By Jennifer Poindexter
Rabbits are one of the smallest yet steady meat
sources you can have on a homestead. They also are
a very healthy meat source as they are all white meat.
However, in my time of raising rabbits (and
communicating with a lot of others who raise rabbits)
I’ve noticed there are certain illnesses and ailments
that commonly occur in rabbits. It is important to
understand these and also recognize them in a timely
fashion so they don’t get out of hand.
So I’m bringing you a list of the 10 most common
illnesses and ailments among rabbits (in my opinion)
and how you can effectively treat them or stop them
from occurring.
check my rabbit’s ears almost daily to be sure I keep a
jump on them.
But if your rabbits get ear mites, don’t feel bad. My
rabbits live in really clean conditions and are fed a
proper diet and still ended up with them. What I
found in my research is that ear mites often live in
hay.
Well, if you are feeding your rabbits a proper diet it
should include mainly hay. If you notice your rabbits
ears are full of gunk, then it is time to get to work.
You’ll need a dropper ( I actually use a squirt
bottle like this.)
Here are the most common illnesses and ailments
among rabbits:
1. Ear Mites
Then fill it with oil of any kind. I usually use vegetable
oil because it is inexpensive, and then place a few
drops of oil in the infected ear twice a day for 7 days.
This smothers the ear mites and relieves the crusty
skin from the ear.
The first time I came across ear mites I panicked. Ear
mites are tiny little bugs that set up shop in your
rabbit’s ears. The ear will look really crusty, brown,
and itchy.
So if you see your rabbits scratching their ears a lot,
check them. After having a bout with ear mites, I now
in it. I also try to put a drop of oil in each of my
rabbits’ ears once a week as a preventative measure
for ear mites.
2. Snuffles
You need to realize up front that it is not normal for
an animal to ‘get a cold.’ I made this mistake with my
chickens and lost a large portion of my flock one year.
So when you see that your rabbits have nasal
discharge or are sniffling then you need to pay
attention to what is happening. Other symptoms of
the snuffles are matted paws, sneezing, and watery
eyes.
Basically, this disease is best prevented by keeping
your rabbits on a healthy diet and also keeping your
rabbitry clean. The snuffles is a bacteria so if you keep
their immune system ready to fight while also not
giving bacteria a place to grow, then you should stay
ahead of this disease.
However, it is important to mention, do NOT pick the
scabs out of your rabbit’s ears. They will clear up
naturally. Picking at it will be painful for your rabbit
and also open them up to more possibility of
infection. Just let the oil do the work.
However, if by some chance your rabbits develop this
disease, then it is usually best to try and treat them
with antibiotics, though they are not guaranteed to
treat this illness.
But you can try to prevent ear mites by keeping hay in
a hay feeder and not just allowing your rabbits to lay
So the best way to defeat this disease is to never let it
set-up with your rabbits.
3. Heat Stroke
Also, you can blow a fan on your rabbits indirectly so
cool air can circulate around them. Don’t blow it
directly on them as this can cause problems for your
rabbit.
4. GI Stasis
Heat stroke is something you have to really pay
attention to when it comes to keeping rabbits. The
reason is that they are very well insulated.
So on blistery cold nights you might be fearful of
them freezing to death. When in reality if you provide
a way to block the wind and give them extra hay (as
chewing keeps them warm), then your rabbits should
be just fine.
However, summer is a different story. Your rabbits
need to be kept in the shade with lots of water as
heat can quickly get to them. So if your rabbit is
lethargic and it is warmer outside, then you’ll need to
act quickly.
Be sure to quickly decrease their body temperature
by spraying them gently with cool water. Then you
will need to take them to a vet so they can be treated
with IV fluids.
But your best bet is to try to avoid heat stroke all
together. You can do this by giving your rabbits frozen
water bottles. They can lay next to these bottles and
absorb some of the cool.
Photo by Vet Girl on the Run
GI Stasis is a serious and often fatal disease. Your best
bet is to completely prevent the disease by feeding
your rabbits a diet high in fiber which basically means
giving them lots of hay.
