Pinworms! Graphic Gut Photos

MamaSheepdog · Jul 12, 2012

Apparently, the Diatomaceous Earth is not always an effective wormer. We processed over a dozen rabbits yesterday, and I found pin worms in two of them. Interestingly, they had gassy guts as well. I made sure not to feed them any mustard greens before processing, so it is not greens related.

This photo didn't turn out as well as I hoped (my hands were busy processing, so I didn't take the close up pic), but you can see some of the worms, and that the intestine is inflated:

Here is a pic of the gut pile- both the large and small intestine are gassy:

I have Ivomec Sheep Drench .08%. Dosage for sheep is 3 ml per 26lbs.

http://www.jefferslivestock.com/images/art/17184.pdf

I am finding conflicting information on the best treatment protocol. I'm going to dose with the Ivomec, and also have Hubs pick up some piperazine and pumpkin seeds. Piperazine is used to treat pinworms in humans, so I am not concerned about eating the meat from treated animals. Everybunny is going to get loads of lambsquarters to eat as well.

Mary Ann's Rabbitry · Jul 12, 2012

oh, well. That is interesting. I have to make sure to watch for that when i clean some of mine. I look at the liver and lungs. I can see they are gassy. The worms i cant see them. But i know there are there. Thanks for sharing as we all learn from this.

MamaSheepdog · Jul 12, 2012

Maybe this will help you see them:

They are the clear lines in the gut.

skysthelimit · Jul 12, 2012

Yes every once in a while the DE misses something. I usually give my dogs a big worming dose of Ivomec, then start using the DE. I am considering doing that to the rabbit and I am thinking of loading up on the lambs quarters too, as my chin litter got really thin, so I culled them. I think they had coccidiosis, before I switched all the crocks to bottles.

What's the dose for rabbits?

Mary Ann's Rabbitry · Jul 12, 2012

I use ivomec in the fall just before winter. I treat everyone if they need it or not.
I weight the rabbit first. 1.0 cc equals to 11 pound rabbit. But this is the pour on. I dont like the injectable as it is to strong for them.

YOu have to watch to make sure you dont get pinworm. I would treat everyone in your herd.Are your rabbits in cages?

MaggieJ · Jul 12, 2012

Naturally you will want to treat for the pin worms, but the gassy guts can be caused by delay in processing on a hot day. If you were doing a dozen rabbits in the heat, by the time you got even halfway through you would be likely to see distended gassy intestines. At least, that has been my experience. I don't like to do more than 3-4 at a time when it is very hot.

MamaSheepdog · Jul 12, 2012

skysthelimit":3ah2mxmo said:
What's the dose for rabbits?

Between 0.1mg/kg and 0.4mg/kg depending on the parasite. 1 ml would treat an 8lb 6.6oz rabbit at the rate of .2mg/kg.

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medicati ... mectin.PDF __________ Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:32 pm __________

MaggieJ":3ah2mxmo said:
If you were doing a dozen rabbits in the heat, by the time you got even halfway through you would be likely to see distended gassy intestines.

It was a team effort- they brought me skinned, beheaded rabbits and I gutted them inside. By the way, Maggie, I used an old cookie sheet, and rinsed it between rabbits. You might try that as opposed to cardboard- it worked great and contained all the fluids.

Mary Ann's Rabbitry":3ah2mxmo said:
YOu have to watch to make sure you dont get pinworm. I would treat everyone in your herd.Are your rabbits in cages?

According to what I have read, people can't get pinworms from rabbits. Yes, they are all in cages.

Mary Ann's Rabbitry · Jul 12, 2012

MamaSheepdog":1iiqq4ye said:
According to what I have read, people can't get pinworms from rabbits. Yes, they are all in cages.

Really. I thought you can get pinworms from any animal.. Hmm.

MaggieJ · Jul 12, 2012

A cookie sheet might work very well.

I don't have much trouble with fluids, since they are bled out well outside.

MamaSheepdog · Jul 13, 2012

Mine aren't very bloody either- but I rinse them well before hand, so there is some blood-tinged liquid... and I accidentally poked a couple of the hearts while cutting through the breastbone (Walmart fish fillet knife! Works great!), and I did have a bit of blood then. __________ Fri Jul 13, 2012 8:52 am __________ Well, everybunny had lambsquarters and pumpkin seeds as an appetizer before dinner last night. From the reading I have done, pinworms are hard to eradicate because the eggs aerosolize easily and the rabbits ingest them when feeding or grooming themselves. I think I am going to have to pull out my steam cleaner again- hopefully the heat will kill the eggs. The cages are due to be done anyway- last steam cleaning was in November. I will dose all the bunnies with Ivomec and rub them down with DE before I put them back in their sanitized cages. I think I should dose again in a week or two as well. Hopefully that will take care of the problem.

AnnClaire · Jul 19, 2012

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Parasitic_diseases/Nematodes.PDF

Page 2, the common "pin worm" is used for nematodes, and yes, rabbits can get them, and people can get infested if they come into contact with the eggs, and then touch their face. Proper hygene during butchering will limit this possibility

MamaSheepdog · Jul 19, 2012

Great link, Ann Claire. Confirms that gassy intestines can indicate worms.

AnnClaire · Jul 19, 2012

Google is my friend

When my neices came from their father's last spring, the father (major a$$hole) tried to blame the kid's pinworm infestation on my rabbits. I knew the kids hadn't had enough contact with the ONE rabbit I let them pet to have been infested enough to have them NOTICABLE just days after arriving.

Mary Ann's Rabbitry · Jul 31, 2012

Mary Ann's Rabbitry":31g8aw8t said:
MamaSheepdog":31g8aw8t said:

According to what I have read, people can't get pinworms from rabbits. Yes, they are all in cages.

Click to expand...

Really. I thought you can get pinworms from any animal.. Hmm.

http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/infe ... e4734.html

DevonW · Jul 31, 2012

DE is most effective on parasites with an exoskeleton. It can work for some internal parasites but it's not the best choice for those.

MamaSheepdog · Jul 31, 2012

From the Merck Veterinary manual: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index ... 171336.htm

Passalurus ambiguus , the rabbit pinworm, usually is not clinically significant but often is upsetting to owners. It is common in many rabbitries and is distributed worldwide. Transmission is by ingestion of contaminated food or water. The adult worm lives in the cecum or anterior colon. Diagnosis is made by observing the adults at necropsy or by finding the eggs during examination of the feces. Single treatments are not very effective because the life cycle is direct and reinfection is common. Piperazine citrates in the water (3 g/L) for alternating 2-wk periods or fenbendazole (50 ppm in feed for 5 days) are effective treatments. Rabbit pinworms are not transmissible to humans.

michaels4gardens · May 13, 2014

when I lived in Florida, I gave 1 cc bovine ivermectin [SC] Sub -Q/adult rabbit [breed stock] at the beginning of the bot fly season- it helped with a lot of things... including most worms.

Pinworms! Graphic Gut Photos

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