Disastrous Week-end.....healthwise

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You all know the expression,it never rains but pours,I'm having that sort of a week-end.
It started really well,with me going to see Snifter and buying her ark run,but then I came home.....as some of you will be aware,I've got chocolate pied quail eggs hatching out,from some I bought off Ebay.
This was to introduce some new bloodlines.They are currently hatching,but with such bad crook toes,they can't stand.They just lie on their backs cheeping :( .So,have started to dispatch them as soon as they hatch :cry: .
My R.I.R. mrs Clucky,is lame,with a serious limp that I'm sure is bumblefoot.If she isn't improving on monday,she will be taken to see the vet.
When I cleaned my rabbits out,found 2 cute baby bunnies,dowstairs,away from the litter dead.Female rabbits are c**p mothers,and,this pair obviously went exploring,couldn't find their way back to the nest so she left them to starve........
So,anyone for rabbit and quail casserole??????????
 
oh I'm so sorry to hear your having a bad time at the moment. why is it everything seems to happen at once?
there isn't really much else you can do with the quail but at least you aren't letting them suffer. I hope you will try again and have more luck, its always a gamble with ebay eggs but knowing that doesn't make it any easier when things go wrong. as for the rabbits it is quite likely for the mum to kick out a baby if there is something wrong with it. how old are they?. chances are if you had found them still alive and put them back she may well of just kicked them out again anyway. its not nice and seems harsh to us but mother rabbits know its better to put time into caring for the healthy ones. or if this is her first litter it could just be that she is learning. I hope mrs clucky starts to get better soon and that your weekends ends better than it started.
 
So sorry lydia, hope things improve, i think most animals tend to just let the weakest/illest die.
i know from my last litter of pups, mum just pushed 1 to one side during the night and we found it dead in the morning, and she is a fantastic mum
 
hi everyone,thanks for your words of encouragement.The baby rabbits are 3 weeks old,eyes open and dashing about exploring.Mother rabbit was c**p with her 1st litter as well. Their hutch is a 2 tier hutch,and,they chuck all the hay,straw and ecopetbed into the lower level.The babies were all in a nest in the top level,the adult rabbits had dug tunnels in the lower level,the 2 babies were in one of the tunnels.They're too big now for the mum to carry,I think they went off exploring and couldn't find there way back.Because of their small size,just starting to nibble at hay etc but still feeding off mum as well,I'm sure they starved within 48 hrs.I hadn't realised they were down there-so it's my fault.I examined them fully,and they seemed in perfect health apart from empty stomach's.Rabbits digestive systems need to be constantly working,like most grazer's.With out food they quickly have serious problems.
Mrs Clucky is still very lame,she will only stand if I support her. At the moment she is snuggled on top of clean dog beds and a vet bed on the chair in my lounge.She is 8 yrs old now,so I'm going to keep her in doors until there is no chance of a frost.I've also put a lot more bedding in her hen house.
With quail chicks that only have 1 crook foot,I've stuck their toes to micro-pore tape,will leave it for a week and see if it helps them.They may be suitable as pets if their toes straighten and strengthen more.
 
Good luck with the quail, its well worth a try. I had a chick with badly splayed legs and taped them up for a week it helped but only a little so tried it for one more week and he was fine after that. sorry bout the rabbits it may be worth blocking the hole to the lower level for a couple of weeks just to make sure the rest of the little ones don't get down there. I have a rex doe who all being well should give birth on 18/19th of feb. I moved her today to safer place to have her young. I wouldn't try to move yours now though as could do more harm than good but would be well worth blocking off the lower level of hutch. I know its hard but try not to blame yourself as even if you do everything 100% spot on you can't stop things from going wrong. I still think there may have been something unseen wrong that the mother knew about, try not to be hard on yourself as it is very common for rabbits to reject young.
 
I used to have 2 rex's,they are lovely.They were both does,a blue and a black.I've removed everything from the lower level,I did that yesterday.
I must admit,even with a female giving birth I leave them all together,when I go out to them,the one baby is always cuddled up with dad,he cuddles them.Their older sister's from a previous litter also look after them. I realise no one recomends this method,but,it works very well with my rabbits who are a big family group.
I did try removing the female from the group before when she was pregnant.she hated it and never gave birth,as soon as I put her back with her family she was fine.
I do realise what I do is very unorthodox,but,Sox,my mother rabbit hasn't read the rabbit books that say she should birth and raise her babies on her own :lol: .So it's her method.......
Tomorrow,I am going to take mrs Clucky to see the vet,hope the vet can help her.I know she is in pain as she's stopped talking to me,also,will only stand if I support her and she is actually leaning/resting her weight on me.I've bathed her feet with very warm water,with salt in and also dettol.Not both at the same time,I alternate which I use,salt or dettol :D .
Was very fiddly straightening quail toes,and sticking micropore on them..........the quail were a bit shocked to :o .
 
