The hay I
feed is organic and is a specifically cultivated mix of
native grasses and forbes for critters like rabbits and goats. I feed the same hay to my goats and they have been thriving on it. We have very few truly toxic plants around here, and none that would be easily mistaken for something else, so I don't think that's the problem, though it's a good thought.
Also, no sawdust or wood shavings in the rabbit habitat. I use only straw for bedding. Also, it is strange that we are losing two at a time, every time, while other rabbits in the same big hutch are fine.
I was worried that maybe they weren't getting
enough light. We are in the forest here, with VERY little wintertime sun. Sometimes I feel like I am going to die of sunlight deprivation, myself! After finding the dead bunnies yesterday, I tore the solid wood roof off the rabbit hutch and replaced it with a heavy clear piece of plexiglass, and immediately the light inside the hutch increased 10 fold.
Also, we just had a pretty good cold snap. The rabbits have no heat, but are well insulated in their hutch and have good bedding. What kind of low temperature is the danger range for these guys? They were born and raised outdoors in the mountains here, so I was assuming they needed no special heat sources besides each other to cuddle up with. Maybe they got too cold?