Bad Tempered Jr.....processed...interesting find

[Peach]

This was about a 12 week old Mini Lop jr buck. Now, it surprised me that he had a bad temperament for a buck. Especially since he was so sweet as a baby, always wanting attention and greeting me at the front of the cage.

Around the 8 week mark, he started nippig the other jrs in the pet growout cage and I figured it was him just maturing but I wanted him a little bit bigger before I processed him. Then he started nipping me and scrambling out of my arms when ever I'd take him out.

Today I finally got around to processing and I was very surprised to find what looks like tumors on some organs. He was also bloated and there shouldn't be a reason since he's only been fed his regular pellet diet and all my rabbits are on a 15% protein diet and do great.

Ok to eat?

I'm also wondering if his temperament was linked to what was going on in the inside.

 

[OwnedByTheBuns]

I think I see cocci. I would not eat him, but that's just me.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

yup, he has cocci.. he has white spots on his liver.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

The spots on the liver look like coccidia to me, and the little structure by the kidneys is a gland.

I do not see any other "tumors"... am I missing something? :?

The liver needs to be discarded, but the meat is safe to eat.

 

[OwnedByTheBuns]

Tumors as in what look like fat deposits on the lungs? Is that what you mean?

 

[MaggieJ]

I agree... Coccidiosis of the liver. Discard the liver but the meat should be fine if cooked. Don't feed raw to pets, especially the organs.

 

[Peach]

Thanks guys They looked like little "tumors" to me on the liver, so I didn't have a better way of describing them. With coccidia, I guess I should go about bleaching the cage, but will the cage mates also need to be culled?<br /><br />__________ Thu Aug 29, 2013 10:13 am __________<br /><br />I also didn't treat him with ivermectin with the rest of the herd because I had planned to process him. Just worried for my other buns

 

[OwnedByTheBuns]

The white "tumors" on the liver, that's coccidia. I would bleach the whole cage, and yes, the other buns probably have it too.

 

[Peach]

How do you go about treating it?

I'm curious where it would come from as they live in wire cages and their water source is frequently cleaned. I feed PenPals but wouldn't know how to go about getting their food tested

 

[OwnedByTheBuns]

Hmmm... Don't people use Dimethox or Dimothox or something?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I'm curious where it would come from as they live in wire cages and their water source is frequently cleaned.

Probably from your runout pens.

I would bleach the whole cage

Actually, you need to use a 10% ammonia solution to kill the oocytes (eggs).

Treatment of the environment is important (e.g. 10% ammonia). Water crocks and feed hoppers should be disinfected and remain free of rabbit feces.

How do you go about treating it?

Treatment of hepatic coccidiosis is difficult and the disease may remain present for life. The anti-coccidiosis treatment is successful only for rabbits infected since 5 to 6 days. Even if the treatment is successful, mortality and diarrhea will continue during the next few days. Relapse is regularly observed after 1 or 2 weeks.

Robenidine hydrochloride is well tolerated by rabbits, but its regular preventive use over the last 20 years has raised resistance of e.g. E. media and E. magna toward this compound. Further drugs used to treat the parasite include:

Sulfonamide and trimethoprim antibiotics have proven efficacious in the treatment of coccidiosis. They should only be used to cure the disease, never as a preventive measure. The most effective drug is sulphadimethoxine (0.5 to 0.7 g / liter water). It is the well tolerated by pregnant and nursing does. Other sulpha drugs include:

· sulphaquinoxaline in drinking water: 1 g / liter;

· sulphadimerazine in drinking water: 2 g / liter.

· Salinomycine (Bio-Cox®);

· Diclazuril (Clinicox®);

· Toltrazuril (Baycox®), 2.5 to 5 mg/kg (higher doses cause anorexia), twice, repeat after 5 days.

Treatment is best administrated to all the rabbits during a minimum of 5 days. The treatment should be repeated after 5 days.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_disease ... occ_en.htm

 

[Peach]

I'm curious where it would come from as they live in wire cages and their water source is frequently cleaned.

Probably from your runout pens.

I would bleach the whole cage

Actually, you need to use a 10% ammonia solution to kill the oocytes (eggs).

Treatment of the environment is important (e.g. 10% ammonia). Water crocks and feed hoppers should be disinfected and remain free of rabbit feces.

How do you go about treating it?

