# Sick rabbit after strange birth



## gabbyraja (Feb 27, 2012)

Our holland lop is almost a year old. We bred her and she was due 3 days ago. 2 days ago we found 1 baby dead in the nest. She pulled plenty of fur, but the baby wasn't in the fur. I thought just one kit was odd, but she seemed to be acting normally, so we left her alone. Just now the kids went to check her and found a deformed kit in the cage. She's looking quit bad, too. She's kinda thin, and very calm. She's not trying to sniff, move, etc on my lap. Just lying with eyes half closed. Her butt and legs are wet and pinkish/light brownish and smells bad.

I'm way out of my league here and need advice.


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## countryfied2011 (Jul 5, 2011)

I dont know how you would treat it with a rabbit, but it sounds like she still has some dead kits inside or she has a very nasty infection left from the kit that you found today, I assume the deformed kit was dead. Smell and discharge normally indicates infection. Does she have a fever?

Hopefully someone will chime in..Good Luck, hope you get some answers and your doe comes out of this ok. Sorry to hear about your kits.


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## saritamae (Jun 2, 2012)

I second this. The smell and discharge are all signs of infection and if it was from having a stuck kit (or possibly more) it is serious. Short of giving her antibiotics, I'm not really sure what can be done to treat her. There are some really knowledgeable people here, I'm hoping someone will be more helpful than I can be.


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## scarlet812 (Feb 18, 2013)

I did some digging and found this: 

An article by Dr. Terry E. Reed, America

Over the past several years there have been various types of metritis that have been identified throughout most parts of the United States.

It has been proven that various types of the infections can be successfully treated with antibiotics & hormones. The specific type of antibiotic depends upon the specific type of infection that is present. Therefore, it is impossible to give a specific type of antibiotic to utilize as it would relate to the type of infectious agent that is causing the problem. The various types of hormones that are utilized will depend upon the time the animals are injected. If the animals are injected within the first 24 hours after kindling, one usually utilizes Oxytocin U.S.P. for the evacuation effect it has upon the uterus to constrict very rapidly. When the uterus constricts, this forces all the foreign materials that may be contained in the uterus, as a result of kindling, out of the uterus so it does not allow infection to take place.

If the animal is injected after 24 hours of kindling, it is then recommended that one use some type of oestrogen product in order to enhance the blood supply to the uterus. By the utilization of oestrogen with the antibiotic, this allows the antibiotic to be much more effective.

Holland Lops probably have more difficulty in parturition (kindling) than many of the other breeds due to the fact that these breeds are noted for their very large bold heads. This often times presents a problem as the kits are delivered & this large head has difficulty in passing through the narrow pelvis. Often times, this will slow the birthing process down & causes enhanced incidents of uterine infections. Once an animal has a uterine infection, there is a portion of that uterus that becomes non-functional & will not have a sufficient blood supply to maintain a pregnancy. Therefore, it is very important that these infections be kept at a minimum due to the fact that the Holland Lop will usually only have from 2 to 5 kits. If there has been a scaring of the inside of the uterus, due to infection, the litter size dwindles even further & often times it is very difficult to get the animals bred.

In my opinion, particularly in the breed described, I feel it is very important that the breeders inject the animal with at least Oxytocin within the first 24 hours after kindling. The Oxytocin can be obtained in some states from farm stores; or it may need to be obtained from your veterinarian. The dosage for Oxytocin will be one-fourth cc per animal. This should be administered subcutaneously or intramuscularly within 24 hours after kindling. If one does not inject the Oxytocin with in 24 hours, it loses its effectiveness in causing the uterus to contract. The purpose of injecting the Oxytocin is that it causes the uterus to constrict pushing out all the debris of kindling; particularly, any retained kits or retained afterbirth.

Some individuals, in addition to injecting Oxytocin within 24 hours after kindling, will also inject a small amount of Penicillin G to assist in preventing any infections. There is some very strong evidence that the administration of Oxytocin & Penicillin G, post kindling, will enhance the future breeding & will reduce the number of does that must be eliminated from the herd due to breeding problems. Penicillin G is usually utilized as a general antibiotic & is administered at the rate of 200,000 international units per ten pounds of body weight.

Some of the signs of metritis are enhanced breeding problems, increased amount of stillborn kits in the litter, does that fail to show maternal instincts & mother the kits, does that scatter kits on the wire, vaginal discharge, & multiple pinpoint abscesses around the vaginal area or in the sheath of the male animal.


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## countryfied2011 (Jul 5, 2011)

That's basically what is done with mares...oxytocin and antibiotics(part of the placenta could be retained in a mare), but I didn't have a clue what would be done with rabbits. Good to know though, looks like it would be something that a vet would have to clear up.

Thanks for sharing the article..


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## scarlet812 (Feb 18, 2013)

countryfied2011 said:


> That's basically what is done with mares...oxytocin and antibiotics(part of the placenta could be retained in a mare), but I didn't have a clue what would be done with rabbits. Good to know though, looks like it would be something that a vet would have to clear up.
> 
> Thanks for sharing the article..


I just lucked out finding it - what I know about rabbit medicine, you could put on the head of a pin.  I started with searching symptoms, then found the name of the condition, and searched for info on that. I guess I've sort of heard of the concept before, but had no idea on details. I learned a lot from this!

Gabbyraja,
How is the bunny today?


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## Honorine (Feb 27, 2006)

Holland Lops are notorious for birthing problems, if she was a year old and it was her first litter I'm not surprized that she had a hard time. While the pelvis in rabbits does not fuse like it does in Guinea Pigs the bones do harden, making birthing difficult. When breeding Holland Lops you must consider their size, age and health, some does are just too small to breed, and its best to breed Hollands at 5-6 months. That won't help you now, she needs antibiotics and possibly oxy, so if she's a pet take her to the vet. If you treat her yourself its a half cc per 4 lbs of injectable Pen G, short acting every day, long acting every 48 hours. There's a good chance your going to lose her at this point, 2 days have passed, she retained a dead kit, there could be more, and she has a discharge that smells. If she does not rally quickly after the Pen G or vet visit I would not let her suffer. Frankly I myself would put her down now. Vets are expensive and often you still lose the rabbit, they are fragile and die easily. So sorry for your kids. Good Luck.


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## gabbyraja (Feb 27, 2012)

She's actually doing ok. I called the breeder we got her from. She said she has seen it, and gave me suggestions (including penG) on what to do, and said that she only ever lost one doe from this the very first year she was breeding. 

She's still kickin'. She's lazy, but that could be partly because we have her in small cage in the living room and she's usually in a large tractor outside. She's eating and pooping, however, she eats like a bird, just like our buck, so it's hard to tell if she's eating "enough." Fact that she's pooping makes me think it is. In fact, she's eating right now as I type. She's also drinking. I've been giving her herbs, and she no longer smells. She seems to be doing fine, but I'm keeping her inside for a few more days and watching her, just to make sure. 

She has not passed any more kits. Yes, the retained kit was born deformed and was dead when we found it. 

I looked back at her papers and she's only 9 months now, in case that makes any difference.

Thank you for the advice and chiming in! I really hadn't read about retained kits, so I was so glad the breeder had seen it a few times (she's been doing this almost 20 years and had 3, so I'm hoping that means it's not common and won't happen again).


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## countryfied2011 (Jul 5, 2011)

Great news....hope next kindling will turn out good~


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## scarlet812 (Feb 18, 2013)

I'm really glad she's doing okay. I was dreading hearing bad news on this one. Hopefully things will go better for her next time.


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