Sickly, runty rabbit

[Didi]

I'm brand new to the forum. If I'm posting in the wrong place I apologize.

Back story~ My daughter "saved" a sickly little runt from being culled. When it was only 3 days old she noticed it's droppings were matted to it's bottom. She cleaned them off and gave baby back to its mom. Same problem again at 2 weeks. At 4 weeks all other kits were out and about but, runty bunny was left in the nest box and had matted eyes. It was obvious mother bunny was not feeding it. My daughter decided to save it....She brought it in supplemented it's food with kitten starter and treated it's eyes with some leftover ophthalmic ointment from when we had kittens. This little rabbit has never thrived but it has been hanging on. It is 11 weeks old, the size of a 3 week old, has a malocclusion, and now we have a house bunny :roll: He has been in the house long enough that I too now really like him, but I also wonder what we've gotten ourselves into.

Questions~ When it is on its side (fell over when jumping out of box for example) it can't right itself. It kicks a lot and tries to...but no luck. Has anyone else ever experienced this?
If anyone has helpful advice I'd sure appreciate it!

A little about our rabbits~ We live in SE Colorado. My daughter raises market New Zealand rabbits as a 4-H project. We have one buck, two does, and a bunch of kits at any given time.

 

[Dood]

Unfortunately kitten milk has way too much protein for a baby rabbit and it may have caused neurological damage which is why the little guy has balance issues.

 

[Didi]

Shucks!

 

[Dood]

It is called "Hyperammonemia" where blood ammonia levels from the breakdown of excess dietary proteins are too high and it damages tissues and is particularly detrimental to the nervous system.

It happens to a lot of well meaning people who try to bottle fed babies with kitten milk, or for some species puppy has too much protein

The formulas need to be "tweaked" to make them suitable for rabbits or squirrels or mice or groundhogs etc....

 

[Zass]

Thanks for the info on the Hyperammonemia Dood. I knew that KMR wasn't the best choice for rabbits, but I didn't have the details as to exactly why.

 

[Didi]

Well, even if that is the problem, and it was caused by our care....I'll look at the bright side~ We have a dearly loved little bunny that would have surely met its end without my daughters intervention, and her daddy allowing her to foster it. I hope it grows well enough that I don't go to bed each night wondering if he will still be with us in the morning!

Also, now that we know better we can do better if there is a next time. As this is a 4-H breeding project, and the sickly kits are usually culled....there probably won't be a next time though.

If you have any more input on caring for a sickly rabbit I'd appreciate it!

 

[curelom]

I'm sure it's turning out to be a good learning experience for your daughter, even though it hasn't all gone smoothly. Good luck with the little guy!

 

[Zass]

From the perspective of experience, I don't think your little bun will live very long.

You can love him while he's with you, and be happy that you did everything you could for him though.

What is he eating currently? There might be some things you can try to help him gain weight.

 

[Didi]

He has access to pellets and timothy hay all the time. Once or twice a week she lets him nibble on a bit of kale. He doesn't eat the hay though. I'm thinking it is because of the malocclusion, and his trimmed teeth? He is 11 weeks old.

 

[Zass]

Try feeding him a little plain old fashioned oatmeal along with his pellets. The high amount of soluble fiber in oatmeal is really good for a kit's developing digestive tract. They are also high in easily digestible calories.

 

[Miss M]

Dood, thank you for the info on KMR! I, too, knew that it wasn't ideal, because it is cow's milk based, and I knew that the proteins weren't well tolerated in rabbits. I had no idea about the rest of that, though.

Didi -- in case you ever rescue a baby bunny again, goat's milk is tolerated very well by rabbits. You can even make your own formula with it. I use 1/2 cup evaporated goat's milk (near the regular evaporated milk in many grocery stores), 1/2 tablespoon corn syrup, and 1 egg yolk.

I don't have any more ideas, but good luck! :clover:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Hi Didi!

:welcomewagon:

Good luck with the little bunny. :clover:

I feed a grain mix as a "boost" to some of my rabbits. It is a mix of oats, barley, BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds), flax, and wildbird seed.

Thanks for the info on the Hyperammonemia Dood. I knew that KMR wasn't the best choice for rabbits, but I didn't have the details as to exactly why.

Yes, thank you. I have never even heard of that condition.

I have always felt that goat milk replacer would be a better option than KMR since goats and rabbits are both browsers.

 

[Didi]

Here is a pick of baby runt with litter mate

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater