Snuffles?

I have two young does that sneezed and have white snot in the corners..

Cull or try to cure?

thx,
CH

I used to say...keep 'em for a bit, see if it clears up.

Now I say, if I breed for health, I breed for health. Sneezers and others need not apply.

ok to eat?

If they are just meat rabbits headed for freezer camp, immediate culling is the most practical thing to do. You can still safely use the meat. If they are more important than that, you may want to isolate them while you assess the situation. Dusty hay or allergies sometimes cause sneezing, however the presence of white mucous is not a good sign. Has anything happened to put them under unusual stress?

Ladysown raises a good point. If these does are susceptible to this kind of thing, you likely do not want them in your breeding program.

Hi Magggie

Nothi9ng has changed to cause stress. They are at the farm; I was there today and heard a sneeze. Checked--nothing. hour later--snot on noses! I pulled the two and packed them up. Plan on processing tonight.

That is the best thing to do.

Emily

I will let a sneeze slide sometimes if there is no mucous, especially if I give hay. But a rabbit that sneezes a lot or if I ever see mucous, they are culled immediately.

I processed the second; when I came back to check--she was blowing snot and it was hanging. A shame as they might have been decent does, but better safe--at least dinner is covered tomm..

safer is relative ...
newest research says nearly all rabbits carry pasturella - it's the blowing out with it that is problematic - back when I started with rabbits a case of pasturella had you euthanzing pets and saying if you won't PTS you must NEVER get another rabbit - now it seems that it can lie dormant in a healthy rabbit forever unless that rabbit gets sick, injured or stressed in some way (not to say pasturella will break out in every sicknees, injury or stress case - it doesn't)
I had a rabbit who lived here, very healthly, for nearly 3 years - he was attacked by a cat - BOOM - pasturella ...unless one of the new rabbits is a silent carrier (also possible) he had it deep within himself - he had been stressed and was fine .. but the attck on his immune sstem was more than his body could take

I think you did the right thing but wanted you to know a little more about the newest info

From my understanding of snuffles (which is fairly limited), it is in all rabbits. Those with weak immune systems, are ill with something else, or under a lot of stress will present the disease. At that point it will (I suppose "may" would be better than "will") be communicable among other rabbits. Apparently, unless the rabbit is showing symptoms the disease is not contagious, but once it becomes contagious it is hard to contain.

the latest research I've seen (sadly not in on line format) says not all domestic rabbits but most - but also admits they may simply not have sophisicated enough testing yet

__________ Mon Mar 15, 2010 11:19 am __________

the latest research I've seen (sadly not in on line format) says not all domestic rabbits but most - but also admits they may simply not have sophisicated enough testing yet<br /><br />__________ Mon Mar 15, 2010 11:20 am __________<br /><br />the latest research I've seen (sadly not in on line format) says not all domestic rabbits but most - but also admits they may simply not have sophisicated enough testing yet

I had a rabbit once, a beautiful doe, both inside and out. After her second litter, it looked like she developed Snuffles (never had her tested so this is a guess). I was heart-broken. So I did some research and used herbs and a homeopathic remedy. She recovered and went on to have many more litters. She died last winter of unrealated causes. I have kept a couple of her daughters/granddaughter and they have never exhibited snuffles sypmtoms. My thinking is if rabbit has snuffles and beats it, it's a good trait to have in a line. This isn't fact, it's just my opinion.

what did you use for an herb remedy?

I would be interested in hearing that as well. From what I've been told, snuffles is incurable.

I seemed to have the best results with a combo of fresh dill (respiratory), fresh dandilion (tonic, immune booster) and dried comfrey (internal mucus membranes). I also had a very mild aromatherapy diffuser going twice a day for 15 minutes with eculaptus. Basically I was trying to support her immune system as well as I could so she could fight the disease and recover.
Remember, this just my experience with one rabbit that worked out well. I've used herbs and aromatherapy for about 10 years now and I believe it is really something that needs to be researched and read about extensively. Just because it's 'natural' doesn't mean it is automatically safe.

Yes, I've heard snuffles was incurable, too. I've also heard feeding rabbits fresh greens will kill them and rabbits cannot live together in harmony. I find it incredibly difficult to find solid, documented material on rabbits concerning snuffles.

there's a lady on the meatrabbits board who has been able to prove that snuffles is curable.
it's not cheap.
involved medications.

What we can do is bring it under control again.
BUT it's a risky venture as once one rabbit starts to snot, then it's more contagious in the virulent form.
AND uncontrolled snuffles apparently starts to eat away at the bone tissues in the nose, causes breathing issues and what not.
IF one follows excellent isolation protocols it might be possible to contain it.

OVERALL, the generally accepted wisdom is...cull them out.

For those who don't want to cull them out then... if you can get rid of the stressor (via medication or whatever) then do so, but know that that particular rabbit is susceptible to virulent outbreaks and keep them away from vulnerable rabbits.

Consider what you are breeding for and if health is a priority, then breed for health and hold to a high standard. If it's generally overall healthy rabbits that you can put on your table, the odd sneezer isn't going to compromise that IF you can bring the virulency under control. (just as for instance rabbits with poor hocks isn't going to affect your food). IF you are breeding for show animals, be kind, and DON"T sell that sniffly rabbit to someone else.. even IF it is apparently under control. Just don't do it. BE kind, be courteous, and be aware.

AT Least this is what I've gleaned from the knowledge of others. Don't take any of it as gospel truth.

depends on the purpose of the rabbit (culling vs non culling)
and there is no way anyone has a sure fire cure for snuffles at this point - there are at least 2 quite different strains (and I think there might be 4) one is fatal before you even realize you have it often ... but yes with nursing care and appropriate meds it can often be controlled ...

Pasturella is a gram negative bacteria. How can rabbits carry bacteria and NOT be spreading it or sick? There are also many species of pasturella and bordatella, sometimes a swab can identify what you are dealing with. There are many antibiotics available to use for bacterial infections. I personally would prefer to "flip" those percentage numbers around! (some have it not most)Snuffles usually develops a lower repiratory infection as it progresses (pneumonia)causing the rabbit to breathe loudly making a "snuffling noise" as it draws air in.Some rabbits are more immune or resistant to the secondary infection some are not and do not live more than a few weeks after getting it. The ones that recover will have bacteria present for up to 6 weeks post infection. It is a good idea to cull active cases if one does not want to deal with the time and expense especially with a meat/production rabbit.

Devon's Mom Lauren":vsybg78g said:

It is a good idea to cull active cases if one does not want to deal with the time and expense especially with a meat/production rabbit.

Click to expand...

So it's ok to process a rabbit for human consumption even when it has an active case of snuffles (as long as they haven't had antibiotics in at least 30 days)? Thankfully I haven't had to deal with snuffles yet.

Snuffles does not affect the meat... and is not something people can catch.