*new question* Is this a common thing?

[Marie28]

Next weekend we plan on picking up a blue silver fox (about 9 weeks old). When I was first talking to her about 8 weeks ago she sent this message

"I have had snuffles in my barn and I am currently breeding only the rabbits that have shown a resistance to it. I would never sell a rabbit that was showing symptoms or that I though had snuffles but I wanted to let you know that I have had it in my barn in the past."

From my research snuffles is fairly common, but she is the first breeder to be this upfront. Is this a good/bad sign?

 

[Hens and Roos]

Its nice that she is up front and honest, can you ask how long ago she had a problem with snuffles? I know stress can trigger it. If you decide to go ahead and get the rabbit, are you able to quarantine it away from your others for atleast2 weeks to make sure?

@samssimonsays @promiseacres @Bunnylady

 

[samssimonsays]

It is caused by pasturella and it is something most rabbits are exposed to from a very young age. If they are doing very cautious measures to keep the affected animals away from the healthy animals I wouldn't be too concerned I guess. But be cautious that stress can and does trigger it when changing homes. Keep her quarentined for a month to be sure.

 

[Marie28]

Thank you of the responses. We will be defiantly keeping her separated for at least a month. I will ask her some more questions about it.

Another question. Should I worry about our two dogs getting snuffles/pasturella. She would be up-stairs and our dogs are down stairs ( we have a baby gate on the stairs).

 

[JakeM]

I believe your dogs will be safe. Just wash your hands after interacting with your new bun.

Congrats on getting a blue Silver Fox!

 

[Marie28]

thank you :]
We have two black (doe & buck) & a blue (buck). Our blacks have a possibility to carry the blue gene so
i'm excited to see some colors in future breeding!

 

[Alibo]

We also breed for resistance to this. We have our rabbits pastured so are super happy but occasionally heat will cause them stress. We end up harvesting and not breeding any rabbit that shows symptoms. Very sad when our very first doe got sick last summer, we could not bare to eat her but she was never bred again and eventually died of age.

I think it is fantastic that your breeder is up front about this and is actively seeking to expunge it from her Rabbitry. The more people to breed this out the better, in my opinion. I do not believe you can actually "breed" this out but you can breed rabbits that show more resistance.

 

[DutchBunny03]

That is an EXTREMELY good sign. You have found a very good breeder to buy from. A large amount of breeders may not mention the disease, for fear that you would decide not to buy the rabbits.
Snuffles is very contagious. It can wipe out whole rabbitries in a week. You will need to wash your hands and change your clothes before you touch clean rabbits after touching the infected rabbit. Do not use the same cage cleaning devices or grooming tools for the healthy rabbits and the sick rabbit. Handle the sick rabbit as little as possible.

 

[Marie28]

Here she is,sapphire! @DutchBunny03 this was the best experience with a breeder so far. She was comfortable answering a bunch of questions, we got to meet sapphires parents and siblings, she gave us way more information than any other breeder.


I have another question. Her pee is dark like a maroon color. I've read that it can be due to stress and food changes. The breeder gave us a quart ziplock of the food she is use to and she has only had that and timothy hay (i don't know what kind of hay the breeder had). Is there any point i should get more worried about the pee? She has been drinking, eating and pooping.

 

[DutchBunny03]

Yay!!! Talking to the breeder is a great opportunity to learn about your rabbit. Checking the rabbit's parents and siblings is great. You can check for any defects, and look at colors. Pedigrees can only tell you so much!
Thats very normal. It can be caused by a diet rich in sugar, especially carrots, and even temperature changes. Don't worry too much about it, as long as she behaves normally.