Help! Baby 3 week old with a cold???

[Smith's Rabbits]

So I was taking pictures of the babies today and generally playing with them etc. When I got to the gold tipped steels in CT10's litter I saw one of them had a wet mouth and nose, at first I thought it had just been trying to get a drink from the water bottle and it dripped a bit to much or something. But as I looked closer I realize it was mucus, and sticky. When I held the baby up by my ear I could hear that its breathing was raspy. It was active though not as much as the others. Then it sneezed and mucus went all over me.

He/she is a Mini lop who is three weeks old today

I am kind of freaking out. I have never had a rabbit with any kind of cold/respiratory issues, but I have heard horror stories of it spreading rapidly to the rest of the herd. I am worried about the other seven babies, I am worried about CT10, I am also worried about Moppet (AK384) and her 7, because they are separated from CT10 and her babies by wire and about a inch.

But I don't know what to do. I can't remove a three week old baby from its mom, I just don't know what to do. It has been chilly hear the last two nights and though I turned a heat lamp on over the babies perhaps it wasn't enough. They have been out of the nest box for almost a week now. But I have kept hay over the floor. Could it just be a simple cold? Should I separate him for the night and bring him in here? I saw them eat already tonight, but then it would miss the morning feedings, and what good would separating him do if I keep taking him back to feed anyway.

Any ideas would be great! I so don't want to loose any of these bunnies, and am having fears of it spreading to everyone in the bunny barn.

 

[akane]

Rabbits (and other animals) do not get colds. They get respiratory infections. Difference is the cold is a virus that pretty much only humans can get while respiratory infections are usually bacterial or a species specific virus.

As for handling it move the entire litter and mother to a quarantine area or remove all rabbits from the area around them. Preferably you want a wall between them but just getting them as far across a building as possible (provided that isn't a 10x10 building or something) will help stop the spread. The litter and mother have already been exposed so removing them would do no good even though you most definitely can wean a 3week old litter if necessary. The stress though will likely kill any sick ones or send the rest in to illness. The mother is probably a carrier anyway and that's where the kit got it unless you've brought new rabbits in near the kit without proper quarantine procedures.

Beyond that it becomes a judgement call. There are a dozen or so possible respiratory infections along with several strains of pastuerella which are not deadly and will pass once young or otherwise compromised rabbits are no longer stressed. Sudden dips in weather have given some of my young ones respiratory symptoms for a couple days and then they were fine again. Some cull such rabbits immediately by killing to make sure it is not a deadly strain that will wipe out their or anyone's herd and don't want pet owners to deal with a rabbit that might be a carrier becoming sick again. Some wait to see if the rabbit can recover and send it to a pet home and put down the ones that can't recover on their own. A few treat them with antibiotics because they can't stand to have them die and then send them to pet homes. No matter what the choice rabbits that show their immune system is too weak should not be bred and you want to put quarantine measures in place on as many rabbits as possible right away just in case.

 

[Smith's Rabbits]

So good news. I went out to seperate the sick one, and I can't even tell one was sick! I looked them all over good, listened to their breathing and heard nothing abnormal. To show you why I was so worried here is the picture I took of it earlier, the wet looking part was slimy and when it breathed it rasped. But now. Nothing.
I moved them all to a new cage and will thoroughly clean the old one just in case its something in there that bothered it. If I could of told which one it was I might of moved it out anyway, but I couldn't tell which it was (their are four gold tipped steels)
Here is the picture taken at about 6:30pm

 

[ladysown]

raspy sounding breathe...I've had kits do this. Generally happens when stressed, and usually not very long.

They have poor lungs. I have not been able to determine (as I haven't culled either of the two that had it) if they had a lung disease. Both, last I heard, were doing fine in their new homes, but when stressed or startled get a raspy sound to their breathing. One is 18 months, the other is 3 years. Both from the same buck/doe combination.

DO NOT keep it or breed from it. Mark it for a pet home only.

Do check it over REALLY well for any other type of abnormality.

 

[MaggieJ]

Akane and Ladysown have given such excellent advice, Smith's Rabbits, that I have nothing to add except the hope that it was a one-time thing. If it recurs or you can identify which kit it is that has the problem, it might be a good idea to mark it in some way (Sharpie in the ear, dab of food colouring or nail polish) so you can keep an eye on it.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I would still separate the mom and litter from your other rabbits for a period of isolation. Better safe than sorry...

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I have a question. Do you use a water cup or bottle for water?

 

[Southbound_SF]

I agree that even though it seems to be improved, it would be prudent to quarantine the litter & mom until you're SURE there's no problem.

In the original instance, I would have said to cull that kit immediately, then quarantine the doe & her litter. Unless, as I think Mary Ann means to suggest, the kit in question had just been drinking from a bowl and might have inhaled some water.

SB

 

[Smith's Rabbits]

no bowl, its a ball type water bottle. It has been a week now and everyone is still fine. Happy and hoppy. Glad that whatever it was seems to have gone away and not come back.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

It could have inhaled a pellet or swallowed it the wrong way. We had an adult Mini Rex that got one right up the nose, thank goodness we actually saw the pellet or it would have been culled out!