Preventing and Treating Diarrhea in Unweaned Kits

1 Diarrhea Prevention in Unweaned Rabbit Kits

One: Why unweaned kits get diarrhea. 1. Too little bedding in the nest box leaves the kit cold, causing indigestion and diarrhea. 2. Wet bedding from urine, not changed, exposes kits to damp and enteritis. 3. Overeating or overdrinking also triggers enteritis. 4. Poorly designed waterers let urine contaminate drinking water.

Two: How to prevent it. Unweaned kits are weak with low immunity; diarrhea is hard to cure and often fatal, so manage them closely:

1. Check the nest box often; replenish or change bedding that is thin or urine-wet.

2. A doe-kit cage works best. To raise survival and uniformity, such cages now exist and boost kit survival by over 30%. Design: a wire divider separates doe and kits with a small door; open it only at nursing time, then return the doe and close it.

This method: (1) allows scheduled nursing under supervision, preventing the doe from over-running the kits; (2) stops the doe from stepping on or eating kits; (3) prevents ‘teat dragging’; (4) lets you feed water and feed in fixed amounts.

Overall, separating doe and kits prevents the kits from overeating the doe’s feed or drinking too much and getting diarrhea from bingeing.

A gentle reminder: correct rearing effectively avoids illness and diarrhea; manage the kits’ diet strictly so they grow healthily.