WHY RABBITS SUDDENLY DIE
The life cycle of the rabbit
Do you remember the day you got your first bunnies, a happy day when you chose which rabbit(s) you would like took them home and probably showed them to friends and neighbors? But some of us are unfortunate enough hours, days, weeks and even months later our new rabbits suddenly dying for no apparent reason. Or so we think. There is always a cause of death and many new owners in particular think the rabbit just randomly dropped dead for no reason when this is never the case.
Rabbits are born in litters of 1-14 typically around eight is what most rabbits give birth to, bear in mind new mothers will often birth smaller litters. The (kits) start eating what their mother eats at around three weeks and can leave their mother at eight weeks. Male rabbits (bucks) can become sexually mature as early as ten weeks so be careful but most become sexually mature at around four months when this is a good idea to have your male neutered.
Most rabbits stop growing at 18-24 months of age. The life span of a rabbit is between 9-12 years although disease, life style and giant breeds will not live to see 8. A rabbit whom is healthy, miniature or dwarf will live to its full life span provided it is cared for properly.
Rabbits become senior citizens at 7-8 years of age, the Holland lop or Netherland lops have the longest life span with most living past ten and even into their early teens.
Let's onto the causes of sudden death in bunnies
10 Causes of sudden death in rabbits:
1. Pet shop rabbits are INDOOR rabbits
Yes, if you are buying a rabbit from pet stores, you will be told to keep your rabbit inside until dry season when the rain is gone and weather is warm as they have been inside the warm pet shop for perhaps a few weeks and cannot be put straight outside. Rabbits have delicate systems that even in dry season some nights can be cool so a drop in temperature after being in the snuggly pet shop and in the sun all day will pick your rabbit off dead. It is not a good idea to keep pet store rabbits outside at all; they are indoor animals and must be kept indoors. Heat included can kill them off very quickly so if you have just bought or are planning to buy from a pet shop do not put your animal outside there is a very high chance you will lose it, it can even take several weeks for the sudden death to follow.
2. Fly Strike
Lots of new rabbit owners are not aware of the deadly fly strike that threatens our rabbits in summer time. What happens is a rabbit gets a dirty bottom a fly lands on it and lays eggs on your rabbit, these hatch quickly and eat your rabbit inside out and it is fatal in almost all cases, if caught early enough you can save the rabbit but it will be followed by months of treatments, agonizing pain, constant trips to the vet, and a shortened life span for your rabbit. Your rabbit can die in hours and the easiest way to spot fly strike as it happens is a foul smell. The way to prevent this is to regularly check the rabbit’s bottom and keep it clean, use a fly guard for rabbits and keep them on the proper diet.
3. Rabbits are not suitable for children
This is 100% debatable. Rabbits do not like children and are very fearful of them. Your rabbit will be wary of the child and of course children lose interest leading to neglect and loneliness for your bunny, these can obviously kill them. A child cannot even when supervised handle a bunny appropriately and the rabbit may jump about a bit so the child can’t hold them or lets go, the rabbit falls to the floor and breaks its backbone or neck (rabbits have very fragile back bones and can be broken even by a short fall). There is of course nippy rabbits that bite children and end up getting a smack, this can injure the rabbit or shock them. Children running around screaming can cause stress, anxiety and induce heart attacks on rabbits. If a child ran out into your garden yelling and a few days later your rabbit has died then you have your cause, rabbits die of shock so easily and are not suitable for children under 12 years of age.
4. Night frights
Sometimes things in the garden at night such as cats, intruders etc. can cause heart attacks and make your bunny go into shock thus causing sudden death, it can take several days for the rabbit to die from this and does not happen that often but it is another possible explanation, so make sure your garden is secure.
