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| very thin bunny | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 28 2013, 11:14 PM (874 Views) | |
| NeuBunny | Nov 28 2013, 11:14 PM Post #1 |
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Genetics Geek!
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Went with Jillian to feed/water bunnies tonight -- back to a normal routine as Rhi has done it for me the last two nights (helping Jillian) while I fought a sore throat that was threatening to turn into flu. Star (1.5 year old minirex doe) wasn't acting her normal self -- she's normally running in circles until she gets her food. Instead, she was hunched in the corner of her cage. Alternating between scanning and squinting (she's a REW, but I don't normally see her doing obvious scanning). Reached in to run my hands over her (which I do for each bunny every night, but the girls didn't) - she is pitifully thin. She was perfectly normal when I was last out (Monday night) so this is an extremely sudden weight loss. We just got off a sulmet treatment (we do 10 days on, 10 off, 10 on -- last day on was Nov 20th). She was among the ones who felt thin to me when we started (it's the same three 'runners' who always seem to lose weight first) but she had regained and didn't feel 'ridgey' anymore by the 20th (or between then and Monday). Double checked my other two runners and they feel fine. Jillian is sure her behavior was fine last night and not noticeably off this morning either - but can't swear to her condition. Her water dish was full of ice. As in, the girls definitely gave her water this morning, but I'm not sure she drank any before it froze. Her food dish is empty -- don't see food spilled in the tray, so she probably ate her normal food last night. She did hop over to her food dish when Jillian filled it - but I don't think she actually ate any. Bitter cold here (teens F). Her ears don't feel particularly chilled - I mean, cold because it is cold outside, but not the cold of a bunny in shock. We brought her in the house...Jillian and I tried to syringe feed her some water with electrolytes - she didn't fight (her tongue kept trying to push the syringe out, but she wasn't struggling or turning her head away either), but not sure she swallowed much either. We went through about 2 cc's - but I think half of that was on my shirt. She is currently in a carrier in the downstairs bathroom with hay, food and water with electrolytes. Giving her some time to settle in and will check her every few hours. Her posture (hunched and drawing her front legs up) tells me this is something intestinal -- but not the bloated tummy I associate with coccidia nor the sloshy I think of with enteritis. I don't feel a blockage -- her tummy is thin like she hasn't eaten. Suggestions for other things to try if she doesn't come around soon? |
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| NeuBunny | Nov 29 2013, 05:57 AM Post #2 |
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Genetics Geek!
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At least she is drinking. Checked her just now and the water dish is empty. Refilled (with more electrolytes) and she jumped right to it and started drinking. Pellets are all (or at least mostly) still in the dish. She was sitting with her head in the hay when I came in, but I'm not sure whether she has eaten any (we put a lot of hay in) - if she has, not a huge amount. |
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| ZRabbits | Nov 29 2013, 05:59 AM Post #3 |
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Love My Lions!
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I'm at a loss as I would have done the same things you are doing. The only other thing different is I would offer is Critical Care. Do you have any Critical Care? You can mix this with the water and syringe feed her. This could help with the electrolytes. How's Star doing this morning? KAZ Just saw your update. Did she have any output, meaning poo? Edited by ZRabbits, Nov 29 2013, 06:01 AM.
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| NeuBunny | Nov 29 2013, 06:53 AM Post #4 |
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Genetics Geek!
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think we crossed posts... she's drinking at least. may try pineapple (have some in the house) in case it is a blockage. not sure what else to try... |
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| ZRabbits | Nov 29 2013, 06:57 AM Post #5 |
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Love My Lions!
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Glad to hear she's drinking. That's half the battle won. Definitely would go with the pineapple juice. Also maybe letting her run around a bit? Exercise with the pineapple juice could help move things along if there is a slight blockage occurring. Fingers crossed she's back to her normal self soon. Please keep us updated on her progress. KAZ |
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| NeuBunny | Nov 29 2013, 08:26 AM Post #6 |
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Genetics Geek!
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well. she downed half that new cup of water/electrolytes in the last couple hours. Her eyes also look much more normal. Not sure if she's eating, but she's at least pushed the pellets around (some spilled and a dent in the middle of the cup). Maybe some more hay nibbled too. Fingers crossed, we may have another housebunny for the winter (I won't even attempt to transition her back to the barn now that she has warmed up). |
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| NeuBunny | Nov 29 2013, 03:44 PM Post #7 |
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Genetics Geek!
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Pineapple is a hit -- sniff, sniff, lick, then started eating like she was starved. |
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| sidd-says-gimme | Nov 29 2013, 05:05 PM Post #8 |
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sidd says stay gold
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Good sign that she was willing to eat and drink something. Fingers crossed tight! |
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| ZRabbits | Nov 30 2013, 05:35 AM Post #9 |
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Love My Lions!
