Unexplained Death

Question
I have two outdoor rabbit runs, approximately 10 x 12 each with a hutch in each and one rabbit in each.  As the weather is getting cold on Saturday I got a new bale of straw and a bale of hay.  This morning, Tuesday, both of my rabbits were dead.  I called the feed store and they have had the hay in for quite some time and have had no other reported problems with it.  Could it be that because it was second cutting hay that it was simply too rich?  I feel very very badly and would like to determine specifically what may have caused their deaths in order to avoid a similar experience in the future.  The rabbits were not biologically related, one was only about 2 years old, the other was about 7.  The only contributing factor is the straw and the hay.  Other than that, their diet has not changed and is very basic, pellets, occasional bread, veggies, etc.  I am wondering if alphalpha in the hay could have caused illness that quickly.  

Thank you for any insight you may have.

Answer
Dear Jen,

I am very sorry about this tragic death.

In a case like this, it is vital for you to get samples of the hay to a laboratory for toxicology testing, as well as to have the poor bunnies necropsied to determine the exact cause of death.  Since you (quite reasonably) suspect tainted hay, I would strongly recommend that you ask the vet to take samples of tissue from major organs (liver, lung, heart, kidney, etc.) to send to a lab for both histopathology and toxicology testing.  You can find a rabbit-savvy vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

This is the *only* way to confidently establish a cause of death.  If you don't do this, there is just no way to know for sure and hence, no way to surely prevent it in the future.

I am very sorry.

Dana