Nursing Doe in GI Stasis
by Cheryl
(Davie, FL)
Good morning,
My English Lop doe suddenly stopped eating and passing feces, I am administering GI meds and giving sub q fluid therapy but her babies are 23 days old, they have been eating hay and pellets and drinking water. I have given the babies benebac (and the mother).
I may have no control over the outcome of the doe but at 3 weeks old can the babies survive? They seem active and are eating. I have done all I know how to do for both. I removed the doe because she can no longer support the babies anyhow and I didn't want to administer reglan and propulsid to the doe for worry that she may pass the meds along in her milk to her babies. She is too sick to mother them as it is.
I'm just wondering if the babies can survive at this point without getting any more of mother's milk.
Thank you for your time and advice
God bless
Cheryl of Appleshire Rabbits
***** Karen Sez *****
So sorry Cheryl for the troubles.
I think the kits should be okay, however I'd also soak some whole grain bread in Small Animal or Goat's Milk Esbilac (add to the Esbilac heavy cream at a rate of 1:8). Feed it to the kits in a crock and supplement the pellets with it until the kits are 27-28 days old, at which point the doe would have weaned them anyway.