# pregnant doe is bleeding and having diarrhea. help please!!



## Haley Renee (May 18, 2016)

my pregnant doe is spotting/bleeding. started with just a little yesterday and this is nearly 10-15 minutes of bleeding just now. she also just began to have diarrhea. i'm fairly new to rabbit breeding, is this normal? does anyone know what the cause is? 
(i dont know her exact kindle date, i purchased her pregnant, but it should be around the 24th)


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## Latestarter (May 18, 2016)

Aside from the obvious... anytime there's blood, there's some sort of issue... Where is the blood coming from? Have you taken temp to determine if she's fighting an infection (fever)?  @Bunnylady @Samantha drawz @animalmom anyone else? If the blood is part of the diarrhea I'd be thinking Cocci.


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## samssimonsays (May 18, 2016)

She could be having birth complications or Cocci. I have never had bloody stool with Cocci and we battled it every year with at least one litter. I would be more apt to say she's having issues passing babies. If you put gloves (Latex) on and put your pinky to feel for babies is one way I was told to check when one of my does had similar issues. The loose stool would be a huge concern though.


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## Haley Renee (May 18, 2016)

Latestarter said:


> Aside from the obvious... anytime there's blood, there's some sort of issue... Where is the blood coming from? Have you taken temp to determine if she's fighting an infection (fever)?  @Bunnylady @Samantha drawz @animalmom anyone else? If the blood is part of the diarrhea I'd be thinking Cocci.


the bleeding & diarrhea are separate. ive moved in a nesting box, in case shes close to kindling. i've felt her ears, and theyre normal/cool. shes quite squirmish so i can fully examine, but im pretty sure its vaginal bleeding. im about to pull her out and give her a good look over, since ive just been told it could be a stuck kit.


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## Haley Renee (May 18, 2016)

just checked her out. shes not bleeding, and the diarrhea has currently stopped. her vagina looks fine and we havent seen/felt any stuck kits. 


Samantha drawz said:


> She could be having birth complications or Cocci. I have never had bloody stool with Cocci and we battled it every year with at least one litter. I would be more apt to say she's having issues passing babies. If you put gloves (Latex) on and put your pinky to feel for babies is one way I was told to check when one of my does had similar issues. The loose stool would be a huge concern though.


just checked her out. shes not bleeding, and the diarrhea has currently stopped. her vagina looks fine and we havent seen/felt any stuck kits.


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## samssimonsays (May 18, 2016)

I would think about having a vet see her if she starts again. They don't just start and stop that sort of thing in my experience. 

I had a doe do something very similar to this so IF it is complications to birthing. She was in labor but kits were too big to pass. she was a French Lop and there were verified 10 babies via the x-ray she had. They gave her a shot of Oxytocin and it didn't work. They told me she needed a C-section or would die. Not true. Eventually they will pass the kits, dead but pass them. She passed hers 3 weeks later. I will tell you what I was told by breeder friends and an old timer vet, "Keep an eye on her for any smell or symptoms of fever (you will know it is a rotting like smell) If that occurs she has an infection". If she develops an infection, her chances are slim.


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## Haley Renee (May 18, 2016)

if she developes a smell, do you mean the kits are dead, or she'll die soon after?


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## samssimonsays (May 18, 2016)

Both.


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## Haley Renee (May 18, 2016)

we have her in a box in the house right now, and shes extremely curious and active. shes eating fresh grass and seems to be doing well.


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## Bunnylady (May 18, 2016)

If a doe can't/doesn't pass all of the kits in a litter, it is possible for the undelivered kit(s) to mummify inside of her. A fetal mummy usually acts like an IUD, preventing pregnancy in that horn of the uterus. Most does with mummies inside them are basically infertile. However, occasionally a doe may be able to conceive on the other side.  I have had the odd doe deliver normal, healthy kits, and pass a fetal mummy at the same time. They are very strange looking things; all shriveled up and sorta snake-like in appearance.


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## samssimonsays (May 18, 2016)

Now every instance is different but this was my experience and what was wrong via veterinary diagnosis.

In my case, the bleeding was her in labor. she was panting, visibly pushing and in a birthing trance, and you could see her having issues passing the kits. After 1 day of this I got her into the vet. They told me it was a false pregnancy and I pushed that it was not. They did the X-ray and sure enough, she was pregnant. The babies will die if they are not passed shortly after labor sets in. Bleeding in pregnancy is always a sign of trouble. 

As long as she is normal, eating and drinking with no more bleeding I would let her be. Try not to handle her too much as she sounds like a more skittish rabbit from your other post and the handling will stress her out immensely. Keep her in a quiet area and away from high traffic from humans and other animals if at all possible. If she starts again, a Vet examination may be required.


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## Haley Renee (May 18, 2016)

whats the likelihood of her not passing the kits? she still has a week to go from her "due date", so everything is in the air right now. shes seeming better, eating and drinking lots, and not bleeding currently.


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## Bunnylady (May 18, 2016)

If she's a week out from her due date, we are talking miscarriage - kits can't survive being born that young. The kits gain size rapidly during the last few days; the only way a doe would not be able to deliver kits that are a week premature would be if there was something blocking the exit, like maybe a twisted uterus (and I'm not sure that happens in rabbits).


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## Haley Renee (May 18, 2016)

Is there anything i should/can do? or do i just wait it out and see what happens?


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## alsea1 (May 20, 2016)

I had two does spot like that. I did not realize what was happening to my rabbits.
At necropsy I found that there was a uterine torsion problem.  I had never had this occur before.
One was a middle aged new zealand and the other was a giant chin.
I hope that your bun is okay. There really is limited help for rabbits as the cost is so prohibitive.  Also they really don't seem to tolerate most meds very well.
If you have access black berry leaves are good. The tannins in the leaves help with diarrhea.
I am growing an herb garden for my buns so that I can try to work on the health from that direction.


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## Haley Renee (May 24, 2016)

alsea1 said:


> I had two does spot like that. I did not realize what was happening to my rabbits.
> At necropsy I found that there was a uterine torsion problem.  I had never had this occur before.
> One was a middle aged new zealand and the other was a giant chin.
> I hope that your bun is okay. There really is limited help for rabbits as the cost is so prohibitive.  Also they really don't seem to tolerate most meds very well.
> ...


thank you so much for the advice!! we have wild blackberry bushes all over here. 

I havent started my herb garden yet but its on my to-do list. (We just purchased land and a fixer-uper house so we're dividing our time between the house and the animals )


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