leyland dwarf female, insides exposed

Question
Hi, Had a 4 month old leyland dwarf female.  Her face near the mouth and nose always seemed to be unusally flat and over recent weeks this has been more pronounced.  She shared a hutch with a male leyland and initially I thought she could be pregnant.   I noticed that she had become more aggressive towards being handled and also towards the male rabbit, often attacking him, especially if we had been stroking him.   Both rabbits escaped from their hutch a couple of days ago and were out overnight before returning home at differing times.   Neither had any sign of any injuries and both drank and ate.   However this morning the female rabbit was laid out flat and had died.  It looked as though some of her stomach had come apart.  The male rabbit appears okay.  Any ideas?  Could it be a birth gone wrong?

Answer
Dear Kristy,

I am sorry about this tragic death.  It does not sound like a "birth gone wrong," as this would not rupture the abdomen.  It sounds more likely that the female suffered a fatal injury at some point (maybe while she was loose, or perhaps once she was back in the hutch).

Without seeing the poor bunny, I cannot tell you what happened.  But it sounds like a traumatic injury to me.

I am sorry.

Dana