Blisters (or something?) on 5 day old kit? UPDATE

[FourRingCircus]

I had one kindle a litter of 8 last week, one was found on the wire, the other 7 warm and cozy in the nest box. I was checking them out today and pulled out the one that appears to be the biggest... while I was looking it over I noticed these blister type things on it:





What the heck are these things? I didn't see any anywhere but on the underside. Any ideas? I pulled a few of the others out of the nest box and didn't see any on them... can't guarantee this one is the only one, but it's not on all of them at least.

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Update in new post on pg. 2 - text included here to make it easier for anyone that might find this thread...

Pulled from a Google search. Not sure if it's super helpful.

abscess: A bump on the skin of a rabbit that's filled with pus. An abscess is a symptom of infection, which can develop in a cut or a scratch. In rabbits, an abscess is a serious condition because of the thick, tenacious nature of the pus, which can be very difficult to remove. In some cases, a bump on a rabbit's skin is a symptom of a bacterial infection such as Pasteurellosis or a symptom of a parasitic infestation commonly called warbles.​

Unfortunately I am about 99% sure now that it was/is Pasteurella :x . I *thought* I heard a kit sneeze the other day, but couldn't see which one it was. Went out today to look them over and found the culprit with a nose caked with white snot - one of my blistered kits. I saw at least two others that I can tell have/had the blisters (the hair didn't grow in those spots). Going to cull those today, if not the whole batch. Mama rabbit is gone as well. This was her last chance, and obviously, it wasn't a good outcome . I am scrambling to figure out what to do. DH doesn't get home until around 6, and if I am going to process any, I would like to do the 3 fryers I have at the same time. Not sure if I will have enough time after supper tonight. The only other option is to get the kids watching Andy Griffith after nap/rest time and head out back to get started.

Can I stick the kits in the freezer and sell/give them to someone for snake food? Or does the risk of Past. even in the "healthy" looking ones make that not a good idea? I would hate to waste them...

I really wanted to keep the doe next to her, but it's still too hot to go out into the hanging cages I have set up, and the only other hole I have open is between two other rabbits. I do have another single hutch, but it is just a couple feet from where they are and blocked in so I can't move it.

 

[HansenHomestead]

Pulled from a Google search. Not sure if it's super helpful.

abscess: A bump on the skin of a rabbit that's filled with pus. An abscess is a symptom of infection, which can develop in a cut or a scratch. In rabbits, an abscess is a serious condition because of the thick, tenacious nature of the pus, which can be very difficult to remove. In some cases, a bump on a rabbit's skin is a symptom of a bacterial infection such as Pasteurellosis or a symptom of a parasitic infestation commonly called warbles.​

 

[alforddm]

Fire ant bites?

 

[FourRingCircus]

Pulled from a Google search. Not sure if it's super helpful.

abscess: A bump on the skin of a rabbit that's filled with pus. An abscess is a symptom of infection, which can develop in a cut or a scratch. In rabbits, an abscess is a serious condition because of the thick, tenacious nature of the pus, which can be very difficult to remove. In some cases, a bump on a rabbit's skin is a symptom of a bacterial infection such as Pasteurellosis or a symptom of a parasitic infestation commonly called warbles.​

:x Eeesh... I hope not! This might be the last strike for this doe... <br /><br /> -- Wed Jul 15, 2015 8:21 am -- <br /><br />

Fire ant bites?

Totally a possibility... there's no shortage of them around here :evil: . I will have to check out the nest box a bit more thoroughly.

 

[HansenHomestead]

I would say you might want to check what sort of fluid is in one of the blisters, but I do not want to hurt the kits. If it's a clean fluid it's most likely some sort of bug bite, if it's white it could possibly an infection.

 

[FourRingCircus]

I popped one - milky/cream like substance came out. Not overly thick, but definitely not watery. Somewhere in between.

Now, the big question is... do I cull this kit now??? Wait it out? Is the rest of the litter OK? I didn't see any obvious critters in the nest box...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Went back out, made sure to look at each kit, and it's not the only one... there are at least two others with the same blister like "things" on them - one has them on it's side.

 

[alforddm]

I still think fire ant bites. I get these types of blisters when I get stung by one. I've popped them and they often have a thicker discharge in them. Almost like a pimple.

I would hold off on culling them and check very carefully for ants. Then see if they get better or worse. Quarantining the whole litter and doe might not be a bad idea just to be on the safe side.

 

[Deer Heart]

these look exactly like fire ant bites to me.

They look like very small whiteheads with red around them (the red fades though on slightly older bites).

