Why are rabbits dying and what to do?

The body of a domestic rabbit does not tolerate diseases well, especially if they are caused by exposure to a virus. As a result, yesterday a completely healthy animal dies for no apparent reason. therefore the condition of the rabbits must be monitored constantly, in order to notice the symptoms of the disease in time and isolate it from its relatives, as well as do everything possible to cure it. In this article, we will look at common diseases that cause rabbits to die, why they appear and what to do in such cases.

Why rabbits are dying: causes of death

A common cause of illness and subsequent death in rabbits is violation of sanitary standards during maintenance. Untimely cleaning of cages, drinking dirty or spoiled water, all this negatively affects the health of the livestock. It is especially bad for an unbalanced diet, which further weakens the animal's immunity.

Rabbits also die in an attentive owner, who provides his wards with good feeding, timely cleaning and disinfection of cages. The reason for this is viral and infectious diseases, which are common in the summer, since they are transferred not only from a sick animal to a healthy one, but also through insect bites.

The most common diseases of adults and young animals

• VGBK;
• myxomatosis;
• pasteurellosis;
• coccidosis;
• flatulence.

HBV (fever) - viral hemorrhagic disease of rabbits, when to get vaccinated

The abbreviation stands for - rabbit viral hemorrhagic disease... This disease is the cause of the death of rabbits. Animals are susceptible to diseases from two months. VGBK, or in simple words, fever, is very contagious, it is transmitted not only through the wool, meat and feces of infected individuals, but also by air. Mortality occurs in 90% of cases... It is not always possible to notice that the animal is infected, since HBV can pass in an asymptomatic form. In the acute form, rabbits completely refuse food, behave restlessly, very quickly lose strength and become inactive, but at the same time they convulsively twitch their paws and throw their head back.

The animal is in pain, therefore, it periodically emits a squeak, blood discharge through the nose is possible. Death occurs from 24 to 72 hours from the moment of infection... The disease affects and destroys the animal's liver, and also causes pulmonary edema, which often becomes the cause of death, as the body picks up oxygen.

In order to protect your livestock, you need to use a special the vaccine given to rabbits at 45 days of age... Adults can be administered at any time. The vaccine is valid for one year, after which revaccination should be carried out. Treatment of the disease has not yet been developed, and the reasons for the recovery of individual individuals have not been established.

Myxomatosis (distemper), visible symptoms

Disease transmitted by insect bites and produces profuse mucus from the nose and eyes. An infected animal can live with these symptoms for a long time, while infecting its relatives. Myxomatosis, common plague, very dangerous for young livestock, in which mortality occurs much faster than in adults.

In addition to secreting mucus, infected individuals have swelling or nodular swellings in the nose, ears, and eyes.

After the onset of symptoms, the disease develops rapidly and leads to the death of adult animals in about 10-14 days, and young animals in 7 days.

Myxomatosis spreads very quickly, and if one infected rabbit is found on the farm, then most likely the rest are already infected. The disease has no effective treatmenttherefore vaccination is needed to prevent it. Possible use of the associated vaccine, which has in its structure the strain of myxomatosis and VGBV, which eliminates the need to inject the animal with a syringe twice.

Pasteurellosis 

Infectious a disease that can cause a massive death of livestock in just 2 days... Visible symptoms are a runny nose, sneezing, and lack of appetite. Unlike the above diseases, which appeared relatively recently, pasteurellosis has been known for a very long time.

The disease is fatal, but on a much smaller scale than the former. Death occurs in 15-75% of cases. The better the feeding and sanitation, the lower the death rate.

The disease can pass in an acute form or develop into a chronic one. In an acute course, the temperature of the animal rises to 41 degrees, after which shortness of breath, runny nose and sneezing begin. After a few hours or days, such a rabbit will most likely die. In the chronic form, the animal shows all the signs of rhinitis and conjunctivitis., which complicates timely diagnosis. The patient's stool becomes liquid, the appearance of purulent abscesses under the skin is possible, which open after 1.5-2 months. Fortunately, this ailment can be cured with medication.

Coccidiosis

The disease is caused by parasitic protozoa unicellular organisms. Parasites infect the liver and intestines... Every rabbit is a carrier of coccidosis, but the clinical form is rare.

Coccidosis manifests itself vividly, which helps with its diagnosis. So a sick animal has bloated belly and emaciated body, while there is no appetite. The disease is transmitted by coccidial oocytes, which are present in food and water. Healthy animals with strong immunity can independently resist the development of coccidia to a painful clinical form.

When an infected rabbit is slaughtered, point light growths in the form of nodules are observed on the liver and intestines. In addition, the liver will increase 5 times. The disease is treated with antibiotics, but first of all, it is necessary to improve the conditions of detention, preventing the accumulation of dirt and overpopulation of cells.

Flatulence

Flatulence or bloating, a common cause of death. Since the intestines of a rabbit are sensitive, it is difficult to restore its work if it fails, and sometimes it is impossible. The cause of flatulence is a sharp change in the flora of the digestive system.... This can happen if the food was very moist or juicy, which was unusual for the animal.

With flatulence, the rabbit falls into apathy., he suffers from colic and refuses to eat. This leads to fermentation in the intestines of the eaten food, since it is not pushed out by new food. As a result, bacteria develop in the digestive system, which begin to destroy the intestinal walls and lead to the death of the patient.

Other reasons due to which the livestock dies

In addition to the common causes of the death of rabbits, there are several more rare, but also dangerous diseases.

Rabbits are susceptible to scabies mites infestationthat parasitize in their ears.Ticks eat into the skin of the animal and drink its blood, causing severe itching. Scabs appear in the ears, the hair falls out on them. The exhausted animal gradually fades, it refuses food, loses strength and dies after long torment. These parasites can be killed with modern drugs, so the rabbit can be cured.

Females during lactation are prone to the appearance infectious mastitis on the nipples... The cause of the disease is the wounds received from the rabbits' sharp teeth. These bites are natural, but if poorly kept in a dirty cage, an infection begins to develop on them, which spreads throughout the body, infects the blood, which is fatal. Therefore, the cages with rabbits feeding young animals must be especially clean.

The reasons for the death of little rabbits

Rabbits under the age of one month are not susceptible to disease, since they have strong immunity obtained from the mother's milk. But strong immunity is not able to protect them from everything. Most frequent the reason for the death of young rabbits is the low temperature in the nest... They freeze to death even in hot summer, if they are not in the nest with bedding and mother's down.

The next reason is hunger. Lack of mother's milk in the early days, becomes an insurmountable obstacle for kids. Controlling the milkiness of the female can be carried out by weighing the rabbits. By measuring their total weight before and after feeding, you can determine how much milk they drank. In case of its lack, it is necessary to improve the feeding of the female, or to remove part of the offspring to another rabbit who has children of the same age and who does not have a lack of milk.

Treatment and prevention of diseases at home

Diseases such as VGBK and myxomatosis are not treated, and mortality among infected individuals is very high. At the same time, they experience severe torment, so it is better to kill the animal. The only panacea is vaccination, which is given every year.

Pasteurellosis can be treated with antibiotics and B vitamins, especially at the initial stage of the disease. Coccidiosis is eliminated under the influence of drugs:

• Trichopolum;
• Sulfadimezin;
• Khimkokcid.

Thus, it is important to monitor the well-being of the rabbits, and periodically carry out a detailed examination. Vaccinations should not be avoided at least against incurable diseases.... Good nutrition and good sanitation will rule out the development of most non-viral diseases.