Why has she lost weight?

My rabbit is a Nether-land dwarf. I bred her myself and is about 5 years old now. She has never had problems in the past with her birth's and then losing weight. Recently she's just had her 2nd litter about a month ago. The babies are very healthy but she is not.. I change their food sometimes and she enjoys the change of diet, she is given different veg everyday and goes out on the grass.. But I noticed she has lost a lot of weight and has now gone bony.. Her eye is also wet and is a bit leaky.. i fear taking her to the vets as they may not know what is wrong and it could end up to be too late.. Could it be the change of food? She always eats and has never turned a meal down! It cant be the babies eating it all as they're not over weight and I give enough to all of them and have watched them as well and the babies don't eat it all... mum has her fair share. I am worried about her. HELP!

I really think you ought to take her along to the vets for a check up.
Losing weight along with the weepy eye could indicate a dental problem, even though she is eating
Hope you get her sorted

Okay, I shall book her in I hope it is just dental.. i love this rabbit too much!

She needs to go to the vet.

Having a litter puts a lot of strain on the body and nethies are notorious for problems with breeding. She is also 5 now, middle-aged, I'm no breeder but I dont think that is the right time for a litter. How big is the litter and how old are they?

You shouldnt chop and change rabbit food: with the exception of hay, all new foods should be introduced slowly into the diet to prevent upsetting rabbits' delicate digestive systems.

Losing a lot of weight quickly is a sign that something is drastically wrong, she needs to see a vet to figure out why. Get the vet to check her teeth with an otoscope, and also do any other tests they feel would help diagnose the problem. A weepy eye could indicate an infection, snuffles, dental problems, or her being in a lot of pain.

Are there any other signs of illness? Is she eating okay? What are her poos like, do you have a picture of them next to a coin? Is her bum dry and clean?

I stop breeding when she gets a little older but it doesn't seem to bother her at all and she is very much well up for it. The litter is 2 and her last was 4. She seems fine and acts the same. Her poo was a bit slodgey today (which has been cleaned) but is normal most days. She is use to all kinds of food as when i had her from the start i introduced all kinds of foods, so she is pretty much use to anything. The food i have given her, i have had her on before and has never done any problems. Just recently.

If shes having trouble keeping weight on, that is natures way of telling you she IS now too old to breed any more litters. This one should be her last.
It does sound dental related, its good you are taking her to the vets to get checked.
If her poos are soft, there is a problem in the diet. Chopping and changing food IS likely to have caused this. Give her lots of hay and lots of one brand of good quality pellets. Once her poos are better you can give her a small ammount of herbs/veg.

tasteofchaos said:

If shes having trouble keeping weight on, that is natures way of telling you she IS now too old to breed any more litters. This one should be her last.
It does sound dental related, its good you are taking her to the vets to get checked.
If her poos are soft, there is a problem in the diet. Chopping and changing food IS likely to have caused this. Give her lots of hay and lots of one brand of good quality pellets. Once her poos are better you can give her a small ammount of herbs/veg.

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What they said. Even if she has had the food in the past doesn't mean that she is used to it and therefore can be put straight back onto it. It is the change that is dangerous, not the food itself.

Amber17 said:

I stop breeding when she gets a little older but it doesn't seem to bother her at all and she is very much well up for it. The litter is 2 and her last was 4. She seems fine and acts the same. Her poo was a bit slodgey today (which has been cleaned) but is normal most days. She is use to all kinds of food as when i had her from the start i introduced all kinds of foods, so she is pretty much use to anything. The food i have given her, i have had her on before and has never done any problems. Just recently.

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I'm not too sure what you mean by that, but any intact animal is going to be ruled by it's hormones and will therefore behave accordingly so I wouldn't assume that wanting to mate and then being a good Mum demonstrates anything other than she is responding to her own hormones.

I also think this sounds as if it could be related to her teeth. Our dental rabbit always continues to eat and it can be easy to think she doesn't have a problem unless you really really watch her eating and pay attention to the speed she eats at and how much she drinks. It sounds as if she needs a good check over and make sure the vet checks her teeth. Hope she gets better soon.

Also, just to add that 80-90% of female rabbits have uterine cancer at 5. This can be fatal. I would speak the the vet about getting her spayed asap.

Amber17 said:

I stop breeding when she gets a little older but it doesn't seem to bother her at all and she is very much well up for it. The litter is 2 and her last was 4. She seems fine and acts the same. Her poo was a bit slodgey today (which has been cleaned) but is normal most days. She is use to all kinds of food as when i had her from the start i introduced all kinds of foods, so she is pretty much use to anything. The food i have given her, i have had her on before and has never done any problems. Just recently.

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Of course she is up for it, she is a rabbit, they are designed to breed, but in the wild they also usually dont make it past 2 years old, and they havent been selectively inbred for generations like netherland dwarves. She is either reacting badly to being bred, or she has a health problem - either way you shouldnt breed a rabbit that isnt coping with litters, or a rabbit that has health problems - either way it is bad practice, both for the doe and her genetic line.

I'm afraid she is not fine, I would be worried if my rabbit's poo was 'slodgey', that is not normal. Poos should be large, rounded, dry and crumble easily - when they are not this indicates a problem with her digestion. Bad poos and losing a lot of weight suddenly are reasons for concern in rabbits, and can be fatal.

It doesnt matter if you have given her a food a long time before, if she has not had it in ages it is best to be cautious, especially with dried commercial food. The food itself may also be causing the problem, what brand is it and what are the fibre and protein percentages?

If she's losing weight and condition then I would first have her teeth checked for spurs. I note the splodgy poop - if this isn't a one-off then I would retain a sample and have this tested for coccidiosis, an attack of which might have been brought on by the stress of recently raising her litter. Five is also quite old for breeding, even though Nethies can have a long life-expectancy. Either way, she needs to see a vet for a diagnosis and, hopefully, easy and successful treatment.