Treatment of hepatic coccidiosis is difficult and the disease may remain present for life. The anti-coccidiosis treatment is successful only for rabbits infected since 5 to 6 days. Even if the treatment is successful, mortality and diarrhea will continue during the next few days. Relapse is regularly observed after 1 or 2 weeks.

Robenidine hydrochloride is well tolerated by rabbits, but its regular preventive use over the last 20 years has raised resistance of e.g. E. media and E. magna toward this compound. Further drugs used to treat the parasite include:

Sulfonamide and trimethoprim antibiotics have proven efficacious in the treatment of coccidiosis. They should only be used to cure the disease, never as a preventive measure. The most effective drug is sulphadimethoxine (0.5 to 0.7 g / liter water). It is the well tolerated by pregnant and nursing does. Other sulpha drugs include:

· sulphaquinoxaline in drinking water: 1 g / liter;

· sulphadimerazine in drinking water: 2 g / liter.

· Salinomycine (Bio-Cox®);

· Diclazuril (Clinicox®);

· Toltrazuril (Baycox®), 2.5 to 5 mg/kg (higher doses cause anorexia), twice, repeat after 5 days.

Treatment is best administrated to all the rabbits during a minimum of 5 days. The treatment should be repeated after 5 days.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_disease ... occ_en.htm

I'll be making a trip to TSC afterwork but I think I might just cull those pets. They have normal poop but I don't want to risk it

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I have seen coccidia in a couple of my livers, but a very low percentage. I have not treated my herd.

I believe some animals are just more susceptible to it because of less vigor, so unless it becomes rampant, I would rather not drug all of my animals.

You may feel differently since your primary focus is show animals and pets, but most of mine are used for meat.

 

[Peach]

Talking with another breeder that has a herd of 200-400 right now, he said the same things. He notices not all will get it, but some are susceptible. I wouldn't want the risk of a bad reputation if they died in a pet home, so I'll avoid it all together. I have been cleaning trays and everyone else looks great. I'm going to give Corid as a preventative when I get back from work, but it's certainly something I'm going to look at since I generally eat all my non show quality does and haven't had it occur with them. I think it may be a case where he was a little more susceptible.

 

[Miss M]

When I found coccidia of the liver in one of my growouts, I kept no organs from any of the litter. We did cook and eat the meat, though.

Actually, you need to use a 10% ammonia solution to kill the oocytes (eggs).

I did not know that bleach did not kill it. Thank you.

When I got that one liver, though, my standard cage sterilization procedure was torching, so that should have taken care of it. That was... two years ago or so.

 

[MaggieJ]

I doubt if there is an experienced rabbit breeder who has not found a spotty liver now and again. Coccidiosis is everywhere. In an animal with a healthy immune system, it seldom gets a foothold.

Ammonia is the best thing to kill it on surfaces. Just a reminder not to use ammonia along with bleach. Together they produce a toxic gas that is very dangerous.

 

[Frecs]

I've read that feeding willow (and other plants rich in tannins) to rabbits will reduce the risk of coccidiosis. Might be something to consider rather than treating with ivermectin.

Also, I read somewhere that rabbit feed used to have an additive to prevent coccidiosis but that the additive has been stopped, thus more incidences of coccidiosis. Anyone know anything about that?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I've read that feeding willow (and other plants rich in tannins) to rabbits will reduce the risk of coccidiosis.

Yes. That is mentioned in the link to Medirabbit as well:

Prevention

Branches and leaves rich in tannin (willow, hazelnut, oak, ash, fruit trees, eventually pines) are excellent in preventing coccidiosis. Before a rabbit is given a twig to chew, it is important to check that it’s picked from a tree that is not toxic to rabbits. Furthermore, the tree must not have been exposed to chemicals or pollution from busy roads.

 

[Dood]

My grow outs got a bout of coccidia in May when I started feeding more foliage - a lot more

Only some kits got it bad and I am currently growing out 3 does who seemed the least affected to improve my stocks resistance.

It's also been a particularly wet year and my grow outs were usually put in a colony at 4 weeks. I am now keeping them in cages until 6 weeks and then the colony and it seems to be working.

Their grow out cages are scrubbed with 10% ammonia in between litters

I never noticed a temperament difference in the the kits who had mild verses severe infectations

 

[Miss M]

(willow, hazelnut, oak, ash, fruit trees, eventually pines)

"eventually pines"?