RABBITS DYING

Question
WOULD CHANGING FROM PELLET FEED TO HAY/ALFALFA CAUSE  5 MONTH OLD  RABBITS TO DIE  I HAVE LOST 7 IN THE LAST TWO DAYS , THERE BODIES ARE TWISTED LIKE THEY'VE HAD A SEIZURE BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY DIE.  I FEED THEM A LARGE AMOUNT OF HAY MIXTURE DAILY . I STARTED GIVING THE YOUNG ONES PELLETS ALONG WITH THE HAY.  ALSO CAN MOSQUITOS KILL THEM ?

Answer
Dear Tina,

Feeds can contain toxins from fungi and other sources, so if this started happening just when you changed the feed, you should take samples of the feed to your experienced rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

so they can send them to an appropriate lab for toxicology testing.  

It is not unusual for a rabbit (or any other animal) to go into an agonal phase (a seizure) before death, so that may not be a very helpful clue.  The only way to know for sure would be to bring the bodies of the deceased babies to a good rabbit vet for complete necropsy, including histopathology of all major organs and possibly toxicology.

It is not likely that mosquitoes are the cause unless there are thousands and thousands of them biting your rabbits.  If this is the case, the rabbits need to be inside where it's safe.

I am very sorry about your loss.

Dana