I Just don't know what we are doing wrong...

[brisciba23]

So we are new 1st time bunny owners. We've done a lot of reading on how to care for them. So we bought 2-8 week old females from the same litter. They did well w us for the first week. Then suddenly one started to get a mushier poop but not diarrhea. I cleaned her off w warm water. I thought maybe it was the oxbow pellets we fed them and immediately removed them. Our bunny was dead by morning. Our other bunny seemed kind of lethargic but didn't have the same issue so I thought maybe she was just sad from her sister dying. I placed a water bowl by her and she'd drink water but wasn't eating. By day two I thought maybe I'm being crazy about the pellets and decided to see if she'd eat one. She did so I allowed her to have some to get some food in her. By morning she had mushy poop, so again I took out any remaining pellets. She continued to seem down but did drink her water. Would not eat any hay. The next day she seemed better. Came to me at the door. Wanted out. Just seemed perkier so I took her out for some exercise. She roamed all over my living room for about an hour. I cleaned her pen out and gave her lots of fresh hay and placed her back in. She was still drinking her water and was looking good. 5hrs later I came to check on her and everything changed. Now she suddenly had real mucousy diarrhea in multiple spots and she was minutes away from dying. She began to spasm a few times and died. We only had them for 2 weeks. We had spent $300 on a pen and had all our bunny items so we didnt want to just say too bad and not be bunny parents. So we went back and bought 2 new females. We decided to change some things. We definitely got rid of the oxbow pellets. I also decided to portion the new pellets instead of just having a bowl of them in the pen. Hoping they wouldn't just fill up on them in case that had been the issue. We also decided not to give any treats. The first bunnies we didnt give them a lot of treats or anything bad. Just some fresh parsley and some little bunny crackers. Very small amount. But this time around we haven't given any. These bunnies have done great, but today 1 had mushy poop all stuck to feet and bum and doesn't seem to be eating any hay. Bc of the other bunnies, I now have some critical care on hand and attempted to feed it to my rabbit but I can tell she doesn't like it and turns away from me refusing to eat it from the syringe. So now I'm worried she's going to die. I keep reading about cecal dysbiosis and removed all pellets again. Im hoping she pulls through but I just don't get it... I don't understand what we are doing wrong. They have a clean pen daily, space, plenty of hay and water at all times of the day and have had maybe 1/4 cup pellets to share a day. Nothing else has been introduced to them. The only other thing we think is maybe stress induced, idk? We do have 2 toddlers however, they have not injured them in any way. They arent allowed around them unattended. Bunny's are kept in an upstairs bedroom with door locked so they can't just go in and bug them. I just wonder if the bunny's are hearing the kids running or screaming in the house and it's stressing them out? Would that cause a cecal disruption or cause death? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. If these two pass away, we arent getting anymore. I'd just wish we knew what was causing this. Thanks.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Young bunnies need alfalfa for the extra protein and calcium. Ours are used to noise--we have two large dogs--the small one is 172 pounds and a six year old grandson--our house is by no means quiet and bunnies get used to the sounds in your home quickly--personaly, it sounds like they may have both been sick and needed to be seen by a vet. We don't really have experience with young bunnies as most of our rescues were months to years old, and we only new the age of 3 of them. You are in our prayers.

 

[dogwoodblossoms]

Did you get the two pairs from the same place? If so, was it a breeder, a pet store, a rescue, etc.? If you know, what age where the first pair of rabbit separated from mom? (if they were taken from mom the same day you got them the stress was probably to much)
It sounds like your first pair may have had weaning enteritis (and it may be the case for your current sick rabbit). For your current rabbit with diarrhea, I always use WetTail (just a few drops in a bowl of water, it made for hamsters so it's not going to hurt your rabbits) when weaning young babies, it helps with stress levels and diarrhea.
It doesn't sound like you are doing anything wrong. Young rabbits are fragile.
Enteritis / enteropathy | rabbits | Vetlexicon Lapis from Vetlexicon | Definitive Veterinary Intelligence
Bunny enterotoxemia. How to prevent mild bunny diarrhea and death

 

[Blue eyes]

I also would suspect something from the place you got the rabbits. Young rabbits are extremely delicate in so many ways. It's one of the main reasons it is advised for first-time bunny owners to begin with already-adult (6 months +) rabbits. Babies often bring with them the difficulties you've been facing.

With such young rabbits, don't offer any greens whatsoever or any treats whatsoever. Their tummies are ever so delicate. Were you given the same pellet food the rabbits were used to from the place you got them? It is standard practice (should be) for a seller to give the exact same pellets they were used to because switching them suddenly can cause serious gut issues. Their gut is still developing needed enzymes, and any new food can cause problems.

If the little guy doesn't make it, I hope you don't give up on rabbits. I'd encourage you to consider getting an already bonded and already fixed pair from a rabbit rescue. Rabbits that are already fixed and bonded are finally at the age where training is easy (babies do not train more easily-- contrary to popular myth) and where they more easily bond with people.

 

[brisciba23]

Young bunnies need alfalfa for the extra protein and calcium. Ours are used to noise--we have two large dogs--the small one is 172 pounds and a six year old grandson--our house is by no means quiet and bunnies get used to the sounds in your home quickly--personaly, it sounds like they may have both been sick and needed to be seen by a vet. We don't really have experience with young bunnies as most of our rescues were months to years old, and we only new the age of 3 of them. You are in our prayers.

Thank you for mentioning the alfalfa. My husband was just saying we should get some!

