Encephalitozoon cuniculi

[AlbinoGiant]

Does this sound like Encephalitozoon cuniculi?

Recently I lost a whole litter of rabbits and it was clear the doe was ill she lost a lot of weight and wasn't doing too good. This has been the second time she has lost her babies. They didn't all die at once, it was one dying per day until there were none left.

All rabbits have been urinating a lot much more than usual indicating a kidney parasite but I had no fenbendazole to treat them all so I used a wormer that contained oxibendazole which I figured was better than nothing and this seemed to have a positive effect but I'm still not confident that the issue has been resolved. I need to find a medication that has fenbendazole. I will need to treat all rabbits with fenbenazole for a month just to be on the safe side as I'm planing on breeding some mini lops.

What is the best way forward?

 

[Preitler]

I'm just treating one doe for EC, two weeks in with fenbenazole as a follow up that, afaik, is better then nothing but not a sure thing at all. Vet wasn't too enthusiastic, but I sometimes disagree with her. First treatment was some kind of antibiotic, injected for 5 times in a row, and that showed quick and obvious results each day. Symptoms remain but at a level where she can go about her live normally, using the ramps to get out in the garden and back in, and doing all the social stuff.

Symptoms were very different, she's 5 years old and I didn't get her to take this year, then she had a false pregnencys back to back, getting worse, that really powerded her out, she dug like crazy and was so off the rails and exhausted that I had the vet have a look at her, ultrasound showed something that quite likely is an ovarian cyst which would explain the messed up hormones.

Anyway, I think this stress triggered th EC to break out, she started to go in circles, fall to the side and losing orientation. She got stuck in a gap with her rear and hind legs lost 90% of the function - but not all, so after nursing her back all symptoms that are left is a head tilt that isn't too bad, and some weakness of the hind legs -but she hops and runs around again.

I'm pretty sure all the lifestock around here carries it, but usually it doesn't break out, if it did that rabbit was removed from the gene pool. Now, with 13 Rabbits living together (will be 4 through winter) I doubt i could get rid of the bug, no matter what I try. Estimates say that 40-80% of rabbits carry it.

Personally, I would not breed a doe that got ill with it, unfortunatly my two remaining breeding does are descendents of that one, but I only breed for meat anyway.

 

[Preitler]

Right, now that you mention it, it very well could be something different, like cocci. I think symptoms would match way better than with EC, I don't see any similiarities with the issus my doe has.

There are quite some threads about kits dying off, it's a frequent issue, use "kits dying" as search term, and select [Search titles only].