5. Other household animals, or that new pet coming into your home
Another thing you need to worry about is existing animals. Do not even consider a rabbit if you have aggressive dogs, large dogs, young untrained puppies, ferrets or cats. Ferrets and cats are hunters, cats are wild animals we drag into domestication so they will hunt, frighten or severely injure the bunny. Large dogs can easily induce shock and heart attacks the same as other animals. Puppies don't mean to be naughty but of course they can hurt or frighten your rabbit into fatal consequences. If you are planning for a bunny then train up your dog before buying and keep them away from each other and slowly introduce. Do not buy terriers such as Westies, Schnauzers etc. as terriers are hunting dogs and will rip your rabbit apart in a heartbeat. They are extremely hard to train to keep with a rabbit around.
6. Aborted Pregnancy
Yes, Rabbits are capable of aborting pregnancies. However, if they babies are quite developed and she is relatively close to giving birth then she cannot reabsorb the foetus'. When a rabbit abortion takes place she must reabsorb the foetus' into her body, this is relatively harmless. If she is too far along and decides to abort for various different reasons then the babies will die inside of her and she cannot reabsorb them and it kills her.
7. Poisoning
Yes it is possible for your rabbit to suffer poisoning and die very quickly. Rabbits and other small animals are capable of eating something in the garden during the afternoon, being returned in for the night okay then be dead by the next morning. Often they may carry no symptoms and behave like normal rabbits. The way to tell if your rabbit has been poisoned is by examining the body for any discharge from any area especially the eyes, mouth and anus. There will be little or no food eaten, the water will be untouched. If you have another rabbit and that one seems ok take the sick one it to the vet straight away just in case and keep the rabbit in the run until you locate the source of the possible problem. Remember to remove the body and sterilize the area. Be careful of tracking anything into their run on your shoes if you are not aware of the poisonous source, it could be some liquid spilled on the grass, it could be washing powder, it could be poisonous plants, so be very careful to monitor your rabbit closely if one of them has survived.
Has your rabbits refused to eat? Solve it here
8. Swallowing sharp objects
While your rabbit is foraging in the garden make sure you have removed any sharp objects, especially pieces of broken glass or anything that is not grass, flowers etc. as they could be potentially very harmful to your rabbits. Rabbits will sometimes ingest things they shouldn't and in many cases it does them no harm but ingesting a sharp or large object can literally tear their insides causing severe internal bleeding leading to a fast death. You may notice blood around the anus which can be a sign of internal bleeding and unless you catch your rabbit or are suspicious it may have ingested something then take it to the vet to have it examined immediately.
9. Your rabbit seller was dishonest about the bunny's age
A lot of rabbit sellers especially those advertising privately will sell you a rabbit of a certain age. Once a rabbit is past three it can be very hard to identify the age as ears do not give a clue about age. Be very careful to check the rabbit over, rabbits stop growing at 18-24 months of age make sure you read up on the breed of rabbits you are purchasing before you go to see them so you have some idea on size and weight of babies and adults. A seller may choose to get rid of an older rabbit even as old as 10 years of age and try to pass it off as a four or five year old, it happens in some places the owners get it home and it could die within days or almost straight away. Unless you know the rabbit is young then be careful when buying one. Old age can typically be seen on a rabbit and their behaviour but never trust appearances.
10. Rabbit seller does not state a rabbit’s poor health
You could go to visit a rabbit in a nice clean hutch with plenty of food, water and bedding. The rabbit might be sitting watching or allowing you to touch it. Some rabbit owners especially privates ones selling their rabbit due to 'no time' and 'can't afford vet bills' will simply dish out the rabbit. It could be anything from mites to cancer. It is hard to tell a rabbit’s history as a few years old and being sold cheaply or suddenly. If you do not know the person selling or the rabbit, it is best you ask someone who knows rabbits, a vet nurse or a vet to come along especially if you know them as they can give a proper examination of the animal and ask for any medical records and you can take the person’s name and phone the vets in your local area asking about them and they may blindly tell you about all the treatments or operations the rabbit has had. Remember someone being all nice and selling the rabbit off which seems to be in ok health may not be true; this means you should avoid buying a rabbit privately from someone you don't know.
Related: Pros and Cons of Raising rabbits
