MY KIDS NEED YOUR HELP!!!! THREE RABBITS DEAD SO FAR.....

msrmaw7670

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This is what is going on with the three rabbits that have died.

Bought them over a week ago. All weaned. All diffrent breeds but all living together. 1 lion head, 1 mut, 1 lop ear, one brown rabbit no clue. Water given by bottle all drinking no issues there, feed lettuce, carrot tops, all from garden (the only pesticide used nems oil 2 weeks prior and we washed off food before giving. Side note the on alive has eaten more fresh than others.) Feed through pellet same as when they came home with us. Housed in old rabbit wire cage has been empty for two years plus. No mold or foul or wet feed noted. All played together with kids no kids were sick. have seen them eating and drinking without difficulty.

Day 1. Rabbit one died over night dead before kids found rabbit. Abd soft no abnl poop no runny nose no cough no sneeze. We are novice at this rabbit pet thing it is very hot here 95-98 degrees with 80 percent humidty right now. After the first one died we thought about heat and water/feed and fighting. No fighting noted from any of them. Heat we thought was the issue. So we brought them in during the hot day and cagged them back together at pm once cool.

Day 2 Rabbit two dead the next day. Starting to watch them close all playing inside eating pooping drinking abd soft, no colds noted. Did pretty much the same thing except for bought timiothy hay they did not seem really interested in it and seperated the last two just incase they fussing at each other. last two doing fine playing ect. Same food/water set up

Day 3 All ok yeah they played did the same as above this day.

Day 4 This am went outside to work with chicks at 710 am Lion head was on side eyes open twiching hind leg. rubbed cage no movement. touched lion and moved front hind legs no head movement eyes looked over at me could tell terror in eyes. breathing fine. Lungs clear heart not fast or slow about what i normaly heard. no drainage no incontince noted(bowel/bladder) abd soft. cool outside no bleeding noted other rabbit is fine.

SO WHAT IS GOING ON!!!!!!!
TOXIN? STROKE? STRESS? PLease help one rabbit left Should I cut the lastone up to see what is inside?
 

yinzer81

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I'm really sorry to hear this! I wish I could help you, but I have no ideas! I hope some experts will come along soon with advise for you. I thought heat, but you addressed that. Could a preditor have been trying to get at them and scared them to death? Sounds silly, but I don't know... Odd, a different rabbit every night. I really hope you find out!
 

currycomb

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grabbing at straws here. you said old cage. any wasp nests, places a spider might hide out. and yes if dogs or other critters tried attacking your rabbits, they can run around in terror, hit the wire and break a neck. we just lost a nice big doe to a lightning strike nearby, heartattack. so, they are fragile little creatures. :(
 

msrmaw7670

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Our last rabbit has softer poo not liquad but close other than that ok. I bleached the cage before i used it very mild 1 ounce to 5 gallons i never new rabbits were so difficult to raise. we have a dog but he just sit and stares at them. Our dog is weird. I guess at this point We wait and see. Not sure if I want to open the rancid rabbit up.
 

Lizzie098

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Ok it could be the dog. When you are not there, or at night he could be scaring them to death. Our dog acts fine when we are around but when we leave its a different sight. Or, if you have males and females together it may have something to do with it. I had babies together and they just started dieing till I separated the males and females.
 

Cabinchick

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msrmaw7670 said:
we have a dog but he just sit and stares at them. Our dog is weird.
So sorry for your loss :hugs I know it's hard :(
Dogs that sit and stare at rabbits are not really weird. Mine just wanted to play with them, see if they would run, sniff them etc. I would seperate the dog from the rabbits for two reasons:
1) whatever they have could be contagious
2) If the dog is to blame, you will know. Could he be barking and scaring them into a heart attack?
 

mrbstephens

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This is so awful and I'm so sorry for you and the kids! :hugs I hope you figure it out.

I just brought home my first rabbit yesterday. He's living outside full time. Do I need to worry about him dying of heart attack from a thunder storm too?
 

rockdoveranch

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So sorry about all the losses.

Just curious. Where did you buy your rabbits? Breeder? Pet or feed store? Flea market?

You mentioned that they were all weaned. How old are they?

Where are you keeping the cage? Does it have plenty of shade and plenty of air circulation? I am long the Texas Gulf Coast so I know hot and humid. Is your cage big enough so that the bunnies do not get over heated from each others body temperature? Extreme heat can kill.

I am probably the only person on this forum that rarely gives my rabbits garden greens, and when I do it is just a nibble. I am 61 and have had rabbits off and on my whole life and I am a firm believer in having the diet be 99.9% pellets.

Did the seller(s) send you home with rabbit pellets or did you buy it? I have never had moldy pellets or pellets with bugs in them, but maybe you should exam the pellets and smell them to see if they look and smell right. Just a thought.

I don't know about a necropsy unless you have experience and know what to look for. I personally would not know what to look for.
 

terri9630

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How long did you have them before you started giving them the greens? How much and how often? They can be sensitive to new foods, if you search there are posts here that tell why. New foods should be started slowly.
 

terri9630

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rockdoveranch said:
I am probably the only person on this forum that rarely gives my rabbits garden greens, and when I do it is just a nibble.
The only thing I feed is frozen celery on hot days, which are most days here between March and Oct..... They just get pellets except kits and preg does, they also get calf mana.
 
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