Bad eyes?

[Dwc77]

I've never seen this before! I was watering my rabbits this morning and noticed this little guy has two bad eye's. He is 12 weeks old and is in with nine other the same age. I can't say I check each rabbit individually each day but I look them over pretty good so don't think he has been like this for more than a day or two. He is just going to the freezer (maybe) was going to butcher 15 this weekend. So should I wait on this guy or include him in the party. His face looks a little swollen to me. Thanks!

 

[Zass]

If the kit were mine, I'd freezer camp. It might be an infection that will clear up with treatment, but IMO there's no sense in making things more complicated than they need to be. Sounds like you have plenty of healthy kits to focus your attention on.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I would butcher him with the rest, but the eye looks painful.

I would rinse them with a solution of chamomile tea with a little bit of raw honey added just to make him more comfortable until tomorrow- or just butcher him today.

 

[Oscar]

To me it looks like cataracts disease!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

To me it looks like cataracts disease!

Cataracts form inside the eye, so only the pupil is white. The surface of the eye would still look smooth and shiny, as opposed to dull like this one.

 

[ladysown]

in with a group of others with a swollen face... i'd be thinking he got into a disagreement with someone, i'd butcher him sooner rather than later.. especially if he's getting shocky.

 

[Oscar]

To me it looks like cataracts disease!

Cataracts form inside the eye, so only the pupil is white. The surface of the eye would still look smooth and shiny, as opposed to dull like this one.

Oh well then, once we picked up a little Yorkie terrier cross off the side of the rode and his name was tricky woo but we found his home.

 

[michaels4gardens]

so-- if you don't want to butcher, [I would butcher] --look in the eye very carefully to see if something is in the eye, sometimes when my hay has some foxtail, cheat grass, or "june grass" in it, the rabbits will get some in their eye , it looks just like that picture, ..-- if it is something in the eye- then carefully remove the junk, then a little eye ointment will help a lot. --- or if you find no junk in the eye, -it could be "pinkeye" or another infection, that eye meds will fix.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

look in the eye very carefully to see if something is in the eye, sometimes when my hay has some foxtail, cheat grass, or "june grass" in it, the rabbits will get some in their eye

That was my first thought as well, but both eyes are affected. It could be entropian, where the lashes are rubbing against the surface of the eyeball. In the picture, the upper lashes look normal, but the bottom ones may be turned in.

I have seen damage like this in kittens that had bad "nest box eye", and oftentimes with treatment the corneal damage will heal over a month or two. I also had a case in a rabbit that was pretty severe, and there was improvement but in that case the scarring was too great and never completely healed.

 

[michaels4gardens]

look in the eye very carefully to see if something is in the eye, sometimes when my hay has some foxtail, cheat grass, or "june grass" in it, the rabbits will get some in their eye

That was my first thought as well, but both eyes are affected. It could be entropian, where the lashes are rubbing against the surface of the eyeball. In the picture, the upper lashes look normal, but the bottom ones may be turned in.

I have seen damage like this in kittens that had bad "nest box eye", and oftentimes with treatment the corneal damage will heal over a month or two. I also had a case in a rabbit that was pretty severe, and there was improvement but in that case the scarring was too great and never completely healed.

MamaSheepdog, - I personally have never seen a case of " entropian " and did not know such a thing even existed, -- thank you for the education..

 

[MamaSheepdog]

MamaSheepdog, - I personally have never seen a case of " entropian " and did not know such a thing even existed, -- thank you for the education..

I am most familiar with it in dogs- when the Shar-Pei became "the dog" to have, we saw cases all of the time. The fat folds on the face would often cause the lids to roll forward into the eye. To correct it, an elliptical incision is made above or below the affected eyelid and then sewn, pulling the lid and lash line away from the eye. It occurs occasionally in other dog breeds as well.

I recently saw a post on FaceBook where a rabbit had the condition, but I have never seen a case personally in any rabbit. I think it is likely very rare.