Treating Snuffles/Pasteurella at home?

[TheBananaLovinBunny]

Hey, about 5 days ago I brought home an 18 week old giant breed doe. She has a very mild runny nose, it is slightly moist with no discharge. She sometimes makes wheezy noises when she breathes and occasionally has little fits where she sounds like she’s sneezing or huffing, I noticed it twice yesterday and already once this morning. Should I treat this as snuffles or consider other possibilities? I don’t have a knowledgeable vet who sees rabbits locally, and penicillin is no longer available in my local tractor supplies. Are there any medications or at-home remedies that are effective in treating this? I’ve heard of using echinacea or apple cider vinegar diluted in their water, does anyone have experience with this? Thanks for any input!

 

[eco2pia]

I would treat it as contagious and isolate her from other rabbits if you have any. Sorry, I don't have any home remedy advice to offer, because I don't keep pet rabbits and I don't keep rabbits that get sick unless there is a clear reason, like an injury, and they can easily recover. Someone else will have to chime in with ideas on that.

 

[Alaska Satin]

Hey, about 5 days ago I brought home an 18 week old giant breed doe. She has a very mild runny nose, it is slightly moist with no discharge. She sometimes makes wheezy noises when she breathes and occasionally has little fits where she sounds like she’s sneezing or huffing, I noticed it twice yesterday and already once this morning. Should I treat this as snuffles or consider other possibilities? I don’t have a knowledgeable vet who sees rabbits locally, and penicillin is no longer available in my local tractor supplies. Are there any medications or at-home remedies that are effective in treating this? I’ve heard of using echinacea or apple cider vinegar diluted in their water, does anyone have experience with this? Thanks for any input!

Rabbits can present with respiratory problems for several different reasons; many people think of snuffles first, but dust or allergic reactions can also produce irritation/snot/sneezing/coughing. I had a white buck that had weepy eyes off and on for months, and I finally put it together with the timing of giving out hay. I ended up giving him human eye allergy drops, which really helped him!

Snuffles is marked by white or colored snot coming out of the nose, but since rabbits do get respiratory problems from other sources, it pretty much has to be diagnosed by a culture to be 100% certain in a live rabbit. I'm not sure why people think rabbits can't get a cold; it's just a viral respiratory illness (don't know whether it's the same coronovirus that gives us colds, but it surely behaves the same way). We've seen rabbits get what looks like colds, especially young ones when they're already challenged by recent weaning or a move from one home to another, but their snot, if any, is clear; sometimes they just sneeze and cough. We give them VetRx drops in their nose and water for a week and it's usually resolved fairly quickly. If we do not treat them, it usually lasts longer, but it almost always resolves.

To use VetRx, I clean the nose if needed, then put a drop in each nostril 1-2x daily, plus a few drops in the water bottle. If you hold them securely, they don't seem to mind too much, though they may be inclined to sneeze when the liquid hits their nose. Sometimes we also add grapefruit seed extract (GSE) to the water, but use that judiciously, both because it's very bitter and you don't want the rabbit to stop drinking, and because if you use it too long it seems to be more harmful than helpful. We thought we were seeing possible reproductive issues with extended use, although GSE is supposed to be helpful for reproduction. So, we use the VetRx for a week or two, but the GSE for only 2-3 days - about 2 drops in 16 ounces of water. I'm not actually sure how it works since the oil tends to sit on top of the water... so I usually just go with the VetRx.

There is a blog that describes treating snuffles or snuffles-like illnesses here:
https://afterthoughtsblog.net/2013/11/treating-rabbit-snuffles-without-vet.html/
I appreciate her experiences, as I am of the same mind regarding vets and rabbits. Much of what she suggests has worked for my rabbits (or those of friends) when they've had any respiratory issues.

 

[ruhoppy]

Just noticed a little discharge from our doe. She just kindled one dead kit on Saturday and then on Tuesday, she kindled 4 live and one dead kit. They only strange thing she has done was to urinate ALL over her kits and then completely saturated the nesting box. It had been fine until this morning. I will check again in the tomorrow morning. So, we cleaned cages and moved her to a bigger dual cage where she can spread out more and hopefully find another place to go to the bathroom! Right after we moved her, I noticed this runny nose, I’ve never had a rabbit with a runny nose so I didn’t know if this was a concern other than to introduce some echinacea and possibly some other herbs. She seems fine other than the little bit of runny nose.

 

[Alaska Satin]

View attachment 43201
Just noticed a little discharge from our doe. She just kindled one dead kit on Saturday and then on Tuesday, she kindled 4 live and one dead kit. They only strange thing she has done was to urinate ALL over her kits and then completely saturated the nesting box. It had been fine until this morning. I will check again in the tomorrow morning. So, we cleaned cages and moved her to a bigger dual cage where she can spread out more and hopefully find another place to go to the bathroom! Right after we moved her, I noticed this runny nose, I’ve never had a rabbit with a runny nose so I didn’t know if this was a concern other than to introduce some echinacea and possibly some other herbs. She seems fine other than the little bit of runny nose.

Often a rabbit carrying some pathogen will become symptomatic when stressed, which would certainly include pregnancy, kindling, and a cage change. Rabbits do get runny noses from causes other than snuffles, but I'd watch her closely, and probably keep her away from other rabbits just in case (not including her babies, of course).

