I have a ? for rabbit rabbit breeders and pet owners.

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Tinkerbell Rabbitry

Tinkerbell Rabbitry

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Heart of the Thumb, Michigan, USA
Here is my Q:
If you had a breeding facility containing 12 rabbits and one of them came down with snuffles and you could not quarantine the rabbit or take him to the vet what would you do?

-Hannah
 
This probably needs to be moved to a different section, but I'm not sure, since it's about an illness, and about breeders.

Honestly, I don't really have an answer to your question....

Are you in this situation? Why can't you quarantine the ill rabbit, or take it to the vet? You can't even bring the rabbit into your house to quarantine it?


Emily
 
I would find what I could to treat him or her. You can buy over the counter dremamine, also pen g. Weigh the bunny and calculate the dosage. If worse came to worse find someone who can afford to treat him or her.
 
First, the sick rabbit goes into the house, or the care of someone else competent. Out of the rabbitry/breeding facility, either way. It is irresponsible to potentially let the rest of the animals get fatally sick.
If people are responsible breeders, they don't breed without a quarantine center.

Second, you call the vet and work out a payment plan, and (suck up any remaining pride;)) and borrow cash from friends and family, which you pay back very quickly, if you are not able/willing to do a home fix yourself.

There are a number of folks on here who can probably walk you through the how-to-cure. However, a vet checkup confirms which illness it is, as you are likely diagnosing based on symptoms (which may mimic other illnesses)
They will post soon enough :)
^^ like Ali :)
 
NorthernAutumn wrote:
If people are responsible breeders, they don't breed without a quarantine center.
Click to expand...
:yeahthat:

A quarantine center can be as easy as moving the rabbits' cage into the house or putting up some sort of boarding / wall between one stack of cages and others so you create a quarantine area before breeding.

As a breeder myself for three years - we had one room of the house where quarantined rabbits were usually kept (if we had any) ...and they were handled last.


 
Should also point out that all implements used on quarantined animals stay in the quarantined area for max prevention of pathogen movement. Includes brushes, feed bags, bowls, bedding, etc. VIP not to make contact with healthy animals.

Heavy bleach/vinegar cleaning of quarantine area, so as not to reinfect incoming animals who are already suffering from their own illness.
As with animal shelters, do not wear any unwashed clothing that you have worn in the quarantine to deal with healthy animals. Might want to purchase a pair of overalls and boots for quarantine use only.
Lots of handwashing.

Sounds intense, but VIP when dealing with multiple animals in closed quarters.
 
As a volunteer (and the person who gets called about any rabbit problems) at the local humane society which currently has almost 20 rabbits in a tiny room + cats and other critters and an old-school, non-rabbit-savvy vet, we do what we can. We don't euthanise, we bleach every day. We ask advice from vets that do know what they're doing and we do what we can. We have had rabbits with upper respiratory infections ("snuffles") and have treated them successfully without spreading the infection. The only case in the last few years that didn't clear up quickly was a rabbit that was confiscated from a hoarder and had been in very dirty conditions. It probably depressed his immune system. It took a few months but he got healthy and was adopted out.

This is something a lot of shelters and rabbit rescues have had to deal with. We get rabbits that were kept in horrible conditions and have been exposed to/infected with who knows what. I've never heard of a rabbit rescue euthanizing a rabbit for a URI.

I have to say this, I would never keep that many animals without the ability to get vet care for them. I've driven an hour to get to an emergency vet clinic in the middle of the night, I'd go farther if I needed to. And I only have what animals I can afford. I stress this when people adopt too- you need to be able to afford at least some vet expenses. Accidents happen, animals get sick. I'd feel awful if I couldn't get vet care for them.
 
Oh, and bleach or Vanodine (very popular disinfectant with rabbit breeders) are your friends! I use vinegar to clean my own rabbits' areas but I bleach everything for foster rabbits just in case.
 
NorthernAutumn wrote:
If people are responsible breeders, they don't breed without a quarantine center.
Click to expand...

Not totally 100% true. I am a responsible breeder but I have no quarantine center. I just bring my buns up to the house.

I also know some breeders who as far as I know dont' have quarantine centers. I have been to one place and they didn't have one, again at least not visible.
 
Actually, my statement is 100% true, as your house acts as a quarantine center in your scenario.
No air or physical contact with other buns, handwashing done by you, and careful cleanliness of all instruments.
Thus, your house does act as a quarantine center.

A quarantine center is any place where the animal is isolated from contact with other members of its species, thus stopping air, physical, tool, or human spread of the illness.
 
By bringing the buns up to your house - you are creating a "quarantine center" because you have removed them from your herd....
 
Tinkerbell Rabbitry wrote:
JadeIcing wrote:
You can buy over the counter dremamine, also pen g. Weigh the bunny and calculate the dosage.

how much do you give of pen g per lb?

-Hannah
Click to expand...
This is an EXCELLENT website for dosages:

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rx/drugcalc.html

The thing to remember with Pen G is that you have to "cut it" with something to make it easier to give to the rabbit. Otherwise it is hard to get through the needle and also stings like the dickens.

I use a 50/50 mix of Pen G and "lactated ringers" from my vet - which are a type of IV fluid. I pay about $15 for the ringers, anywhere from $10 - $20 for the Pen G (I just replaced my bottle I'd had for almost a year because I felt like replacing it) and then the cost of the needles.

Also - I only give Pen G every other day because I use the Pen G w/ Procaine which makes it longer-lasting and they don't need shots as often.
 
As a breeder I would remove the rabbit from the herd and never bring it back in. It is a very rare instance when you can totally cure a rabbit of pasturella and they are not carriers. In the event thata rabbit gets sick it is brought to the vet for a culture and treated with the appropriate antibiotics. It is very hard to treat an illness without knowing the proper antibiotic to use. If the rabbit recovers and shows no signs of illness it is adopted out to a single rabbit home.

I am overly precautious with my herd and have two separate areas of my barn. One for show animals and one for brood animals. I don't want to take the chance of the show animals bringing something back to the brood animals. I also use vanodine and bleach on a regular basis. Vanodine for everyday cleaning and bleach when I can take the cages and pans out and pressure wash them. I don't like to use bleach unless the cages can be rinsed thoroughly. Any new animals that are brought in which is rare are quarantined in a separate area from all the others for at least a month.

Roger
 
TinysMom wrote:
Tinkerbell Rabbitry wrote:
JadeIcing wrote:
You can buy over the counter dremamine, also pen g. Weigh the bunny and calculate the dosage.

how much do you give of pen g per lb?

-Hannah
Click to expand...
This is an EXCELLENT website for dosages:

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rx/drugcalc.html

The thing to remember with Pen G is that you have to "cut it" with something to make it easier to give to the rabbit.  Otherwise it is hard to get through the needle and also stings like the dickens.

I use a 50/50 mix of Pen G and "lactated ringers" from my vet - which are a type of IV fluid.  I pay about $15 for the ringers, anywhere from $10 - $20 for the Pen G (I just replaced my bottle I'd had for almost a year because I felt like replacing it) and then the cost of the needles.

Also - I only give Pen G every other day because I use the Pen G w/ Procaine which makes it longer-lasting and they don't need shots as often.
Click to expand...



What are "lactated ringers"?
How many CC do you give? The smallest measurement on my syringes is 1/2 a CC.

-Hannah
 
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