Fighting a new enemy

[Gearmpr]

So I'm still raising my first set of breeders. I have two females and one male for my Adam and eves. I got them from two breeders, the male from one and the two females from these shady people. The male is doing excellent an so is one of the females. However the other female isn't doing too well. She had mites in her ears at first which I think I faught off successfully with a treatment of baby oil and camphophenic. Now she's caught up in what I believe is a cold? Runny nose, lose of appetite, a little goop in the corner of her eyes, and the right side of her head is slightly swollen. I hate to see her suffer like this. Right now I have her quarantined in a portable cage by a patch of clovers with her nest box, hay and food and a water bottle treated with thermaflu. Anyone have some info on what I'm fighting here?

 

[Zass]

Unfortunately, rabbits do not get colds.

Based on your description, my first instinct would be to have a REALLY close look at her teeth. But...as a precaution, what color is her nose mucous?

 

[Gearmpr]

Well she doesn't have a real distinct color, but it seems to be a real pale yellow of sorts, and as for her teeth I'll check them now <br /><br /> __________ Fri Jan 02, 2015 2:50 pm __________ <br /><br /> Her teeth seem to be fine, but I do notice some blister looking bumps on her bottom lip. Gives a funky smell to them as well

 

[Celice]

sounds like some kind of tooth infection or worse Syphilis. how dose her vent look?

 

[Gearmpr]

Let me check, I hope it's not :/

__________ Fri Jan 02, 2015 3:27 pm __________

Well her vent looks to have a little crusting and some sticky dingleberrys. <br /><br /> __________ Fri Jan 02, 2015 3:30 pm __________ <br /><br /> How will I fight a tooth infection

 

[Zass]

If she were mine, and a meat doe, I'd terminally cull for either dental abnormalities, disease that could risk the others, or poor immune system.

 

[Featherhoof]

Bummer, but I agree.

 

[Dood]

Pasturella can infect the middle ear and cause swelling at the base of the ear, this disease also causes a white or yellow discharge from the nose and eyes You can put her on antibiotics for a month but most people feel the rabbit will never fully recover, always have the chance of an outbreak when stressed (pregnant, predator, weather change etc...) and not worth the risk to the other rabbits in the barn

I'd cull to her

 

[Gearmpr]

What's it mean to cull to her?

 

[Zass]

What's it mean to cull to her?

To cull would be to remove from a breeding program. For a healthy rabbit that can mean petting them out. It's not usually done for sick animals though, because thay can infect other rabbits if they ever end up in shelters or multi-pet homes.

Terminally cull usually means to have her for dinner. (If a meat rabbit, fully cooked, of course)
If she's a pet type that you wouldn't be comfortable eating, it would usually be to euthanize and simply bury.

I wanted to make sure you understood.
I wasn't telling you to terminally cull her, just sharing what I do if I ever find one of my rabbits in a similar situation. Euthanizing infected animals is often the most effective way to stop the spread of disease in a meat herd.

 

[Gearmpr]

Well. I'll give her a couple days, if I can't see any improvement in appetite or looks, then I'll dispatch her. Hate to see her suffer, and I suppose I'll clean her out because I hate to see her go for nothing :/.. Hopefully she'll get better and I can pet her out to someone.

 

[Zass]

Make sure to feed and water her last, and wash up REALLY well after handling her. If she has a pasteurella infection, there is a chance every rabbit you have could come down with it if exposed.

For some reason, once the stuff become infectious, it can be highly contagious.

I've had to cull almost every rabbit on my property over a pasteurella outbreak in the past.

I'm not the only one who's been through it.
For that reason, you will see a lot of rabbit breeders being pretty jumpy over any thick opaque snot.

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

Unless there's a compelling reason to keep her, I'd cull her, too. Terminally.

And then be sure to completely clean and sterilize the pen and all bottles, bowls, etc.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I have to agree with everyone else that she should be terminally culled.

She has multiple strikes against her;

Coming from a "shady breeder"
Runny nose
Goopy eyes
Swollen face

Do you really want your foundation stock to come from an animal that has had so many problems?

