Absolutely! @Bunnylady @Samantha drawz @promiseacres @Shorty @Hens and Roos @Pastor Dave There are others, but I can't recall all of them. The above compile many years of experience. I hope they can provide better guidance or assistance.
First attempt at breeding
- Thread starter Hopalong Causually
- Start date
Hens and Roos
Herd Master
Sorry to hear of the issues you are having. 
If the buck was ours, we would immediately cull(in this case euthanize) the one that has white discharge coming out of his nose-no breeding-no contact again with your others- there is no point in increasing the risk of it spreading.
If you haven't separated the 2nd buck away from you does, I would do so now and keep him away from the 1st buck even though you don't have a lot of extra space.
We ran into a new addition rabbit coming down with a white discharge coming from his nose- based on what we saw, we felt it was snuffles and that we weren't taking a chance of our other rabbits getting sick.
Good Luck, keep us posted.
If the buck was ours, we would immediately cull(in this case euthanize) the one that has white discharge coming out of his nose-no breeding-no contact again with your others- there is no point in increasing the risk of it spreading.If you haven't separated the 2nd buck away from you does, I would do so now and keep him away from the 1st buck even though you don't have a lot of extra space.
We ran into a new addition rabbit coming down with a white discharge coming from his nose- based on what we saw, we felt it was snuffles and that we weren't taking a chance of our other rabbits getting sick.
Good Luck, keep us posted.
promiseacres
Herd Master
I agree I would euthanise any with thick nasal discharge and the one with a "dewlap" may have a pasterella abscess.
Bunnylady
Herd Master
Bucks may develop dewlaps; they are basically fat deposits. There are some breeds where a dewlap on either sex is a DQ, and some where it isn't mentioned in the breed standard at all (and one may assume is not an issue, either for bucks or does). The standard for the New Zealand says that a small dewlap is permitted on does; I'd be willing to bet that trying to keep that dewlap small could be an issue in an older doe. If I was thinking about showing, I wouldn't keep a young buck that had a dewlap, but an older animal that may be a bit soft all over? I don't think I'd rule him out strictly because of that.
I won't say absolutely get these guys under ground or onto the dinner table because of the respiratory problem; I will tell you about a little experience that I had. I had bred Harlequins for several years, they are a rather rare and difficult breed, so finding good ones isn't easy. I had made arrangements to have a family member pick up three animals from a breeder that lives several hours away from me. I don't know if the stress of travel caused the outbreak or what, but by the time I saw the rabbits, they were sneezing (the breeder insisted that they hadn't been doing that at home, and having known her for years, I have no reason not to believe her). I kept them well away from the rest of my herd. One, a doe, had been accidentally bred; she kindled a litter that started sneezing while in the nest. They were all culled - no survivors.
The two bucks I kept separated, but did use for breeding. The does were allowed in the bucks' cages for no more than a few minutes; if a doe didn't breed right away, she was quickly removed. None of the does exposed in this manner ever developed active snuffles, nor did any of their offspring. The bucks had pretty much cleared up on their own, though - I only heard occasional sneezes from them, and never at a time when I had a doe in with them. I knew I was taking a risk, but it was a calculated one (new blood of any kind was hard to come by, and these animals were otherwise pretty good). As I think has been stated, most rabbits have been exposed to the bacteria that can cause snuffles, and probably carry the bacteria with them, but their immune systems are robust enough to keep the bacteria in check. Part of the logic of culling symptomatic animals is to remove those with weak immune systems, thereby keeping the genes for better immune function in your herd. I guess the questions should be, how difficult are these animals to replace? Can you continue to keep them separate from the rest of your herd, and what will you do if the others start sneezing? This may not be an issue of an aggressive bacterium, it may be a matter of inadequate resistance; can you afford to risk keeping that in your herd?
I won't say absolutely get these guys under ground or onto the dinner table because of the respiratory problem; I will tell you about a little experience that I had. I had bred Harlequins for several years, they are a rather rare and difficult breed, so finding good ones isn't easy. I had made arrangements to have a family member pick up three animals from a breeder that lives several hours away from me. I don't know if the stress of travel caused the outbreak or what, but by the time I saw the rabbits, they were sneezing (the breeder insisted that they hadn't been doing that at home, and having known her for years, I have no reason not to believe her). I kept them well away from the rest of my herd. One, a doe, had been accidentally bred; she kindled a litter that started sneezing while in the nest. They were all culled - no survivors.
The two bucks I kept separated, but did use for breeding. The does were allowed in the bucks' cages for no more than a few minutes; if a doe didn't breed right away, she was quickly removed. None of the does exposed in this manner ever developed active snuffles, nor did any of their offspring. The bucks had pretty much cleared up on their own, though - I only heard occasional sneezes from them, and never at a time when I had a doe in with them. I knew I was taking a risk, but it was a calculated one (new blood of any kind was hard to come by, and these animals were otherwise pretty good). As I think has been stated, most rabbits have been exposed to the bacteria that can cause snuffles, and probably carry the bacteria with them, but their immune systems are robust enough to keep the bacteria in check. Part of the logic of culling symptomatic animals is to remove those with weak immune systems, thereby keeping the genes for better immune function in your herd. I guess the questions should be, how difficult are these animals to replace? Can you continue to keep them separate from the rest of your herd, and what will you do if the others start sneezing? This may not be an issue of an aggressive bacterium, it may be a matter of inadequate resistance; can you afford to risk keeping that in your herd?
- Thread starter
- #15
Hopalong Causually
Loving the herd life
Thanks for your points of view, folks. I guess I'm having the same problem as a student trying to learn a foreign language - all the new terms and their meanings. I thought "snuffles" was a generic term for the various symptoms of a respiratory irritant or infection and could be caused by a number of different bacteria or even a foreign body in the nasal cavity. Is that incorrect? If the offending bacterium is Pasteurella Multocida, the prognosis is grave and your hand is pretty much forced, as I see it. Then again, I remember reading somewhere that the Pasteurella bacterium is present in about 90% of all rabbits. The discussion about different levels of resistance makes a lot of sense.
I'm taking the older buck to a veterinarian tonight and hoping to be able to make a herd management decision based on his/her insight and diagnosis - and the input from all of you.
I'm taking the older buck to a veterinarian tonight and hoping to be able to make a herd management decision based on his/her insight and diagnosis - and the input from all of you.
- Thread starter
- #16
Hopalong Causually
Loving the herd life
I hope this wraps it up. The vet pretty much confirmed everything that Bunnylady said. She gave the buck a good going-over and declared him fit and said that the murmuring squeaks were nothing to be concerned about. She further addressed the "dewlap" as nothing to be concerned about from a health point of view. The buck has the official green light for re-joining the herd and future breeding. She said that the triggering indication that action should be taken is any kind of ocular or nasal discharge, neither of which he has. I'll keep the sick buck on the antibiotic until it runs out and then make a decision. Thanks, everybody.
