Sick Hollands

[LionheadLady]

Hi all,

I am new here so forgive me if this is posted somewhere but I need help!

I have a few breeds of bunnies. 1 being the Holland Lops. I have had 2 die within weeks of each other. I have had rabbits for about 6 years & still have the 1st one! Now I have had 2 die in week.

Both were does, born around 5/30/08 & 1 born 7/15/08 & both of course were Hollands.

The 1st one had diahrea that was mucusy. She was at 1 end of our rabbitry. The 2nd had watery diahrea & she was at the other end. They were both dead the next morning.

I had a friend come over that raises rabbits as well & has for a very long time. She said to give them Kaopectate. She gave them 3 cc of this.

I gave them hay, took away the pellets & gave them water in a crock & in the bottle.

The next day both were gone.

My questions to all of you are as follows:

1. Is this somthing others in my rabbitry can catch?
2. How can I help the bunnies if another one get this?
3. Have any of you had the same thing & did the bunnies make it?
4. Do you think the Kaopectate did more harm than good?
5. What is the best way to clean these cages they were in?
6. ANYTHING YOU THINK THAT CAN HELP ME OUT!

Thank you!

 

[Maureen Las]

Diarrhea in a very young rabbit could be from coccidia ( a protozoan infection) or mucoid enteritis)I will give you the library articles to read.

because you have a rabbitry I am going to move this thread to that part of the forum


Some of these problemsmay be contagious and cagesshould be cleaned wellwith bleach and water and allowed to dry in the sun if possible
Some are diet related and are caused by too many carbs in the diet of a young bun resulting in total disruption of the gut flora of the bunny .
Anytime a rabbit has diarrhea rehydration of the bunny is essential as he is losing fluids and electrolytes through the stool. This can be done through subcutaneous fluids.
I don't know whether kaopectate contributed to the problem

It would be wise to take stool specimens of some of your rabbits to be tested by the vet for coccidia

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11935&forum_id=10

 

[Maureen Las]

I found an article that is very technical but does deal with diarrhea in young rabbits . You may be able to glean some useful info from this
http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1690E/t1690e07.htm#TopOfPage

 

[BlueGiants]

I would also suspect coccidiosis as a cause. I'm afraid that once they show symptoms such as the watery diarrhea, it'shard to stop it withoutmedical intervention. (IV Fluids, etc.)

No, I don't think the Kao did any damage, but it wasn't enough for how far along they were.

One of the first things I would do is really, really clean all your cages out. Either use a Vanodine solution or a bleach/water mixture to clean and disinfect the cages and trays. (If you use bleach and water, I use a 1/4 cup to a gallon of water, rinse really well and let dry and air out before you put rabbits back in the cages.) If you don't use trays, shovel everything out and spray the ground under the cages. Sprinkle liberally with lime. I'd get a few fecal samples from several rabbits around the deceased rabbit's cages and have them tested. A fecal float isn't that expensive.

Check your feed (pellets and hay!)for mold, mites, spores, milkweed in the hay, etc. Clean out water bottles (especially if you dump them all in one bucket for filling.) or water lines.

Have you been to any shows recently? Have the rabbits been exposed to any changes in stress levels? Anything (anyone) new in the rabbitry? They can carry coccidia and their immune system can keep it in check, but any stress or percieved threat can allow a bloom in their gutt.

If you see any further symptoms in any other rabbits, your best best would be to get a vets evaluation. Fecal sample testing, even a necropsy would help.

I'm really sorry you lost your Hollands. I hope it doesn't progress any further.

(Please add a location in your bio, it helps us identify any weather/regional/location based issues you might be dealing with... even just a state/country would help.)

 

[LionheadLady]

Thank you both for your help. I will read up on all of the info. I am located outside of Philadelphia. I did move the 1 bunny from an inside cage to a hutch. Could that have made an impact on them? I was trying to give her more room.

I will check the food & I will take some samples to the vet to see if they have anything.

I was so upset with these 2 bunns getting this. They were both with in a week from each other. 1 came from a breeder in NJ the other in PA so they did not even come from the same place. & the 1 we had for a couple of months. So I was totally confused as I said we had not had a problem before.

By the way, your picture with the flemish is so cute! My good friend has flemishes & 1 of our 4h'ers does as well. If you breed let me know I am sure she would be interested in 1. She loves them!

I love this site it is great!

 

[BlueGiants]

Please let us know if you get the tests done, if they show anything. I forgot to ask, did you change feed recently?

Moving one from inside to outside could have done it. Was she acclimated to the outside? Temperatures? Used to being outdoors? Lots of strange noises and smells, other animals (squirrels, raccons, opposum, mice, etc.) moving about. Yeah, that could be stressful. But that may not explain the other.

Do you have other animals in the yard? Could something have scared/stressed them?

How do they look today?

 

[LionheadLady]

She was always outside. The only thing is she was in my barn with is not insulated so she was used to the cold. But she was in a 24 x 24 then moved to a huge hutch outside. It is a 2 story huctch. She seemed to love it. She was always jumping up & down off of the 2nd story. (its not very high but high enough for her to excercise little kits can a few weeks old can jump up on them) It is a dual hutch. She was next to a mom with 6 babies. They all seem to be doing fine. We have no other animals in our yard unless like you said something wild came into the yard.

We do live in the country & I have seen deer in the yard up that close to the house. Other than that a snake or 2 up by the house... Back about anacre I have seen red fox. But I have 8 bunnies in hutches all lined up & like I said the kits born on 9/14 & her right next to each other.

As far as food I did mix some of what they were getting with something new. But I did it slow. Maybe that did it?

The last thing I wanted to do is kill a bunny. These are actually all of my daughtersbunnies, she is 12. It broke her heart when these bunnies died.

Thank you again sooooo very much for trying to help me!

 

[BlueGiants]

I'm sure you did not kill the bunnies. Do not blame yourself. Lets just see if you can get to the bottom of this so it doesn't happen again.

I'd check out the new food... just incase. Start checking all the rabbits daily... lift them up and check their butts. Make sure they are really clean. No smell. (Coccidiosis has a rank, nasty smell attached to it. Sometimes the smell will give it away before symptoms show up.)

Keep any eye on them for bloat... swollen, distended, gassy belly's (sometimes hard to see, but easy to feel if you run your hand down their sides.)

Push fresh Hay on everyone, just in case.

Please tell your daughter, I'm sorry for her loss... none of us handle losing them very well.

 

[LionheadLady]

I can not thank you enough for trying to help me out! My daughter is the sweetest girl & all that matters to her is her bunnies. She could care less about 1/2 of the things the other 12 year olds are into like video games, make up, shopping... All she cares about are her bunnies. & like I said she has been heart broken.

Her 4H leader said he thought it might be enteritis (spelling??) I am looking on the site for info on that.

She has a big 4H show Saturday. Do you think it will be ok to take the bunnies or should they all stay home?

Can enteritis be spread? Do you think the mom & the babies next to her should be moved?

 

[BlueGiants]

Enteritis (mucoid enteropothy) usually describes the physical symptoms... diarrhea, loose stools, mucous in the stool. But not the exact cause. As to which bacteria or imbalance caused it, can be very difficult to determine.

Hugs to your daughter. I know how rough it is to lose them.

 

[pamnock]

It may have been a viral infection. Cocci are normal flora of the intestinal tract, and flourish when the rabbit is stressed. High cocci counts are often not the cause of illness, but a symptom of an illness.

Pam