HELP! Kits dying with unknown cause (plus kit with cyclopia)
This is our magpie rex’s second litter, she had 7 very big and healthy kits in her first, unfortunately all of them passed due to what we expected was accidental crushing. (now I'm not so sure) In both cases she made her nest early and pulled plenty of fur, the only difference with this litter is that she is much more relaxed and doesn't bolt to her kits and jump inside the nestbox to check on them constantly.
She had six kits in this litter, one was stillborn and outside the nest (we assume she pulled it out). The stillborn was deformed with cyclopia which evidently is most likely due to the parents both sharing a recessive gene.
The smallest had bloody stool the first day, the second 3 out of 5 had passed. The smallest looks bloated but not the other two. The most notable trait is that the tips of all the dead kits tongues have been dried and red. The mother is on the grass, the nestbox material is straw, the area is VA so there's no record of RHD here. I even removed some of her fur from the box in case of overheating.