rabbit dying because of mold in the food

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I went back to pellets since the grain went up. .. yesterday i dumped a bag of pellets in a 5 gallon pail. That is how i go around and feed my rabbits and i have a cup measureing in it. I didnt look in the pail. I went around and started feeding everyone. When i was dne i put the cup back in the pail and looked. Then i notice a clump of food. I picked up and found out that it was a chunk of mold. Then i notice there was some mostled pellets here and there. So i went to every feeder and took them out. But i guess i must of missed some in one feeder. She is now off to the corner. Breathing fast. You know when a rabbit is off.... any thing i can do ... I am so pissed at myself for not looking sooner. I do know. .. I only had this food for two days and i have it is a storage room that is very clean ...rodent free. And i dont stand my bags up. So i know it wasnt from me. It was the feed store. :evil: Still i might loose more..How long does it take so that i know the rest will be ok. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

 

[DevonW]

Put ACV in their water it'll kill the mould they've ingested.

In Ontario the only pellet food I would highly recommend using would be Floradale ( http://www.ffmltd.com/index.php )

Anything else like Purina, Shur-Gain, Land-O-Lakes is all milled by Masterfeeds which has a very bad reputation in the area I often found chunks of flaked paint in the feed, mouldy clumps, excess moisture, and the feed was never fresh.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

Thanks devon. I looked to see where the closest is to me.... A 4 hours drive one way. I couldnt believe there is no one in ottawa. I didnt think purina and shur gain was all milled at masterfeeds. I guess it is the same as dog food. All under one place , putting out on differnt brand names going out. It really makes me mad.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

Pick some broad leaf plantian to feed them. It saved my favorite little doe. I hope you don't lose any over this.

 

[skysthelimit]

Good suggestions. You may be able to save them, since you just caught it, your chances of success are high. My rex breeder ordered couple hundred lbs and found mold in all of the bags. Was on water and hay for two weeks waiting for a new shipment. And her stuff is locally milled.

 

[garden lady]

I hope it will be okay and you got it fast enough. I have been trying to read about mold. Some places made it sound like they had to eat it awhile and not a short period thing, but I do not know and how scary. Then, having to worry about mold and hay too. Does grain get mold?

 

[dragonladyleanne]

:shock: Pardon my ignorance, but why would a small amount of mold kill a rabbit? I can see it making it a little "off", due to some of its good gut bacteria being killed off (by penicillin mold), or a pregnant doe giving birth prematurely if it's black mold, but it sounds like yours got one or two bites only. Is there some kind of mold that is THAT toxic to rabbits that a few bits would kill a full grown one? I kind of need to know, because here in Florida, mold is hard to avoid, I refrigerate my bread, even!

 

[DevonW]

Rabbits are like the canary in the mines for "off" feed. Their digestive tracts are so sensitive even the smallest amount of mould or more specifically the mycotoxins moulds produce can kill them.

 

[ladysown]

my food is out of my local mill and is quite a decent feed.

I don't use shurgain or purina as my rabbits simply didn't do well on it.

 

[skysthelimit]

:shock: Pardon my ignorance, but why would a small amount of mold kill a rabbit? I can see it making it a little "off", due to some of its good gut bacteria being killed off (by penicillin mold), or a pregnant doe giving birth prematurely if it's black mold, but it sounds like yours got one or two bites only. Is there some kind of mold that is THAT toxic to rabbits that a few bits would kill a full grown one? I kind of need to know, because here in Florida, mold is hard to avoid, I refrigerate my bread, even!

If you switch feeds, even when the feed is good, you can kill a rabbit.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Mary Ann, I don't know the answers to your questions. I have been lucky enough to not have mold in my food.

I hope your rabbit recovers. It isn't one of the new ones, is it?

 

[ZRabbits]

Mold is toxic to rabbits.
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/ ... abbits.htm

Can show up in not just pellets. Was warned by the farmers we know here, when I was looking at bales, to watch about the mold, and when to really buy it to get fresh.

