Parasite prevention

Hi All,

I am reading a lot about parasites lately. I am wondering how you all prevent parasites, both internal & external.

It sounds like all kinds of badness comes from the hay! I figured if I kept my buns healthy with a good natural diet I would be able to overcome parasites but I think I may need to be a proactive at least in the beginning anyway. I (foolishly?) thought that if I can start out with worm free/mite free/Coccidia free parents I'd be okay but now it seems like they will be constantly challenged by cooties! So I want to plan in advance of the cootie arrival-LOL!

Thanks!

I personally dont get it.
I have been breeding rabbits for many, many years and never had a problem nor needed to treat for any worms or anything.
I have bred over the years many different breeds.
I feed wild greens, grasses, hay, shrubbery, tree branches, all sorts of wild foods and farmed foods and never had an issue.
I never feed fruits or veggy since buns are natural herbivores and not vegetarians.
I have hay available 24/7 as its good maintenance.
I dont get worms, diarrhea, I dont get sick buns. I dont get fat or thin buns either.

IMO, you shouldn't need to worry about worms. If you do then I would say the buns have weaken immune systems and shouldn't be bred or their feed has veggy, fruit or other food they dont need in it.
Maybe people just dont follow a very important rule and it shows in weaker rabbits. 'Breed the best, cull the rest'.
And cull doesn't mean sell as that is just putting low quality back into the breeding circuit.

I also have a rule. If a bun gets sick and doesnt quickly recover on its own..cull.
I breed only rabbits that never get sick or wormy.
I have had kits not as hardy as they should be, culled them all.
Allergy rabbits is another, I cull.

The best part, I very rarely have to cull because of something not right.
Last time I had to cull was a year ago, a young buck who had a tenancy toward to soft of poo.
Didnt want what ever caused his soft poos in my blood lines.
I breed for hardy, good buns.

WHILE you are learning to breed for health you can
- worm twice a year
- do a preventive for coccidia
- Pray lots that your rabbits don't get sick

You can use commercial wormers or use pumpkin seeds.

I'm fairly new to rabbits, but with any animal..keeping the feeders, waterers, and area they are in CLEAN is terribly important for prevention of any parasite.

It's also so so SO important to keep new animals quarantined from your flock/herd/group. I brought home 2 rabbits from a home that I trust to have good clean animals...but I'm STILL keeping them completely separated from my other rabbits for a month. (actually, one is being rehomed). It's just good policy.

Personally, I don't worm any animal I've had(except horses*) unless I see worms. I'll probably use ground pumpkin seed for worming in the rabbitry if I need to worm.

*horses just go down so quickly when they get worms..and they get worms from almost any pasture Most folks just do a preventative series of wormings. Doesn't seem to stress the horses like it does to other species.

Will rabbits eat garlic? Would it be safe for them? I know of at least one sheep ranch that uses garlic exclusively to treat/prevent parasites. I can hunt up the link if anyone's interested.

Shannon

Parasites seem to be more of a problem in some areas of the continent than others. I've noticed that reports of parasites seem to come more often from people in the Southeast (Florida, Alabama, Georgia etc.) and Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington). I think humidity and lack of a "real winter" may play a role. I have no statistics to back up this observation, so it may just be my perception, but it could be that people in certain areas need to take greater care regarding this issue. Just throwing this out there for consideration...

Maggie, the lack of a winter is the reason for the prevalence of parasites in the South and the Pacific NW. The parasites go dormant in the winter months. And the living ones are killed with a hard freeze. So they repopulate in the Spring..coming out from barns, animal hosts, houses. And the cycle continues.

There are SOME pluses to living in the subzero cold

MaggieJ":16mlje95 said:

Parasites seem to be more of a problem in some areas of the continent than others. I've noticed that reports of parasites seem to come more often from people in the Southeast (Florida, Alabama, Georgia etc.) and Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington). I think humidity and lack of a "real winter" may play a role. I have no statistics to back up this observation, so it may just be my perception, but it could be that people in certain areas need to take greater care regarding this issue. Just throwing this out there for consideration...

Click to expand...

No Maggie you are right. Cooties abound here in FL- not because we don't care enough or work at it, but because we live in the jungle. There is never any down time. All forms of life are constantly growing & breeding & keeping the cooties in business. It is a constant battle to keep nature at bay. My mower broke last week (& the repair guy can't fix til Tuesday) so 1 week without a mower spells doom for my yard. The Bahiagrass seed sprouts are up past my knees. The Border Collies are often seen "hopping" thru the grass and the toy Aussie...forget it, he has disappeared.

