Woke up this morning to a sick (?) rabbit. She is my breeder doe, age 11 months. Had kits 8 weeks ago. Been doing wonderfully well, until now. She has been in the nest box for a good 24 hours, before I realized that she hadn't gotten out of the nest box. I picked her up this afternoon and placed her on the floor of the cage by the water dish, and she drank and drank. Then when she tried to move, she acted like her back end was partially paralyzed. Can't be real sure if it is one side or the other. She tried to jump up onto her ledge, and didn't make it. She dragged her back end across the cage and tried to get back into the nest. I picked her up and examined her closely, and here is what I see; no diarrhea, but, a messy bottom (looks like she couldn't move and simply sat in her mess), she is fat, and her furr looks wonderful; ears are up and perky; no discharge from nose,mouth or ears. She allowed me to pick her up and examine her, and then, when I put her down and offered her water and a piece of carrot, she drank and ate her carrot just fine. Her feces are firm and normal. Any ideas? Could she have simply injured her back? Thankyou for your thoughts. In His Grace, Sissy

-- Sissy Barth (iblong2Him@ilovejesus.net), January 20, 2002

Answers

Sissy, She may well have injured her back. Rabbits are actually quite fragile in their backs. If they hop wrong or get scared and jump quickly they can break their backs. Occasionally it is a muscle injury that occurs. You can try putting her in a small well padded with straw or hay, area so she is not moving around much and see how she does. The fact that she was wet indicates to me she may not be able to move and then wets herself with can cause her to get sore and chilled. Encourage her to eat and drink but if she is not moving around she may have trouble with her GI system working properly. Generally when we have had this happen the outlook is not good, but I did have one buck who had his back spasm after breeding a doe that I was able to care for until he improved by keeping him confined. Good Luck with your doe. Denise

-- Denise K. (Rabbitmom2@webbworks.com), January 20, 2002.