Lactating doe sick and failing quickly.

[sodypop]

My apologies for my first post being a cry for help.

Arwyn (an Angora) is not doing well. She delivered 11 days ago and the 5 remaining kits are fine. She is not.

The last few days she’s been losing weight, although eating voraciously (everything she can get her teeth on). Last night she even started chewing on the wood of the hutch holding her cage while I had the door open (it's not treated wood). So I put a new chew block hanging toy in her cage as the old one has been nibbled down to nothing.

But her belly has been swollen and warm for about 3 days now. No discoloration, and the kits are nursing fine and putting on weight.

I thought it was just that the kits were taking a lot out of her. but this morning when I went out to the cage she was not her usual self. Instead of greeting me, she just sat there, not moving, not acknowledging my presence at all and her food from last night was untouched.

I brought her some greens to tempt her. No response. I brought her some papaya to tempt her (which she usually runs to the edge of the cage and gobbles). No response.

She’s down to skin and bones other than her swollen belly this morning and just sitting there in her cage! I’m afraid I’m going to lose her if I don’t figure out what’s wrong right away.

At first I thought maybe it was the new chew block toy, but that’s remained untouched as well.

Right now she’s just lying down with her chin resting on the bed of greens I put in for her to eat, but not eating anything, just lying there. Not even alerting her ears to the sounds of the other rabbits in the other cages around her like she normally does.

Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[trinityoaks]

Is it possible she retained a kit? Could she be lacking calcium?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

My apologies for my first post being a cry for help.

No need to apologize- quite a number of people finally join us when they have a problem.

It does make it rather awkward for us to give our usual warm welcome, though- but we are happy to have you here.

The last few days she’s been losing weight, although eating voraciously

With only 5 kits to feed, she shouldn't be taxed so much that she is losing weight despite a good appetite. :?

Since she is an angora, my first thought is that she may have wool block and the mass is blocking proper absorption of her feed, but your mention of feeding papaya later in your post makes this less likely.

However, you may want to treat her as though she does indeed have wool block to be safe. If you have or can get mineral oil, I would syringe a couple cc's into the corner of her mouth to see if that is helpful.

I brought her some greens to tempt her. No response.

Did you check her water supply? If she has a water bottle or you have an automated system, the valve may be clogged. Without water, a rabbit will not eat.

I would recommend giving her some electrolytes in any case as a form of supportive care. Many people give Gatorade, but you can easily make your own solution.

homemade-electrolytic-solution-t14844.html

As Trinity mentioned, I would also offer her calcium. Rabbits particularly like the berry flavored Tums. Any calcium will do- she will eat it if she needs it.

But her belly has been swollen and warm for about 3 days now.

Do her mammary glands feel thickened at all? She may be developing mastitis.

I successfully treated a doe by giving mint and catnip for a couple of days. You can read about it here:

experimental-mastitis-treatment-t9674.html

Warm compresses will help as well, and cabbage leaves help to draw out the infection and cool the breast. If you have vetwrap, you may be able to wrap her torso to keep them on her belly for an hour or two.

http://voices.yahoo.com/cabbage-natural ... 71117.html


Fresh cabbage leaves have shown themselves to be a cheap, natural, reliable method of mastitis treatment for many women. Here's how to use cabbage to treat your mastitis:

- Place fresh cabbage leaves over your breast. They can be worn inside your bra or nursing shirt, or simply be laid over your breast while you are resting.

- Do not use the cabbage continuously, as constant exposure may have a negative effect on your milk supply. A regimen of two hours on, four hours off is recommended by midwives.

- In many cases, cabbage will draw out the infection within 24 hours.

I hope we can figure out what is wrong with Arwyn- I must admit that her case is not straightforward and easy to diagnose. Hopefully one of our members has had a similar experience and can offer more help. :clover:

And... :hi: to RabbitTalk.

May you have many happy posts to share with us in the future.

 

[sodypop]

Thanks for the helpful ideas, I'll keep them in mind for any future buns that may need a boost. Unfortunately Arwyn died on the exam table as I got her to the vet this morning. She did indeed have an 8th kit stuck inside....for 11 days! Five of the kits have survived (2 died within 24 hours) so now I need to learn quickly how to be a surrogate mother to a litter of kits.

The vet has recommended I don't breed out further down her line due to the large volume of kits for the breed. He says there's an increased risk of this happening again if I should breed down the line.