I haven't seen any respiratory issues in my barn in years (I generally don't keep rabbits that get sick in the breeding lineup), and I don't believe I've ever had snuffles aka pasteurellosis here. But when I used to see a runny nose or any other respiratory issue, I usually grabbed the VetRx. To use VetRx, clean the rabbit's nose if needed, then put a drop in each nostril 1-2x daily, plus a few drops in the water bottle. If you hold the rabbit securely, it doesn't seem to mind too much, though it may be inclined to sneeze. Sometimes we also added grapefruit seed extract (GSE) to the water, but use that judiciously, both because it's very bitter and you don't want the rabbit to stop drinking, and because if you use it too long it seems to be more harmful than helpful. We thought we were seeing possible reproductive issues with extended use, although GSE is supposed to be helpful for reproduction. So, we used the VetRx for a week or two, but the GSE for only 2-3 days - about 2 drops in 16 ounces of water. I'm not actually sure how it works since the oil tends to sit on top of the water... so I usually just go with the VetRx.

Here's a site which talks about treating snuffles when you can't find and/or can't afford a vet:
https://afterthoughtsblog.net/2013/11/treating-rabbit-snuffles-without-vet.html/
I appreciate her experiences, as I am of the same mind regarding vets and rabbits. Fortunately, like I said, I have not dealt with snuffles, but much of what she uses works for my rabbits with any respiratory issues.

 

[ruhoppy]

Often a rabbit carrying some pathogen will become symptomatic when stressed, which would certainly include pregnancy, kindling, and a cage change. Rabbits do get runny noses from causes other than snuffles, but I'd watch her closely, and probably keep her away from other rabbits just in case (not including her babies, of course).

I haven't seen any respiratory issues in my barn in years (I generally don't keep rabbits that get sick in the breeding lineup), and I don't believe I've ever had snuffles aka pasteurellosis here. But when I used to see a runny nose or any other respiratory issue, I usually grabbed the VetRx. To use VetRx, clean the rabbit's nose if needed, then put a drop in each nostril 1-2x daily, plus a few drops in the water bottle. If you hold the rabbit securely, it doesn't seem to mind too much, though it may be inclined to sneeze. Sometimes we also added grapefruit seed extract (GSE) to the water, but use that judiciously, both because it's very bitter and you don't want the rabbit to stop drinking, and because if you use it too long it seems to be more harmful than helpful. We thought we were seeing possible reproductive issues with extended use, although GSE is supposed to be helpful for reproduction. So, we used the VetRx for a week or two, but the GSE for only 2-3 days - about 2 drops in 16 ounces of water. I'm not actually sure how it works since the oil tends to sit on top of the water... so I usually just go with the VetRx.

Here's a site which talks about treating snuffles when you can't find and/or can't afford a vet:
https://afterthoughtsblog.net/2013/11/treating-rabbit-snuffles-without-vet.html/
I appreciate her experiences, as I am of the same mind regarding vets and rabbits. Fortunately, like I said, I have not dealt with snuffles, but much of what she uses works for my rabbits with any respiratory issues.

Thank you for your information, I appreciate it. We will definitely continue to watch her.

 

[maisaksson]

Hey, about 5 days ago I brought home an 18 week old giant breed doe. She has a very mild runny nose, it is slightly moist with no discharge. She sometimes makes wheezy noises when she breathes and occasionally has little fits where she sounds like she’s sneezing or huffing, I noticed it twice yesterday and already once this morning. Should I treat this as snuffles or consider other possibilities? I don’t have a knowledgeable vet who sees rabbits locally, and penicillin is no longer available in my local tractor supplies. Are there any medications or at-home remedies that are effective in treating this? I’ve heard of using echinacea or apple cider vinegar diluted in their water, does anyone have experience with this? Thanks for any input!

 

[maisaksson]

Years ago I found this article about treating Pasteurella multocida with catnip:
https://www.sciencepub.net/newyork/ny0408/022_6706ny0408_129_135.pdf

I have this anecdote in using catnip for snuffles:
There was one rabbit, a cull, who had escaped from a run and had the sneeze. I isolated her but didn't get around to culling her for a while, and she subsequently developed an abcess, which is characteristic of Pasteurella infection. By this time I had read the catnip study and we had planted lots of it (and it spreads agressively) so I cleaned out her abcess with colloidal silver and fed her bunches of catnip along with other weeds such as prunella/self heal, dandelion, and avens. When I culled her she had no sign of Pasteurella infection.

I think that adding echinacea leaves is helpful as well, although I didn't do that on the rabbit in my anecdote.

When the yahoo rabbit forums were up (also years ago), there were posts about homeopathic remedies like Pulsatilla and Pasteurella Nosode. I'm not a homeopath so don't know about the different forms and dosages but maybe it could be searched.

 

[Alaska Satin]

@maisaksson
It could be snuffles/pasteurellosis or it could be something else; the only way to conclusively diagnose pasteurellosis is to get a culture.
See two entries above for a description of using VetRx to treat just about any respiratory illness.

 

[Cindy in SD]

You can make hydroxychloroquine from (organic, clean) citrus peels. Cover them with water and simmer, in a tight-lidded pot, for 2-3 hours, then pour off and refrigerate the liquid & discard the peels.This liquid contains quinine, like (real) tonic water, and it will allow zinc to enter the cells. Zinc is the thing that directly fights the respiratory disease. Oatmeal contains zinc, so you could try mixing in a tbsp into a quarter cup of cooled oatmeal. She’ll probably like it, and it won’t harm her. My bunnies love oatmeal.

There are lots of other things that help zinc get into cells. (I studied all this during covid, but none of us ever got even a sniffle, so….) For a rabbit though, I think the above would be the easiest way other than ivermectin (which works like the hydroxychloroquine, so you still need to make sure her diet includes zinc.)