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| Not the greatest picture... she doesn't stop moving. ;-) |
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Other Rabbit Breeders Out There.... help!
To all of you who raise rabbits, I'm wondering if anyone has ever had this problem or has any ideas for me. I normally don't post about my problems (LOL) but this one has me stumped and I need some ideas! I have a three week old baby doe who is from a litter of four. Her fur is falling out, a lot like if she was shedding... only she's three weeks old. :-( It is getting pretty bad, overall she looks very scruffy, is very thin and boney, and is going bald in some places. It is not her siblings chewing on her, because the fur comes out when I pet her or pull on it, like a molting rabbit. The rest of her siblings are furry, fat and happy. She is very active, eats, and seems healthy otherwise, it's just that she is very, VERY skinny and boney, and losing her fur. :-( I have researched but can't come up with anything. Anyone have any ideas for me? Any help would be greatly appreciated, I need to help this little bun! Thank you. :-)
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10 comments:
Oh Emily! So sorry to hear about her. :( I hope she gets better soon!! ((hugs))
Emily, I posted your picture of the baby on a large rabbit group on facebook, I hope we can figure this out!
Lindsey - thank you so much! I really appreciate it.
Has she always been thin and boney or did this just happen since she started eating solid food? Does she have diarrhea? It's possible it's an allergic reaction, maybe something in the food pellets that she's starting to eat. Or if she's always been thin since birth, she could even be allergic to her mother's milk. I saw a tv program about a baby leopard being handraised with formula and it was losing body condition and it's hair. They changed the type of formula they gave the cat and it thrived after that. With it just starting on solid food that would be my guess. That it's having a reaction to it's food. You could try just giving it a grass hay in addition to continuing to nurse. You might have to separate it from it's siblings to try this, except to nurse. Other things that might work- worming, giving probiotics, or a vitamin supplement. I'm pretty new to rabbit breeding, so ask Lindsey what she thinks of these ideas.
Hope she is better soon! She is adorable! I have a pet bunny, too!
Noelle : )
Noelle - thank you, I'm hoping she'll be better soon, too! :-)
Jenny - wow, I had not thought of that - an allergic reaction to being on feed! To answer your questions - I started noticing this since she came out of the nest box (2 1/2 weeks), so YES, when she started on solids. No, she does not have diarrhea, although I will double check on that. I'm pretty positive not, though. And i just checked my calandar, and she is acually going to be 5 weeks on Monday.... not 3 weeks old, goodness sakes, time flies! So this has been going on for about 2 weeks. I think I am going to try your idea of putting her on grass hay only and see if that helps. And I thought of worming, too.... only I use ivermectin and I'm worried that would be way too tough on a baby so young. I'm adding some new things to her diet, though, to help with nutrition. We'll see what helps, thank you SO much for the ideas, I hadn't thought of some of those. I'll run them by Lindsey, too. Thanks!
That's good that she's old enough that you can separate her from the others. You don't want to try too many things at the same time or if she gets better then you won't know what did it. I wouldn't use ivermectin. I guess hotots are extra sensitive to it because of their dutch gene.
Good thought on not doing too many things at once. Do you raise hotots? :-)
I've had pet rabbits for a long time, but I just started with hotots. I bought a buck and doe from Little Rascal's Rabbitry. My doe just had a litter 11 days ago and today most of their eyes are open. They're soooo cute!! I love holding them. :-)
That is great Jenny! They are such a fun breed... and yes, just wait until your babies hit the 2 1/2 week mark... they are WAY adorable then. ;-)
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