hope all will be well with the other baby bunnies. I must admit I have moved misty( blue rex mother) but have moved her daughter kizzy(white rex) with her am hoping they will stay together ok as they have never been parted. Henry the dad lives seperate or there'd be no telling how many i'd have by now lol.
I've had several breeds of rabbit over the years but rex and lops are my fave. should be getting 3 netherland dwarf soon though

I hate taping chicks legs so tiny and fragile, have never had to do it with quail yet so don't envy you that job. well done very fiddly .

will keep my fingers crossed for mrs clucky, hope there is something the vet can do to help her
 
Oh Lydia! just had a chance to go on the forum. I'm so sorry - as you say 'it never rains but it pours' It's so awful when this sort of thing happens in ones - never mind in threes - so there you go nothing else will happen now!! I used to breed rabbits and it never failed to amaze me when things like that happen - especially when you think you are over the worst - as you say rabbits aren't renowned for being the best mums!!
I am having my own crisis at the moment. I have 11 cats ( yes Iknow it's a lot!!!) and all but 3 have got cat flu!! It's dreadful. The ones worst affected are the ones with up to date vaccinations. 4 of them are very poorly ( vaccinated ones) and although they appeared a bit better I think they are developing kidney problems as they are weeing little and often and with blood in it. I feel dreadful.
 
Oh Anne that's awfull.It might be a mild kidney infection that can be cleared up,or,it's a bladder infection.
You always feel so cheated when an animal which has been vaccinated gets what it's been vaccinated for.Such a waste of money,vaccinations are not cheap.Cat flu is horrid,I do hope it clears up.
I er,had the dad rabbit Sooty,castrated after her last litter Stepyone,these are dwarf lops.Good luck with your Netherland Dwarves,I found them nasty little rabbits.I had two Netherland Dwarf x Polish and they were lovely,which as both breeds are meant to be nasty was very lucky.
The first N.D. x Polish used to come with me in the car,he loved it.He would also walk through Winchcombe with me with out a rabbit lead.He used to go to the local playgroup in Winchcombe at Easter and leave easter eggs for the kids.There is a whole generation of local kids who grew up believing the easter rabbit lived at my house :D .
 
Sorry to hear about your bad news Anne & Lydia.
Looks like I'm with you when it comes to sick animals

My limping hen has stopped limping but she looks very low, spending a lot of her time behind the willow tree crouched down. I hope the vet has a free slot in her diary tomorrow :(

osric
 
Oh Osric,I am sorry to hear that :( .I'll keep my finger's crossed for you and Anne,I'm sure the vet will fit you in,3rd time lucky and all that.
 
hi Tim,thanks for that,I'd actually read that article before they'd hatched.One that hatched with curled toes on one foot has straightened-not sure how and why,but the rest are/were hopeless.Some actually knuckling over at the first leg joint so not even on their toes.
Any idea were you can buy riboflavin in liquid form?Thought I might put some in my store cupboard in case I have some hatch that go wonky after hatching.
I'd describe them as curled,but not 100% sure.
 
Hi Lydia,

I believe Riboflavin is also called vitamin B2. Leafy green vegetables, milk and cheese are good sources I believe but I'm sure if you check the make up of these Vitamin suppliments that you add to water they probably have Vitamin B2 in them.

Tim
 
when they first hatched,as well as chick crumbs I put some of the dry red-brek in there,they er ran through the water,then the redy-brek and it set on them like cement :o ,it was a devil of a job getting it off.
Now they just play/run through the water,then the food dish so they look like I've coated them in breadrumbs ready for eating.......bless :D ,they spend a lot of time in a cup of warm water,just their heads poking out with my hand keeping them sat in the water :lol: .
 
That did make me smile Lydia, a chick in a cup ! When my two roos were covered in blood from fighting I washed them (they stank after a few days, and needed lots of cuddles so had to do something). They were quite happy standing in the water, tried to drink it though. They were even happier sitting in front of the fan dryer being blow dried. :lol:
 
Oh Dawn,that's really cute,mine thought I was trying to down them,they've never really got over it,still very skittish and nervous.
 
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