# Found my Flemish Doe dead.



## wannacow (Nov 8, 2012)

DD went out to do rabbit chores this morning and found our FG doe dead in the nest box.  She's about 4 wks post kitting (?) and had been doing very well.  Kits are good and healthy.  This was her first litter.  Looks like she bled out.  Is there something I could have done to prevent this?  Kits are all eating fine.  Do I need to figure something out for them?


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## brentr (Nov 8, 2012)

If the kits are 4 wks old and eating and drinking on their own, they'll probably be fine.  Lots of folks wean at 4 wks old.

When you say "bled out" what do you mean?  Bled from where - her mouth and nose, a wound on her body, her rectum?  Where the blood came from will give some idea of the cause, and what (if anything) might have prevented it.  Had you noticed bloodstains steadily since kindling, or was this an out of the blue type thing?

Sorry about the loss.


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## wannacow (Nov 8, 2012)

I didn't investigate too much other than back end.  I just assumed she bled out vaginally, since she was post partum.  I never saw any spots, like I did with my other doe (that is fine), but the flemish was in a cage that has a wire bottom.  Kits are eating and drinking well and they are all in a heated barn so warmth won't be an issue.  DH wondered if the buck had bred her back right after kitting.  She was in a cage that was also surrounded by hardware cloth.  I don't think he could have gotten to her, but he does have the run of the barn.  This doe wasn't in the plan to be bred initially, but she got out of her cage 3 months ago...  She also kitted early, according to my calculations @ about 24 days.  She had 6 and all were healthy.


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## Prairiechick (Nov 8, 2012)

If the kits are a month old, I doubt she bled out, as you suspect.  It sounds more like maybe she had a blockage or some other problem that you couldn't see outwardly.  I am sorry you lost her.  The good thing is that your kits are plenty old enough to survive and do well.  Even if she had gotten re-bred right away, it would not have been cause for her death, many of us re-breed immediately after a litter is still or is lost for some other reason like kindled (the term for rabbits giving birth), on the wire.  If you had hardware cloth surrounding her especially.
So, a couple of questions:
Was the doe eating normally before she died?  Did she go off food for a couple of days?  Was she drinking normally?
Do you feed hay to them regularly?  good stuff like Timothy, not alfalfa which is primarily what the pellets are composed of.
Do you occasionally give your rabbits other things to eat?  Snacks?  What kind?

I sometimes give my herd dried pineapple or papaya since those things are supposed to help break up hairballs that may lead to blockages.  The consumption of grassy hay like Timothy can also do this and with the added bulk helps to keep their digestional tract moving along.  Even if a rabbit is not eating their pellets well, if you can get them eating good hay, then they will usually get through what is bugging them.

I hope all the kits do well for you, and again, I am sorry about your doe.


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## wannacow (Nov 8, 2012)

Thank you all for your kind words.

Prairiechick, I feed regular grass hay, same as my goats.  The rabbits seem to be doing well with that.  I don't know where I'd get timothy except for the expensive pkg from a pet store.  As far as eating and drinking go, I'm not sure if she was off or not.  The water bowls were always down along with the feed container, but the 6 kits probably had something to do with that too.    She also got a handful of oatmeal twice a day.  That is nothing new, as she had gotten them since I brought her home at about 8 wks old.  She never had treats, per se, but if it was hot she'd get some watermelon etc.  Before she kindled (thanks, I'd forgotten the word    )  she found my sweet potatoes and helped herself to those, but she hasn't had any since.  She's been locked up.  She and the buck are pets and have the run of the barn every other day, or she did before she kindled.


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## Prairiechick (Nov 8, 2012)

I don't know what else to tell you.  This stuff just happens sometimes and there isn't anything that can be done about it.

I just had a doe kindle this morning and lost her second litter in a row, which is very frustrating to me.  I have 3 more due in the next 24-36 hours too.  I don't like having litters when it gets too cold, but the weather has been pretty good here so far.  I think the new kits will be okay as long as they don't get out on the wire or are born on the wire.  I have one doe who has tried to have every litter on the wire.  So, far I have found most of them in time, but I am getting tired of her doing that when the next box is right there.


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## brentr (Nov 8, 2012)

wannacow said:
			
		

> This doe wasn't in the plan to be bred initially, but she got out of her cage 3 months ago...  She also kitted early, according to my calculations @ about 24 days.  She had 6 and all were healthy.


Full term pregnancy for rabbits is 31-33 days.  Kindling at 24 days would produce kits that are likely not viable.  Not saying it couldn't happen, but it would be doubtful.  That's only about 3/4 of a full term pregnancy.


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