*****WARNING !!!! "Graphic Pics"******

[beckyhuff314]

I've never done this before. I don't know what i'm looking for


advice-please-t18631.html

 

[MamaSheepdog]

His intestines look like they are full of gas, but it could also be fluid or mucous. Can you slice open the intestines to check?

I have never seen them that pink color- usually my rabbits have pale, almost translucent intestines.

I would recommend giving all of the survivors Simethicone gas drops or Gas-X strips.

 

[beckyhuff314]

I cut them open and a lot of this yellow gooey stuff came out

 

[Dood]

The heart, lungs, liver and kidneys look ok to me.

I agree that the small intestine is very odd looking.

E. coli often presents with yellowish diahrea and can cause sudden death. A high fiber diet is recommended and just hope they get better.

 

[beckyhuff314]

The heart, lungs, liver and kidneys look ok to me.

I agree that the small intestine is very odd looking.

E. coli often presents with yellowish diahrea and can cause sudden death. A high fiber diet is recommended and just hope they get better.

What could of caused this, Dood? I haven't changed anything in their diet at all. I'm so hurt.

 

[Dood]

Any fecal matter (mice, rats, birds) can introduce a strain that they are not use to.

Weaning is often stressful as their digestive systems are switching from milk to plants and most rabbit mortalities happen around this time.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

The fluid looks like watery diarrhea, and could be caused by e. coli as Dood mentioned.

However, it could also just be that their gut flora is way off. I would give them some probiotic paste, the Gas-X, electrolytes, and an enclosed box with bedding so they can huddle together off of the wire and keep one another warm.

You can give them Gatorade or another electrolyte drink, or you can make your own healthier version at home:

homemade-electrolytic-solution-t14844.html<br /><br />__________ Mon Nov 11, 2013 3:44 pm __________<br /><br />By the way, you should be very proud of yourself for doing the necropsy. :encourage: I know it wasn't an easy thing for you to do, but it may save the other kits' lives.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

the intestines look irritated... they shouldn't be that pink at all because there is nothing in there.. Am I missing something.. Why, was the rabbit sick or something.

Opps.. just found your other link to this .. Were they eating .. because it looks like something stopped

 

[beckyhuff314]

the intestines look irritated... they shouldn't be that pink at all because there is nothing in there.. Am I missing something.. Why, was the rabbit sick or something.

I don't know why they were sick. It happened very fast and with no symptoms.


All of my prego does and babies stay in cages with flat bottoms and litter boxes. I don't like the little ones on wire. All of my bunnies are in my garage. No mice birds or anything else has access. I think another is acting a little sluggish :? I am worried i have 2 other litters and 4 due this next week.

 

[Miss M]

I agree with the others. I've never seen pink small intestines. They look inflamed, and with all that mucus, something sure went very wrong. Timing's definitely right for weaning enteritis, and like Dood said, possibly opened the door to E. coli or something.

I would definitely start working on the others with electrolytes, probiotics, and hay and oats and no pellets or greens for a few days.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I must asked.. what are you feeding them?

 

[Dood]

Mary Ann's comment sparked my memory and i went through your old posts and found this one from Mon Oct 21, 2013 on this thread - post200410.html#p200410

All of my ND rabbits are pooping those same poops. They are like 4 times the regular poop size and long, not round. They look like mini dog poops. and smell just as bad. None of my rabbits are sick in any other way that i can tell. All are eating and drinking fine. This started last week for me. Wish I knew what was doing this as well.

And here you're rabbits are having intestinal issues as well - post199676.html#p199676

it is likely your adults got over the diseases and are non symptomatic carriers but the kits with their delicate digestive systems can not beat the disease and I believe it is the same disease you've had since early October.

I would do an intense sanitation of all the cages, bowls, waters, food scoops toys, just everything that was around the rabbits since October and isolate/quarantine any pregnant/nursing does and their kits until the kits are 8 weeks old.

However, the adults might re-infect the kits so you will just have to breed for resistance with the survivors.

 

[beckyhuff314]

I must asked.. what are you feeding them?

I feed them Country Acres pellets from the Tractor Supply Store mixed always with Quaker old fashioned oats and lots and lots of Timothy hay also from Tractor supply (the compacted one). Occasionally I get them yogurt drop treats from petsmart but I NEVER give it to the bunnies under 4 months. And it has been a while since I have given them those. All my cages have salt and mineral licks as well.

