Keep or salvage?

[Shea]

One of my breeding bucks has taken a downhill turn as soon as the hot &humid weather hit. Its his first summer with me. He has gone off feed for 4 days and has stopped drinking. He would "nibble" at fresh greens but not much else. Yesterday I pulled him to force some pedialyte in him and check him over again incase I had missed something. And now hes got himself some discharge from one nostril, sounds wet and looks faintly bloody. . . Do I keep trying? Or do I just put him down and use him for dog food?

 

[michaels4gardens]

For me, ... I don't keep breed stock, that has any problems...

 

[Shea]

Yeah that was my thought.

 

[dfr1973]

Another vote for culling him, same reason as Michael gives. I'm trying to breed for more heat tolerance down here, so that is a huge issue to me. YMMV, of course.

 

[Shea]

Yeah I think that is the plan. Ill put him down tomorrow then, unfortunately Ive never been able to figure it out by hand so a trip out of town with the pellet gun will be necessary.

 

[a7736100]

I've used a pellet rifle indoors. Had the rabbits in a metal wash tub to catch the pellet just in case I missed.

 

[Shea]

Pellet gun is stored out of town with family at my butcher station. And too many neighbors around to be carrying anything "gun" related.

 

[michaels4gardens]

Pellet gun is stored out of town with family at my butcher station. And too many neighbors around to be carrying anything "gun" related.

so glad i don't live in town...
Sometimes all the "local" gunfire aggravates me, and scares the dog, ...
but, .. it is much better than living with the paranoid people, in the city...

 

[Shea]

Getting out of town is what I want. Been stuck here for 10yrs now, rent free but I have 8 houses bordering my backyard.

I checked his lungs after dispatch, they were dark red and a little streaky. Pneumonia?

 

[michaels4gardens]

looks like you made the right decision... without a lot of expensive tests, the exact cause would not be known-- but-- he was sick, and you do not need that in your rabbits...

 

[Shea]

Now the big question is do I keep any of his progeny. I already have one of his sons grown out and bred to 2 does just for color test breed, Not a main buck keeper, and he had sired my last 3 litters one with another prospective keeper in it.

 

[michaels4gardens]

lots of health issues are not genetic... they are environmental... dust, mold, a stray germ. --- etc: ...
With that said, I have at times,.. culled an entire line, because they were prone to infections, or too many of them had soft feet...