Pregnant doe refuses to eat ; HELP

[Zass]

This is the second time this has happened to me. A 3 week along doe just goes off feed for no apparent reason. Was eating fine, no dietary changes.
I was quicker this time, to catch it before she went into total GI stasis. Ugh, I've had to hand feed a doe through that (she didn't make poops during her whole last week of pregnancy) and somehow we saved the doe 4 kits out of the litter.

What I want to know is why they do this, and is there a good way to prevent it?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I don't know why she is going off her feed. Maybe she is stressed by the kits getting out of the nest? :? Does she have a place to get away from them, like a shelf or the top of the nestbox?

You can see if she will eat some parsley- it is an appetite stimulant. MaggieJ also sometimes coats grain with a mixture of molasses and water. You want to add only enough to slightly coat the grain (or pellets). The mixture should be fairly dry to the touch.<br /><br />__________ Tue Nov 26, 2013 2:45 pm __________<br /><br />Also make sure she is getting adequate water. If she is using a water bottle or automatic system, the valve may be clogged or she may be drinking "just enough" and no more because it takes more effort than lapping water from a crock.

If she doesn't have a crock, I would give her one just to be safe.

 

[Zass]

My problem is rabbits going off feed a week before their due date, afterwards I'm a lot more comfortable nursing them back to health. Although I DID just have a rabbit go through a different GI issue 3 weeks afterwards. That was some kind of massive diarrhea event. That one's all better now and every kit survived just fine.

But this current issue, she's an experienced doe who has had several litters before. I wean at 8 weeks normally, and don't rebreed until after weaning, because I just don't have space for too many litters of 9 to 11 rabbits each. so none of my pregnant rabbits ever has kits still with her.

(parsley and fennel have already been acquired! I'm SO glad the grocery stores around here started stocking that, it's saved the life of a rabbit who did this same thing last winter) The molasses tip sounds good, I'm going to try that. I have oats available to her, hay cubs, timothy hay and some dried lemon balm...see...I've been through this before! I REALLY hate dropper feeding a pregnant doe though so I hope it never comes to that, she IS drinking and nibbling, but her poops have shrank pretty small.)


So you think it might still be stress? I could try moving her to a less busy location, or bringing her inside away from any wild animals that might be coming around at night, ahh, but those things might stress her even more..

 

[MamaSheepdog]

So you think it might still be stress?

No, not really. Aside from inadequate water or the kits bothering her, I have no idea without any other symptoms...

I assume the kits are out of the box by now, so it will be hard to tell if she is passing small poop in addition to her normal sized ones- but that is something I would check for as well. Maybe you could put her in a different cage for a couple of hours to check for that.

If you are familiar with palpating the abdomen you could also see if you can feel a blockage of some kind.

 

[Zass]

nono, she has no kits with her, she's due to have them this Saturday.

Is it possible for really large litter sizes make it hard for a doe to eat? That last doe who went off her feed around this point in her pregnancy delivered 12. This doe also has a history of large litters. hmm, both rabbits that did this to me (the one last year, and the current one) were also both a touch overweight.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

nono, she has no kits with her, she's due to have them this Saturday.

Oh, jeez, my brain must be missing. I hate it when that happens. :angry:

My does often go off feed before kindling- but not a week in advance. Mine don't have huge litters though. Eight is a good litter for mine, and I have had ten a couple of times.

Hopefully someone with does who have large litters will have input for you.

I just remembered that one of our members swears by celery to tempt rabbits to eat again when they have gone off feed. I just reread your post and see that her poop has gotten smaller, so you are approaching the critical stage with her. She needs to eat something, and the sooner the better.

 

[akane]

Celery is a watery veggie which makes it more likely to cause diarrhea especially without fiber intake, has no nutritional value, and has caused choked animals from the strings. I don't feed it to anything.

Try some banana. Just leave the peel on and cut it into slices. Berries are also often irresistible to herbivores and with the little peel have a fair amount of fiber. I was using them for my own digestive tract in smoothies. I use blueberry Naked Juice if I'm mixing up soft food like critical care or dissolving pellets for early weaned kits and adults off feed. If you want to avoid the sugar in fruits you can try herbs like cilantro and parsley, swiss chard, and lawn forage like dandelion and plantain. Also if you can get your hands on some actual oat hay not brown straw but green with the oat heads not mature they are more likely to eat it than other hays. Most farmers don't cut oat hay early enough to be attractive though. I end up ordering it online as a treat for the chinchillas.

 

[MaggieJ]

A lot of grocery stores carry fresh dandelion greens nowadays. I'd offer her some of those if you can.

When I put molasses on grain, I use just a teaspoon of blackstrap mixed with a bit of vegetable oil and hot water to dissolve it and make it mix more evenly into the grain. That would be enough for a big mixing bowl of grain. You don't need much!

 

[squidpop]

Try flax seeds. When my rabbit came back from the Vet (after having stitches) she wouldn't eat but then I tried flax seeds and she started eating. I wouldn't give much more than a teaspoon at a time though. But all my rabbits go crazy for flax seeds.