Lopsided face?

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Lady

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I'm wondering what would cause a lopsided face in a rabbit. It can't be an illness, she's been like this for months. There is no swelling, no heat, no injury or anything. One side grew normal, the other looks like it just never "grew up".
I'm thinking it's got to be genetic. Her eyes are normal, nothing in them. She eats and drinks normally, never had any kind of issues. Her teeth are perfect and I cannot see anything abnormal in her mouth or anywhere on her body, just a half juvenile face and a half adult face...
I know this symmetry mess up happens in people, like a slightly higher eye and brow, but never heard of it in a rabbit.
What do you guys think? Front image, normal side & unusual side.
DSC_1215f.jpg

DSC_1218l.jpg

DSC_1220r.jpg
 
My first thoughts would be either a stroke, or a middle ear infection that is causing damage/pressure on her nerves.<br /><br />__________ Wed Nov 07, 2012 3:50 pm __________<br /><br />Please read this link: http://www.bunspace.com/forum/thread?ti ... gp_no=last

scroll down to see pictures, of what I think is a bunny with the exact same thing. And turned out to be a severe middle ear infection.
 
That's really strange, her ears are white and clean, no smell either.
I wonder if there's anything over the counter I could give her if it is a middle ear infection...hmm.
 
From my research it seems that inner ear infections (which are not necessarily visible externally) can be rather stubborn to treat. You would need to see a vet to get appropriate antibiotics and some metacam for pain and swelling.

Although I'm not a vet, and this might not be what your girl has. Best of luck to both of you ...keep us posted :)
 
I don't know what is causing this, but if one of my rabbits had this problem I would immediately cull it. You don't want to be breeding a rabbit with problems and you don't want to expose your other rabbits to it, in case it turns out to be something infectious. Sorry if that sounds harsh... but whatever is causing this problem can't be anything good.
 
Lady":2lfgiaos said:
One side grew normal, the other looks like it just never "grew up".
I'm thinking it's got to be genetic.
Click to expand...

Even if it is genetic (and I agree with Maggie here) Do you really want these genes in your rabbits?
 
Since she's been like that for quite some time, I'd say part of her brain actually has died that controls that part of the side. Had this happen in a dog and vet explained to us that dogs, etc. can't actually have strokes per say but parts of the brain do die off to cause stroke like symptoms. Whether that's exactly true or not, is still up in the air as it was thought any animal could have a stroke.

I'm with every one else though, even if it is that, she's no good for breeding. Weakness could be genetic, definitely wouldn't want in herd for me.
 
She's just here for meat kits. Please don't be over critical.
 
Does she react if you touch the whiskers on each side? If there's no swelling, no infection and no problem with her teeth I would think she has facial paralysis if she reacts differently depending on what side you touch. That could be caused by stroke/brain injury, nerve damage, past infection or any number of things.
 
Hi Lady,

and :welcome: to RabbitTalk!

I don't think anyone is trying to be over critical, just cautious. It is not uncommon to lose an entire herd by trying to save just one rabbit, and none of us want to see that happen to anybody or their rabbits.

Since you have had her for months and your other rabbits are not showing similar symptoms it appears that whatever she has is not virulently infectious. If you have her just as a brood doe to produce meat, it may be safe to keep her in production until you can grow another doe kit out (from a different doe) to replace her. I wouldn't keep any of her kits for breeding in case there is a genetic factor involved.

It might also be wise to keep her separate from the rest of your herd when she is nearing kindling in case there is an infectious element to her problem. Stress will often exacerbate illnesses so even though she hasn't infected your other rabbits up until this point, the stress of delivery may trigger a more severe reaction which could jeopardize your herd.
 
Lady":w8ajy4a6 said:
She's just here for meat kits. Please don't be over critical.
Click to expand...


Those of us who breed for meat, and don't want to replace our stock frequently, take the utmost care in culling away rabbits and kits that would make our lines unproductive.

After doctoring up enough rabbits, you will find there are things that it is simply best to cull.
After breeding litters for a year, and finally having a kit that reached the fryer weight at 12weeks instead of 16-18, I culled her, because she sneezed, and stopped, and sneezed and sneezed and stopped and sneezed (not to mention she was evil like her mother). No reason to keep a sneezing rabbit, not matter what the cause, no reason to introduce unhealthy into my herd. Unless I can pinpoint that I did something to cause an issue, or there was some obvious seen accident, I assume there is something going on with the rabbit, and it is something that can be passed on to future kits.
 
I don't know why, but when I look it seems like a growth is making her face look different, in her cheek?
 
MaggieJ":d10fnykg said:
I don't know what is causing this, but if one of my rabbits had this problem I would immediately cull it. You don't want to be breeding a rabbit with problems and you don't want to expose your other rabbits to it, in case it turns out to be something infectious. Sorry if that sounds harsh... but whatever is causing this problem can't be anything good.
Click to expand...

Ditto Maggie. It doesn't sound like anything good and certainly nothing you want to pass on.
 
To me, the pictures suggest some kind of pain, either a tooth, ear infection, something of the sort. If you are concerned enough to ask if anyone else has seen it, I would believe you would be concerned enough to take her for a vet visit.

While meat production rabbits may be just that, I'm sure you certainly wouldn't want her in pain all the time. A vet visit is cheap enough, as are antibiotics, and if nothing is found in the way of a bad tooth, an abcess, an infection, etc, then you could look for other reasons behind the oddness.

She is a nice colored rabbit. Good luck, and let us know what you find out from the vet.
 
To me it looks like she may have an abscess in that cheek. I hope you get it figured out and all is well.
 
Welcome to RabbitTalk, Lady!!!

Just want to echo what you've heard here already. This is a very helpful forum, and a health question will usually garner quite a few responses.

When you read responses that suggest culling, it's often from a member who has lost many rabbits at some point, due to some illness that swept through their rabbitry. They may seem to come on a little strong, but it isn't that they are being critical... it's that they have had to go through it, and they are warning you in hopes that they may save you from going through it, too.

After such an experience, these breeders often go on to cull hard. They will cull any rabbit that even seems to have an issue, because they want to be sure their rabbits are hardy and disease-free, as much as possible. :)
 
tm_bunnyloft":davr6a4g said:
To me it looks like she may have an abscess in that cheek. I hope you get it figured out and all is well.
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Now that you and garden lady have pointed it out, it does look as though she might be swollen on that side. Her eye is squinty and kind of runny. Might be worth feeling around gently in that area, see if you can feel any obvious swelling.
 
Bad Habit":3nutgeus said:
tm_bunnyloft":3nutgeus said:
To me it looks like she may have an abscess in that cheek. I hope you get it figured out and all is well.
Click to expand...

Now that you and garden lady have pointed it out, it does look as though she might be swollen on that side. Her eye is squinty and kind of runny. Might be worth feeling around gently in that area, see if you can feel any obvious swelling.
Click to expand...

Yes, the eye is showing something wrong and the cheek looks swollen to me.
 

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