Help... nursing doe with abcess :(

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irisshiller

irisshiller

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Hi, I need a bit of advice...

I have a New Zealand doe with 4 lovely kits. They are exactly 1 month old today. I thought for the last few days, the doe didn't look too well... not really sure what it was, she was just a bit too quiet and listless. Today I picked her up and realised she has an open abcess on her belly! I had some problems with snuffles and abcesses this summer but I thought I had successfully got rid of it... until now :(

I will take her to the vet as soon as possible, but in the mean time wondering what to do... should I separate her from the kits or would it be better to leave them with her? They all seem healthy and happy, they eat and drink on their own. I'm wondering if she lets them nurse at all anymore if she has this big wound on her belly?

What would be best in this situation do you think?

Iris xx
 
With one month the kits should be able to thrive without the doe, it's when they are weaned when the doe is bred right after kindling (had that happen accidently last year). They do not grow that fast as kits that get nursed, but it doesn't make that much difference in the long run.
I offered the kits oatmeal additionally.

Nursing and the kits around puts some stress on a doe, when she has any health issues I would take the kits out and let her recover.
 
Thanks!! Yes I quarantined her together with the kits, but then wondered if it would be safer to take the kits away too. They would be housed with other adult does so they can still eat cecal pellets. I wondered though if I wouldn't add to the mother's discomfort if the babies suddenly stopped nursing and she developed mastitis? :/ (Had that happen to me with my second baby and I wouldn't wish it on anyone!) If it is safer for the kits though, I will take them out.
 
I don't think it is a problem to wean them, her milk should dry up fast. There are herbs that can help in the process, but I'm no expert on that.
Edit: post291809.html?hilit=dry%20up%20milk#p291809
Do a search for "dry up milk" for more.

What I've read it's better to stop entirely than reducing the nursing, and if she is in pain she might nurse reluctantly already.
 
An abscess is an injury that didn't heal properly... might be a small
nick on the skin... possibly from a sharp edge somewhere in the wire
surrounding the cage. If I'm not mistaken, they aren't transmissible.

Depending upon the location on the body, the best thing to do is
keep it draining, washing it and the cavity with a mild antiseptic once
every other day or so. It needs to heal from the inside out. Be sure to
express all of the 'gunk' out of the cavity. You may have to excise an
additional drainage hole at the lowest point to the ground when the
doe is standing.

A vet can do little more for the animal than this... except hand you
a hefty bill at the end of the day. Does with these type of ailments
usually 'lose' that particular teat.

grumpy
 
Years ago, we had a doe that had a similar problem. I did a search and found the thread about it. Hope it is helpful.
post40592.html?hilit=Alice%20abscess#p40592

I would take the kits out. At four weeks they should do just fine. If possible give them grass hay and the large flake kitchen oatmeal in addition to their pellets.

If you can get hold of some mint, giving it to the doe will help dry up her milk. Garden sage is also good.

I'm not clear whether the abscess is on the doe's teat or just on her belly. In Alice's case the teat was not involved.
 
Thanks very much for your advice and link, Grumpy and Maggie!
I assumed it was a pasteurella related abcess because I have had this problem before. But she doesn't have any nose or eye discharge so it is completely possible that it is because of a wound. That makes me feel better... It is hard to see because of all the fur, but it is an open wound with pus. I prefer not to try and treat it myself, I have't been too successful with that in the past, I found it very hard to drain the pus and it hurt the rabbits so they fought to get away... I think a vet could do a better job than me. I have separated the kits now. They all seem fine. I hope they are not sick because they are particularly adorable :)
 
I quite understand not wanting to treat her yourself, but a couple of tips if you end up having to do it for some reason. I dug deep in my notes to find this! :)

We treated Alice with subcutaneous injections of Pen-G with Procaine that we got at the local feed store. It cost about $12. They had syringes too. You want large needles, 22 gauge is good, because Pen G is very thick. Must be stored in refrigerator, but let it come to room temperature and shake it very, very well. Dosage I was given was a half cc per four pounds of weight. I believe we gave daily injections for about four days.

Trim the fur at the site so you can see what you are doing. You will need to lance the abscess to get it to drain and a cut of about half an inch will be needed because rabbit pus is very thick. Make the cut at the lowest point so it will continue to drain.

Hydrogen peroxide (just the stuff from the drug store, I think it is 3%) softens and liquifies the pus, making it easier to remove. Some people recommend diluting it 50/50 with water but it did not seem to bother Alice. It bubbles up and gets warn, but does not sting.

Alice made a full recovery. :)

There is quite a lot of information on this website:
http://ontariorabbits.org/health/abcesses
__________________
 
A friend of mine had a rabbit that had a huge burst abscess on one of her teats. Like your doe, she was also nursing a litter, so we suspected it was advanced mastitis.

After cleaning the wound with a weak betadine solution, we injected Pen G directly into the wound cavity. I believe she did this for several days. The doe healed completely with no scarring or change in fur color!

I hope your rabbit does as well! :clover:
 
MamaSheepdog":y9yf1pp0 said:
After cleaning the wound with a weak betadine solution, we injected Pen G directly into the wound cavity. I believe she did this for several days. The doe healed completely with no scarring or change in fur color!
Click to expand...

After I posted, I got thinking about that. I've heard that one of the reasons abscesses sometimes hang on is that the wall of the abscess is very thick and tough and difficult for the antibiotics to penetrate. Thanks for posting about this, MSD! :)
 
MaggieJ":2d4nnk7t said:
I've heard that one of the reasons abscesses sometimes hang on is that the wall of the abscess is very thick and tough and difficult for the antibiotics to penetrate. Thanks for posting about this, MSD! :)
Click to expand...

Yes, it was an amazing recovery... the wound was so terrible that our first reaction was to put her down. Another example of "where there is life, there's hope"... she hadn't shown any signs of pain, so we decided to give her a chance. :)
 

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