4 still left- Questions

[AmysMacdog]

Still have four surviving bunnies, lost 7 so far. So far only bunnies are effected, no adults. I'm doing everything I can to keep it from spreading but we have mosquitos so I think they were a big part of it jumping from cage to cage.

Decided this morning to try the neomycin again and gave each a dose by mouth. I have probios to give them too and was wondering how far apart to give the probios from the neomycin?

The mother of the litter of 10 born a few days ago so I've been giving the mother dandelion, comfrey and some Echinacea in hopes of protecting the babies from this virus but how much herb should I give? How much herb is a dose for rabbits? I know with Echinacea to give a few days on and a few off.

I know the mother was exsposed and so they are exsposed. They are doing ok so far but Mom doesn't quite have enough milk this time but its slowly improving. My Borage failed this year (of course)it would have been nice to have some of that. I've been supplementing with goats milk b/c mom doesn't have enough to feed in the evenings.

The 4 surviving bunnies have been nibbling lemon balm,comfrey and dandelion and drinking water with Apple cider vinegar in it. (2 TB per gallon) They still don't want the oats.

I tried to update my old thread and it added Update to that post instead of the thread What did I do wrong??

Anything else I could be/should be doing?

 

[Bad Habit]

If you were the last post, then it automatically adds your new post to your old post and bumps it, rather than posting a double post. I'm off to find the old post so I can figure out what's going on, lol.

 

[AmysMacdog]

Thought of another question, Once I bleach these cages and leave them in the sun, how long should I leave them vacant before I use them again?

 

[Cottie]

Do you know what the virus is yet? I looked at the other thread and none of it seems to add up. Could it be distemper? I can't find much info on rabbits carrying it, but the way you described the sudden deaths sounds eerily similar to a litter of kittens I had that dropped to it.

If I were you, I would heat sterilize, then soak in bleach, then sun dry. Can't be too careful. And definitely don't reintroduce until you've gotten a total hold on what's going on.

 

[Miss M]

If you use bleach, make sure to rinse it like mad, and then rinse it again. It leaves behind salts when it dries that corrode the metal. Rinse, rinse, rinse.

Then leave it in the sun for a week, turning every couple of days.

After that, it's ready to use again, but I'd be cautious and wait and make sure the sickness has run its course.

 

[AmysMacdog]

Thanks Miss M. I was reading the other thread on disinfecting cages using vinegar and hot water. I like that idea. These cages are really old. I don't want the bleach to damage the wire. If I do use bleach, then I'll do that first then rinse then vinegar and hot water. We also have a lysol cleaner that says it kills 99% of germs and we also have Odoban which says its a hospital grade disinfectant. Hmmmm dicisions, dicisions....as upset as I've been over this it may be all of them rinsing well in between!
Then I'll have to bleach the ground. This just had to happen after I moved them to their summer spot in the shade! Its the best spot on this property for me to get to and works great for them.

RJSchaefer- I don't know for sure what it is but it could be weaning enteritis or maybe mucoid enteritis which may be similar to distemper in kittens. If I remember right distemper in kittens is like parvo in puppies and this was like that. After the first case was seen and culled, everybody was treated for coccidiosis with Corid. After 5 days of that is when it all exploded, affecting all in 2 cages. The third cage has had 1 case so far and it was removed. Got my fingers crossed on the rest of those. If they start getting sick its off to the freezer early.

 

[Miss M]

I wouldn't use the Lysol, as it would leave a residue that might not be safe. Same with the Odoban. I'd go with the torch, the bleach, and/or the vinegar, and then the sun.

 

[AmysMacdog]

Thank you Miss M Good to know about the Lysol and Odoban and I can't use a torch so bleach/vinegar/alcohol. Doing each one individually, rinsing then bake it in the sun.
These cages were supposed to go to my American Blues and my Am. White rabbits after bunny season was over. Do you suppose it'll be safe by this fall?

Also I have another question for everybody. When dealing with an illness, what various methods do ya'll use to not contaminate everthing? I've been doing the healthiest first then the adults that are back where the sick kits are then the sick ones and those I wash up between each cage. Which means walking back to the house. Anybody have any tips?
When I'm done clothes go into the laundry and I get cleaned up.