my rabbit just died?

Question

I dun get it. He was ok yesturday and suddently it just died?!?!

There was no signs at all and the rabbit was perfectly healthy. Can someone please tell me what I have done wrong? I placed 3 lion head bunnies in a very large outdoor enclosure. The enclosure is open air, however it is sheltered from rain and sun and the floor is cemented. The bunnies are often hopping around and today I find one laying upside down on its litter tray.

Should I have placed the bunnies in an enclosure? Would a cage be better? It was raining very heavily yesturday and the floor was rather wet. However ive provided loads of boxes for them to hide in case of rain. Each box has sawdust to keep them warm too.

ARGHHHHHH what did i do wrong?

Current diet - pellets and hay (Hagen brand)

Answer 1

cement floors are bad and they hold the cold in winter and hot heat in summer. they do need an enclosure with lots of straw and a area where they can go out when its warm enough for sun. they do need some carrots and vegies from time to time especially in winter when they cant get sun. do u give them vitamins in the winter. its better if they have some wire where the pellets they poop can fall thru and than they can get in there warm beds and sleep. they do not like to potty where they sleep this cage should not be ALL open air. they need to be able to crawl inside a dark warm place to sleep. get some ideas on a cage that is proper for them on internet. type in rabbit cage plans or simular and u should get some ideas. get the rabbits off the cement asap

Answer 2

Rabbits handle cold well, so the rain wouldn't have been a problem, although it could have triggered paustrella, and maybe he died from that. How old was he? Most rabbits live from 4-8 years, depending on conditions. However, the rabbits should not be somewhere where they can become wet, and should be in a cage, for their safety.

It might have been a feed issue. Sometime rabbit food gets moldy, or contains micro toxins, which are deadly. Especially rabbit food like Hagen, which typically are bought from a grocery store, which may have had the rabbit food sitting out for great periods of time before it was consumed, which makes rabbit feed lose nutritional value.

It also could have been something internal, like a tumor, or a stomach blockage, which is common in wool breeds and is often called wool block, so perhaps he ingested some of his mane. Sorry, I don't know very much about lionheads, I am a registrar (to find out what this means, go to www.arba.net), and since lionheads aren't recognized, I haven't studied them.

Hope this helps, and I am sorry for your loss.

Answer 3

While most experts would say all adult rabbits should be in individual cages, people did use to put rabbits in large enclosures in groups to raise them for food. You should not however, put more than one male in any group. You would know if your rabbit died from a fight. There would be obvious signs of injury: blood, wounds and loose fur everywhere. If this is not the case, your rabbit could have died from several causes. Do you know the age of your rabbit? Could the rabbit have simply been old? Their lifespan is usually 6-9 years. Rabbits do sometimes die from hairball obstruction of their intestines, but the rabbit would have declined in health over several days. Rabbits can get several diseases, like tetanus. Did your rabbit act sick? Did it have a runny nose or eyes? A vet or research facility could do an autopsy and testing for disease. Research places charge little or nothing to do this.
All this said, remember that rabbits are one of nature's top prey animals. Their "job" is to be eaten and I believe because of this they just die easily. It doesn't take much to kill a rabbit.
Good luck, and watch your other rabbits closely. Do a search online for "raising rabbits" to get more info.

Answer 4

Do the others seem fine? If they do, then it was probably just his time. If they seem stressed or sick then get them to the vet and ask him what might be wrong. My kids used to keep pet rats and it was just like you described-up running having a ball, then the next day, dead. They only lived about 2-3 years. I don't know how long rabbit's live, but I finally developed this "mind rule" for myself to make their passing easier, especially since they have short little life spans: When they are alive be sure that they had a happy life. Make sure you give them time, play with them, provide them plenty of food, water, and a warm place to sleep--just generally a good life. Then, when they pass you know that while they were alive it was a good life for them.

Answer 5

I agree with the poster who mentioned the same sex aggression. Also, why use sawdust for bedding and what kind of sawdust was it. Pine is extremely toxic to rabbits. I don't know what the climate is where you are, but concrete holds and concentrates both heat and cold. As in, did you ever sit on a concrete sidewalk in summer or winter? Rabbits are extremely sensitive to extremes. They can also die of fright. You mentioned heavy rain, was there a violent thunderstorm going with it? In the end, the only one who can tell you why that rabbit died is a vet.

Answer 6

first of all...a cage in a heated environment is better than having the rabbits outside. next, it's never a good idea to keep rabbits of the same sex together because they will usually fight and eventually kill each other. so obviously if you had 3 rabbits,2 were the same sex...so the rabbit might have died from a fight.

Answer 7

You would really need a vet to do a necropsy (like an autopsy) to know for sure what went wrong. It may have had nothing to do with the enclosure.

Answer 8

you definitely need to get a vet to check out it might be contagious and your other rabbits might get it while hes there get him to check things like their water food and all the rabbits then you will be on your way and ready to change whatever needs changing

Answer 9

maybe your rabbit is stress so or didn't take much food. did your rabbits fight when they are together. mine will so i sperate them

Answer 10

i have no idea! i have to agree with iltmaemc! it was his time! but my bff knows a LOT about rabbits if i find out, i will tell u!