3.5 Week old runt... losing fur

hexland · Sep 23, 2011

I have 2 mini rex rabbits (Pash and Oliver) who managed to get together for 5 minutes 7 weeks ago (just as they were both scheduled to get fixed the following week).

I now have a litter of 11 new bunnies, 10 of which are big, healthy eating and pooping machines. They're all 3.5/4 weeks old now.

However, I have one tiny one (called Tiny) who hasn't really grown for a week or so now.
Yesterday, I noticed that he's losing his fur (it is more pronounced today).

I suspect he's undernourished (11 seems a lot for a litter, and mommy may not be able to fully feed them all) -- so I've been caging him and mommy for the last couple of days - twice a day -- and distracting her with a carrot and jamming him under her to make sure he's getting fed.

He seems to be feeding when I do this, and she seems content to let him.

I also caged him separately, away from the others, incase there was some bullying going on (also, he's a little speed freak - never seeming to slow down -- so caging him in a smaller area is an attempt to stop him from burning so much energy)
He's eating pellets, he has plenty of hay, and fights mommy to get access to the carrots, cilantro or kale when she's being fed - so he seems healthy enough.

However -- he's not getting any bigger, and his fur has started falling out.

I'm not an expert, and I haven't had a chance to find a good bunny vet since moving home a few months ago -- so any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

Dave

tonyshuman · Sep 29, 2011

I am going to move this to the Rabbitry. It sounds like you might have a "fader"--a bunny that has some problem you can't see that is causing him to have failure to thrive. He could also have fur mites or something, but the fact that he's also not growing makes me think he has something serious going on medically on the inside--interfering with how his body absorbs and uses nutrients (since he is eating).

CCWelch · Oct 4, 2011

It is completely possible that you have a fader on your hands. As they transition from mom to pellets their body cannot make the transition and fails to use the nutrients given.
Usually not growing and hair loss are signs of this happening.

hexland · Oct 5, 2011

So far, so good...

I locked him in with the mom for an hour in the morning and at night... I also eyedropper fed him KMR kitten milk for a few days. He has transitioned on to pellets and has developed a love for Kale and Collard Greens.

He's definitely increasing in size, and his fur has returned (short, but he's no longer pink now)

I also mixed in the mother's non-poop (I can't spell it, but you know what I mean) with the KMR to see if we could jump start his intestinal bacteria (just incase it was something to do with not being able to withstand or process food).

Over the past week, I've been weighing him morning and night and he's gone from 3.9oz to 5.6oz. He's as active as the others in the litter, and can hold his own when fighting over lettuce leafs.

Fingers crossed he's past the danger stage...

tonyshuman · Oct 5, 2011

It sounds like you're doing everything you can for this little guy. I don't have any other ideas. He might have one of the rarer fur mutations, and that's why all his fur fell out.