leg bitten off 5 week old! update; 7 weeks and doing great!

[TheLittleBunny10]

I just put in a water dish today, I hope it helps. it is about 80(F) today, so it is pretty hot. and I am keeping the babies inside around lunch because it gets so hot, but he (Licorice) seemed really excited about KMR, so he should survive <br /><br />__________ Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:35 pm __________<br /><br />my mom was thinking it might be a disease, has anyone else had this happen with rabbits/kits?

 

[Miss M]

Putting in the water dish should help, but you'll need to keep a close eye on them. Of course, I know you already know that!

 

[AnnClaire]

Have you checked the doe for mastitis? It can infect the kits, but I can't recall their symptoms. Maybe someone else can post a link to a diagnostic post.

 

[faiththequeen]

Have you checked the doe for mastitis? It can infect the kits, but I can't recall their symptoms. Maybe someone else can post a link to a diagnostic post.

I was thinking this also. They must not be getting enough from mama. My kits are just starting to drink from the bottle but they still have mom, so no dehydration. Maybe she's drying up? Hope the kit is better today

 

[TheLittleBunny10]

he died :weep:

__________ Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:21 am __________

Have you checked the doe for mastitis? It can infect the kits, but I can't recall their symptoms. Maybe someone else can post a link to a diagnostic post.

I was thinking this also. They must not be getting enough from mama. My kits are just starting to drink from the bottle but they still have mom, so no dehydration. Maybe she's drying up? Hope the kit is better today

how do I check?

If it involves flipping her over, she kicks like crazy!<br /><br />__________ Tue Apr 30, 2013 1:20 pm __________<br /><br />and yet more news, Oreo is a boy and Tik-Tak is a girl

 

[AmysMacdog]

Awww I'm sorry about Licorice. He was a cutie! Very sorry for your loss.
I hope the others will be ok.
How is the mom's belly? Any sign of mastitis?

 

[TheLittleBunny10]

How is the mom's belly? Any sign of mastitis?

what does it look like?

*edited double post *

 

[LauraNJ]

Sorry he died.

 

[Marinea]

So sorry to hear you lost one LB.

*fingers crossed for the rest of the kits*

 

[TheLittleBunny10]

here is a picture

 

[Miss M]

Aw... pretty little garden you made for him. So sorry he died.

 

[TheLittleBunny10]

thanks everyone

 

[AnnClaire]

Little Bunny,

For your doe that kicks, try holding her facing you against your chest with her head under your chin and your arms wrapped around her ... one under her bum, the other around her shoulders and hold TIGHT. This will reassure her that she is not going to fall and will keep her from struggling.

Now, go sit down in a nice comfy chair and pet her for a bit to try and get her to relax as much as possible.

Very gently, try to turn her and lower her to your lap facing away from you with her feet on your legs. Pet her some more. Then, gently pick her up with your hands under her elbows and around her chest with your thumbs across her shoulders. This will cradle her front legs, and you will be gently tipping her back up against your chest facing away from you. If she kicks, her feet will be going away from you.

Once you have her back upright, and she has quit struggling, gently but firmly run one hand down one side of her belly, feeling for her mammary glands. Then do the other side with the other hand. Do any of them feel different from the others? Do any of them feel hard? Is there any place where that is warmer/hotter than the other?

Once you have done this, place her back on your lap and pet her some more. When she is calm again, place one hand under her chest and tip her back into the crook of your other elbow like you would hold a baby. Be careful that your other arm is out of the way of her kicking if she does. You can rest her bum on your lap and do a visual check of her mammary glands looking for a blue or black color to the skin.

A healthy mammary will be pink and the nipple should have a dark spot where the milk comes out.

If this doe is skittish, you may not be able to get all done at once, but keep trying. You need to be able to do a health check on all your buns and that includes their underside

This is how to trance a doe and lay her back for supplementing a runt:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPSk01-6xiw[/youtube]

And this is a generic "how I hold my bunny: ... the very end is hilarious!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhiwhg75ftE[/youtube]

 

[ladysown]

dehydrated....using her head as a leg?

ah....that's classic isn't for cunniculi???

dehydration is often a precursor to that is it not??

 

[TheLittleBunny10]

I really think it is EC now, and I think Marshmellow is a carrier, if she is should I start weaning the kits?
I looked at a website, and it said the way to cure EC is fenbendazole, is that a over-the-counter thingy?


oh and Toffee and Kit-Kat are dying :weep:<br /><br />__________ Wed May 01, 2013 11:12 pm __________<br /><br />Toffee died :weep:

 

[Teddy2511]

I don't know anything that would help, but I am so sorry LittleBunny!

 

[TheLittleBunny10]

It's fine Teddy


has anyone else had this problem?
and how do I start weaning?<br /><br />__________ Thu May 02, 2013 9:37 am __________<br /><br />thanks AnneClarie, but I don't think she has Mastits, but I'll check anyway, oh and the (sick) babies are too weak to nurse

 

[Teddy2511]

You can try a little bit a sugar water to perk them up long enough to nurse; sometimes that works.

And as to weaning, if they are already eating pellets and hay than they are old enough that you could wean them.
I am not sure if you will need to change anything since they are younger than usual for weaning, but I usually just remove the litter of kits from mom, or mom from the litter, (keeping the babies all together either way) and then, since your babies are still so young, monitor their health, weight, and eating habits closely for the next few weeks.

Make sure that they are already eating pellets and hay, and continue to feed them unlimited amounts.

This is just my experience though, with weaning 6-8 week old babies. I have never had to wean early.

 

[AmysMacdog]

Awww LittleBunny sorry your bunnies are sick and so sorry for your losses.
You can get fenbendazole at the feed store. I would use the liquid kind for goats by "Safegard". I used it before on my rabbits but I don't remember the dose. It was a very small amount.
I wonder... could these bunnies have coccidia? If they have that then they would need a different medication than fenbendazole.

 

[TheLittleBunny10]

I am going to get something called "Diatomaceous earth", my grandma & grandpa eat it and feed it to their sheep & dogs.
I am pretty sure it is a parasite now I don't like parasites <br /><br />__________ Thu May 02, 2013 11:23 am __________<br /><br />Kit-kat died
I am getting too used to this

Tik-tak has it, I am REALLY REALLY sure it is a parasite