Obsidian
Rabbitry

As a rabbit breeder, you WILL encounter many occasions in which there will be a problem with the newborn kits.

Issues and Treatments:

Abandoned Kits 

Sometimes rabbit mothers abandon their kits and owners must step in to help the young. Usually, the cause of this abandonment is either from an inexperienced or stressed mother. In any case, action must be taken quickly to ensure the life of a kit.  Mother rabbits produce a nutrient and antibody rich milk, called colostrum that is *only* available within the first 24 hours after giving birth. If the kits don't get this milk, they miss out on establishing beneficial gut bacteria, which will lead to a potentially permanently poor immune and digestive system.To recognize an abandoned kit, the mother will usually give birth to them on the cage floor when a nest box has been provided, but a sure sign that she has no intentions on caring for her young is if she hasn't pulled any of her fur out. Or sometimes, the mother simply produces little if no milk. If this is the case, the young will not have full bellies and will quickly become lethargic.  Before you try hand feeding, place the doe on your lap and put the kits under her belly to try and get them to feed. Make sure you have all of the kits doing this, as they will stimulate each other to attempt feeding, as individual feeding is far more trying. You can also gently flip the doe on her back (trance) while keeping her stabilized with your legs and place the kits on her stomach.Or, you may place the kits in a box that is the EXACT same size of the doe with a wire lid on it. Place the doe inside with some food such as hay, and keep her in there for about 10 minutes. The box will prevent her from moving around and allow the kits to nurse.  If the doe did not build a nest and is kicking the kits all over the cage or attacking them, transfer them to a warm, insulated nest box away from the doe.  Only have the doe and kits together for forced feedings. If after you have tried all of these and the doe still either refuses to take care of the kits or simply can't supply milk, your next best option is to foster the kits off to another doe-one who is lactating with a litter the same age. If you don't have another nursing doe available, your last option is hand feeding. It's very important to make sure that you have no other choice, because removing kits from a nursing mother can not only cause milk build up and stress for the doe, but mother's milk is filled with far more nutrients and antibodies than formula. It's extremely important for the kits to receive colostrum within the first few hours of life. Because of a young kit's severe stomach sensitivity, they have a much higher chance of surviving on their mother's milk. If you do find yourself in the dire situation in which you MUST hand feed a kit before its eyes are open (when the stomach is most susceptible to harmful bacteria), keep in mind that the chances of it avoiding death will be slim. At that young of an age, hand fed kits have a 90% mortality rate.To hand feed, use a kitten feeding bottle. Eye droppers are not recommended as they allow too much liquid for the babies to swallow, which can cause aspiration or pneumonia as they may inhale the liquid. Since babies lose their suckling instinct within roughly 48 hours, it is important to get them on a nursing bottle quickly. Canned kitten formula from a pet supply store can be used along with other specialty formulas made for rabbits. Goat milk is also a good substitute. Lactobacillus Acidophilus can be added to the formula. It will not hurt the babies and may help some of them. Feed daily total quantities in either two larger feedings: Newborn - 5 cc KMR formula and ½ cc Acidophilus 1 week - 15 to 25 cc KMR formula and 1 cc Acidophilus 2 weeks - 25 to 27 cc KMR formula and 1 cc Acidophilus 3 to 4 weeks - 30 cc KMR and 2 ccs Acidophilus. Wash the babies’ faces and bottoms with warm water and cotton after each feeding to stimulate elimination. Babies can nibble on dry alfalfa or a few pellets as soon as they show an interest. Formula consumption levels off at about 6-8 weeks, but do not rush weaning. And remember to never allow the kit to get a chill. Young kits can’t retain their body temperature, so keep them in a well-padded box with a heated bottle or blanket at all times. They will become adaptable to temperatures as they near 4-6 weeks of age.

Frozen Kits

Occasionally you'll come across frozen kits. Either the mother had them on the wire outside of the nest or the nest wasn't adequately insulated, kits can freeze very quickly. When kits freeze, they may appear ice cold, very stiff, colorless, and seemingly dead. Look for blood collection in the toenails. If the nails are a deep dark red-purple color, then the kits are already dead. If you don't see the dark nails, then the kits may be revivable. Bring them inside and place them either in your shirt, under a heat lamp, on a heating pad, or in an airtight baggy submerged in a bowl of very warm water for a few minutes. Keep a constant eye on them. After about 15 minutes they should be warm to the touch and start moving around. If after two hours of attempted reviving they do not snap out of it, then it's safe to assume they are already dead. 

