TinysMom
Well-Known Member
For those of you who do not know - Dusty, Drew and Bun Bun were all lionhead littermates that were born on February 15, 2007. When their sister Lily moved on to live with another forum member - they stayed here because they were going to be flying to Calfiornia last September. However, the way things worked out - they wound up staying longer.
The only thing that was unusual about their early days was that frequently Drew would have a damp nose. She was the smallest bunny and obviously carried the dwarfing gene (but she was NOT a peanut). If she got stressed or if she played in the litter box (one of her favorite pasttimes) - her nose would be damp for a couple of days.
Their father has fathered many MANY litters before coming to live here in 2006 and he fathered other litters here also. Their mama had one other litter before I had them - no problems (that I know of) with the offspring. However, their father passed away suddenly last July - I have no idea why. He had not been ill - but I went out to his cage and he was gone - and he was 2 years old. Sometimes that just happens...even to younger rabbits. I now wonder if somehow the mother and the father each carried some sort of a gene that when brought together - would cause problems.
On the 21st of October, Drew passed away. She'd had a minor bout of stasis earlier in the week - but by the time she passed - she was eating and pooping and peeing and drinking. I really can't say so much she had stasis as to my knowledge her gut never shut down - she just didn't eat as much.... However, she was still eating and binkying and in fact, earlier in the week I'd had to ask her to be just a bit quieter while I was on the phone (she lived in my office and was doing her bunny 500s and binkying).
On December 17th - less than 2 months later - Bun Bun passed away. He was the biggest of the three and his passing was very sudden also. We suspected heart problems or a genetic issue like with Drew because one minute he was fine - and a couple of hours later - he was gone.
Now - at that time - I discussed with some folks I trust the idea of getting a necropsy done on Bun Bun -or possibly taking Dusty in for testing. Dusty was about Drew's size - still sort of small (but not "badly" small like a peanut - he was more like a Netherland Dwarf size vs. a normal lionhead size. Their mama is a smaller lionhead too). We tried to decide if a necropsy would show up the cause of death if it was a genetic issue...or would it be best to take Dusty in for an Xray and/or ultrasound.
The decision was made to just keep an eye on Dusty - to keep him here and not have him fly to Rosie...and to possibly have him checked in a month or so. It did not appear to be an immediate need as he was eating and drinking well and pooping and all of that.
Last night - we suddenly lost Dusty. Once again - no warning except to see him struggling for breath. I noticed his heart was pounding pretty darn hard. From the moment we first knew he was in distress - till he was gone - was 2 hours. (The closest emergency vet is a minimum of a 3 hour drive in daylight).
I've been thinking about this and trying to come up with what has been happening - what could have caused this. There is still one more in the litter that is alive - that is myLoki's darling Lily. My hope and prayer is that whatever took these three will not affect her.
Some of the things I've discussed with others are:
Although each rabbit (especially after Drew's passing) was held and petted several times per week - they seemed to lose a bit of weight within the last 2-3 days before they passed away. Each time I would hold one - I would make the comment "You seem to have lost a bit of weight". Now when I say this - I'm talking about 2 - 3 or maybe even 4 ounces on a 3 pound rabbit.
Usually - the rabbits had gone off their food by about 25-33% for the last 3 or 4 days of their lives. Because each death happened around the time we were having weather changes....when many of my rabbits might not eat as much - I did not pick up on this fact until last night when we were with Dusty and comforting him as he prepared to cross the bridge. It is not unusual for my rabbits to not eat as much food for up to 4 days and then suddenly start scarfing everything down. They did have poops and pee during that period of time.
None of the other rabbits I've lost have shown these symptoms (that I know of)....except for losing the father in July. None of the other rabbits have appeared ill (as far as thinking maybe it was something in the food or the hay).
In each case - the rabbit was fine - and then was dead within a couple of hours. No nose discharge except maybe a dampness on the nose for Drew....I don't remember about Bun Bun.
None of the rabbits appeared to be in "pain" as far as having blockages, straining to pee, etc. etc. etc. The first sign of distress was having them breathe with their mouth open and holding their noses in the air.
In each case - I had seen the rabbit play within the last 24 hours...and it had appeared normal.
