Is it the end of the road for her?

[Ptbunny8087]

This is very sad to say, but I need to hear what you think. I have a 7 year old holland lop doe. Yes, she is old. For the past week I've been noticing that she was loosing some weight and her cost doesn't look very good. I don't think that she will make it through the winter. What do you think?

 

[Ramjet]

Pic looks like she's molting ??

 

[PSFAngoras]

:yeahthat: It is the time of year to molt. She could potentially be getting wool block too from it if she's ingested too much, explaining the weight thing. I would treat her for wool block and go from there.

If she was a production doe then 7 might be considered old, but I know several people who have had rabbits last until 9-10 easily. My own pet I had a a a kid was 12 when he passed, so in my mind 7 is still pretty middle age for rabbit.

 

[Easy Ears]

I definitely wouldn't cull her, if that is what your asking.
She looks fine. Just going through a molt so it seems. She would still have another good 3 years is my guess.

Is she doing good health wise? Oh, and did you weigh her, or does it just LOOK like she's loosing weight? There could be quite a difference. It could be it just looks like she's loosing weight, because of the fur loss. How much are you feeding her?
If you have weighed her, and she has actually lost weight, I'd just make sure she gets all the food she wants for now.

 

[Ptbunny8087]

:yeahthat: It is the time of year to molt. She could potentially be getting wool block too from it if she's ingested too much, explaining the weight thing. I would treat her for wool block and go from there.

If she was a production doe then 7 might be considered old, but I know several people who have had rabbits last until 9-10 easily. My own pet I had a a a kid was 12 when he passed, so in my mind 7 is still pretty middle age for rabbit.

Thank so so so much! I've been so upset this morning once I saw this comment it seems she could live longer. How do I treat wool block? <br /><br /> __________ Sat Oct 25, 2014 4:49 pm __________ <br /><br />

I definitely wouldn't cull her, if that is what your asking.
She looks fine. Just going through a molt so it seems. She would still have another good 3 years is my guess.

Is she doing good health wise? Oh, and did you weigh her, or does it just LOOK like she's loosing weight? There could be quite a difference. It could be it just looks like she's loosing weight, because of the fur loss. How much are you feeding her?
If you have weighed her, and she has actually lost weight, I'd just make sure she gets all the food she wants for now.

I defently would not cull her, she's my baby! :lol: She is eating drinking and being her normal self! Her belly is really plump but I can feel her spin and ribs. Since she can't be shown or have babies, she gets unlimited pellets.

 

[ilovehome]

My elops each lost about a half pound while molting this year. I imagine it is a little harder on her when she molts now than when she was younger. Maybe try some extra protein, like BOSS, and see if that helps.

 

[katiebear]

For wool block give papaya or pineapple. Some just use the enzyme tablets. Boss and oatmeal will help put the weight back on. With molting she should be passing some fur in her stool. When I see chain type poops I give pineapple. Just to be on the safe side you may want to give her some pumpkin seeds if she has worms that will take care of them.
Good luck.she looks like a real sweetie pie.

 

[Easy Ears]

I defently would not cull her, she's my baby! :lol: She is eating drinking and being her normal self! Her belly is really plump but I can feel her spin and ribs. Since she can't be shown or have babies, she gets unlimited pellets.

I totally wouldn't worry about it then. She sounds like my buck. Fat/round belly with bony back. :roll: Haha.

For wool block give papaya or pineapple. Some just use the enzyme tablets. Boss and oatmeal will help put the weight back on. With molting she should be passing some fur in her stool. When I see chain type poops I give pineapple. Just to be on the safe side you may want to give her some pumpkin seeds if she has worms that will take care of them.
Good luck.she looks like a real sweetie pie.

My buck has chain type poos. Is it serious? Would you HAVE to treat them? And is pineapple REALLY ok for them????

 

[PSFAngoras]

Pineapple would be fine, yes, but I wouldn't give it to any doe near kindling as it can act as a blood thinner, not that I think she's bred, but for future reference. I would be cautious about feeding too much at once too if she's not used to wet foods.

I myself free feed hay and give papaya enzyme tablets twice weekly (4 per each French angora, so maybe two for your holland?) as a preventative, but if they get pretty severely blocked, I give 3 cc of Petromalt which is just cat hairball remedy by oral syringe once a day until they start eating and pooping normally again. Again, this is for 12 pound angoras, and even that much is probably overkill, so I would use less for the holland if you have to go that route, but I only do this as a last resort.

 

[katiebear]

:goodpost: I got my info from psfAngoras she knows what she is doing. The op had said her doe was a pet not a breeding doe . I have given pineapple to both bucks and does, during molting. With no problems. No one was pregnant at the time. I have regular furred rabbits so I only treat during molts. I also got the advice about pumpkin seeds here on the forum.

 

[Easy Ears]

So pumpkins sees....would it be ok to get a normal Halloween pumpkin, cut it open, and feed them the sees?

So how much pineapple would be used at one time for a dwarf?
My buck is 2.9 pounds and is a Dutch/BEW netherland dwarf cross. He has the Dutch pattern, with the ND body.
His tummy is a little round, and poo is chained together some...

 

[amandainohio24]

She looks like she is just molting to me too, a major molt at that.

 

[Prisma]

Some times, I've found, as they age, they loose that flesh around their spine...no mater how much they eat or what you do they just do. She looks like every one else said, a really bad molt but not any worse off. Extra treats and tlc with grooming may help a bit, I know the 2 old girls (they're sisters, Holland Lops from the very last of the original doe I started with that were born in 2005 n 2006) are just not as plump as they used to be no matter what. They are old, they are happy, they still run around like the younger girls so I don't worry. At least she looks like she's enjoying herself even with a bad hair day in the pick with the treat.

I just throw a handful in, if they eat it they do if not it gets cleaned out in the evening. Fresh is better, but if all you can get is juice it will work. Avoid any thing with sugar or syrup. I've used meat tenderizer as well when it comes to hair balls, add some to water.