My daughter shows rabbits and the beautiful doe she was going to show at our local fair next month has some kind of spinal injury. I don\'t believe it is broken. She was a rambunctious little thing and it is possible she has a slipped disc. I believe she did this by kicking and running about in her cage. She was fine last night and this morning has no use in her legs. I need to know if this can be cured, if so, HOW. We have other does to go to the fair, but this bunny won my heart over at birth. I have given her small doses of Aleve. She is eating some and drinking some. Should I give electrolytes during this HOT and HUMID weather? Please help!!!!
Pondge
Yes, you should give her electrolytes as her intake of water has decreased! If this bunny one your heart at birth, may I ask why you have not taken her to the Vet yet? If you lost the use of your legs suddenly due to parlysis wouldn\'t you seek medical attention?!
I agree that a vet should be included definatley but sometimes the obvious answer is exactly that, I know back when I was growing up and I had a dog there were several times my dog needed attention and had it not been for his \"fairy god mother\" the woman who gave him to us paying for visits to the vet. I know right now that we couldnt have come close to the money needed. I think that if you can take it to the vet it would be good and give the bun a little hug for me. Good luck and keep us posted.
One of our vets is not familiar with rabbits at all. Great with other animals but not with rabbits. The other vet we have is on vacation, so a VET HAS BEEN CONSIDERED!!!!! However, she is showing reflex with both her legs. She is spreading her toes and is able to control her tail which is an excellent sign.
We have 54 rabbits right now, 3 dogs we saved from dog pounds, and a very spoiled cat. An animal lover I am, not an abuser! What did people do with their animals before veteranarians came along!!!!! I will try to keep you all informed on her progress.
If you pinch her back toes and she reacts, then you have some hope that she can recover. If you pinch her toes and she doesn\'t feel it, then that is alot more serious. Line a carrier with hay, straw, or towels and put her in it to keep her imobile. Give her plenty of quiet time and bring her in where it is cool so she is not stressed from both the injury and the heat. You will need to help her keep her bottom end clean and keep her food and water within easy reach. Feed her all the willow branches she will eat - bark and leaves. Willow contains a natural substance like aspirin which will help keep her comfortroble. You cannot feed a rabbit too much willow and it does not upset their digestive tract. As gross as it sounds, you may also have to help her get access to her cecotrophs by getting them when you clean her carrier and puttint them on top of her food. We had a doe that injured her back while with a litter. After approx 3 weeks of good rest and care, she started dragging her back legs up under her again and after a month, she was walking. She still does not hop like a normal rabbit but she slowly walks in an odd way. She had feeling in her back feet from the beginning. If she did not, we would have put her down as those rarely get better.
thank you soooooooo much for your advice. I did everything you suggested with the exception of willow branches. Unfortunately, she had to be put down. I bathed her everyday but somehow the flies laid eggs and hatched in her fur. I have bathed her, dried her and brushed her but in between the flies got to her. With 54 meat rabbits, you\'ll have flies. All the rabbits are in a barn with fly strips and seven dust put down on the floor. She made wonderful progress but my husband and I, even my daughter, felt the sore was too much. I want to thank everyone for reading and responding with this problem. I have learned what to do, and what not to do, if we have another injury like this.
I believe that you did the right thing in making the decision to put your doe down. The spinal injury was bad enough but then add the shock of fly strike to that and the poor girl couldn\'t have been very happy or having much of a will to go on anyway. I have never had fly strike in any of my wooled rabbits but I did get it in one of my dwarf does who had a slight anal prolapse after her last litter. That was one of the most disgusting things I had ever had to clean up and I\'m sure it wasn\'t the most pleasant for her either. Once she was cleaned up and healed up, I put her back in the barn and withing a couple of days, it was starting again so she was put down. I felt sorry for her but at the same time, I just don\'t have the time to devote to one rabbit when I have 100 others needing my attention and resources too. I hope your daughter has another rabbit that she can show and be just as successful with.