Frosted Rabbits":36qmf8sz said:
If you are going the coccidian route, use the Corid and hit them all- there are 9 sub-species of coccidia that affect rabbits< each has it's own preferred choice of internal 'home'- and they can/do make it look like your herd is a lumpy mess-- of course, if you have the 'gunk' cultured, the vet will tell you 'pastuerella' especially if it is Dr. Pet Vet --BTDT.
Coccidia is the most common culprit of poor condition in adult rabbits, I have a good vet who know rabbits and we actually did a necropsy on one of mine to rule out coccidia vs. pasteurella vs. e. cuniculi. Coccidia won, hands-down. The Corid bought at the feed store is effective but requires prolonged treatment -21 days - with a repeat treatment in 14 days for a minimum of 5 days. You can add it at 1 teaspoon per gallon of water. Sulfamethazine, available via prescription, is what my vet and I employed to treat the entire herd empirically, I still follow through with Corid when weaning kits and as part of my 90-day herd maintenance cycle
__________ Sat Dec 28, 2013 8:23 am __________
stone soup farm":36qmf8sz said:
I took a though look over and then looked below his cage. He had worms in the poop. I checked under all the other rabbits and no sing. Still keeping an eye out. I gave him a sub-q injection of ivermectin. He already looks better. I will be following up with 2 more round 11 days apart. I think that is what it is and the symptoms match. But you are right...he still could have coccidia but I am thinking if he does it is more likely the intestinal coccidia. If he isn't better after round 2 then I might try some Sulmet. But I don't want to overmedicate.
Thanks for your advice dood.
Ivermectin does not treat the white whipworms/ wireworms/ pinworms/ or tapeworms most common to rabbits. It will treat the round ascarids, fur mites, ear mites, and bots.
To treat the 'other' worms, use fenbendazole, "Safe Guard" brand liquid goat wormer can be titrated to an exact dosing based on weight, which is 20mg/ kg. At 100mg/ mL you can use a 3cc syrings and draw up 0.2 cc (ML) per kilogram, or roughly 0.1 cc per pound. So a 10-pound rabbit would be 1.0 cc wormer. it must be given for three consecutive days and then repeated in 14 days.
The good news is that e. cuniculi is also sensitive to fenbendazole (there are rumors that ivermectin treats e. cuniculi but there are no evidence-based studies to demonstrate this).
When treating a very debilitated rabbit, approach the problem from all angles. I would employ bot the Ivomec and SafeGuard wormer, and consider treating your herd with Corid and SafeGuard
I have found that I can add SafeGuard to the water AFTER the first oral bolus, at a rate of 3 cc per quart, for an additional 72* continuous after treatment.
The rationale for the continued treatment (either repeat oral boluses or adding to water) with SafeGuard is that it has a very short therapeutic window, over 50% of its active metabolites are eliminated through the urine within 12 hours of treatment. So, in order to get "all" the worms the treatment must be sustained for several days. Ivermectin stays active in the system for up to 7 days, so it is one-shot deal.<br /><br />__________ Sat Dec 28, 2013 8:29 am __________<br /><br />
grumpy":36qmf8sz said:
I was gonna say 'worms'.
They'll steal the vitality and distend the abdomen.
Coccidia is a strong possibility as well.
Those two ailments oftentimes go hand in hand.
Sodiumsulfamethazine a.k.a. sulmet was a standard treatment
for my racing pigeons years ago. They were exposed to coccidia
during their racing season on a nearly weekly basis.
grumpy.
Grumpy, after much discussion with my vet and a deep look at "how" my enteritis issues came to my rabbitry (they showed up in late summer) we identified two possibilites: One was a brood doe I bought from another rabbit producer who had ongoing enteritis issues, and the other was from the starlings and barn swallows that were contaminating my feeders and water system during the mid summer months.
I find it interesting to hear of your experiences treating a pigeon flock for coccidiosis, and at this point I feel most strongly that the birds were the empirical carriers more so than the single doe, who was quarantined and kept in her own quarters.
