Rabbit Diseases, Causes and Remedies



Checking a rabbits health



Rabbits are usually disease free animals but negligence is the only factor that causes complications. The most common diseases and health problems that could affect your herd, what causes them and possible remedies are discussed in this post.

 

Prevention First of all: It saves costs, prevents stress for care giver and rabbits and above all, prevention is very crucial where there is little knowledge on medications.

 

Following these simple tips can do much toward keeping rabbits free from disease:

 

• Give rabbits fresh green food to eat. Remove stale food from mangers.
• Protect rabbits from intense sun, rain and drafts.
• Keep unfriendly dogs away.
• Use wire netting for hutch floors. Hutch floors should be "cornerless."
• Take sick rabbits away from the other rabbits immediately.
• Keep hutch, nest boxes, water cans and mangers CLEAN. Clean wire floors with soap and water after each litter.

 

Here is are the common diseases of rabbits:

Coccidiosis (Intestinal Infection)

Signs:  Diarrhea, a swollen belly. Rabbit sits in a hunched position and will not eat. In severe cases the rabbit staggers around and is not able to keep its balance. This disease attacks rabbits between the ages of 2 and 10 weeks. Coccidiosis can cause death.

 

Cause:  A one-celled animal parasite living in the lining of the rabbit's intestines.

 

Treatment: Mecryl Powder, Sulphamezathine, Amprol, Sulfaquinoxaline and Eimryl Urgence are used to prevent and treat this disease. Follow the directions for each medication carefully.

This disease is spread through the droppings of infected rabbits. Keep the hutch clean at all times: one dirty corner in the hutch could lead to this disease.

Ear Mange

Signs:  Dirty ears. Crusts on inner surface of ear.
Often the rabbit shakes its head or scratches its ears.

 

Cause:  Mites. These insects are so small you can only see them with a magnifying glass. They dig under the skin on the inside of the rabbit's ears and cause pain.

 

Treatment: Remove the crusts with your fingernail. Go to a pharmacy and ask for a solution of 0.25 percent Lindane in vegetable oil, or a mixture of 2 parts iodoform, 10 parts ether and 25 parts vegetable oil. Swab either one of these solutions inside the ear with a piece of cloth or cotton. Apply again after one week. Check all other rabbits' ears for this problem.

This disease can destroy the centers of balance in the rabbit's inner ear. If a rabbit is not treated for this disease it will result in a condition known as wry neck: the rabbit will hold its head to one side or fall over. Once this happens to a rabbit, it cannot be treated. The best thing to do is prevent it by treating the ear mange promptly.

 

Colds

Signs:  Sneezing and rubbing the nose with the front feet. Fluid will show around the nose. This fluid may be thin and clear, or it may be thick and yellow.

 

Cause:  Several types of bacteria and virus.

 

Treatment: Reduce the amount of concentrates you are giving your rabbit for a few days. Give the rabbit all the green grass and leaves it wants.

This disease attacks animals in over-crowded, damp, dirty hutches. Protect rabbits from rain and always provide lots of fresh greens to eat.

 

 

Related: WHY RABBITS SUDDENLY DIE

 

Sore Hocks

Signs:  Rocking forward on front feet; hind feet show sores on the bottom. Rabbit may lose the fur pad on the sole of the foot, with scales and irritation in this area. If allowed to get worse, the foot bleeds or becomes spongy with pus draining from it.

 

Cause:  Wet or rough floors which rabbits bang their feet upon. Floors that are sharp, that sag too much, or that are filthy, may contribute to this.

 

Treatment: Soak the affected parts in warm, soapy water until the crusts come off. Rinse and dry thoroughly. Rub in ointment but do not use so much that the foot becomes sticky and picks up dirt (use zinc ointment, petroleum jelly, sulfathiazole ointment).

Keep rabbits undisturbed so they do not bang their feet. Select replacement stock from quiet animals.

 

Sore Eyes

Signs:  Rubbing eyes with feet. Fluid from eye either thin and clear, or thick and yellow.

 

Cause:  Irritation from flies or injury from jagged wire, etc.

