I have in one day the kits will be 5 weeks and my vet says to just wean them cause switching them to formula could upset their gut then my other vet says to till 6 to 8 weeks so which one do I believe and one vet says they can still drink milk from the mom even if she's on the injection of penicillin and one says no so does anyone know about this please
Nursing bunny needs penicillin
- Thread starter Selena RD
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John Wick
Well-Known Member
Are the kits eating hay and pellets well on their own? If they are, I suspect it's probably OK to wean them. Sources I found say that weaning starts Day 25-33 (3.5-5 weeks) up to 6 weeks as the latest, so it seems like an OK time as long as the kits are showing good food consumption behaviors.
To be clear I am not experienced with baby rabbits, but this is from information/sources often provided by the places I volunteer for.
To be clear I am not experienced with baby rabbits, but this is from information/sources often provided by the places I volunteer for.
Yes they do eat pellets and hay and water so maybe I'll just wean them and they're very active
If you have to start the mom on penicillin and can't wait another week or two, I would go ahead and start weaning the kits. I wouldn't want them nursing while the mom's getting injections, if at all possible.
If the mom can be moved to a different cage/pen, keeping the kits in the cage/pen they're used to will help minimize weaning stress. When weaning it's important to minimize any stress on the kits, ensure they're eating plenty of good quality grass hay(not moldy) to help with their gut health, and not adding any new foods especially high carb/sugary foods that can upset the gut microflora. This will help minimize the chances of them developing weaning enteritis, which is what kits recently weaned and especially weaned early, are most susceptible to getting.
If the mom can be moved to a different cage/pen, keeping the kits in the cage/pen they're used to will help minimize weaning stress. When weaning it's important to minimize any stress on the kits, ensure they're eating plenty of good quality grass hay(not moldy) to help with their gut health, and not adding any new foods especially high carb/sugary foods that can upset the gut microflora. This will help minimize the chances of them developing weaning enteritis, which is what kits recently weaned and especially weaned early, are most susceptible to getting.
And she's really skinny and lost 5 pounds she was 10 pounds and one of my vets said they made her really weak so to wean them and tomorrow they want us to go back to give her iv so it can replenish her and we are giving her penicillin for a infection that they think maybe from what my other rabbit died for just in case for a whole week
In that case they definitely need to be weaned early, for the health of the doe.
Yeah so I shouldn't put them on kitten milk and just wean them? And can feeding her kits made her that skinny and laying down more
No. At this point and age, putting them on KMR could cause more digestive upset than it would help. If they're eating solid food well, then it's usually best to just wean and let them move over onto all solid food, with plenty of good grass hay being eaten.
If the mom wasn't being free fed and getting enough food while nursing, yes this could cause severe weight loss and health issues like fatty liver disease. If she was getting free fed and eating plenty of food, or wasn't eating enough of the food even though it was available, then it's likely there's an underlying medical condition causing the severe weight loss. Could be something like a dental problem, or more serious concerns like cancer, kidney disease, heart problems, etc.
If the mom wasn't being free fed and getting enough food while nursing, yes this could cause severe weight loss and health issues like fatty liver disease. If she was getting free fed and eating plenty of food, or wasn't eating enough of the food even though it was available, then it's likely there's an underlying medical condition causing the severe weight loss. Could be something like a dental problem, or more serious concerns like cancer, kidney disease, heart problems, etc.
I got her when she was nursing from a friend already and she wasn't free feeding her
That could be the reason, if you haven't had her very long. When rabbits don't get enough food and their body enters a starvation mode, especially with the added stress of nursing, this can result in liver problems. This is just one possibility though.
So do u think a iv will help her?
It'll rehydrate her if she's dehydrated, and restore blood sugar if she's hypoglycemic. But it's not going to fix everything. The vet would need to determine if she has an underlying health issue causing the weight loss or if it's just because she wasn't being fed enough. Having the babies not nursing anymore, and if she is eating enough each day, will help though.
Why does the vet think your rabbit needs penicillin? I read back in your other thread. Is she still drinking a lot more than would seem normal, even for a nursing doe?
Why does the vet think your rabbit needs penicillin? I read back in your other thread. Is she still drinking a lot more than would seem normal, even for a nursing doe?
Yes she does drink 38oz everyday more then my other bunnies but the boy bunny she came with drinks the same and she doesn't eat much hay and loves pellets and vegetables and my other bunny died from Enterotoxemia and she's showing the same symptoms as him which is losing pounds and not moving as much so the vet wants to make sure it didn't get to her cause I touch them both without changing or washing my hands and the vet said it was contagious so he gave penicillin for any of my bunny showing symptoms
Enterotoxemia has different symptoms, not prolonged weight loss and excessive thirst. It's a sudden illness that usually starts with lack of appetite, then diarrhea, sometimes bloating, and sudden death. This is something completely different with your doe. But even if she did have enterotoxemia, penicillin is not the treatment. If any of your rabbits had enterotoxemia, they would be very sick and die quickly, usually within 48 hours. You would know they were sick.
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Enterotoxemia
I really hope this vet did injections of penicillin and did not give it orally, or your rabbits really could get antibiotic induced enterotoxemia, which antibiotics like penicillin, can cause if ever given orally. I don't know where you live, but if you can find a better rabbit vet, I would suggest doing so.
If your male rabbit was also drinking excessively(which if your rabbits aren't very large rabbits, 38 oz. is hugely excessive) and also experienced drastic weight loss, then they did have something going on but not enterotoxemia. I would venture a guess that it was either a kidney or liver problem. What you need is a qualified experienced rabbit vet to do a blood test and xrays, to determine what is going on with your doe.
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Enterotoxemia
I really hope this vet did injections of penicillin and did not give it orally, or your rabbits really could get antibiotic induced enterotoxemia, which antibiotics like penicillin, can cause if ever given orally. I don't know where you live, but if you can find a better rabbit vet, I would suggest doing so.
If your male rabbit was also drinking excessively(which if your rabbits aren't very large rabbits, 38 oz. is hugely excessive) and also experienced drastic weight loss, then they did have something going on but not enterotoxemia. I would venture a guess that it was either a kidney or liver problem. What you need is a qualified experienced rabbit vet to do a blood test and xrays, to determine what is going on with your doe.
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
We got her a Xrays for her both uterus cause it was infected cause she holded her baby's to long the vet said and she also taking antibiotics for that still and was going to be spayed her after the babies didn't need milk and they x-rays her whole body to make sure that was it before when she wouldn't poop but since the antibiotics it started her droppings good & she been eating everything good till yesterday and that was a little bit of a week ago but I'll ask for a blood test and my male bunny did die in less then 24 hours and did not eat or poop and did not drink so it's opposite of what she's doing it, just they are both weak so they wanted to try that before we can get to the vet tomorrow
And it's injections
I understand. Hopefully the vet can figure out what's wrong with her.
And I been to so many vets they say they are experienced but they all say different things it's so confusing
Diane R
Well-Known Member
Ask for a blood test for EC too if possible.
