coccidiosis....please, I need some help.

I realize that there's plenty of info on the net about treating coccidiosis, but I am using an ipod, which is difficult, and I keep getting booted off the Internet (this is my second time writing this message, I hope it works).
I bought some fryers and slaughtered them. They had coccidiosis of the liver. So in case it spread to my other rabbits, I want to treat them. Of course after they are treated I will disinfect their cages, trays, feeders, waterers, etc. Can I just use bleech & water mix? I would prefer not to use ammonia.
I read that some people use horse ivermectin?
Or sulfaquinoxaline 1g/L of drinking water for at least 5 days?
Or sulfadimerazine 2g/L?
What do/have you used and why? Where can I purhase it and how do I administer it? For how many days?
Can I treat nursing/pregant rabbits? Will it affect/treat the kits that are nursing and not yet drinking water?
Please share your opinions/experiences with me. Thank you.<br /><br />__________ Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:14 pm __________<br /><br />Nobody has any comments? Seriously? Oh well. I will have to try to find some reading materials. I don't want to kill my herd from overdosing eh

I've never treated for coccidiosis so I can't help you with dosages. Were the infected rabbits in direct contact with the rest of your herd? Because if not, the chances are the your own rabbits are fine. I had liver coccidiosis in part of one litter several years ago, during a very wet autumn. The fryers exhibited no symptoms and I discovered it only when I butchered them. Naturally I scrubbed and disinfected that cage, but that's all and I've had no problems since. That particular litter was large - about 12 - and filthy... Their mother was not the most fastidious rabbit around and she did not train them well. They would foul their food and water. I eventually eliminated that line altogether. But the spotty livers were a one time thing.

takes time for people to get here.

I used sul-met to treat my herd when I had a problem.
Can be used on every rabbit.
there is a lengthy withdrawal period. DO NOT feed any rabbits that die during the course of treatment, in particular not to pigs fed for human consumption. (this from my brother who raises pigs for such purposes...apparently pig carcasses are randomly inspected for it and it's a big no-no).

I used to treat once a year just to make sure it was good and gone. I no longer do so as I haven't had a problem for a year. All livers all nice and clean.

My practice was to cull everything I didn't want to treat. So I planned my litters so I wouldn't have to treat babies. Takes two weeks to treat everything thoroughly. THEN I would breed and would check out livers. Any spots on anyone would do the process again when I had a kindling break.

two days on, four days off, three days on, three days off, two days on two days off until you hit two weeks (usually finished with one or two days on then done). It would vary a bit with young or smaller than five lbs. stock. If they went off feed I would give them a day off.

Some people put the meds into the drinking water and have them medicate that way... I tried that and had rabbits that wouldn't drink so I would simply syringe a good dose full into them. Easier than trying to get a rabbit to drink again. (stuff tastes absolutely vile so I didn't blame the rabbits).

__________ Wed Mar 09, 2011 4:42 pm __________

just give the cages a thorough clean. make sure you remove cling-ons on a daily basis and scrub the potty corners. It's easy enough to beat if you are determined to do so.

Ivermectin does NOT work for coccidiosis. Use a safe sulpha med.

You can also buy medicated pellets and just use that for 2 weeks. Withdrawal time for that is 30 days. The pellets were only a couple bucks more medicated so is cost effective. We also would time that for before any new litters like Ladysown did to eliminate medicating any fryers at all.

I have used sulfaquinoxaline i have also used Corid.Corid is a lot more expensive.Feed stores carry the Sulfa drug (its not labeled for rabbits)you can also order these medicines from rabbit supply companies.Klubertanz,Bass.KW cages.

Corid 9.6%. It's easy to mix up a gallon or 2 each day to fill their crocks and water bottles (5ml per gallon of water). Treat for 5 days with the solution as their only source of water, off 5 days, treat again for 5 days. Repeat 3 or 4 times per year. Keeping the cages and hutches clean is very important to prevent it from spreading to other rabbits. Unfortunately you don't really see any obvious signs of it until you butcher. Even keeping spotless hutches isn't a guarantee of total protection from it since they can pick it up easily from wild greens or hay that an infected animal has been in contact with.

I cannot get any medication...anywhere! Feed stores don't have any, and it's on backorder from THEIR suppliers...vet doesn't have anything either! Getting frustrated. I tried to get sulfa drugs...corid..medicated feed.. Etc.
Thanks for the comments, but I think i am going to have to cull the one rabbit now. It cannot even pick up it's back end and it is a mess! Never had this happen before in my rabbitry....don't know if it has travelled to anybunny else. Having sick bunnies and unable to treat them makes me feel very helpless eh

How very frustrating! :rant:

If you have a willow tree, cut some branches with good bark on them and try that. I offer no guarantee that it will help, but there is some thought that willow is a natural coccidiostat. You might have to euthanize the really sick one, but it may help the others. I wish I had thought to mention this sooner.

I don't know if you have this link, but it might be a useful one for Canadian members.
http://www.farmersfarmacy.com/gc/gc_page.exe

It cannot even pick up it's back end and it is a mess!

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coccidosis shouldn't affect the mobility of a rabbit...it generally affects their intestines and/or their liver...not their ability to move about.

If you have a rabbit suffering paralysis..there is something else going on as well.

Thank you Maggie...I do not have a willow tree, but I'm sure i can find someone who does, and trim some nuisance twigs off for them can I give that to pregnant does and does with litters? I imagine I can. It sucks living in the ottawa valley when it comes to finding the things you need when you need them.<br /><br />__________ Tue Mar 22, 2011 2:45 pm __________<br /><br />

ladysown":igeekj0b said:

It cannot even pick up it's back end and it is a mess!