 

[brisciba23]

I also would suspect something from the place you got the rabbits. Young rabbits are extremely delicate in so many ways. It's one of the main reasons it is advised for first-time bunny owners to begin with already-adult (6 months +) rabbits. Babies often bring with them the difficulties you've been facing.

With such young rabbits, don't offer any greens whatsoever or any treats whatsoever. Their tummies are ever so delicate. Were you given the same pellet food the rabbits were used to from the place you got them? It is standard practice (should be) for a seller to give the exact same pellets they were used to because switching them suddenly can cause serious gut issues. Their gut is still developing needed enzymes, and any new food can cause problems.

If the little guy doesn't make it, I hope you don't give up on rabbits. I'd encourage you to consider getting an already bonded and already fixed pair from a rabbit rescue. Rabbits that are already fixed and bonded are finally at the age where training is easy (babies do not train more easily-- contrary to popular myth) and where they more easily bond with people.

Yeah even though we only gave a very small amount of treats to the first pair, we decided not to do that w these ones. The first two were from same litter and then these two we bought were from their own same litter but not the litter the first came from. We were hoping theyd be sibling bonded. We did buy them from the same store which was a Rural King. If they both die of the same issue then we may have to consider a rescue instead.

 

[brisciba23]

Did you get the two pairs from the same place? If so, was it a breeder, a pet store, a rescue, etc.? If you know, what age where the first pair of rabbit separated from mom? (if they were taken from mom the same day you got them the stress was probably to much)
It sounds like your first pair may have had weaning enteritis (and it may be the case for your current sick rabbit). For your current rabbit with diarrhea, I always use WetTail (just a few drops in a bowl of water, it made for hamsters so it's not going to hurt your rabbits) when weaning young babies, it helps with stress levels and diarrhea.
It doesn't sound like you are doing anything wrong. Young rabbits are fragile.
Enteritis / enteropathy | rabbits | Vetlexicon Lapis from Vetlexicon | Definitive Veterinary Intelligence
Bunny enterotoxemia. How to prevent mild bunny diarrhea and death

We bought both pairs from Rural King. And they were right at 8weeks which I know is just weened. I'm not sure about the first pair but I know our current pair has just arrived the day we got them so I do understand there being a lot of stress. They were both very skiddish at first. We were calm and patient with waiting for them to get comfortable w us. Now they come to the door, they think their pellets are treats and go nuts for them. They sit there and let us pet them. So I think they've adjusted well over this past week, I was just sad to see the mushier poop today. It's heartbreaking not knowing what we did wrong and we don't want all these cute little babies dying on us. I'll look into the WetTail. I did finally get the one to eat a little of the critical care food. I'm hoping it helps her and doesn't make her worse. Thanks!

 

[JBun]

It sounds to me that the first two developed enterotoxemia. It's caused by the clostridium bacteria and is deadly within a few hours or days. Newly weaned baby rabbits experiencing the stress of a new home and change of diet, are especially susceptible to it. I'll share this link as it explains what happens really well, but be aware that this is a medical article with very graphic necropsy photos.

(WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC NECROPSY PHOTOS)
Medirabbit: weaning diarrhea in young rabbits

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html
Your current ones, are they still producing some normal round fecal poop, or is all their poop mushy? If it is all mushy with no round fecal balls, this is considered true diarrhea and they could have contracted the same illness. Which means this would be an emergency and they need to be seen by a rabbit vet immediately.

https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
If they're producing normal round fecal balls as well, then cecal dysbiosis is likely what's going on. It can be the stress of a new home with new sounds. It can also be the stress of getting weaned, if that has just occurred. Also something to look at would be the hay you're feeding. If it's the same hay you fed the other rabbits, I would be checking it very closely for any signs of mold(eg. dampness, white or black spots, white dust, sour or musty smell) and also for any signs of weeds in the hay. If the hay seems fine, then check to make sure they are eating the hay really well. When pellets are removed from the diet, this is essential to make sure they eat the hay fine. Some rabbits that aren't used to hay, when pellets are removed, they may not start eating the hay but can actually starve themselves.

If they're eating the hay really well, you don't need to do critical care. That's only for when a rabbit isn't eating(or isn't eating very much) and needs to be supplemented. A good quality grass hay is the best food to sort out digestive problems in rabbits. If you feed alfalfa, it needs to be introduced gradually and should only be fed minimally as a supplement hay. Grass hay should be the majority of the hay that is fed, as it is better balanced with the fiber that rabbits need. Alfalfa can be too rich of a hay to feed exclusively, as it's very high in protein and calcium.

I also wouldn't recommend doing the wet tail. That's for e. coli related diarrhea. You would know your rabbits have this as the diarrhea will be very yellowish. If your rabbits have this, then they need to be treated by a knowledgeable rabbit vet with the proper antibiotic. Wet tail contains neomycin, which has risks with it's use, as it can be ototoxic and nephrotoxic.

If your rabbits are producing normal fecal balls and the mushy poop is cecotropes, then they don't need an antibiotic but need lots of fiber in the diet(from hay) to help correct the microbial imbalance. If your rabbits do have true diarrhea or have mucoid enteritis, and not cecal dysbiosis, wet tail is the wrong antibiotic for those too. They would need enterotoxemia meds, which are cholestyramine and metronidazole, along with sub q or IV fluids and hospitalization. But even then the prognosis isln't good. If they do have enterotoxemia, I would suspect it was left in the environment from your previous bunnies. If so, along with these bunnies getting treated by a rabbit vet, I would suggest a very thorough cleaning with rabbit safe disinfectant, of their environment and everything in it.

https://rabbit.org/intermittent-soft-cecotropes-in-rabbits/