Need a bit of help please.

[dltc96]

Our doe is sneezing! She just kindled her first litter (6 kits - Yay!), but then the sneezing started.

We brought her inside the house on Monday 2-21 because it was supposed to get to -15 that night, and we weren't sure how well she would do with her first litter (good thing too, she had two out away from the others - but still in the nesting box.). She had her babies on Tues. morning.

Since then, I have noticed that she is sneezing. It seems to be happening more frequently. There does not appear to be any sort of discharge. We did give her a litter box with wood pellets (the kind for pellet stoves) to use as a bathroom, and we brought in a bunch of hay for her (which has my allergies going pretty good), but she's been eating that hay for a month.
I know that it could be Snuffles :/ (that's what worries me). Are there any other possibilities?
If it is Snuffles, and I give her antibiotics, will it affect the babies and will it affect us when we process them later?

Sorry for the long post.

 

[dltc96]

Also, if they go untreated, can they still be eaten if they contract the Snuffles?

 

[tortoise]

Also, if they go untreated, can they still be eaten if they contract the Snuffles?

No. You can't eat an animal with an active infection, and there isn't any published data on how long the medication takes to be clear of their system.

It is not uncommon for a pastuerella carrier to have symptoms after being stessed - like from giving birth. I would watch her to see if her immune system is strong enough to handle it.

I have very strong feelings about pastuerella. Culling every rabbit that "blows snot" will not rid the world of pastuerella. It just rids on rabbitry of it. And without having the disease present, how can one selectively breed for rabbits that are hardy of the disease.

I know that all of my rabbits have been exposed. But none got sick because I am profiting off of others that breed for hardiness rather than trying to cull out a disease.

I will leave a rabbit that only has a little bit of clear discharge from the nose. If the discharge becomes white and/or the rabbit loses condition, then I cull.

 

[rabbitgeek]

The rule of thumb I've been working with is that clear discharge, don't panic. It could just be allergy or irritation to the wood pellet bedding.

White or yellow discharge, euthanize after the kits are weaned.

Since you have kits in the box, I would keep her until the kits are 4 weeks old and able to eat pellets. Don't foster the kits to another doe since you don't want to infect the other doe with whatever she might have.

I don't use antibiotics on rabbits since I often send culls to zoo food or wildlife rehab. Antibiotics in the meat is not good for those wild animals.

If the kits do not show any signs of the white/yellow discharge, they could be resistant and I would keep them. If they develop the discharge, euthanize them.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios

 

[dltc96]

Thanks for the replies.

I'd really rather not cull this one. She seems to be a great first time mommy. I've heard all kinds of stories about the bad things that can happen with a first timer. She is also a sweetheart (unless she's pregnant - then she's MEAN).

I'm really hoping for just allergies. We don't see any signs of anything in the kits yet. From what we have been reading, we were afraid that we might lose the whole group.

I will definitely keep on monitoring her. The sneezes had us really worried.

One more question; the kids brought the bowl for the buck inside to thaw while she was roaming the living room. She went right over and chinned it. Is this enough to infect him if it is Snuffles? I really don't want to loose them all and start over. We've raised them from babies!

 

[rabbitgeek]

One more question; the kids brought the bowl for the buck inside to thaw while she was roaming the living room. She went right over and chinned it. Is this enough to infect him if it is Snuffles? I really don't want to loose them all and start over. We've raised them from babies!

It might have infected the bowl, but just wash it with soap/water. That would be fine.

He would have been exposed to the virus when he bred the doe, so it would seem he has disease resistance, which would be a good thing.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios

 

[dltc96]

Just wanted to update really quick...

We have now put her back outside, she seems to be fine. I don't monitor her as much now that she is not inside, but I don't think she is sneezing anymore (may have just been an allergy or more likely the stress). There never was any discharge that I noticed, although she did wipe her nose after she sneezed.

I appreciate the responses and help from you all.