Check your hay/any material you put in your nests if you do not see any obvious ant trails, they could have hitched a ride. (I always have to guard my bales from the little demons) and bit the baby repeatedly before falling off/getting groomed off my mom).

 

[FourRingCircus]

I checked for any trails around the hutch and didn't see any, but I know that isn't a guarantee. Hay could be an issue, I will check it.

We never had them until a few years ago. Supposedly when the DOT did some road work they trucked in dirt that had some in it... they have slowly made their way down our road. I think their hills are partly to blame for some of the headstones tipping at our church. They are vicious little buggers and need to go straight back to where they came from (and I am totally convinved that's hell at this point). We were in the news at one point (our road anyway) because of how bad they have gotten :x

 

[Deer Heart]

I checked for any trails around the hutch and didn't see any, but I know that isn't a guarantee. Hay could be an issue, I will check it.

We never had them until a few years ago. Supposedly when the DOT did some road work they trucked in dirt that had some in it... they have slowly made their way down our road. I think their hills are partly to blame for some of the headstones tipping at our church. They are vicious little buggers and need to go straight back to where they came from (and I am totally convinved that's hell at this point). We were in the news at one point (our road anyway) because of how bad they have gotten :x

If you still can't find anything and the bites are still getting worse, I'd try sprinkling a little bit of DE in the bottom of the nest if possible. A VERY little bit though. It could be the ants are coming across the babies at a very specific time when you are not around, or something else entirely, but at least DE should protect your babies. Fireants are deadly enough to kill humans if they bite them just enough, kits are much much smaller and too helpless to get away.

 

[FourRingCircus]

I checked for any trails around the hutch and didn't see any, but I know that isn't a guarantee. Hay could be an issue, I will check it.

We never had them until a few years ago. Supposedly when the DOT did some road work they trucked in dirt that had some in it... they have slowly made their way down our road. I think their hills are partly to blame for some of the headstones tipping at our church. They are vicious little buggers and need to go straight back to where they came from (and I am totally convinved that's hell at this point). We were in the news at one point (our road anyway) because of how bad they have gotten :x

If you still can't find anything and the bites are still getting worse, I'd try sprinkling a little bit of DE in the bottom of the nest if possible. A VERY little bit though. It could be the ants are coming across the babies at a very specific time when you are not around, or something else entirely, but at least DE should protect your babies. Fireants are deadly enough to kill humans if they bite them just enough, kits are much much smaller and too helpless to get away.

I'll sprinkle the whole area around the hutch as well, JIC. Seeing they are so young, what's the best way to clean out the nest box? It's built into the hutch (which, when I bought them seemed like a good idea... not such a fan now :roll: ).

One of my girls reacts to fire ants, the last bite, two years ago, made her lips get splotchy but not a huge amount of swelling. Benadryl was enough to keep it under control (thankfully we have Epi Pens on hand due to food allergies with another child should a worse reaction occur). She hasn't been bit again since (I am horribly paranoid about them!) so I have no idea how she'll react to the next one :x .

 

[HansenHomestead]

Seeing the pics, I'd have to agreed with everyone about the fire ant bites.

 

[Prisma]

Friend called me over and showed me the same thing last year, or least looks the same, form of staph infection. She lost the whole litter in the end, clean the box and try to clean it every day to give them the best chance. Too little to treat with any thing.

I think I'd rather deal with the ants than having to see those kits go through staph. We don't have fire ants here, so it wasn't an issue. Thought at first maybe it was ants/bugs or bedding issue, but after having another friend look at identified as such. I hope they pull out of it no matter what it is.

 

[FourRingCircus]

Friend called me over and showed me the same thing last year, or least looks the same, form of staph infection. She lost the whole litter in the end, clean the box and try to clean it every day to give them the best chance. Too little to treat with any thing.

I think I'd rather deal with the ants than having to see those kits go through staph. We don't have fire ants here, so it wasn't an issue. Thought at first maybe it was ants/bugs or bedding issue, but after having another friend look at identified as such. I hope they pull out of it no matter what it is.

The original one has a spot right on it's reproductive parts (no idea if it's male or female)... I can't see the hole at all :x

 

[Susie570]

Yeah, I really hope you're just dealing with some kind of pests, but it seems more like a skin infection to me. :/ It sounds like they are getting more spots, or the spots they have are getting worse? Can you give them a clean nest box and bring them inside for now, just take them out for feedings to monitor this situation? At least until you figure out what's going on.

 

[FourRingCircus]

Good news is, it looks like they are disappearing! I went out this morning not sure what to expect but found the main one with not as many spots, and the ones that were there were noticeably smaller. Here's hoping one or two ants just had a free for all and are done and gone...