Sorry to hear about your rabbits, hoping there is no losses but unfortunately there could be. It's a shame when prices for feed, like grain, go up and you need to use something else and it turns out like this. Never used Purina, even for my Dogs. Inferior product. I would definitely find a better brand and keep your fingers that the cost of grain comes down. But doubt that too because of the wicked summer we had. Not as simple as it seems. No matter what kind of budget you are on. Got to do what you got to do.

Would your new rabbits be on that feed? Since they just got off the plane? I always thought, just like quarantining, the best transition for a sensitive digestive system, is keep it simple, by staying with what the rabbit's digestive system knows, and gradually move to your way of feeding? All the breeders I got my rabbits from, gave me at least 1 month of feed to help with the slow transitioning.

Hoping no others show the sign that doe is showing.

Karen

 

[SelfFueled]

Really sorry to hear you found mold, not good news.
Hope every rabbit turns out ok.

I had thought purina was the higher grades, at least from where I purchased my breeding stock.
I guess since he was a bit of an old timer, quality has gone down since.

 

[garden lady]

Really sorry to hear you found mold, not good news.
Hope every rabbit turns out ok.

I had thought purina was the higher grades, at least from where I purchased my breeding stock.
I guess since he was a bit of an old timer, quality has gone down since.

I guess I am an old timer too. I am going to look into this, but when I was raising dogs they had Purina and the dogs that others raised on cheaper food just did not look as good. They did not eat just dry food though. They were fed raw meat, which now is said to be a no no. When I quit raising greyhounds and did not have the raw meat, our Boxer who was a house pet had to start eating can food. He would get diarrhea from most of the well known brands. I finally found a cheap store brand that did not upset him. It was mixed with Purina. I had a cat I raised from a kitten that lived to be almost 20 years old and always had Purina Cat Chow. I had another Boxer raised on Purina from the age of 6 weeks and he died at 13 and Boxers really do not live that long. The pellets I bought that had the clumps was not Purina. Times change, so I need to know what is wrong with Purina.

 

[skysthelimit]

I don't feed dog food, but when I did, I NEVER fed Purina. I won't feed Purina chicken, dog or rabbit food. I fed the rabbit food once, no one died but I didn't like the smell.

 

[curlysue]

I used too feed purina.but i was having breeding and condition problems soo i switched.i dont think Purina is the high quality feed it used too be.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

my food is out of my local mill and is quite a decent feed.

I don't use shurgain or purina as my rabbits simply didn't do well on it.

ok, what kind do you feed

__________ Mon Oct 01, 2012 6:09 am __________

Mary Ann, I don't know the answers to your questions. I have been lucky enough to not have mold in my food.

I hope your rabbit recovers. It isn't one of the new ones, is it?

No thank God.<br /><br />__________ Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:24 am __________<br /><br />well, she will eat the old fashion oats . But nothing else and isnt drinking any water. I put the acv in it. Her labour breathing has slow down some. I am hoping she is pulling through. I have a buck now showing signs. .. No food was eaten and doesnt come to the door like he use to. Has drank some water and nibbling a little on hay that i put in this morning. I am so pissed at myself that i didnt see it sooner.

 

[skysthelimit]

massage the tummies too to get a little more gut action.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

massage the tummies too to get a little more gut action.

I will do that . Thanks sky<br /><br />__________ Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:37 am __________<br /><br />

Anything else like Purina, Shur-Gain, Land-O-Lakes is all milled by Masterfeeds

I just checked into this. And shur gain milled there own feed. Not by masterfeeds.

 

[Demamma]

so sorry about your rabbits. I hope they all pull through and are ok. Don't beat yourself up about this stuff happens. I bet you will always notice from here on out. Take it as a lesson learned and move on. I have a habit of smelling stuff that is how I noticed mold when I had goats. The feed would smell off when I opened the bag.