Strange, spongy textured kidneys question

Rabbit Talk  Forum

Help Support Rabbit Talk Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ThunderHill

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 26, 2021
Messages
183
Reaction score
242
Location
Kentucky, USA
Hello. We raise meat rabbits, and recently processed a rabbit with really weird kidneys (photo below, next to normal kidneys of two others processed that day). The rabbit was eating and drinking fine, acting normal without any symptoms of illness, and the other organs looked fine. Unfortunately, I discarded the kidneys rather than having them tested. I took some pictures and tossed them, thinking surely I could look up what it was online, but didn't expect I wouldn't be able to find anything even close in all the infinite wisdom of the internet! My local extension agent said the closest they could find was E. Cuniculi, but from what I could find, it really didn't look like that at all. I'm hopeful that someone here may have an idea in case we see it again. We're new to rabbits, but in the 12 we've processed, this has been the only one not normal looking. Thanks so much!20210914_165725.jpg20210914_165741.jpg
 
e.cunniculi tends to leave dimpling, this isn't dimpling. Was everything else normal? the one in the middle has a bit of it too. Did they drink more water than normal?
 
This rabbit did have a few other quirks, although I'm not sure if it would matter. Her wrist joints were aligned at bad angles, and she was a broken black with blue/gray eyes. (Her broken black mother bred to our black buck throws at least one with that eye color in every litter, which is a subject for an entirely different thread!) Could it just be a birth defect?20210915_220326.jpg
 
It's so hard to know. I would have passed on eating them myself, but would have no problem serving them up as cooked pet food. :)
 
Thanks for the responses, Ladysown! We didn't eat that one just to be safe. While I hope it was just a one-time fluke, part of me hopes we see it again so I can get it tested, otherwise I'll always wonder what it was!
 
Hello. We raise meat rabbits, and recently processed a rabbit with really weird kidneys (photo below, next to normal kidneys of two others processed that day). The rabbit was eating and drinking fine, acting normal without any symptoms of illness, and the other organs looked fine. Unfortunately, I discarded the kidneys rather than having them tested. I took some pictures and tossed them, thinking surely I could look up what it was online, but didn't expect I wouldn't be able to find anything even close in all the infinite wisdom of the internet! My local extension agent said the closest they could find was E. Cuniculi, but from what I could find, it really didn't look like that at all. I'm hopeful that someone here may have an idea in case we see it again. We're new to rabbits, but in the 12 we've processed, this has been the only one not normal looking. Thanks so much!View attachment 27844View attachment 27845
Soon as I saw the photos I thought E. Cullini honestly, I hope you get answers!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top