i have been taking care of a breeders rabbits (about 30-40) whenever she leaves since last july. she had a "diesease" going around her rabbits which was more often found in babies 4-6 weeks old which caused them to get diarrehha (SP?) and loss weight within hoursand . Most were dead within 24 hours I had 2 babies die on me the previous time I took care of them (both about 4 weeks old). This time I got up Saturday morning to go feed them and all was well, everyone was fine. that night I came back to check on them and realized a 3 or 4 week old bunny (still with mom with litter of 7) was sitting around and seemed so much smaller then all the rest. I picked her up and noticed she was just skin and bones and had poop all over her butt and had pools of it on the tray below the cage. I seperated her from all the others and put her in a cage away from all the other rabbits with food, water, hay, and a nestbox. The next morning I was glad to see her still alive. After church my mom and I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some kitten formula and eye droppers. We went back to the rabbit place and fed her about 5 eye droppers full of kitten formula and she seemed better already. Over the next 2 days she would hop over to one corner of the cage and sit there for an hour or so then back over to the pile of hay to sit on. She wasn't drinking or eating herself, but I fed her every 3 or so hours. After the 2nd night I noticed she started to drink the pedialyte I gave her in a bowl and had some kitten formula as well. That day she wasnt doing so well but that afternoon she drank some rehydrating solution and was much better that evening. By then I thought she would make it, her wastes became more solid and she ate more. The next morning she was ok but that night she ate more than ever but wasnt eating or drinking by herself anymore. But she ate kitten formula and banana baby food and drank pedialyte through the sryinge more than ever. I thought she would be hoping around her cage by morning, but sadly I went out expecting to see her healthy, instead she was lying on her side in the nestbox. At first I thought she was dead but saw her breathing. I took her into my room to give her kitten formula and pedialyte. I gave her 2cc of pedialyte and 3cc of kitten formula. She was too weak to stand on the towel, she seemed weaker then ever. I noticed her breathing was becoming irregular (weak, then slow, fast, strong) and she kinda started to weez through her nose like she had something n her nasal passage then she all of a sudden stretched out as far back as she could, I didn't know what she was doing then she started kicking out her back right leg. Her mouth opened really wide almost as if to gasp some air, but rabbits can only breath through their nose. I noticed then that her chest wasn't moving, she wasnt breathing. she closed her mouth and curled up into a little ball and I then realized she had died right there in my hand. I saw her last breath of air, fed her the last time, and I was what she saw the last moments of her life. Her streching out and weird motions was her nerves dying off. She had died right before that, she stopped breathing, she gave up, but she will always be my little Braveheart.

What a sad experience for you. From your post I can tell that you did everything possible to help her. So sorry you had to have this happen to you, right in your hand. Take care. I will be thinking of you.
Pat

You did so much for braveheart she may not have been fed much food but she was fed plenty of love.

God bless you for the love that you showed that loving baby.

Love Sue