orangediva
Mama Doe
Not sure if anyone will remember me, I was a regular on here a couple of years ago after getting two baby rabbits (Bella and Rosie) and then, very quickly, an older pair (Dennis and Betty) who needed a new home. I learnt such a lot from this forum - how and what to feed them, what is appropriate housing, what to watch out for health wise and I even met some of you on Twigs's foraging day in May 2015.
I sort of drifted away from the forum after moving house nearly 18 months ago but I used what I'd learned to set the buns up in 6ft welfare hutches attached to 7ft x7ft covered runs with 24/7 access. I started a veg plot for them and we all had a fab spring, summer and autumn in the garden last year with them taking it in turns to free range. Winter is never as much fun but the rabbits all seemed fine with their hutch snuggles and rainproof covers and lots of hay.
Then, in December, I found a Rosie dead in the hutch one morning. It was so devastating as she had shown no signs of illness, seemed to be eating normally the night before and I was so shocked - mainly because she was only two years old. I was desperately worried about the others - my first thought was the vaccination resistant VHD and I expected to find them all dead every time I went out which was horrific. Gradually it became apparent they were ok and, worrying about Bella outside on her own, I brought her in to live in the kitchen and she seems to have settled in ok. I was considering trying to find her a new partner or to maybe try her with Dennis and Betty but was waiting til the warmer weather.
Then, at the end of a January, I noticed something was not quite right with Betty. It took me a few days to really realise it as she was eating ok but she just didn't look quite right, seemed a bit quiet and seemed to be spending less time with Dennis. We went to the vet and he noticed what I hadn't - that she had a very slight head tilt and some weakness in the back legs. He also felt she had a respiratory infection and she had lost weight despite eating normally which he was very concerned about. He diagnosed EC and she was put on panacur and antibiotics to see if she responded. He felt the prognosis wasn't great largely because the weight loss indicated a likely serious problem.
Amazingly after a couple of days she really seemed to rally, she was hopping about pretty much normally and I felt that she was gaining a little weight but i went out to feed her at the weekend to find her hunched up and miserable and refusing to eat. I brought her inside to look after her but within a few hours she was virtually unresponsive so, with a very heavy heart, I took her back to the vets and my beautiful girl was pts on Monday morning. I cried all he way there and all the way back,it's such a hard thing to have to do.
This has left me with two single rabbits so, to cut a very long story short, I introduced them to each other this morning. The plan was a quick few minutes together to gauge if they might be compatible but, incredibly, they sniffed each other, had a little snuggle together and are now lying side by side in my kitchen so I'm wondering if I should leave them together? They are both on a course of a Panacur as they both have obviously been exposed to EC and I can't put Bella outside as she's been living indoors for the past two months so I'm thinking I'll keep them both in the kitchen (its bunny proofed and I have a baby gate on the door) until spring when they can maybe move back outside? Perhaps they are ok together as they've spent the past two years in neighbouring runs and time sharing the same garden?
After everything that's gone so wrong lately I can't believe the introduction has gone so well? Is there anything else I should be doing ? Should I leave them together?
