My young rabbits are getting diarrhea one day and dying the next. Have raised rabbits for years and never had this happen before. Young rabbits appear to be healthy, no severe diet changes, no severe temp. changes. The rabbits are between 10 - 12 weeks of age. Any suggestions or ideas? 2 dead today!

-- sallyp (sally@cvalley.net), August 11, 2000

Answers

cut out all rabbit pellets and just give them hay for a couple of days, try a broad spectrum antibiotic[ tetracycline ? ] if it continues.could be enteritis complex.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), August 11, 2000.

Could be coccidia. I had a couple die when we first started with rabbits, so I treated all current rabbits and any new ones. Haven't had any more die. Coccidia is rough on baby animals, and bunnies die pretty quickly. Seems a little too old, though.

-- Teresa (otgonz@bellsouth.net), August 12, 2000.

Check your hay and pellets carefully for mold. Just a thought.

-- Peg (NW WI) (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), August 12, 2000.

Could be that you have coccidiosis in your herd. Try using a couple tablespoons of real apple cider vinegar to one gallon of drinking water for all your rabbits all the time. Just giving them hay for a few days and no pellets is also a good idea. I would also isolate this litter so as to help prevent the spread of anything to the rest of the herd.

-- Suzanne Wilson (mtsuz@hotail.com), August 16, 2000.