I agree with the others. I've never seen pink small intestines. They look inflamed, and with all that mucus, something sure went very wrong. Timing's definitely right for weaning enteritis, and like Dood said, possibly opened the door to E. coli or something.

I would definitely start working on the others with electrolytes, probiotics, and hay and oats and no pellets or greens for a few days.

I gave the last 2 remaining babies some probiotics paste last night. The one that was acting sluggish seems a little better this morning but lets see by tomorrow.

Mary Ann's comment sparked my memory and i went through your old posts and found this one from Mon Oct 21, 2013 on this thread - post200410.html#p200410

All of my ND rabbits are pooping those same poops. They are like 4 times the regular poop size and long, not round. They look like mini dog poops. and smell just as bad. None of my rabbits are sick in any other way that i can tell. All are eating and drinking fine. This started last week for me. Wish I knew what was doing this as well.

And here you're rabbits are having intestinal issues as well - post199676.html#p199676

it is likely your adults got over the diseases and are non symptomatic carriers but the kits with their delicate digestive systems can not beat the disease and I believe it is the same disease you've had since early October.

I would do an intense sanitation of all the cages, bowls, waters, food scoops toys, just everything that was around the rabbits since October and isolate/quarantine any pregnant/nursing does and their kits until the kits are 8 weeks old.

However, the adults might re-infect the kits so you will just have to breed for resistance with the survivors.

I clean my cages out 2 - 3 times a week and every Sunday my BF and I wash and Spray down all the cages with bleach. We do this weekly since they are kept in the garage and I almost always keep the door from the garage to the house open. I have also put all the other rabbits on the other side of the garage (its a 3 car garage). Thats the best I can do as for isolating them.

This kind of issue only ever happens with the babies from this same doe. Could it be because at about 4 weeks she kicks them out? And I do mean she kicks them out, she will stomp on them and bite them. She killed one from her first litter this way. She is a great mom up till the babies are 4 weeks. All the rest of my does keep their babies till 6 weeks or more.<br /><br />__________ Tue Nov 12, 2013 8:26 am __________<br /><br />Also all the others that have died from this doe have died within 2 - 3 days of taking them from mom. These ones have been away from mom for 2 weeks

 

[MaggieJ]

Good work, Dood, spotting the pattern.

Kits can be weaned at four weeks, but the fact that the doe "kicks them out" may mean that the weaning is too abrupt and they are having problems adjusting to an all-solids diet. If only one doe's kits are having problems and her kits frequently have problems, I would be tempted to cull her.

 

[beckyhuff314]

Good work, Dood, spotting the pattern.

Kits can be weaned at four weeks, but the fact that the doe "kicks them out" may mean that the weaning is too abrupt and they are having problems adjusting to an all-solids diet. If only one doe's kits are having problems and her kits frequently have problems, I would be tempted to cull her.

Yeah I have been thinking of not breeding her anymore and getting her a cage that can go in my sons room. She will be a pet. She is one of the first 3 that I started with a year and a half ago. What started out as "I just want one" turned into " ooo that one is cute too" lol and now I have 9 does and 3 bucks. She will be our pet. She does produce some really nice babies though. 2 of her babies that were sold have done good in the shows, or so i was told. or maybe I'll try breeding her at the same time as my doe WW's Cleopatra and foster them all to Cleopatra. Cleo just had her first litter and is a GREAT mom and she even took 2 kits from another doe that was killing her babies. I did cull that doe already. I'll see if that works.
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I will keep you updated on the remaining 2 kits

__________ Tue Nov 12, 2013 1:41 pm __________

So I checked on the 2 remaining babies at 11am when I was going to eat lunch with my son at school and they were both jumping around. I got home about 12:15pm and the little Tort babies is now down as well, same symptoms as the others. Why are they not all getting sick at the same time? It is 1 a day. I even think one of my 3 week old kits that is still with mom and siblings is acting a little down as well. Should I just cave and take this one that is sick now to a vet for testing?? I don't know if I could cut another one up. <br /><br />__________ Wed Nov 13, 2013 10:08 am __________<br /><br />So this little Tort kit is a fighter. She can only take 1 or 2 steps at a time and is very unsteady but she is using the cage to lean against. The only thing I did different with this one was I gave her a shot of like 4 drops of penicillin G. I didn't know the dosage for a baby this size so i just did 4 drops. She is starting to eat some hay this morning I put some oats for her as well but she didn't touch them. O and I gave her and the other remaining kit some probiotic paste like MSD and Miss M suggested. I don't know where to get gas X or what it is though.