Why is my rabbits dying

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Ashley Mooneyham

Ashley Mooneyham

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So I had 13 total rabbits now I'm down to only 7 I'm not sure what's going on with my rabbits but so far the ones that had passed away I've cut open and their organs was twisted and bloated I've took feed away and I have gave baby gas drops now I'm giving vitamins I don't understand why they are all dying the same way could anyone tell me if the same thing is happening it's not only me in Alabama my friends rabbits are doing the same and some other live stock
 
Ashley Mooneyham said:
So I had 13 total rabbits now I'm down to only 7 I'm not sure what's going on with my rabbits but so far the ones that had passed away I've cut open and their organs was twisted and bloated I've took feed away and I have gave baby gas drops now I'm giving vitamins I don't understand why they are all dying the same way could anyone tell me if the same thing is happening it's not only me in Alabama my friends rabbits are doing the same and some other live stock
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are these grown rabbits? all get sick at the same time pretty much? good job on inspecting them, that can't be fun.
 
ERE / epizootic rabbit enteropathy / Clostridium perfringens?
 
Ashley Mooneyham said:
So I had 13 total rabbits now I'm down to only 7 I'm not sure what's going on with my rabbits but so far the ones that had passed away I've cut open and their organs was twisted and bloated I've took feed away and I have gave baby gas drops now I'm giving vitamins I don't understand why they are all dying the same way could anyone tell me if the same thing is happening it's not only me in Alabama my friends rabbits are doing the same and some other live stock
Click to expand...
https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-...ken-swine-and-rabbit-feed#recall-announcement

Could this be it?
 
Ashley Mooneyham said:
So I had 13 total rabbits now I'm down to only 7 I'm not sure what's going on with my rabbits but so far the ones that had passed away I've cut open and their organs was twisted and bloated I've took feed away and I have gave baby gas drops now I'm giving vitamins I don't understand why they are all dying the same way could anyone tell me if the same thing is happening it's not only me in Alabama my friends rabbits are doing the same and some other live stock
Click to expand...
Ashley, a customer and friend of mine recently had the same thing. She had about 125 rabbits on her farm. 5-6 dieing a day. We took one to UC Davis Lab and it was confirmed to be RHDv2. This is highly contagious with a 98% fatality. It can be spread by wild animals, your hands, feed dishes, and remain in the environment for a significant amount of time. Even dust and airborne. It's a haemoragic disease but only two of hers showed blood at nose and mouth. The symptoms vary internally but Hallmark is a darkened liver. Next you will see dark spots on the lungs, blood spots.
I truly hope this isn't happening to your rabbits. If so, you have to cull the complete herd. Incinerate remains to avoid contaminating wild populations at the landfill or your own water supply from burying near a well.
Do not repopulate your rabbitry for 40 days and only after sanitizing with a good and safe product. Just spray everything.
🙏
 
GandalfTheGrey said:
Ashley, a customer and friend of mine recently had the same thing. She had about 125 rabbits on her farm. 5-6 dieing a day. We took one to UC Davis Lab and it was confirmed to be RHDv2. This is highly contagious with a 98% fatality. It can be spread by wild animals, your hands, feed dishes, and remain in the environment for a significant amount of time. Even dust and airborne. It's a haemoragic disease but only two of hers showed blood at nose and mouth. The symptoms vary internally but Hallmark is a darkened liver. Next you will see dark spots on the lungs, blood spots.
I truly hope this isn't happening to your rabbits. If so, you have to cull the complete herd. Incinerate remains to avoid contaminating wild populations at the landfill or your own water supply from burying near a well.
Do not repopulate your rabbitry for 40 days and only after sanitizing with a good and safe product. Just spray everything.
🙏
Click to expand...
Not everyone agrees with culling an entire herd in response to the presence of infectious disease. I am not aware of any disease that is 100% lethal in all populations, and RHDv2 is not. There are always individuals that are resistant and/or recover, and in the wild (and in the barn), those are the ones that eventually produce resistant populations. In a small herd, you may lose every animal, but on the other hand, you may not.

Certainly, be careful about allowing major opportunities for the pathogen to spread into the wild and/or other barns, keep up on good hygiene practices, and properly and promptly dispose of animals that die suspiciously. But culling every single animal in the herd means killing off any chance of disease resistance (which in effect renders you forever reliant on vaccines and pharmaceuticals).

Currently RHDv2 is a mandatory reportable disease: when RHDv2 is diagnosed, vets are required to report to state or local public health officials. In other words, if you contact a vet and they decide you've got RHDv2 on your property, state or regional health officials will most likely cull your entire herd for you.

Here's what the ARBA offers currently on the subject:
https://arba.net/rhdv2/
 

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