Hello all! So we are about to go into our second year of raising meat rabbits and we have a doe who has had successful kindlings before but this is her first time with us. (The babies are silver fox if that helps any) She had a healthy littler of ten kits on 04/15/24 So today they are 11 days old. We have had multiple mothers raise litters with of course a few deaths here and there but today something very scary is happening. This morning my husband found 1 dying bunny who was very cold and appeared lifeless. Mind you the lowest it got last night was lie 42 so not that cold for rabbits and these guys have all their fur. We brought the baby in and tried to warm it and rub it gently to bring it back to life but sadly after about 20 minutes its nails had blood in them and it was fully gone. About an hour later I went out and checked all the kits to find a kit from a different litter was also nearly dead and this one was over 2 weeks old! I brought it in with the same result after about 10 minutes it stopped breathing and several minutes later the nails were red. Now I just went out several hours later and checked the nests again and found the orginial younger litter has 3 confirmed kits who appear to be slowly dying to. One is fully catotonic and the other two are still kicking a bit but are very rigid and cold like they are ready to die. I have never had anything like this happen before and I am hoping someone else can tell me what this is or maybe even how to save them if its not to late. Especially because I am worried this will keep going until they are all dead. Sorry for the long message, thanks for reading!
Why do my kits keep dying?
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RabbitsOfTheCreek
Netherland Dwarf Breeder & Well-known Member
Has their feed changed? Any new rabbits or animals introduced?
I just checked back to the other ones (the 2 week olds that had one death as well) All but 1 seem stiff and a little cold as well. So far they are still all moving around fine but they just feel different when you pick them up. I have had multiple adult bunnies get sick in the past and they would do the hunch and eye squint thing. I think maybe this is the newborn equivalent to that?
RabbitsOfTheCreek
Netherland Dwarf Breeder & Well-known Member
What kind of nests/nest boxes to they have
type of bedding? Any mould issues?
So I am noticing that some are still alive and the blood is pooling in their nails. We are up to 4 dead and 3 more bad condition almost all of our 17 babies are being affected at this point and in different cages separated by a wall. My husband believes its could be a lack of circulation. Is there any disease that causes circulation issues in baby rabbits?
This sounds like something which could be contagious. I do not know enough to say what yet, but it is time to assume that it is and try not to cross contaminate to other cages/litters if possible. Use gloves, wash hands, move affected cages into isolation if possible, visit sick cages last. Quarantine lockdown your rabbitry until you figure it out.
It could be something like a bad run of weaning enteritis, which would usually only affect kits but is often bacterial in origin. It could be something brought into the rabbitry by rodents or birds if they have access to the rabbits or the feed. The blood pooling would indicate only that there is an issue with the circulatory system, and that can be nonspecific shock. Same with them being cold.
The big bugaboo we all worry about is RHDV2. This could also potentially cause the symptoms you are seeing. It is very contagious. Best option would be to open up a freshly dead kit for a necropsy and see which organs are involved.
It could be something like a bad run of weaning enteritis, which would usually only affect kits but is often bacterial in origin. It could be something brought into the rabbitry by rodents or birds if they have access to the rabbits or the feed. The blood pooling would indicate only that there is an issue with the circulatory system, and that can be nonspecific shock. Same with them being cold.
The big bugaboo we all worry about is RHDV2. This could also potentially cause the symptoms you are seeing. It is very contagious. Best option would be to open up a freshly dead kit for a necropsy and see which organs are involved.
If you do this yourself, be careful to not spread potentially infectious rabbit fluids or tissues around, clean the area with diluted bleach after, and bag everything for disposal. Wear gloves, keep the mess contained, and clean it up. Don't panic, but be smart about it. think about not touching your phone to take pictures with dirty gloves, things like that.
RHDV2 is not transmissible to humans but you want to be very careful that you are not just turning everything in your house into a vector for infecting some other rabbit. If your rabbitry has it basically assume it is everywhere in your space, don't visit other rabbitries or rabbit shows, etc.
Alternatively take a kit to a vet double bagged in ziplocs, and ask for a necropsy.
RHDV2 is not transmissible to humans but you want to be very careful that you are not just turning everything in your house into a vector for infecting some other rabbit. If your rabbitry has it basically assume it is everywhere in your space, don't visit other rabbitries or rabbit shows, etc.
Alternatively take a kit to a vet double bagged in ziplocs, and ask for a necropsy.
I hope you find healthy heart and lungs and a bloated messed up looking gut or liver. I am so sorry this is happening.
what type of straw? oat, wheat, fescue?
Are these rabbits in separate cages or a colony? If in a colony, separate them. If in separate cages, I would suspect the feed. Check it closely for mold. Although you would think it would effect the does too if it was the feed?? This is a mystery.
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I agree. Take a kit or 2 to a vet and they sent a dead 12 week old to the vet school in my state and did a necropsy. Well worth the money if you want to find out what it is and how to avoid more deaths.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Thank you for your help. I decided not to risk spreading infection with looking as the babies have stopped dying. Sadly we had lost 14 out of 18 babies already but the last 4 are all doing well and seem very healthy 4 days later. Hopefully whatever it was is something they have a strong immunity to and in the end strong stock is a good thing even though this isn't the ideal.
They are in separate cages and I feed fresh hand cut grass and plants every day and have successfully raised many other litters with this method so there really is no chance of mold.
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I also hope you do not have a relapse, but I would still have a necropsy done. It will give you the ease of mind knowing what it was and how to prevent further problems with your babies.
Maybe not mold, but there could then be a random toxic plant that got in there maybe?
