Possible Pneumonia? Update

MamaMandy · May 30, 2013

Ok, so I have a Netherland doe that will be 28 days on June 6th. She's only 10 months old and has always looked super healthy. I noticed a few days ago she was making a coughing sound. No snot, no sneezing, no eye discharge. Then about 2 days ago, she was having serious difficulty breathing. She was rasping and was taking slow labored breaths. I was afraid she wasn't going to make it through the day. Of course, this rabbit is the beloved pet of my 7 year old, overly emotional, daughter. So, I gave her a small dose of PenG sub q. She began improving within a few hours! I have continued to give her a small dose each day, and tonight I hear no rasping, feel no rattling, and have heard no coughing. Her eyes look bright again and she's more active. I palpated and I still feel babies and they seem to be growing even. I couldn't figure out what possibly could have happened to her, but my husband had an idea...

We installed an 18 in. industrial fan in the corner of the rabbitry and have it pointed at an angle so it's not directly on anybunny, but keeps good airflow going in there. It helps with the flies too. Well, last Friday we were gone all day at the amusement park and we got home late. I was worried about the bunnies overheating while we were gone so we left the fan on high. I didn't know the temp was going to drop that evening. It really got quite chilly. I went out and checked the rabbits as soon as we got home and turned the fan off. My husband noticed the next day that somehow the fan had turned and was pointed directly at the cage on the end of that row. Guess who's cage that was? Silvia's...the coughing doe. Do you think that she got chilled and that caused it? The fan is pretty close to her cage so she was in a direct draft. Do you think she'll make a full recovery, and what is the prognosis for her pregnancy? And, how much longer should I continue the PenG?

Thanks in advance!

Miss M · May 31, 2013

Ooooooooo... she might indeed have gotten chilled.

When I have used PenG, it has been on pet rabbits only. I continued the treatment for 7 days each time.

The first was when our retired buck got a goopy eye about a year ago.
The second was on a pet doe as preventative after-care, after removing a cyst.
The third was on the retired buck again, when the bun that had the cyst suddenly took a dive health-wise several weeks later, and we had to put her down. A couple days later, the buck sneezed something out of his nose. No snot, no matted paws, no goopy eye, or anything. But I freaked, and because of the other rabbit (who probably was not contagious, but still), I started him on PenG anyway. Poor thing probably had just gotten a piece of hay in his nose.

It does sound like pneumonia to me... I hope someone else with more experience weighs in soon.

MamaMandy · May 31, 2013

Thank you Miss M. I sure hope she pulls through for my daughter's sake. I was really amazed at how quickly she improved after the first shot, so I'm hopeful.

OneAcreFarm · May 31, 2013

Either pneumonia or bronchitis...make sure to give 7 days of the PenG to completely knock out whatever it was.

MamaMandy · Jun 5, 2013

Thank you One Acre Farm. Bronchitis actually sounds pretty likely for her given the circumstances. I'll continue the PenG. Do you know if her babies have a chance?<br /><br />__________ Wed Jun 05, 2013 10:32 pm __________<br /><br />OK, so Silvia has been getting treated with the PenG for over a week now. Her breathing is no longer labored, but she occasionally makes a terrible coughing noise, and if she is handled or gets stressed at all she starts making a rasping noise. She is 28 days today. I'm concerned about the stress of labor on her. Any suggestions? Thanks!