 

Treatment: Clean eyes with boric acid water, or just clean water. Apply ophthalmic ointment (antibiotic, silver oxide, yellow oxide of mercury, Argyrol).

This can often be contagious. Isolate sick animals.

 

Skin Mange

Signs:  The rabbit shows an intense itching, the skin becomes reddened and irritated, the hair comes out, and yellow crusts may be present.

 

Cause:  Mites (similar to ear mange).

 

Treatment: Wash the affected area with warm soapy water, rinse and dry (important: rabbits can get pneumonia if not dried quickly). Clip the hair away from the edges of the sore area. Rub dry flowers of sulphur into the skin thoroughly. Repeat treatment in four to six days.

Contagious. Isolate infected animals. Clean and disinfect hutches which have been used by diseased animals.

 

Mucoid Enteritis (Scours or Bloat)

Signs:  Drinking but no eating. Rabbits sit hunched up with squinting eyes, grind their teeth, have dull, rough coats, and swollen bellies. They may have diarrhea.

 

Cause:  The cause is not known, but it is not thought to be contagious.

 

Treatment: No specific treatment known. Take away all food and water for 48 hours; then give small quantities of green food for a few days. Let them have small amounts of water during this time.

Usually affects rabbits at about six weeks of age. Do not confuse this with coccidiosis, which can be treated.

 

 

Related: What, Why , When and How for Rabbit Meat Producers

 

Pneumonia

Signs:  Heavy breathing. Rabbit often tilts its head back so that the nose is in the air.
Rabbit moves very little and will not eat. Body temperature, as shown by a thermometer placed in the rectum, is high (39.5 - 41 [degrees] C or 103 - 106 [degrees] F). As the animal gets worse the eyes and ears may show a bluish color because of lack of oxygen.

 

Cause:  Bacteria. Usually comes with other diseases, or if animal is pregnant, nursing young, or chilled and wet. Also attacks very young rabbits.

 

Treatment: Injections of antibiotics given before the disease progresses too far. The Veterinarian will usually give 200,000 units plus 0.25gm dihydroatreptomycin intra-muscularly (into a muscle) in the hind leg. Keep animal warm and dry, reduce concentrates and give plenty of green feed and and clean water.

The critical time for the doe is two weeks before and two weeks after kindling. Watch the doe closely during these times. Pneumonia also can follow right after many of the other diseases. Watch for it. Treat and isolate infected animals promptly.

 

Caked Breast (Caked Udder)

Signs:  In early cases, the breasts (one or more) are firm, pink and feel hot to the touch. Later on, little knots can be felt in the breasts. Following this, the breasts may darken and become dry and cracked.

 

Cause:  Milk not being taken from the breasts fast enough. Doe may have too few young, or not be letting them nurse.

 

Treatment: Reduce concentrates and provide plenty of green feed and clean water. Rub Lanolin (or oil or some kind of skin-softening agent) well into the breasts and try to get milk to flow by massaging and encouraging young to nurse. If breasts crack, soften crusts and allow to drain, but do not lance with a knife.

 

Do not wean all the young rabbits from heavily milking does at the same time; take a few at a time from her. Breed heavy milkers a few days before weaning the young. If a heavy milker loses a litter, breed her again at once. Breeding helps to reduce the milk in the breasts.

Avoid disturbances, particularly at night.

If breasts start getting blue, the doe should have antibiotic injections (Penicillin) at once. Isolate the doe and wash your hands thoroughly before taking care of other does.

 

According to J.B. Schiere in his book “Backyard rabbit farming in the tropics,” “Do not waste too much time waiting to see what will happen. Use your time and energy for more relevant matters, eat the animal or let somebody else eat the animal. Besides being practical, you will save the animal a lot of suffering. In the long run you are selecting the best and healthiest animals for your further breeding.”

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: In order for us to provide healthy and disease free New Zealand White rabbits, we maintain a CLOSED RABBITRY. Potential buyers will, however, be able to see, touch and examine the rabbits enough. Thank you for understanding.