Does it sound like snuffles?

BunnyHop

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After culling a doe and her kits because of symptoms of snuffles, I had a couple more does show symptoms last night. The doe I culled had a very think white snot for a few days, sometimes with a little hint of green with constant sneezing. It had been going on for at least a 3 - 4 days prior to culling and was convinced it was snuffles.

Right after I culled her, I don't think anyone else in the barn had these symptoms. I cleaned every nook and cranny of the barn and provided Duramycin-10 in their water bottles, but, to my dismay - a couple of my other does have began to show the same symptoms that my first doe showed. I had Vet Rx on hand and decided to try that out on both. This morning, one of the does nose is completely free and dry of snot. The second doe is still a bit snotty but cleared up quite a bit from yesterday, I expect it to clear over the next day.

The vet I went to with my first doe did not do a culture because he is not well equipped with rabbits and there are no vets for miles away. He did tell me he had a case like this before and assumed it was some sort of bacterial infection. He did not charge me for the visit so I don't really feel I should hold anything against him but simply gave me his opinion based on what I told him the rabbits were going to be used for (breeding-meat-pets). What I am afraid to hear is that I culled my doe and her kits for nothing if it is not pasturella and some sort of treatable infection instead. Does pasturella show symptoms only when it wants to?
 

Bunnylady

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More or less, yes. The problem is the way rabbits' nasal passages are designed. There are lots of pockets where bacteria can hang out, where it can be nearly impossible to get antibiotics into. Rabbits have a gift for walling off infections, controlling the infective organism but not eliminating it. A rabbit can carry things around like this, symptom free, for ages. Then ,when some stress comes along and reduces the rabbit's immune function, wallop! Active infection!
 

oneacrefarm

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BunnyHop said:
After culling a doe and her kits because of symptoms of snuffles, I had a couple more does show symptoms last night. The doe I culled had a very think white snot for a few days, sometimes with a little hint of green with constant sneezing. It had been going on for at least a 3 - 4 days prior to culling and was convinced it was snuffles.

Right after I culled her, I don't think anyone else in the barn had these symptoms. I cleaned every nook and cranny of the barn and provided Duramycin-10 in their water bottles, but, to my dismay - a couple of my other does have began to show the same symptoms that my first doe showed. I had Vet Rx on hand and decided to try that out on both. This morning, one of the does nose is completely free and dry of snot. The second doe is still a bit snotty but cleared up quite a bit from yesterday, I expect it to clear over the next day.

The vet I went to with my first doe did not do a culture because he is not well equipped with rabbits and there are no vets for miles away. He did tell me he had a case like this before and assumed it was some sort of bacterial infection. He did not charge me for the visit so I don't really feel I should hold anything against him but simply gave me his opinion based on what I told him the rabbits were going to be used for (breeding-meat-pets). What I am afraid to hear is that I culled my doe and her kits for nothing if it is not pasturella and some sort of treatable infection instead. Does pasturella show symptoms only when it wants to?
The Duramycin and the VetRx will only knock down or mask the symptoms. I would isolate those two does IMMEDIATELY. Stop the Duramycin/VetRx and watch them for a month to see if the symptoms return. Pasteurella aka Snuffles IS a bacteria and it can be treated with antibiotics, but it cannot be cured. The way a rabbits nasal cavities are, there is not enough blood supply to get the medicine in there to kill the bacteria. PLEASE listen to what I am telling you...this is nothing to play around with and you are at risk of losing your entire herd like I did. Don't second guess yourself on this. Anything that sneezes or blows snot needs to go.
 

BunnyHop

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Both does were separated from the rest the moment I saw them sneezing. They are now closer to my home where I can watch them closely.
Should I cull the two does too? One has kits and the other is due soon but they look fine today. One option I have been told was to place them in pet homes, I don't want to do that if they'll suffer for the rest of their lives.
 

oneacrefarm

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BunnyHop said:
Both does were separated from the rest the moment I saw them sneezing. They are now closer to my home where I can watch them closely.
Should I cull the two does too? One has kits and the other is due soon but they look fine today. One option I have been told was to place them in pet homes, I don't want to do that if they'll suffer for the rest of their lives.
Like I said, you need to watch them for a bit to allow the Duramycin to get out of their systems....also, you will need to keep the kits totally separate from the rest of the herd until they either show symptoms or you are sure they are clear. It can take up to breeding age for those kits to show symptoms...I watched mine for 3 mos and watched them all one by one come down with it. You should also be looking for matted paws, even if you don't see them sneeze or see any snot. It will be matted on their paws from wiping their face/nose.
 

texcalkas

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Just out of curiousity...what dose do you recommend for the Duramycin? I have a Giant Chinchilla doe that has been to the vet once for snuffles, she got a shot and a round of antibiotics by mouth and her condition improved. Now the snuffles is back and I do not want to take her back to the vet since I know what the problem is. I'd like to keep her around long enough to get at least one litter out of her.
 

BunnyHop

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texcalkas said:
Just out of curiousity...what dose do you recommend for the Duramycin? I have a Giant Chinchilla doe that has been to the vet once for snuffles, she got a shot and a round of antibiotics by mouth and her condition improved. Now the snuffles is back and I do not want to take her back to the vet since I know what the problem is. I'd like to keep her around long enough to get at least one litter out of her.
Can't really recommend anything because I'm not a licensed vet but I used a heaping teaspoon for a 32 oz bottle waterer for a new zealand.
I was told that the litter will also catch it too so I culled all of the rabbits showing symptoms from the property since.

ETA: The heaping tsp was not a mountain load. I would like to clarify and say that I put just a little more than a leveled teaspoon.
 

secuono

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Do you still have the ones you killed off? You should send/bring them in to your State vet, dead or alive, they will kill them for you. They do birds usually for free and test for all sorts of things and mail you the results. Not sure if they would charge for a rabbit.
I'd send them to know what you are dealing with than just randomly killing them.
 

BunnyHop

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I gave one of them to a friend who wanted her as a pet and she is doing fine, no symptoms of nose discharge or sneezing after being on Duramycin and VetRx. I'll find resources to get her tested by the state if I can find any. The rest I have had culled by a neighbor who is use to culling rabbits humanely. No symptoms since the treatment so don't know if I just did a bad thing by masking the symptoms of the ill rabbits.:barnie
 

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