Snuffles or Am I Overacting?

I breed Silver Fox, Mini Lop, crossbreeds (rarely) and now Jersey Woolies.


I bought this Silver Fox doe and her sister in April. All was good, I do like this breeder, clean rabbitry, etc. I have the two sisters together, they're almost 4 months old, and now the better looking doe (they're both NICE but the bigger doe is favorited). Well, favorited doe is sneezing. I had bought 3 new Silver Foxes (all juniors from a different breeder) and 2 Mini Lops (again, different breeder from all my other rabbits). Due to limited space and a very dumb idea, I put the 6 week old Silver Fox doe with these sisters. 6 week-er and other sister are completely fine, favorited doe is sneezing 5-10 times a day and has a small wet patch under her nose. Absolutely no snot from anyone. Is this allergies? Stress? Snuffles? I will shoot this doe and any others that I think have snuffles. I will be sad, but it's devil's advocate here -- shoot 1 or shoot 27. I choose 1. I also have 3 litters of 1 and 2 week old kits, 1-3 kits are sneezing but again no snot. I have kits to sell next month! I absolutely cannot have sick animals. I am afraid to ask other breeders if this is snuffles. I have an amazing reputation.




Do I put a bullet in this doe and the kits or just wait it out?

Quarantine those three. Take their cage, and move it away from the rest. I quarantine in my living room (away from my barn) for example. Then you can watch what happens without risking the rest of your herd. If you can see it sneezing that often, and theres no white or opaque discharge, then it's not as likely to be snuffles.

i second sable's advie. recently i had some growouts start sneezing - not super often, but at least a couple times a day when i'd go check on them, no discharge, just a little wetness, nothing on the paws. i butchered some of them and found no abnormalities in the lungs, so it wasn't pasturella at least. i gave my other exposed rabbits a pen-g shot and so far haven't had any more problems. mine probably have lessened immune systems due to having to fight off a serious illness earlier in life and any little pollen or inhaled water sets them off. not exactly ideal but i need them for my rabbitry plans so i'll just have to cull hard and only keep the best.

hopefully yours is something similar.

Update:

Well guys, everything was going good minus the sneezing, today I noticed Moon Dynamite (the sneezing Silver Fox rabbit) wiping her face with her paws, after she did this I noticed she smeared snot all over her hutch wire. White sticky thick snot...the pasteurella has happened. I then noticed two of my Mini Lop kits started sneezing and the smaller one (they're sisters) has a head tilt that will not go back to normal. Neither kit ate or drank for the past day or two. The Mini Lops are 3 weeks old and the Silver Fox is 4 months old.


Today was a shitty day.

I snapped both kits necks and cut them open to examine their lungs, then the Silver Fox got the gun. There goes two buyers' kits and my future show breeder doe.


I miss you, Moon Dynamite. :cry_baby:

I'm so sorry for your loss, OldEnglish.

ah, that just bites.

So very sorry for your loss.

Just a stone cold reminder to all of us to quarantine all newcomers. I traded for an ea buck as a part payment for a rex doe I had. The very night I traded for him, I had decided to shave off his fur as he had some mats and it was long enough to harvest anyhow. I just got him done and he blew snot all over my table. He did not even survive 24 hours. At least I have his fur. I will no longer take trades.

Thanks everyone. BlueHaven, damn that sucks so bad. I'm sorry love.



Should I shoot the other 3 Silver Foxes that lived with her? I have her sister, a buck (related on dads' sides), and a doe that is completely unrelated to them. What do I tell my buyers? I absolutely will NOT lie to anyone that I had pasteurella. I have (probably had now ) an amazing reputation.

I am so sorry to hear this OldEnglishSilvers.

I'd recommend simply telling your buyers the truth and trust that they will understand. It's incredibly hard to prepare for the unexpected.

OldEnglish.... I posted on my thread that is discussing Snuffles the name of a lab that will test for Pastuella and Boratella..... (sp?)

You might want to consider testing the whole herd and possibly cutting your losses..... sanitize and start again when you feel ready...

Once you have established a clean rabbitry again.... contact anyone you sold to after obtaining the ground0 rabbits and talk to them.

There goes another kit and the Silver Fox's sister. The kit just up and died a few days ago. The sister Fox is sneezing snot. Hello darkness my old friend.

My life is shit and piss right now.

So sorry OldEnglish....

If it is any help, your stories (those of you suffering) are strong warnings for others, especially beginners that don't quarantine.

I know I have taken your stories to heart and have a serious process for quarantine now.