10 Common Rabbit
Diseases, Illnesses, &
Ailments and How to
Treat Them
(Part 1)
However, you will recognize GI Stasis because your
rabbit will become bloated, lethargic, suffer from loss
of appetite, not drink fluids, and also quit going to the
bathroom.
If your bun starts showing any of these signs it is
important to give them lots of fluids and hay. As well
as massage their bellies.
But if you see no movement in their systems, it might
be time to call your vet as it could potentially require
surgery.
Reproduced by:
Gen San FITS Center
E-mail: gensanfitscenter@yahoo.com
Office of the City Agriculturist
General Santos City
5. Sore Hocks
6. Bloat
7. Coccidiosis
Photo by MediRabbit
If you’ve ever seen a rabbit with sore hocks, it just
looks painful. But the good news is that sore hocks is
easily preventable.
Bloat is a big deal! If your rabbit develops this it will
most likely be a fatal blow to them. So the best way
to handle bloat is to prevent it from happening.
So sore hocks is when the rabbit is either living in less
than ideal conditions, or they have nowhere to rest
their feet and their feet become callused and sore on
the bottoms. Which are two important things to keep
in mind if you are raising rabbits in wire hutches.
But first things first, bloat is when your rabbit’s
stomach has an imbalance of bacteria in it. This
causes their bellies to look like a balloon and begin to
swell.
It is important to provide your rabbits with either
nesting boxes to rest their feet in, a board to rest
their feet on, or to provide them with mats.
However, if you have a larger breed rabbit this is very
common with them where they have so much weight
on their hocks. So be sure that they especially have
really clean living conditions and lots of room to rest
their feet.
This disease happens when your rabbit eats too much
green food, wet grass clippings, moldy food, not
enough fiber in their diet, if they are fed irregularly,
or if they eat food that is spoiled.
So keep this in mind when feeding your rabbits. We
feed our rabbits protein pellets, but they eat mainly a
diet of hay. During the warmer months we use fresh
vegetables and weeds as a treat, but they do not get
them regularly for this very reason. We also feed our
rabbits fodder. They love it, but they don’t get an
excessive amount of it either.
It is important to pay attention to what you feed your
rabbits. Also, you should pay attention to their poop.
Make sure that they are still going regularly and that
everything looks like it should.
This is something you hear talked about regularly if
you belong to any type of rabbit group online. As
soon as someone posts a stomach issue with their
rabbit this dreaded disease is one of the first
suggestions thrown out there.
But I’m very grateful for all of the information that
has been shared in some of the groups I belong to
because I learned a lot about Coccidiosis (also
referred to as Cocci.) This is why I stopped raising my
rabbits in a colony setting. It makes breeding hard to
keep up with and cleaning a lot more difficult too.
So out of fear that my rabbits would develop this
horrible disease I decided hutches were a safer bet.
Much to my surprise, my rabbits actually appear
much happier in a hutch. I think they feel more
secure.
But as far as cocci goes, you’ll know your rabbits
could possibly have it if they begin to develop
diarrhea, have a lack of appetite, won’t drink, become
very weak, and their stomach appears bloated. This is
a disease that is carried my parasites. The parasites
set up shop in the gut of the rabbit and therefore is
spread through their feces.
It is usually fatal and will often times set up in baby
kits around the ages of 4-6 weeks. If you are raising
your rabbits for meat, you’ll need to pay attention for
this disease because you will not want to eat a rabbit
that has been impacted by this disease.
8. Flystrike
and grass they get as this causes diarrhea which also
attracts flies.
But if you notice maggots attached to your rabbit’s
hind quarters, you’ll need to immediately call your
vet. They will be able to administer treatment in a
way that won’t harm your rabbit.
However, if you aren’t near a vet, then you will need
to carefully administer these next steps.
Photo by huntersbarvets.co.uk
This is a terrible disease and one that I hope you will
be able to keep from your rabbits. Flystrike happens
when flies lay their eggs in moist areas of skin on a
rabbit. These eggs will hatch into maggots within 24
hours.
