URGENT QUESTION

[tm_bunnyloft]

My sons little bunny has been doing fine since we got him. Even was fine this morning or so I thought. Though it was strange that he didn't run up to me as soon as I went into the barn this morning.

Now I went in to check on things and he came up to me acting very strange. He seems borderline lethargic and He has diarrhea all over his butt. I brought him in the house and put him in a cage by himself.

Tried to look up causes but most don't fit. He is a flemish cross and is small compared to our other flemish. My son and husband picked him out not realizing that he was very young.

Any ideas what it could be and how to treat?

I feed 16% rabbit pellets and free feed alfalfa timothy mix hay.

Thanks in advance for your help. He loves this bunny and will be devastated if we lose it.

 

[akane]

If the rabbit is very young changing the diet can be deadly. You should always get some of the pellets they are currently on to go with them. Otherwise put them on a hay and plain oatmeal diet. Then adjust them to your pellets slowly.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

We have had him for a month and he has not had a diet change. That is what makes it so confusing. He made it through quarantine to come up with this. The diarrhea is bloody now too.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

This site has several medications and recommended dosages for diarrhea in rabbits:

http://bunnyrabbit.com/price/med-use.htm

I would give him probiotics to enhance his gut flora and give an electrolyte solution to prevent dehydration. Pull the pellets and give him hay and oatmeal only until he has normal stools.

Good luck- I hope you have caught it in time and he will get better soon.

 

[MaggieJ]

In addition to the suggestions already made, you may want to give him certain plants that help to combat diarrhea. The lawn weed plantain is excellent as well as shepherd's purse and the leaves of raspberry, blackberry or strawberry plants.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/weedguid/shepherd.htm

Good luck! :clover: :clover: :clover: I hope the little guy makes it.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

Unfortunately I don't think he is going to make it. It just came on this afternoon and He is barely hanging on.
I wish we would have found it sooner. But there were No symptoms. I am wondering if it is E coli and not coccidiosis Since it is happening so fast. I am taking a stool sample to my sister to look at under a microscope and see if it is either coccidiosis or Giardia. Then I will have a better idea of what to treat with and how to treat the rest of my herd if needed. This sucks because he had just come out of quarantine a few days ago.

Thanks for the help. Wish me luck!!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Oh no! Poor little guy!

E coli makes animals VERY ill- I had a Great Dane get it once, and it cost us a boatload of money to save him.

I hope your sister finds out what it is, and you are able to save him. :clover:

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

Thanks. I don't think we will be able to save him but I would like to save the rest of my herd at whatever cost....

 

[Rexisbest]

So sorry, hoping for the best for your little guy and herd.

 

[MaggieJ]

Since the bun is just out of quarantine, there is a good chance that whatever he has is established in your herd and that your other rabbits have immunity to it. Many rabbit herds have "family germs" (for want of a better term) that new additions have no resistance to.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

In that case what do we do? The rest of the herd all came from the same place.

 

[faiththequeen]

I'm sorry How sad! I hope you can get it figured out and take care of everyone else. :grouphug2:

 

[MaggieJ]

My point is that quite possibly the rest of your herd will not fall ill. I brought in two new rabbits several years back. The little broken red doe was lovely and we had high hopes for her. She completed her quarantine and moved to the main rabbitry. Within two days she was dead of what seemed to be a respiratory infection. Fine in the morning, dead at 5 PM. No one else sickened. You may find this is a similar situation.

This is one reason I keep a closed herd. Although my rabbits are the picture of health and I very seldom encounter a health problem, I suspect there is something there that could cause problems for newcomers.

 

[Cindi Davis]

Watching and learning.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

What do I do If I am just beginning a herd. I am thinking of putting apple cider vinegar in their water and putting everyone on probiotics. Honestly I have enough does but what about replacement bucks? Do you think I could keep replacement bucks in a separate building and bring does in for breeding then take them out right away. Do you think that could work? or is it hopeless. I have some great meat mutts right now. And I have what I need to make the colors I want to work with. But don't I need to introduce new bucks from time to time?

 

[MaggieJ]

Not really... you can grow out a promising young buck and use him. Inbreeding in rabbits is really not a problem. One study showed that it took seventeen generations of brother/sister matings to result in problems.

Chances are it will be years before you need to bring in a new buck. And when you do, save the best male from his first few breedings, just in case. A rabbit born in your rabbitry will have as much immunity as the rabbits you have now.

And please remember... I am giving this advice based on my own limited experiences with a similar situation. I could be dead wrong. I'm hoping someone else will chime in on this to confirm or repudiate my opinion.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

He was fine at 8:00am and at 3:00pm he was lethargic and watery diarrhea.

I checked on him at 8:00pm and he was dead.

 

[Miss M]

So sorry, Tm-bunnyloft!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Sorry you lost the little guy.

Was the rabbitry clean or dirty?

If it is Tyzzer's, I would thoroughly clean any doe's cage just prior to kindling, and keep it clean. That should prevent further problems, since it seems to strike young rabbits.

I would suggest you do a necropsy and check the condition of the intestinal tract, liver, and heart, so you can try to confirm the diagnosis.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

I did a necropsy after the kids went to bed and have ruled out Tyzzers.

My rabbitry is very clean. The floor is cement pavers and I clean the colony pens every few days. I sprinkle DE on the potty spots daily. I clean the entire floor and rinse the potty spots every third day or so. And then add DE to dry it up.
He gets free choice hay and pellets daily and fresh water all the time. All of the other rabbits seem healthy.
But then so did he this morning.<br /><br />__________ Fri Aug 24, 2012 10:54 pm __________<br /><br />Intestines did look a wee bit bloated when we opened him up. Other than that everything looked normal.