How to keep Disease and Snuffles out of you Rabbitry?

Hi there, recently I have completely restarted my rabbitry, yes cages and everything from scratch again. Im raising Hollands, I'm thinking at this point they are just very susceptible to diseases?

What did I do wrong? I started with one pregnant rabbit. Her baby ended up getting white snot and sneezing fits at 8 weeks old. I'm not sure why, his mother? another rabbit? I had swapped him cages with another baby I had for a month but, regrettably, did not spray disinfectant in between. (he's in quarantine while I find him a pet home) but at this point I already got 3 more new rabbits, different breeders, who seem reputable. All cages have solid dividers and I do not have anyone else showing symptoms.
To keep my tiny rabbitry clean, do I have to get rid of all his realatives "just in case" they are carriers of something like Pasteurella? But I can go to a show and a rabbit can sneak this back in, no symptoms even during quarantine until a baby pops up with it one day. Who all deals with this? What do YOU do about it? What has worked? Do you Ever Culture/test your rabbits for anything? (...expensive!)

I'm sorry you're having to deal with this so early. We've been very lucky not to have to deal with this, but we avoid getting close to any rabbit with a wet nose no matter what color the snot is. I've seen breeders bring Lysol to a show to spray judging coops...word gets around quick at a show if someone's rabbit is DQ'd for snot.

Did you contact the breeder you bought the pregnant doe from to see if they ever noticed a wet nose on her? Although it's not a guarantee, you should quarantine every new rabbit you get for 30 days, and always clean a cage before putting a different rabbit in it. There is a fairly new vaccine for pasteurella. It's not a miracle cure but might be worth looking at. If you do a search you'll find some threads on it. It's called Bunny Vac. I wouldn't breed anyone else for right now. You might try to get a culture done on the one showing symptoms.

bunny vac is effective for rabbits that do not show any symptoms. it will not cure a rabbit that already has it. If you get it and do the initial shot, booster 30 days later then the annual shot, those rabbits will not get pasteurella, provided they don't already have it. we vaccinate all of the ones we bring to show for that reason, other people are shady.

whquint09 said:

bunny vac is effective for rabbits that do not show any symptoms. it will not cure a rabbit that already has it. If you get it and do the initial shot, booster 30 days later then the annual shot, those rabbits will not get pasteurella, provided they don't already have it. we vaccinate all of the ones we bring to show for that reason, other people are shady.

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Just curious, but how long have you been using the vaccine and on how many rabbits? Any noticeable side effects? I know a lot of breeders went for it when it first came out but we decided to wait and see what others' experiences were with it first. We were also waiting for the full report to be published on the trials.

Please don't.

DO NOT pass along to a pet home a rabbit that is sick. Seriously. It's not fair to the rabbit and it most certainly isn't fair to the person buying. Find an alternative answer.

Now on to how to keep your rabbitry clear of disease.

1. Sell the mother if she does not show visible signs of illness (ergo a carrier) to a NON-breeding home. DO disclose that she produced a baby that had snot. It's important.. what if they have another rabbit?

2. quarantine out of breathing distance at least 50 feet. OR in another room. Care for those rabbits AFTER you care for your main herd. Change clothes, shower. For a period of no less than one month. Do this regardless if you know the person and their rabbitry, you don't always know what changes occur.

3. if a doe comes bred, she doesn't come out of quarantine until she shows herself clean AND her babies are clean. NOTE: weaning at three weeks (and PLEASE don't get upset at early weaning) If you wean at three weeks baby is still under mom's immunity. If baby is eating/drinking fine, remove mom from cage. put her elsewhere so baby will NOT get mom's illness. put baby on hay and oatmeal and they will do just fine without mom. Then keep baby (if planning on keeping and if you have ANY reason to suspect illness) in isolation until AFTER they have kindled their first litter.

Keeping a herd clean requires good diligence.

majorv said:

Just curious, but how long have you been using the vaccine and on how many rabbits? Any noticeable side effects? I know a lot of breeders went for it when it first came out but we decided to wait and see what others' experiences were with it first. We were also waiting for the full report to be published on the trials.

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We have used it for about a year and a half on about 30-50 rabbits. We vaccinate all offspring before sending them to new homes so the number varies. The only side effects I have noticed are sterile abcesses at the injection site, never had any health issues after giving the vaccine. I think it is worth it just based on the fact that my show rabbits won't pick it up being at a show by a less attentive owner.