I wouldn't, since what you breed is pretty much what you will get in the future. The swollen face is probably due to some type of dental issue (or worse yet, systemic Pastuerella), but the other symptoms point to an overall lack of a good immune system.

I got them from two breeders, the male from one and the two females from these shady people.

If the buck is healthy and a good example of a meat rabbit, I would go back to them and buy some related stock. Rabbits are usually intensively linebred and inbred to concentrate good traits and weed out the bad.

When you cross two totally separate lines you are playing "genetic roulette" and the outcomes are not as predictable. Even if you cross two exceptional animals you may end up with an entire litter of culls simply because the lines don't cross well.

 

[Gearmpr]

So far ive been giving her penecillan and some thermaflu, it's hard to tell yet if she's doing better, sometimes she looks better (a tiny bit more of energy, ears up, eyes wide, chews on some clover) and sometimes she looks worse, (doesn't eat all day or night, drinks maybe 1/6 of a bottle in 3 days or more, ear on the swollen side won't stay up, eyes look drowsy and weak) I've noticed too, some of her fur is falling from her chin and lower lip, exposing the blisters. I hate to put her down but I hate to have her suffer. I suppose I'll wait to the weekend to see if she improves. :/.. In the meantime I wanted to ask, how many generations would it be wise to interbreed, before things get deformed and crazy?

 

[michaels4gardens]

So far ive been giving her penecillan and some thermaflu, it's hard to tell yet if she's doing better, sometimes she looks better (a tiny bit more of energy, ears up, eyes wide, chews on some clover) and sometimes she looks worse, (doesn't eat all day or night, drinks maybe 1/6 of a bottle in 3 days or more, ear on the swollen side won't stay up, eyes look drowsy and weak) I've noticed too, some of her fur is falling from her chin and lower lip, exposing the blisters. I hate to put her down but I hate to have her suffer. I suppose I'll wait to the weekend to see if she improves. :/.. In the meantime I wanted to ask, how many generations would it be wise to interbreed, before things get deformed and crazy?

JMHO, I would cull the doe ASAP, before you risk accidental infection of other rabbits or your self, and before she suffers any longer.
-- and-- inbreeding/ linebreeding, is only a problem if it is unguided inbreeding/ line breeding, as long as you aggressively cull all undesirable traits,[never breed a less then your very best] you will improve your line, -- but if you are too soft hearted, or lazy to cull all undesirable breedstock, then-- you will get "deformed and crazy" eventually, maybe even soon, depending on what you started with.

 

[Zass]

Penicillin can be very dangerous for rabbit. The oral kind is never recommended, and the injectable kind should still be given with probiotics. I looked up thermaflu, but google only wanted to link me to theraflu, which is mostly acetaminophen (Tylonol.) I'm hoping that isn't what she is getting. Everywhere I've looked tells me never to give acetaminophen to rabbits, and I don't have any idea about the other drugs that are in there.

If you give a rabbit anything (like a broad spectrum antibiotic) that destroys their intestinal bacteria, it can start up GI problems that can kill them. Going off feed is the most obvious sign that something isn't right in their GI tract. Even if there isn't something already wrong, Refusing to eat will cause a problem. If a rabbit's GI tract stops moving, they die.

Check her stool. If she has small poops or isn't producing any, she will be close to death. There is supportive care we can recommend. Probiotics, electrolyte solution, and force feeding if necessary to keep their system running.

 

[Celice]

from hearing how things have progress I would say cull asap and burn the body.

at this point she seems like she is suffering more now and fur loss is NEVER a good thing in rabbits when it comes to illness in rabbits, and hearing how she is is faring I would let her go.

 

[Gearmpr]

Hmm I wasn't aware of that. I heard about giving them penicillin and thermaflu from the feed&seed and local breeders :/. I did notice this morning that the swelling on the side of her face has went down. I'll see if i can get some pictures of her so y'all can see what she's looking like <br /><br /> __________ Tue Jan 06, 2015 12:23 pm __________ <br /><br /> When I get home, I'll check out her condition thoroughly. I'm definitely not opposed to put her down if need be. I hate that she suffers

 

[Celice]

yes!! pictures would be great!!