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Thrilled to hear the pineapple worked. How's your doe doing this morning? Hope all is well and whatever was making her feel bad passed through her system and she's back to her ole self again. KAZ |
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| NeuBunny | Nov 30 2013, 07:34 AM Post #10 |
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Genetics Geek!
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Star went through 2 whole more cups of water yesterday -- the last back to plain water. She ate all the hay in her cage. And about half a cup of pellets. A little normal poop in the bottom of the carrier this morning - so I think she is on the mend. She's on unlimited hay/pellets until she puts the weight back on. But huge shock - Moonblossom, Joshua's 'baby' (5 month blue minirex) was dead in her cage last night. Body still warm, so I think she had only just died. I checked every rabbit in the barn after finding Star - Moonblossom was perfectly fine and not sick/thin at all. Jillian is sure she was behaving normally that morning (she was watching too). The two were in adjacent cages (separate stacks, so no divider other than the few inches gap). Paranoia settling in. Moonblossom was at the show last week - so now I worry that she had a hidden illness we brought back to the barn. The others at that show are scattered all around the barn. The twins are coping OK -- death/illness is the hardest part about keeping animals. Rhi doesn't have much interest in rabbits anymore (dropped showing at ARBA stuff a year ago, and dropped 4H this fall) - nonetheless she's always opposed the idea that we could sell any of her animals. Star is one of Rhi's favorites, but she suggested yesterday that maybe I should sell some of her rabbits to other homes 'who will pay more attention to them' - I think seeing Star sick is very hard on her - perhaps even harder than if she had died. Josh came out with me to say goodbye to Moonblossom and help bury her (we settled for a low spot in the compost pile and scraping a little over her -- even the compost pile is frozen solid!). Listening to him talk to her and tell her to be happy in heaven warmed my heart even through the shock I was in. I know he and I will talk more over the next few weeks - but I also know (from sad experience) that he has learned to cope well with death. |
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| ZRabbits | Nov 30 2013, 08:11 AM Post #11 |
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Love My Lions!
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Glad to hear Star is on the mend. But please send our condolences to Josh for the loss of Moonblossom. What a shock it must be for him and all of you. But what a lovely way for him to say goodbye. Would be paranoid myself regarding illness sneaking in to the barn. Was last week the first show Moonblossom was taken to? Could have been something internal brought on by the stress of the show? And really nothing came back, just something that really never showed its face until new environment, stress from showing? I don't know what happened, just trying to rationalize or wrap my head around this loss. Everyone takes loss in different ways. I can understand Rhi's reaction. With her rocky experience with breeding, and having so many losses, can understand. Raising and breeding any animal has it's good and bad, but for Rhi the pendulum kind of leaned more towards bad. And can understand her willingness to now find homes for her rabbits. Understand how she feels seeing illness harder than death. You feel so helpless when it happens. KAZ |
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| sidd-says-gimme | Nov 30 2013, 11:05 AM Post #12 |
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sidd says stay gold
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Aww, poor Josh and poor you. That is so, so stressful. I'm hoping very hard that it was a coincidence and nothing else will go wrong.
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| NeuBunny | Dec 1 2013, 07:42 AM Post #13 |
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Genetics Geek!
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Other than still being thin, Star's behavior is back to normal and she is eating well. Free-feeding to get the weight back on and she ate about 4 times the pellets we usually give her as well as lots of hay. Planning to clean out a 2 hole cage when the girls clean cages today and bring it in Jillian's room for Star and Nisshoku. When I posted the losses on facebook I heard from local friends that several have lost bunnies - especially 4-5 month old juniors - recently. Some are blaming feed and others the weather. I have noticed a lot of fines in the last 2 bags of feed -- the one we opened yesterday seems better. Everybunny got papaya yesterday as a 'just in case'. I picked up a bale of good timothy hay to stuff the cages on cold nights. Didn't do it last night as the temperature had bounced back up to 45 (from teens the night before). I suspect the underlying problem is this crazy bouncing temperatures that is stressing bunnies and bringing out anything that they otherwise would normally handle. |
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| ZRabbits | Dec 1 2013, 08:05 AM Post #14 |
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Love My Lions!
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So glad to hear Star is doing better and eating like a champ. Must make Rhi breath a sigh of relief. I would tend to lean toward this freaky "up and down" weather causing so much trouble with rabbits. Really sorry to hear about the other losses. KAZ |
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| NeuBunny | Dec 7 2013, 06:33 AM Post #15 |
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Genetics Geek!
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Star is back to not eating pellets (still nibbling hay, drinking, and not acting off otherwise). So I picked up more pineapple. When I gave her a piece in the evening, she ate it right away. Morning, we were in a rush so I just put it in her dish. Got home and it was still there. So I held it over to her and once she sniffed it, she munched the whole piece down like she was starving. Why wouldn't she have been able to find it on her own? |
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