Ooooh, wonder if the Buns can eat Bahia seed sprouts???

I'm not much in favour of commercial wormers used on a routine basis, but in some areas it may be necessary. There are natural remedies/preventatives such as pumpkin seeds that are also excellent, nutritious foods, but they may not be enough in your area, Mytdogs.

Hey now our winters are brutal. It get realy cold about 40 or so and at night watch out it can drop to 20. Oh and there is frost nasty frost killing our strawberrys and tomatoes. This winter we even saw snow.

Now for real no we don't have winters just cool downs from all the heat. I hate FL.

I was told to use horse wormer for my bun as a preventive should I? I only have one buck that I think might need it can I give a little and keep the tube fresh?

Shannon Shanks":3f9caaon said:

Will rabbits eat garlic? Would it be safe for them? I know of at least one sheep ranch that uses garlic exclusively to treat/prevent parasites. I can hunt up the link if anyone's interested.

Shannon

Click to expand...

From what I have read, garlic is not recommended for rabbits. Pumpkin and squash seeds are helpful in controlling parasites and are an excellent source of nutrients besides.

The horse wormers are ivermectin or ivermectin based, and that's what I've seen recommended for rabbits (MUCH smaller dose, of course), so ... Being in Florida where worms and insects are all year round...I wonder if you do need to use it regularl...although...if the buns are in cages off the ground, you shouldn't have any problems. So maybe just treat as needed.

Certainly wouldn't hurt to give them a month of pumpkin seeds every 6 months just in case.

no don't use horse wormer paste. the ivermectin is not mixed in evenly, Rabbits can die from an overdose.

Piperazine or panacur are better things to administer.

ladysown":13dft9rd said:

no don't use horse wormer paste. the ivermectin is not mixed in evenly, Rabbits can die from an overdose.

Piperazine or panacur are better things to administer.

Click to expand...

I ordered Panacur paste-apple cinnamon flavor It is made for horses. http://www.amazon.com/Panacur-Paste/dp/B000QFORWG

I am hoping I can extrapolate the dose for the buns. We have ivermectin available at work but it doesn't get pinworms.

Based on the reaction from the guy I bought those rabbits from last week pin worms are not easy to see. So I want to worm the breeding buns at least once.

Where does one get pumpkin seeds? I have seen them in the produce department but the container is tiny & they are salted too I think...how much do you feed to each bun?

you can order them on line cheaply! depending on where you get them from that is

ladysown":1ftjttwf said:

you can order them on line cheaply! depending on where you get them from that is

Click to expand...

Where!?!?

oh my...now I have to look it up.

This is the company I am seriously thinking of dealing with:

http://www.nutsonline.com/

I wrote them and they were VERY nice and quick in their response. Since I live in Canada I wanted to know if I could get them cheaper then buying them here ($120 minimum for 25 lb bag for in shell). I asked...what is the cheapest and most economical way of getting them.

Raw Pumpkin Seeds (In Shell)

25lb case - $50.00, $2.50 (GST/PST/Duties), $25.14 (Shipping) = $77.64

Raw Pepitas (No Shell Pumpkin Seeds)

25lb case - $98.73, $10.37 (GST/PST/Duties), $26.81 (Shipping) = $135.91.

They should be stored in a cool, dry place for 6 months. Can be frozen.

Sometimes you can find pumpkin seeds at feed stores, marketed as squirrel feed. Health food stores will have them or bulk food stores. I found some at Walmart in the snacks section. You want raw, unsalted seeds.

Try growing your own pumpkins if you have room. You can feed rabbits the flesh and pulp as well as the seeds. As with all new foods, go slowly at first to give their GI systems a chance to adjust.

I never thought about warm climates. My bad.
If I had to worry about worms, I would go with pumpkin seeds first and grow my own.
Next I would go with liquid safeguard.
Last I would go with ivermectin, either pour on, poured on or injectable given orally.

I never use any paste wormers. I always go with pour on's, injecables, or liquid like safeguard liquid oral suspension.
All available at our Farm and fleet stores.

You could look into Diatomaceous Earth, usually referred to as D.E. I've used it with the chickens. I mix a bit in with wood ash for their dust baths. The Diatomaceous Earth I am talking about is the food grade type, usually found at Garden Centers or Feed Stores. Do not use the D.E. for pools, it is poisonous to the rabbits. Care needs to be taken when apply D.E., to make sure you nor your rabbits inhale it. May-be google it and see if it would be appropriate for this case. I believe D.E. can be used for both internal and external parasites but I'm not sure if it's safe for rabbits to ingest. Perhaps someone here has more experience with it regarding rabbits.