That is all I can think of to share here. I'm hoping that maybe someone from here will have read something about genetic issues that can occur or will know of more information we can use to find out what has been happening.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Peg
The only thing that was unusual about their early days was that frequently Drew would have a damp nose. She was the smallest bunny and obviously carried the dwarfing gene (but she was NOT a peanut). If she got stressed or if she played in the litter box (one of her favorite pasttimes) - her nose would be damp for a couple of days.
Their father has fathered many MANY litters before coming to live here in 2006 and he fathered other litters here also. Their mama had one other litter before I had them - no problems (that I know of) with the offspring. However, their father passed away suddenly last July - I have no idea why. He had not been ill - but I went out to his cage and he was gone - and he was 2 years old. Sometimes that just happens...even to younger rabbits. I now wonder if somehow the mother and the father each carried some sort of a gene that when brought together - would cause problems.
On the 21st of October, Drew passed away. She'd had a minor bout of stasis earlier in the week - but by the time she passed - she was eating and pooping and peeing and drinking. I really can't say so much she had stasis as to my knowledge her gut never shut down - she just didn't eat as much.... However, she was still eating and binkying and in fact, earlier in the week I'd had to ask her to be just a bit quieter while I was on the phone (she lived in my office and was doing her bunny 500s and binkying).
On December 17th - less than 2 months later - Bun Bun passed away. He was the biggest of the three and his passing was very sudden also. We suspected heart problems or a genetic issue like with Drew because one minute he was fine - and a couple of hours later - he was gone.
Now - at that time - I discussed with some folks I trust the idea of getting a necropsy done on Bun Bun -or possibly taking Dusty in for testing. Dusty was about Drew's size - still sort of small (but not "badly" small like a peanut - he was more like a Netherland Dwarf size vs. a normal lionhead size. Their mama is a smaller lionhead too). We tried to decide if a necropsy would show up the cause of death if it was a genetic issue...or would it be best to take Dusty in for an Xray and/or ultrasound.
The decision was made to just keep an eye on Dusty - to keep him here and not have him fly to Rosie...and to possibly have him checked in a month or so. It did not appear to be an immediate need as he was eating and drinking well and pooping and all of that.
Last night - we suddenly lost Dusty. Once again - no warning except to see him struggling for breath. I noticed his heart was pounding pretty darn hard. From the moment we first knew he was in distress - till he was gone - was 2 hours. (The closest emergency vet is a minimum of a 3 hour drive in daylight).
I've been thinking about this and trying to come up with what has been happening - what could have caused this. There is still one more in the litter that is alive - that is myLoki's darling Lily. My hope and prayer is that whatever took these three will not affect her.
Some of the things I've discussed with others are:
- Other deaths I've had in the rabbitry (not related at all to these animals nor in the same area of the house/rabbitry)
- locations of their cages, etc. when they died (Drew was in my office - the other two lived in my living room)
- and much much more.
Although each rabbit (especially after Drew's passing) was held and petted several times per week - they seemed to lose a bit of weight within the last 2-3 days before they passed away. Each time I would hold one - I would make the comment "You seem to have lost a bit of weight". Now when I say this - I'm talking about 2 - 3 or maybe even 4 ounces on a 3 pound rabbit.
Usually - the rabbits had gone off their food by about 25-33% for the last 3 or 4 days of their lives. Because each death happened around the time we were having weather changes....when many of my rabbits might not eat as much - I did not pick up on this fact until last night when we were with Dusty and comforting him as he prepared to cross the bridge. It is not unusual for my rabbits to not eat as much food for up to 4 days and then suddenly start scarfing everything down. They did have poops and pee during that period of time.
None of the other rabbits I've lost have shown these symptoms (that I know of)....except for losing the father in July. None of the other rabbits have appeared ill (as far as thinking maybe it was something in the food or the hay).
In each case - the rabbit was fine - and then was dead within a couple of hours. No nose discharge except maybe a dampness on the nose for Drew....I don't remember about Bun Bun.
None of the rabbits appeared to be in "pain" as far as having blockages, straining to pee, etc. etc. etc. The first sign of distress was having them breathe with their mouth open and holding their noses in the air.
In each case - I had seen the rabbit play within the last 24 hours...and it had appeared normal.
That is all I can think of to share here. I'm hoping that maybe someone from here will have read something about genetic issues that can occur or will know of more information we can use to find out what has been happening.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Peg
