Rabbit Rickets (Osteomalacia)
📝 Summary
Rickets, or osteomalacia, is a nutritional metabolic disease common in rabbits, especially pregnant, nursing, and young ones, driven by calcium deficiency, poor calcium-phosphorus balance, or low vitamin D. This guide covers the causes and prevention.
1 Causes of Rickets
Rickets (also called osteomalacia) is a nutritional metabolic disease that easily strikes rabbits, especially when malnourished — commonly in pregnant does, nursing mothers, and kits. Main causes: lack of dietary calcium, unbalanced calcium-phosphorus ratio, and vitamin D deficiency. It is also linked to low sunlight and little exercise; a rabbit kept indoors without sun or movement is at higher risk.
Symptoms: poor digestion and weight loss, weak limp legs, rough coat. Affected rabbits often lick their fur or eat odd things; severe cases show bent, deformed limbs and splayed front legs in a figure-eight, reluctance to move, swollen joints, and easy fractures.
2 Preventing Rickets
Treat both cause and symptom for full prevention.
1. Supplement the lacking nutrients — add bone meal or eggshell powder (mineral feed) to the diet.
2. Give more sunlight and exercise; place the cage in a dry, well-drained, south-facing, sheltered, sunny spot. In winter especially, ensure enough sunlight and moderate activity.
3. For does and kits, tighten management and balance calcium and phosphorus in the feed; add bone meal as needed to cover the deficit.
That covers the causes and prevention of rabbit rickets; apply these to prevent the disease effectively.
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