Just been thinking about health issues in rabbits...and hearing over and over again that pasturella is often the cause.
Okay...what I hear from knowledgeable people is that 98% of the bunny population carries pasturella. And that pasturella can cause all types of problems in bunnies. That often a rabbit can be a carrier for it without a body even knowing.
That stress can cause it come out of hiding.
That another rabbit with an active virulent case can cause a major problem in a herd.
So if most every rabbit carries pasturella... why is it blamed for most rabbit diseases? Shouldn't the "other factor be blamed"?
If most rabbits carry it, then it goes to say that there must be a predicating factor that causes a virus/bacteria etc to change.
ERGO...building rabbits with a strong immune system and the ability to handle stress mentally should be the goal of every rabbit breeder yes?
If they did that... would that not cause the problems of pasturella to be lessened?
Therefore...how does one breed for it?
How does one go about saying...okay I had two rabbits sneezing... culled them out, now...what do I do about the rest of the herd? After all they were all exposed to the same rabbits. Does one cull everything? and if so why? if every rabbit carries it, you're just starting over again with potentially the same issues and possibly adding new ones.
Does one just keep everything that doesn't sneeze, show an abscess or weepy eye or (whatever)? Does one immediately cull animals that have ANY kind of a health issue (as one study (not the actual study read, just someone talking about it) I read said the enteropathic illnesses can also be pasturella based)?
That could decimate herds... but would it help long term?
I'm assuming that one CANNOT eradicate pasturella from a herd (since 98% of rabbits carry it), but how does one lessen it's impact?
For instance...if I lose rabbits in my herd....I lose them when the weather changes - spring/fall. Why.. NO clue..sometimes it seems like entropathic issues, and sometimes I just go...oh...dead rabbit. Seemed fine yesterday. Do I cull entire lines that do have issues? Do I keep the one survivor of the litter? What does one do to really focus on health in their rabbits?
Thank you for listening to me mull this over.
Okay...what I hear from knowledgeable people is that 98% of the bunny population carries pasturella. And that pasturella can cause all types of problems in bunnies. That often a rabbit can be a carrier for it without a body even knowing.
That stress can cause it come out of hiding.
That another rabbit with an active virulent case can cause a major problem in a herd.
So if most every rabbit carries pasturella... why is it blamed for most rabbit diseases? Shouldn't the "other factor be blamed"?
If most rabbits carry it, then it goes to say that there must be a predicating factor that causes a virus/bacteria etc to change.
ERGO...building rabbits with a strong immune system and the ability to handle stress mentally should be the goal of every rabbit breeder yes?
If they did that... would that not cause the problems of pasturella to be lessened?
Therefore...how does one breed for it?
How does one go about saying...okay I had two rabbits sneezing... culled them out, now...what do I do about the rest of the herd? After all they were all exposed to the same rabbits. Does one cull everything? and if so why? if every rabbit carries it, you're just starting over again with potentially the same issues and possibly adding new ones.
Does one just keep everything that doesn't sneeze, show an abscess or weepy eye or (whatever)? Does one immediately cull animals that have ANY kind of a health issue (as one study (not the actual study read, just someone talking about it) I read said the enteropathic illnesses can also be pasturella based)?
That could decimate herds... but would it help long term?
I'm assuming that one CANNOT eradicate pasturella from a herd (since 98% of rabbits carry it), but how does one lessen it's impact?
For instance...if I lose rabbits in my herd....I lose them when the weather changes - spring/fall. Why.. NO clue..sometimes it seems like entropathic issues, and sometimes I just go...oh...dead rabbit. Seemed fine yesterday. Do I cull entire lines that do have issues? Do I keep the one survivor of the litter? What does one do to really focus on health in their rabbits?
Thank you for listening to me mull this over.