03-13-2009, 10:10 AM
I am looking for insight as to why half of my baby bunnies died suddenly. They were born about 3 weeks ago and seemed to be developing well. The mama rabbit, Chip, is a good mother, she is eating and drinking normally and their cage was done up appropriately with a nesting area, lots of bedding, hay, pellets and a water dispenser. All of which have been changed, filled-up and watched over carefully on a daily basis.
Yesterday morning two of the babies died suddenly. Then a third started to look "flat" with squinty eyes rather sunk into its head. It was dead within an hour of looking flat. Of the remaining four babies, two looked round and puffy, like normal, and the other two had started to look deflated with narrowed eyes.
So I put the two healthy-looking ones in a separate cage away from the sick ones. They are only 3+ weeks old, so I was worried about them nursing, but the chance of them all dying from whatever illness had overcome their siblings was high. They are doing fine, eating hay and pellets and drinking lots of water now. Of the two that were sickly, one more died and the remaining one is still alive, although one of its eyes has receded completely. The eye is essentially gone?
I have been using a bowl for water, in addition to the bottle waterer, and all the bunnies in both cages have been drinking a lot. I was shocked at how much water the babies wanted to drink, but they seem to be better and thriving.
So, my question is simply has anyone out there had a similar situation and do you have any idea what illness afflicted my poor baby bunnies? I have been all over the internet researching it, without much luck at an answer. I thought that maybe the mama dried up and they became dehydrated or got an infection or got cold or all of the above? If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them.
Thanks,
HHC
Yesterday morning two of the babies died suddenly. Then a third started to look "flat" with squinty eyes rather sunk into its head. It was dead within an hour of looking flat. Of the remaining four babies, two looked round and puffy, like normal, and the other two had started to look deflated with narrowed eyes.
So I put the two healthy-looking ones in a separate cage away from the sick ones. They are only 3+ weeks old, so I was worried about them nursing, but the chance of them all dying from whatever illness had overcome their siblings was high. They are doing fine, eating hay and pellets and drinking lots of water now. Of the two that were sickly, one more died and the remaining one is still alive, although one of its eyes has receded completely. The eye is essentially gone?
I have been using a bowl for water, in addition to the bottle waterer, and all the bunnies in both cages have been drinking a lot. I was shocked at how much water the babies wanted to drink, but they seem to be better and thriving.
So, my question is simply has anyone out there had a similar situation and do you have any idea what illness afflicted my poor baby bunnies? I have been all over the internet researching it, without much luck at an answer. I thought that maybe the mama dried up and they became dehydrated or got an infection or got cold or all of the above? If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them.
Thanks,
HHC