Click to expand...

coccidosis shouldn't affect the mobility of a rabbit...it generally affects their intestines and/or their liver...not their ability to move about.

If you have a rabbit suffering paralysis..there is something else going on as well.

Click to expand...

Really? I cannot imagine what then. She is pretty old... Hmmm

I wondered about that too, Ladysown, but lacking first-hand experience with full-blown coccidiosis I did not feel competent to comment.

The only time some of my rabbits had coccidiosis, there were no obvious symptoms. The rabbits appeared perfectly healthy until we butchered them and found the tell-tale nodules in the livers of about half of one litter. This was several years ago... just the one litter and they were filthy little things that pooped and peed in their food and water. I culled that whole line including the doe and have had no further problems.

A good clean doe that trains her offspring well is a great asset!

Willow should cause no problems to pregnant or nursing does, Jessykah. I feed it to mine regularly. Any variety of willow is fine for rabbits. Mine get weeping willow mostly because it is readily available.

Thanks Maggie...I was really hoping to get one more litter from this doe, I even bought her a boyfriend...but that won't happen now. Wish I knew what was troubling her...maybe I will google it. Need to solve the mystery. She is drinking and eating. Really eating hay well. Very messy bottom.<br /><br />__________ Tue Mar 22, 2011 3:21 pm __________<br /><br />Google search says it's either paralysis from breaking it's back from improper handling, or parasites. Well I know I haven't handled it improperly. I never handle her anymore. She doesn't like it. She doesn't do much of anything, so i don't think she did it herself. Unless one of her roommates was chasing her or something. So maybe it's a parasite? So confusing. I think i will just put her down so she dissent suffer anymore while I try to figure it out.

Sometimes rabbits freak out at a sudden noise (ie. thunderstorm) or other scare (predator trying to get at them) and manage to break their backs. Rabbits are quite susceptible that that kind of injury, unfortunately. As I understand it, if they have lost control of their bowels and bladder there is not much chance of a full recovery. If she were mine, I'd put her down. I'm sorry.

if she can't walk it could easily be something from old age, could be pasturella (yes, it can affect their mobility - i was shocked to learn that as well), could be nerve damage, if she's old it could simply be arthritis or some such. Could have been a freak out episode as well.

A parasite could be the problem...anything from cunniculi, to something completely different.

When i had BAD coccidia here...I had kits bloating, getting enteropathic symptoms, jelly poops and livers that were just plain nasty. ALL because I got one free rabbit...let her run on the same grass my juniors were on and bam...huge problem.

Taught me... strict quarantine, rotate who goes on grass and how often, the imperative of keeping cages as clean as you can, and so forth. It was a hard lesson...but like many others who have gone on before me... once learned you don't forget. Two years later...no issues at all. Every liver I do is clean, all guts look good, life is overall pretty good.

COCCIDIOSIS
I hope this helps;

There are two types of Coccidiosis Intestinal and Live Form. The disease is caused by a protozoan parasite which attacks the bile duct or the intestinal tract. There are ten different species of the genus Eimeria which may infect the intestine. Generally these are not of much concern, unless a case of enteritis makes an appearance. This can lead to enterotoxemia and or Mucoid enteropathy, although enterotoxemia has been reported in rabbits which are free of Coccidiosis. Liver Coccidiosis is a problem as it causes white spots on the liver which renders the rabbit uneatable.

SYMPTOMS

Include lack of appetite, rough coat, loss of weight, poor weight gain, potbelly, listlessness and diarrhea. All of which often lead to death.

TREATMENT

The best treatment is the use of sulfaquinoxyline in the drinking water as the only available water for 5 days on, 5 days off then 5 days on again.. [one teaspoon per gallon of water] Repeat the treatment in 30 days to get any hatchlings. DO NOT use the treated rabbit as a food source for at least 30 days after the last treatment.

PREVENTION

Brush the cling-ons from the cage floor within 24 hours. This will aid greatly in preventing the spread of Coccidiosis. Do not allow fecal contamination of the feed or water.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

Liver Coccidiosis is a problem as it causes white spots on the liver which renders the rabbit uneatable.

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Once again, Dennis, white spots on the liver due to coccidiosis do not render the rabbit uneatable. They only make the liver itself uneatable.

If you disagree with this, let's discuss it. Otherwise, please update your information.

inedible...really folks...it's inedible the liver only... not the rabbit itself.
AND if feeding to a dog...tossing the intestines isn't a bad idea in that case either.

Inedible is indeed the preferred term.

Good point about not feeding the intestines of such rabbits to pets, Ladysown.

Spots on the liver in some cases will
cause the rabbit to be uneatable [see dictionary]
due to the fact that some who purchase a live rabbit and after butchering
will refuse to eat the rabbit if there are spots on the liver.
I suppose it all depends on the buyers state of mind/knowledge.
I have had Rabbits returned and refunded the purchase price.
Only because the customer is always right.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

What dictionary are you talking about?

The fact that some people return a rabbit because they don't want to eat one that has a spotty liver is no indication that the rabbit is inedible. It just means they want full value for their money... and I don't blame them. The liver is one of the more desirable parts of the rabbit. The large processors do not refuse rabbits with spotty livers unless it becomes an ongoing problem from a certain rabbitry. They may reduce the price they pay.

I feel that you are doing no service to our members and readers by your original statement that the rabbit with a spotty liver is "uneatable". Only the liver from such a rabbit is unfit to eat... or in the case of raw feeding for pets, the other entrails. This is the second time this week I have had to correct this piece of misinformation from you.