had to open up a doe today

[boundarybunnyco]

Tamsen died. all her babies too, first the four that were partially eaten, then the four she peed on. today she was dead. hubby and I opened her up. her intestines were very full and her stomach was really big. we opened her stomach up, and it was packed full of food. I thought she just wasn't pooping. Hubby looked closer and all of her food was mixed with hair. It was a lot! Did she eat it when she was pulling fur at kindling time?
We also looked at her liver, and it had no white spots, and every thing else looked normal, as far as we could see.
Tamsen always had a lot of hay. Isn't that supposed to keep things moving along? What can I do to prevent this in the future?

 

[SarahMelisse]

Many angora breeders do a "hay and birdseed" day once a week. Basically eliminating pelleted feed for one day a week and replacing it with birdseed, hay, and plenty of water for one day a week to keep things cleared out. I haven't tried it myself, but some people swear by it.

 

[boundarybunnyco]

regular birdseed?

 

[akane]

Stomachs and intestines are normally full when feeding hay. Usually when I pull out a stomach it's a big hard giant balloon and the intestines are one long line of stool that will pop out the end if you push on any part of it.