Had to put rabbit down (Pasturella?) Necropsy Pics GRAPHIC

[Duckcomando]

Well I had to put my Standard Red doe down today. I went to trim her toe nails and when I pulled her out of the cage I noticed she was making a blowing sound. I looked and she had white snot coming out of her right nostril. I noticed over the last few days her appetite had diminished. I went ahead and made the choice to cull her. I can't afford for my Reds to get whatever she had (looks like pasturella to me). I have attached some photos of the autopsy. Please give feedback as to what you think. I saved her pelt for tanning. Is it okay to save the pelt or should I get rid of it too? I took everything off of the cage she was in and the cage next to her (water bottles and feeders and resting pads) and have them soaking in Clorox and water. I then coated both cages with Lysol. I had a rabbit in the cage beside her but I moved her to another cage to clean both. The rabbit I had beside her shows no symptoms and is eating and drinking well. There was a incredible amount of fat around her kidneys and guts. You can't really tell from the photo but the lungs were almost white. My camera couldn't get the picture right. Now I have to find a Standard Rex doe to breed to MR. Nibbles. How long can I wait before I use the cage again?

 

[MaggieJ]

If the lungs were almost white, that would suggest a respiratory illness and pasteurella is a good bet. You did the right thing to cull her, I think.

The meat, cooked, is safe to eat and there is no reason not to save the pelt. That rabbit had a lot of internal fat... You might want to review how much you are feeding.

Do not give any part of the raw rabbit to your dogs or cats. It's just not worth the risk.

Pasteurella does not live long outside of the rabbit. Disinfect the cage and equipment and maybe put it in the sun for a day or two and you should be good to go.

 

[Duckcomando]

That rabbit had a lot of internal fat... You might want to review how much you are feeding.

She was only 5 months old and she would only eat about 1/2" a cup of Mana Pro a day. I was surprised to see all that fat. I also feed my rabbits free choice hay as well.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Sorry, Duckcommando.

I'm sure you did the right thing as well.

I guess poor Mr. Nibbles is a bachelor again. I hope you find a nice doe for him soon. :clover:

Some of my rabbits have a lot of internal fat, too. Even though they are all on the same feed I have some with lots of fat, others without. :?

 

[Duckcomando]

Thanks Mama,

I'm in the process now. The breeder I got my Rex doe from has a beautiful broken castor that was sister to this doe I put down. Do you think it was just this rabbit or could it be a gene thing and I should look for a rex from a different blood line?

 

[3mina]

I'm not sure pasteurella has a genetic component. If it worries you look farther afield, diversity is never a bad thing

 

[MaggieJ]

That rabbit had a lot of internal fat... You might want to review how much you are feeding.

She was only 5 months old and she would only eat about 1/2" a cup of Mana Pro a day. I was surprised to see all that fat. I also feed my rabbits free choice hay as well.

Oh, wow! Never seen that happen with such a young doe. It might have been some kind of meta-biological problem... in which case you really don't want those genetics in your herd.

 

[Miss M]

Wow... never would have expected that much fat on a 5-month-old! Especially eating only 4oz of pellets per day! :shock:

I'd look for different blood.

 

[ollitos]

How long did you have the doe?

 

[skysthelimit]

That is a lot of fat. I have not had that much fat on 3 year olds, at least not Rex, but I have seen a lot of fat on older hollands.

 

[Duckcomando]

How long did you have the doe?

Got her when she was 12 weeks.

 

[ollitos]

It sounds like latent pasturella which means all the rabbits from that breeder probably have it - whether the breeder is aware of it or not.

I'd look elsewhere.

 

[Duckcomando]

It sounds like latent pasturella which means all the rabbits from that breeder probably have it - whether the breeder is aware of it or not.

I'd look elsewhere.

Bad thing is he is the breeder I got my reds from. I haven't had problems with the reds yet though.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

It sounds like latent pasturella which means all the rabbits from that breeder probably have it - whether the breeder is aware of it or not.

I'd look elsewhere.

Bad thing is he is the breeder I got my reds from. I haven't had problems with the reds yet though.

The NZs might have better resistance to that strain then.

Personally... rather than introduce pathogens from yet another breeder, I would get the Rex doe from him.

 

[Duckcomando]

It sounds like latent pasturella which means all the rabbits from that breeder probably have it - whether the breeder is aware of it or not.

I'd look elsewhere.

Bad thing is he is the breeder I got my reds from. I haven't had problems with the reds yet though.

The NZs might have better resistance to that strain then.

Personally... rather than introduce pathogens from yet another breeder, I would get the Rex doe from him.

I called him today to tell him what happened. I think you are right momma, basically my whole herd except for a few have came from him. He has a broken castor rex doe that I can get later on this week that was the same age as this doe I put down today.

 

[AnnClaire]

Also, with that much fat in a doe you only had 2 months, you might want to cut back on your pellets for a bit.

As for getting more stock from the same breeder, I would think it would be OK as this doe could have been a "one off" of a combination of bad genetics that might not even have happened to other litter mates. If you have this happen with another from that breeder, then you might want to look for Rex elsewhere. And keep a close eye on the NZRs ... hopefully they will have more robust immune systems.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Sorry to hear about this...always sad to have to cull one that you really like. If you need, I always have more Rex.

 

[avdpas77]

The only thing I can see amiss in the offal is the lungs. It would be apparent that it had some kind of lung infection, but without a vet checking it you wouldn't know if it was Pneumonia or Bordetella or Pasteurella or some other infection.

You should take the lungs to the vet and get them checked... you might call first an see how much it will cost. If you really have a bad strain of Pasteurella , you will need to make decisions on your entire rabbitry.


I'm not sure that "kill the rabbit and hope it goes away" is always the best approach.