There is an odd smell in the nest box, but I know I had to block it off for a while because she was using it for a litter box. I am hoping it's just residual stale pee smell. I am hoping to get it cleaned out sometime today. Should I use her fur from the box, or get some out of another box and hope she doesn't mind? <br /><br /> -- Sun Jul 26, 2015 11:10 pm -- <br /><br /> Sooo.... older kits, eyes are open. I was handling them a bit today (they are all very jumpy and skittish - not totally unusual for rabbits, but they are more so than any other litter so far (not that I have had many) - wondering if it's inherited personality from the mama?). One has crusted over spots all over it - I thought the blisters were gone, but I guess not :down: . I am thinking it's time to cull at least that one. It will be a first for me to have to do it to a slightly older kit - not as easy as a NB I am guessing. Part of it though, unfortunately.

I am also thinking this might be the end of the mama. She came from another breeder who was done with her (as in, fed up) - she hadn't been mothering well at all and at one point eaten all the hair off of her kits, and when I got her was eating herself bald. I thought maybe it was a nutrient deficiency so I got her going on some Calf Manna and switched her over to a different brand of pellets plus free choice of hay. She grew all her hair back, and has a beautiful coat now (the nicest of all the rabbits I have). She ended up not taking with the buck he had, but did with mine. Nested well, kindled well. Lost one on the wire. They had the mysterious blisters, but other than that seemed to be eating well.

She has been exposed to Snuffles, but she herself does not show signs of it. The breeder I got her from had a huge outbreak around that time, and the buck that I brought home with her went back the next day because of a snotty nose (he apologized, but whatever), and I lost another buck that I already had to it as well (didn't do proper quarantine, totally my fault, unfortunately... learned quite a few lessons that go-'round). They were housed in the hutch right next to her. Could she be carrying it and possibly transferred it in a different form to the babies?

 

[Susie570]

I've heard of pasteurella showing up as a systemic infection, so maybe.
I don't know how one would confirm it though.

 

[FourRingCircus]

Pulled from a Google search. Not sure if it's super helpful.

abscess: A bump on the skin of a rabbit that's filled with pus. An abscess is a symptom of infection, which can develop in a cut or a scratch. In rabbits, an abscess is a serious condition because of the thick, tenacious nature of the pus, which can be very difficult to remove. In some cases, a bump on a rabbit's skin is a symptom of a bacterial infection such as Pasteurellosis or a symptom of a parasitic infestation commonly called warbles.​

Unfortunately I am about 99% sure now that it was/is Pasteurella :x . I *thought* I heard a kit sneeze the other day, but couldn't see which one it was. Went out today to look them over and found the culprit with a nose caked with white snot - one of my blistered kits. I saw at least two others that I can tell have/had the blisters (the hair didn't grow in those spots). Going to cull those today, if not the whole batch. Mama rabbit is gone as well. This was her last chance, and obviously, it wasn't a good outcome . I am scrambling to figure out what to do. DH doesn't get home until around 6, and if I am going to process any, I would like to do the 3 fryers I have at the same time. Not sure if I will have enough time after supper tonight. The only other option is to get the kids watching Andy Griffith after nap/rest time and head out back to get started.

Can I stick the kits in the freezer and sell/give them to someone for snake food? Or does the risk of Past. even in the "healthy" looking ones make that not a good idea? I would hate to waste them...

I really wanted to keep the doe next to her, but it's still too hot to go out into the hanging cages I have set up, and the only other hole I have open is between two other rabbits. I do have another single hutch, but it is just a couple feet from where they are and blocked in so I can't move it.

 

[TF3]

Well that is terrible! Sorry!
(I just had to post as a kindred homeschooler... I have a few that need to be done and I should do it myself to learn, but there isn't a time that I can keep my kid out of the way, short of sending her to someone else's house while mama does the butchering LOL)

 

[FourRingCircus]

Well that is terrible! Sorry!
(I just had to post as a kindred homeschooler... I have a few that need to be done and I should do it myself to learn, but there isn't a time that I can keep my kid out of the way, short of sending her to someone else's house while mama does the butchering LOL)

I was able to get 2 adults and 2 fryers done this afternoon (when I came in YDD held her nose and told me I smelled and needed to go take a shower :lol: ). Mid afternoon and 90* wasn't ideal, but I didn't have much of an option (if I was going to get everything out and ready, might as well make the most of it) - at least this wasn't my first time so I was able to get them done and in cold water pretty quick. The kids were mostly pretty content inside. My youngest wandered out at one point wanting me to push him on the swing... sorry bud, no can do right now :roll: .