Fading Kits/Kits with Loose Stool

This is sadly a very common problem among young kits. They will be perfectly healthy and active up until about 3 weeks of age. Then, some or all of the kits will suddenly and without warning, become less active and alert, though they may continue to eat and drink. As the time goes by, they will seem to get worse, losing weight and becoming progressively lethargic, until they eventually die. This can happen within as little as a few hours to just a few days. This is known as fader kit syndrome or wasters. No one knows the exact cause of this. Some think it may be caused by parasites, dietary needs not being met, genetically weak breeding, enteritis, coccidiosis (in which case this must be proven by a fecal float by a vet and then treated with sulfadimethoxine for 15 days), mucoid enteropathy (when a diet is lower than necessary in long fiber and the kit's cecum gets blocked by fine food particles which leads to dehydration), or simply the switch from mother's milk to pellets. Some breeders believe that rationing pellets and giving an unlimited supply of grass hay and oats to the young, can potentially increase the probability of them living. Some breeders put a bit of Terramycin in the kit’s drinking water once they hit 14 days old to help prevent the mortality rate.

To attempt to combat loose stool, take these following steps:

1. To arrest diarrhea quickly (of critical importance): Imodium (loperamide) at 1 mg/kg Q 4-8 hours (depending on severity). This is available over the counter at most pharmacies.

2. Hydration: Subcutaneous Lactated Ringers Solution (10ml/kg total in 2-3 boli over 24 hours. This can be increased if the diarrhea is severe, to prevent dehydration and keep electrolytes at normal levels. Consult your veterinarian about the proper dosage.

3. Antibiotics: a. ciprofloxacin at 20 mg/kg Q 12 hours – PO (oral administration) only. Oral administration provides immediate contact with intestinal pathogens that injections will not handle as quickly or directly. 

4. Anticoccidial medication: 1. Ponazuril/toltrazuril (20mg/kg Q 24 hours) OR 2. Trimethoprim sulfa or Albon (sulfadimethoxine) (Note: We have found that ponazuril (Marquis by Bayer) is far superior to the sulfa or potentiated sulfa antibiotics for killing coccidia. My own (unpublished) data show complete parasite eradication (as determined from sequential fecal exams showing progressively more shrunken and vacuolated sporocysts) in three days of treatment.

5. Helminthicidal medication: Panacur (fenbendazole) at 20mg/kg Q 24 hours

6. Recommended analgesia (pain relief): 1. pediatric simethicone suspension (0.5 – 1.0 cc Q 6-8 hours) for gas relief 2. sulfasalazine (30 - 50 mg suspended in clean water Q 12 hours) 3. barium suspension (0.5-1.0 ml Q 12 hours) (also helps arrest diarrhea) 4. meloxicam (0.1 – 0.3 mg/kg Q 24 hours) OR 5. Banamine (flunixin meglumine) (not both! Use only one NSAID!) 6. Tramadol (2-6mg/kg Q 12 hours) (Note: If Banamine is used, famotidine (antacid) is also recommended, but should not be administered for an hour after other medications have been given.)

7. General immune support and bacteriocidal action: colostrum (contents of 2 capsules dissolved in about 10cc pasteurized goat milk). Administer small amounts over several hours, about 1-2 cc at a time, or as much as the baby will accept.

8. Absorption/adsorption of intestinal toxins: Questran (cholestyramine resin) - by prescription at most major pharmacies DO NOT ADMINISTER THIS AGENT FOR AT LEAST ONE HOUR AFTER ALL OTHER ORAL MEDICATIONS HAVE BEEN GIVEN, AS IT MAY INTERFERE WITH OR INACTIVATE THE OTHER DRUGS. Suspend about ¼ teaspoon in 10 ml of water, and allow to hydrate for approximately 10 minutes. Give 1-2 cc of this suspension every 12 hours, but DO NOT give it within an hour of other medications, as it may absorb them. DO NOT give any other medications for 4-6 hours after Questran dose, as Questran will continue to absorb/adsorb substances from the gut lumen, reducing or eliminating their efficacy.

