On March 26th, 2022, I sold a single buck to a buyer. This evening she contacted me to tell me she came home from work to find him lying dead in his outdoor hutch. On the day I sold him, he was 13 weeks, 1 day old and weighed 4lb 7oz on the day he left here. Today, he would have been 4 months, 5 days old. He was one of 5 kits I've sold from the same litter....actually the litter I posted for sale in these for sale forums. All of the other kits sold from this litter are doing fine. One is still in my care as he goes to his owner in Delaware at the end of this month. I asked her what his latest weight was, she said she's never weighed him.
She said she came home from work today and when she went out to feed her herd, he was laying in his hutch like he was sleeping, but it turns out he was dead and she wants to know what could cause this. She hasn't described any other symptoms. She says: "No injuries, no symptoms, no sniffles, no diarrhea- he was just laying there like he was sleeping. No signs of illness...he was eating and drinking and growing..." She said he was sweet, eating and drinking, would come up to her for petting, etc..
She was feeding him the same Manna Pro Pro Formula that he ate here. I do not know if she was also feeding hay. I feed hay to my herd, so he would have been accustomed to eating hay daily while living with me. She says all of the other rabbits in her rabbitry also appear healthy, and of course now she is worried about them, and rightly so. She said he was "isolated all day and died in his box, laid out like he was sleeping." I don't know what she means by "isolated all day" unless she just means he was in his own cage.
Any ideas? I've only ever lost nestlings, so my experience is very limited. I told her I would ask here and see if anyone has any ideas. I did suggest a predator frightening him to death, as that can happen with rabbits, but I really have no idea because, as I have said, I have only ever lost kits who were still in the nest, only a few days to a week or so old. Never have I lost a rabbit at this age, so I have no possible answers due to lack of experience. My entire herd is kept off of the ground. I do not know if she puts her herd on the ground, or not.
Thank you for your help and insight!
the mom was a forensics pathologist…. But didn’t know you couldn’t snap a lid shut on 2 little bunnies at night without extra holes. However to keep the peace between the kids what do you do? You can’t really tell her it was a dumb move.
