My 2 young bunnies died together

[Maves]

My beautiful rabbits 5 months siblings died unexpectedly then were fine the night before.
They were in a weird position in thier cage one was sort of a tiny bit squashed against the side the other next to her half in the litter tray. One had eyes open one didn't.

I checked for fly strike etc nothing, no blood or signs of anything they were perfectly healthy. One strange thing was thier foodbowl was Galway down the ramp and the food tipped out at the top of cage.
I thought maybe they had bee
Spooked by a fox but have never seen a fox around here and they weren't bothered by my dogs they actually used to go up to the dogs.

I'm just struggling to understand how they could both due at the same time with no signs of illness it just makes no sense. They weren't vaccinated yet but again we have no other small pets nor do neighbours so if they caught something how? And why would they die at the same time and in such a strange position I'm so sad 😢

It could have been rabbit haemorrhagic disease. Very nasty illness that they can catch from wild rabbits. I think there is a vaccine if you get more rabbits

www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-and-advice/pet-health-hub/conditions/rabbit-haemorrhagic-disease-rhd#:~:text=Rabbit%20Viral%20Haemorrhagic%20Disease%20(also,and%20also%20via%20insect%20bites.

I should have said I'm really sorry too, that is a horrible thing to happen

We were given a bag of hay from a friend after her rabbit died. Our rabbit died the next morning. Could it be something like that?

Poor bunnies x

Yes I no thought this but they Didn't have any signs on them blood etc they looked perfect. And it's just the fact they were at the bottom of the cage together I thought if it was sudden death they wouldn't have been in that position and the good bowl? It was just strange

We’re they scared bu something other than a fox? Rabbits can die of fright.

How sad.

No they be had the same hay/food For while and only had carrots and greens that were allowed, it's just so strange I could understand if one had died and then the other c a day or so later but just can't get my head around it.

Just don't know what could have scared them they were used to loud noise dogs cats etc, the top part of the hutch was covered and the run was up against the bottom so technically nothing could have even got close. They were ok at 12.30 am thurs morn they were fed then....I had work thurs so didn't see them in the morn but checked at 3 pm and they were gone they were cold but still a bit floppy 😢 so I'm not sure when it happened.

We used to have a fox that sat on top of the hutch. We thought they were well protected too.

Very likely RHD.

If they weren't vaccinated, sadly it was most likely RHD (rabbit hemorrhagic disease). This can be virtually symptomless, very often the first symptom is a dead rabbit. It's also highly transmittable between rabbits when unvaccinated.

Only a vet could confirm. Sorry for your loss :(

Thanks.... just not sure how they could have caught it. Started to lean more towards them being spooked due to the position they are in and the food bowl on the ramp and food tipped but I'll never know 😢

RHD was my first thought too, symptom less and often kills all rabbits around, it can be spread on hay, other passing animals, bedding and biting insects.

Don't mean to be cold but please do not sell or give away your rabbits items, if it was rhd/rhd2 it can be spread from the surface for as long as 7 months in the right conditions after infection.

rabbitwelfare.co.uk/introducing-a-new-rabbit-after-an-outbreak-of-rvhd2/

So sorry for your loss, I stopped keeping rabbits because of these new strains of virus's, it took the fun out of it.

It’s airborne. If they had access to air they could catch it

Oh that's so sad, I'm so sorry :( X X

Thanks yes just a shock I've be always had bunnies and this was the first time in 3 years after our last two can't go through this again though x