They then will live under your rabbit’s skin and
release poison that will kill your rabbit. Again, the
best method to treat this disease is to prevent it.
You will need to be sure that your rabbit’s hind
quarters are kept very clean. If you have a rabbit that
is overweight or a female that has a large dewlap,
then it may be hard for them to clean themselves
properly.
If this is the case, be sure to clean your rabbits daily.
Also, be sure to keep their hutches clean and make
sure your rabbit does not sit around in soil bedding.
You’ll also want to limit the amount of fresh veggies
First, you’ll need to grab the tweezer and begin
pulling the maggots out of your rabbit’s skin. Then
you’ll want to soak your rabbit’s bum in warm water.
But be sure to dry their hind quarters thoroughly
after the fact.
Next, you’ll need to carefully shave off any dirty or
soiled hair around their bum. But you must be careful
as rabbit’s skin is very thin and you could really harm
your rabbit.
Finally, you’ll need to administer antibiotics to your
rabbit to insure that no infection sets up. But again, if
you have the ability to get to a vet, I’d recommend
letting them do these steps as they are able to sedate
your rabbit so nothing is uncomfortable for them
while they receive this treatment.
10 Common Rabbit
Diseases, Illnesses, &
Ailments and How to
Treat Them
(Part 2)
Reproduced by:
Gen San FITS Center
E-mail: gensanfitscenter@yahoo.com
Office of the City Agriculturist
General Santos City
9. Head Tilt
tilt don’t count out the idea of them having had a
stroke.
Middle/Inner Ear Infection: If your rabbit has an ear
infection, it could be causing signs of vertigo which
equates to him leaning his head over.
Photo by The Bunny Hut
Head tilt is another disease that is very common to
hear about in rabbit groups, but I’ve also been very
thankful for all of the knowledge I’ve gained on this
topic from the groups too.
So head tilt is when your bunny flops his head to one
side. It is also referred to as wry neck. Their eyes
often go side to side in a rapid movement too.
The reason for head tilt is many, and the treatment
will depend upon the reason. I’ll go ahead and tell
you, a vet will be the only true way to determine
what has caused your rabbit’s head tilt.
These are what can potentially cause rabbit head tilt:
Trauma: A blow to the head can cause brain damage
which equates to the rabbit holding his head to one
side or the other permanently.
Cancer: If your rabbit has a tumor growing in his
head, neck, or spine this could cause the rabbit to
develop head tilt.
Stroke: We often see similar physical signs in humans
that have had a stroke. A rabbit really isn’t all that
different. So if your rabbit suddenly develops heads
There are a few other reasons as well such as: cervical
muscle contraction, intoxication, and cerebral larva
migrans.
But as mentioned above, there is no way of knowing
exactly what has happened to your rabbit without the
help of a vet. Then understanding what caused the
issue will make the treatment vary greatly.
10. Red Urine
The first time I encountered this with my rabbits, I
was so glad I had done my research and participated
in rabbit groups because I knew what I was looking at.
So red urine just means that your rabbit is urinating a
reddish, pinkish, or maybe even a brownish color. But
don’t panic. It usually just means that they’ve been
eating too much of something like carrots for
instance.
However, if nothing in their diet has changed, or they
keep urinating odd colors after the food has cleared
their system, then it might be wise to get a urine
sample and let a vet check it out.
Obviously, there are a lot more illnesses that occur in
rabbits. But I do hope that this overview of some
common illnesses with rabbits will help you as you
raise your own rabbits whether it be for farming
purposes or as a pet.
However, we want to hear your thoughts. Is there
another illness that you think new rabbit owners
should be aware of? If so, what are the symptoms
and the treatments for such an illness?
Source:
https://morningchores.com
10 Common Rabbit
Diseases, Illnesses, &
Ailments and How to
Treat Them
(Part 3)
Reproduced by:
Gen San FITS Center
E-mail: gensanfitscenter@yahoo.com
Office of the City Agriculturist
General Santos City