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Lump on chest of lactating doe
Topic Started: May 28 2014, 03:00 PM (146 Views)
NCK
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Somebunny is a awfully chatty
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This morning I realized that my Californian doe hasn't been eating/drinking much, if at all, for the past day. I cleaned trays last night and hers was still completely clean this morning, other than a few cecotropes. She is on a litter (kits 3 weeks old tomorrow) so my first thought was mastitis. I took her out to check her over, and her teats are normal. What I found was a small, hard lump in between her first and second set of teats, on her left side. It's odd because it's definitely not a swollen teat, it's just a lump that's maybe .5 in. x 1 in. I really don't know how recent it is because I know I wasn't feeling that high up on her chest when I palpated her 5 weeks ago, and I've never had a reason until now to press around up there. It's completely under her fur, and you wouldn't notice it unless you felt it. :-/

I gave her some bounce back and a Yogie (lol - I've never had an unwell rabbit refuse a Yogie) and I did see that she urinated finally, but still no droppings. I had something very similar happen last year with a pregnant doe who stopped eating, drinking, and eliminating, and it took a couple of days of comfrey, baby food, yogurt, and pumpkin (and lots of water through the syringe) to get her back to normal. Obviously my immediate concern is to get her eating and drinking again, and I think/hope I'll be able to with the same foods and lots of liquid. However the lump on her chest is very concerning, particularly because she is lactating. I can wean her kits now, but hate to do it unless I absolutely need to. I'm thinking it's most likely an abscess, unless anyone else has any other idea of what it may be? Sigh - some of the kits will be for a meat pen, so I'll have to wean them now if it's anything transferable.

Any insight would be appreciated!
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NeuBunny
Genetics Geek!
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does the lump move with the skin? Or attached to the body underneath? Things that move with the skin are usually relatively benign - sebaceous cysts, blocked glands, insect bites, scar tissue, etc. Things attached to the body are generally more serious - tumors, infected deep abscesses, etc.

Lactating, I'd also question how far from a teat -- potential milk ducts or glands (which could be blocked or swollen) might extend an inch or more away from the teat itself.
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NCK
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Somebunny is a awfully chatty
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It moves with the skin. Thank you, NeuBunny, for that info. I will certainly keep an eye on it, and I suppose it's not a bad idea to do some hot compresses in case it is a swollen milk duct or gland. It spreads a little farther than I realized, so it could easily be what you said.

I called her breeder (who's also a judge) tonight, and after talking with him and reading your post, it is sounding less like an abscess and more like something along the lines of a cyst or blocked duct.

Like I expected, she wasn't interested in plantain or comfrey, so I gave her some canned pumpkin and took the kits out to let her have a break and chance to eat one of the leaves on her own. Finally seeing a few droppings in her tray.

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NeuBunny
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fingers crossed!
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NCK
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Somebunny is a awfully chatty
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Good news - she is now eating and drinking on her own. Not as much as she should be, but we're making progress at least :) .

I'm pretty certain that she has a clogged duct, so I've been doing hot compresses and massages. I think what's happening is that her milk isn't letting down on those two teats, so the kits are avoiding them. We tried to get a couple of the kits to nurse on them, but they got frustrated at us and latched onto different teats. Smart little buggers! I'm hoping that I'll be able to get the milk to let down so it doesn't turn into mastitis.
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sidd-says-gimme
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sidd says stay gold
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Good job catching it early. Hope she's back to 100% soon!
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