Pellets may also be to blame for loose stool in kits. Commercial pellets are formulated for adult rabbits, not young kits. Kit’s stomachs and digestive make up are entirely different than an adult rabbit. Most pellets, especially brands directed towards lactating does, contain high amounts of grain, grain by-products, and soybean meal. These three ingredients alone are not healthy, even for an adult rabbit, and are certainly lethal for young ones. Unfortunately, pellet manufacturers use these ingredients because they are a cheap way to replace the lack of fiber in the feed in order to make room for energy supplements. However, this leaves a low protein feed, which is then again supplemented by soybean meal. So my personal resolution? I only allow the kits to munch on grass hay and a few dandelion greens for their first week out of the nest box. I then allow them to very slowly consume a few pellets with powdered ginger with their hay as time goes by. A soft high fiber only diet seems to be the best answer for easing their stomachs from weaning without causing any problems. I strongly believe that the combination of ingredients and the solid hard form of pellets is what causes the kit’s stomach to become imbalanced and upset.  Again, this is just my own method and understanding, and so far it has been working for me. The main thing to focus upon is hydration and feeding fiber to the kits. Leave out bowls of lightly flavored (Gatorade, tea bags, etc.) water for them. In any case, as a breeder, you WILL experience the loss of kits, whether they are runts, peanuts, max factors, or succumb to fader kit syndrome. As a breeder, you must understand and accept this, and move on.

Retained Kits

In some rare cases, a doe may not kindle on the day she is due. Usually, this is just a sign that she wasn't actually pregnant. But sometimes it means that she may have a problem in which all or some of the kits are stuck inside her (termed as dystocia). In order to determine this for sure, you must palpate her. When does retain their kits, they will usually show signs of stress (straining, grinding her teeth, lack of eating/drinking or caring for kits that were born early). The most common cause of retained kits is excess fat in the doe. That's why it's important to keep her on a strict diet while she's pregnant. Other causes may be from previous litters with extrauterine or calcified kits. The second most common cause is because the kits may actually be too big or deformed to pass through the birth canal. This is why it's important to know what you're doing when you're breeding rabbits; (If the buck is bigger than the doe or if both the buck and doe carry the Dwarf gene, then these will be the issues you'll experience with your breeding programs). Once a doe has issues with retained kits, chances are she'll continue to experience these issues with future litters. If you are absolutely sure that your doe may be retaining kits, you will have to take her to the vet immediately as she may need to have surgery or an ejection of oxytocin (if you are self-administering oxytocin, please use caution as your doe must be physically and hormonally able to take a dose. Otherwise, the uterus will rupture and your doe will die an excruciating death.) In some rare cases, the kit may be retained but the placenta may be passed through. This obviously causes death to the kit and it may either be passed through later on or absorbed. The cause of this is still unknown, but it has been suggested as Abruptio Placenta. The doe may or may not be affected by this as it may or may not cause severe blood loss, so taking her to the vet is the best option. The kits will be lost, but at least her life may be spared. In minor cases, you may try some emmenagogues herbs such as blackberries, raspberry leaves, parsley, ginger, yarrow, feverfew, rosemary, and sage to aid in contractions and flush the uterus.  Herbs such as Tansy, Mugwort, Juniper berries, Chamomile contain Thujone, which is a volatile oil found in several plants known to be a uterine stimulant.  Calcium, in the form of Tums, drench, or tablets dissolved in the doe's water, may aid the contractions as well. Herbs such as Angelica, Black Cohosh, Ginger, Horseradish, Queen Anne's Lace Seeds/Root contain a great deal of estrogen, and though they will help expel uterine contents, they can be antispemotic and contain abortive properties. Lop-eared and big headed breeds such as Hollands are especially prone o retaining kits when kindling as the doe's pelvis may sometimes not be wide enough. Once the first kit is retained, the chances of all the other kits being born alive are greatly decreased, as their supply of oxygen runs out in the birth canal. If you see a kit that is stuck, you can use mineral or vegetable oil and a warm wet cloth to gently and slowly pull them out of the doe.

