Hello Everyone,
I'm a long time stalker and great admirer of the users of this forum. Permies has been a wonderful resource for my wife and I as we establish our homestead on our 5 acre plot of land in western Washington state. I haven't really been compelled to join as a member until now. With today's death of our only remaining Silver Fox doe, we could really use the expertise of the members here.
Details:
Last summer, I acquired the doe from a Silver Fox breeder when she was about 3 months old. She was bright eyed, full of vigor, and definitely the most high strung of the 3 rabbits that we purchased (a buck and two does).
All three rabbits were housed in large wire rabbit cages with open access to organic, non-GMO rabbit pellets, timothy hay, and any rabbit safe forage plants available. The cages are elevated roughly 4 feet off the ground in wooden frames built by my wife.
The cages with their frames were housed in an old barn that, while not weather tight, sheltered them from the wind and rain.
We attempted to breed our oldest doe (5 years old) with our buck in September and November without success. She died overnight on new years eve/day.
With our youngest doe too young to breed, we decided to wait until Spring to try to breed her. At that time, she would be over a year old and fully matured.
The buck and doe endured a cold winter and enjoyed the dandilions, purple dead nettle and pacific waterleaf that we foraged for them every day. They continued to eat their organic pellets and timothy hay as well.
We bred the buck and doe 8 days ago (May 11th) with one fall-down by the buck. I found the doe dead this afternoon with half full water and food.
When I entered the barn to find her dead, I startled a rat that was in her cage. nibbling on her I would imagine.
Before burying her, I noticed that her hind legs were covered with runny feces and a long yellowish piece of feces coming out of her. She seemed totally normal yesterday.
At the moment, I'm very confused as to why a year old doe would suddenly die like this. All 3 rabbits came from the same breeder and none have shown signs of illness (clear eyes, no discharge from the nose, normal feces) but both of our does have passed suddenly. I assumed that the older doe just got too old, but our young doe has taken me totally by surprise. I'm hoping that the Permies community might help me do a theoretical autopsy on this doe and help me with my rabbit setup going forward.
The game plan this summer is to build out a rabbit colony setup and bring in two to three new does. Before I do, though, I want to ensure that the new does will be protected and have a solid foundation for a healthy, happy life going forward. Any thoughts are very much appreciated.
Regards,
Croz