Wild Rabbit Kits

If you happen upon wild rabbit babies, the best thing to do is leave them alone. Most North American rabbit and hare species give birth in shallow dugout impressions on top of the ground. Cottontail kits will be mostly hairless, a dark purple-black color with or without a faint white blaze (which they will lose as they grow in their fur) and will have their eyes shut (if they are younger than eight days old). Most hare species (jackrabbits) will give birth to young that are fully furred with their eyes open. Wild rabbits in North America are a different species than domestic rabbits (which are derived from the European species, therefore they cannot breed together), so they do not develop the exactly the same way when they are growing as a domestic rabbit would, making it very difficult to rehabilitate them when young. If they are all in a nest and have full bellies, then they are being taken care of and they should not be handled. Just leave them alone and let nature take its course. If you do happen upon a sick or injured one, take it to a wild life rehab, as it is illegal in most states to be in possession of a native wild animal.

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Cannibalism

Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for mother rabbits to fully or partially cannibalize their kits. There will be times when you find torsos, heads, or limbs scattered around the cage. There are a few reasons for this. Sometimes the mother is inexperienced and out of pure confusion, she consumes the kits shortly after birth in an attempt to consume the afterbirth. Some times there may be something wrong with kit's health. And the mother, sensing this, chooses to end the kit's suffering (even if the kit seems normal and healthy to you by all outward appearances, there are just some things humans cannot detect that other mammals can). Sometimes the mother rabbit gets stressed or startled by something in her environment and may intentionally or unintentionally kill her entire litter. (This can be something as simple as the smell of a dog near by or the sound of a lawn mower being started. Remember rabbits are prey animals. If a mother rabbit feels there is something in the environment that could threaten the safety or prosperity of her litter, she'll choose to quickly kill the babies as opposed to risk them growing up struggling to survive. She also won't risk her body and energy if she feels her litter won't make it. It may seem illogical to us humans, but remember we developed and understand the human world. Rabbits do not and they will react as if they are living in the wild. This is why it's crucial to keep the mother and babies in a calm and quiet environment).

Deformed Kits

 Any malformed or overly sick kits must be humanely dispatched. Though it is hard to kill a baby that's just been born, it is necessary. If the deformed/sick baby is allowed to get older, it will eventually die a slow and painful death from the complications of its birth defect.  The other babies could have been healthier if they did not have to share their nutrition with one that was going to die anyway.

  "Peanut" kits are easily identifiable as they are usually a third of the size of their littermates. Their eyes are usually bulging and the ears, limbs, and pelvis are abnormally small, Peanuts occur when two true dwarfs are bred together as they are the result of the double true dwarfing gene. It is a congenitally defective kit that fails to thrive. Peanuts will NEVER live to adulthood, so it's best to put them out of their misery now. The longest any peanut has lived on record was 6 months and that was an extreme case. Typically, they don't live past a few weeks, at best. Their tissue, brains, and organs are not properly formed when they are born resulting in them eventually dying. 

The Max factor gene is a recessive gene. The kit that exhibits the double dose of this gene often have fully open eye(s) or sometimes just partially open, even a slit (sometimes one can see fur stuck to the eye) Open eyes however slight/severe will lead to blindness. The limbs are deformed, twisted or splayed.  The feet appear to resemble flippers, sometimes webbed and occasionally a dewclaw may be present on the hind leg(s)  
The fur has spiked or very soft long appearance due to the lack of guard hairs Runts (slightly smaller than the rest of the young, but not deformed) may or may not live, so use your best judgment with them.

Fetal Giants or "Hippo Babies" are unusually large and deformed kits. Sometimes they'll have the appearance of being "stretched". Due to the stress of a prolonged and difficult delivery of the oversized kit, usually 2 to 3 times normal size, it will have died from asphyxiation. The following kits, if any, will either be born dead or may be delivered alive but are normally scattered by the mother due to stress.  It has been suggested that overfeeding or feeding too much protein to a pregnant doe may be the cause of this. Hormone levels may also be a cause as the increase for fetal giants is more prevalent in the fall and winter months. Unfortunately, there is no solid research to prove any of these theories and many breeders are left to assume genetics plays a role.