Symptoms and treatment of myxomatosis in rabbits

Rabbit breeding is a popular household industry. After all, these domestic animals are highly fertile, and their meat is of high value. However, breeding does not always go as smoothly as we would like.

Many rabbit farmers know that these animals are susceptible to diseases that lead to serious consequences. One of the dangerous diseases that often occurs in these animals is myxomatosis.

If the appropriate treatment is not provided on time, then as a result, all livestock may die. In this article, we will analyze the symptoms of myxomatosis in a rabbit, find out how to treat the disease and whether it is dangerous for humans.

Symptoms of myxomatosis in rabbits

If you suddenly began to notice that your rabbit offspring began to suffer from any disease, then first you should determine what kind of disease it is that you will have to fight. To determine the disease, you need to pay attention to the appearance and behavior of individuals. In the presence of infection, the offspring becomes passive, many individuals lose their appetite, they become lethargic.

However, with myxomatosis, there are a number of symptoms and signs that you should pay increased attention to from the first days of appearance:

1. Serious eye lesions appear first. The first signs of conjunctivitis appear on the mucous membrane of the eyes. Then, a discharge appears from the eyes, which has a milky structure. After that, they become very swollen and inflamed;
2. Inhibited movements. With myxomatosis in rabbits, movements are inhibited, slow. At this time, he does not move as confidently and actively as usual;
3. A sharp increase in body temperature. The body temperature at this time can rise to +42 degrees. To the touch, the body of individuals is hot, sometimes even fiery;
4. Deterioration in the quality of the coat. The structure of the fur of rabbits loses its bright and rich color. It becomes stiff to the touch. In addition, even with light stroking, clumps of wool fall out;
5. In addition to the eyes, the lips, ears, nose, and eyelids are very swollen. Sometimes there are inflammatory processes of the reproductive system;
6. During the transition of the disease to a severe form individuals are almost always in a state of lying and cannot even raise their ears;
7. Sometimes the animal may go into a coma, from which it is quite difficult to derive it and sometimes even impossible;
8. On nose, ears and feet fibrous nodes are formed.

Often the owner does not pay attention to the first symptoms of the disease, because at the first stage it does not manifest itself in any way. Therefore, individuals die without receiving proper treatment. This happens within 2 days or 48 hours. Sometimes there are cases when individuals in such a serious condition lived for another 2 weeks.

Sometimes, along with myxomatosis in rabbits, other concomitant infectious diseases occur., which greatly worsen the condition of individuals. During myxomatosis, pneumonia appears, which leads to the death of the animal.In these cases, appropriate treatment should be carried out as early as possible, which consists of inoculation and vaccination of rabbits against myxomatosis.

How does the infection take place?

It is worth remembering that myxomatosis is transmitted through insects. Carriers of this disease include blood-sucking insects:

• Mosquitoes;
• Mosquitoes;
• Flies;
• Midges;
• Fleas;
• Lice;
• Ticks.

The peculiarity lies in the fact that these insects are not sick with this disease, they simply carry its virus on their paws. As soon as any of these insects sits on an animal, it transfers the virus from its paws to it and as a result the rabbit immediately becomes infected with the myxomatosis virus.

Sometimes birds act as carriers of this disease, they carry the disease virus on their claws. Accordingly, when a rabbit comes into contact with this bird, the rabbit is instantly affected by this disease.

Treatment of myxomatosis at home

Now let's talk about how and how to treat myxomatosis in rabbits. Many experts believe that the treatment of myxomatosis in rabbits at home is quite difficult. However, this is a moot point. If you start treating this disease at the earliest possible date, you can completely cure it in a short period.

Vaccination

Vaccination does not provide complete protection against disease, but it does make it mild and reduces the risk of future occurrence. In addition, after vaccination, the survival rate of individuals increases significantly.

In vaccinated rabbits, the disease manifests itself as small lumps and nodules. These symptoms disappear on their own after a while. The duration of the vaccine action is 9 months.

Vaccination rules:

1. Vaccination is given to rabbits at the age of one month, 7 days after weaning;
2. Rabbits at the age of two months undergo revaccination;
3. Vaccination is done twice a year - in March and September;
4. The vaccine should be administered with sterilized needles and syringes. Boil the tool for at least 15 minutes;
5. A separate needle must be used for each rabbit. In no case should the vaccine be administered to all individuals with one needle;
6. The vaccination site is treated with a medical alcohol solution;
7. After vaccination, individuals are observed for 20 days.

If the vaccination is done subcutaneously, then half the dose of the vaccine and half of the diluent are used for this. 0.5 ml of the drug is injected into the thigh area.

During intradermal administration, one dose of the vaccine and 0.2 ml of the diluent is used. In these cases, the drug is injected into the ear area in a volume of 0.2 ml.

Antibiotic treatment

Often this disease is treated at an early stage with antibiotics and immunomodulators. Sometimes an alcoholic iodine solution is used to treat open wounds.

Home treatment methods:

1. Subcutaneous injections are given daily. Gamavit is injected subcutaneously at a dosage of 0.2 ml. Injections are made until the individuals are fully recovered;
2. Subcutaneous injections - Fosprenil 1 ml. The drug is administered once a day until complete recovery;
3. The rabbits are given a solution from Baytril to drink for a week. This medicine should be diluted in water at a dosage of 1 ml per 10 kg of an individual. This solution should be given to the rabbits daily;
4. Be sure to bury your eyes with special drops, for example Ofloxacin. This medication is used as an ointment;
5. Drops of Aquamaris should be instilled into the nose;
6. Saline is used to rinse the eyes;
7. Open wounds are treated with an alcoholic iodine solution until they are completely healed;
8. During the week, rabbits are injected with vitamin B subcutaneously to strengthen the immune system;

How to treat sick rabbits with folk remedies?

In addition to drug treatment and vaccination, myxomatosis can be treated using alternative methods, namely:

• Lubrication of the affected areas with copious amounts of overcooked sunflower oil. To do this, pour a small amount of sunflower oil into a frying pan (it is advisable to use unrefined or fresh oil) and heat it up. As soon as it gets hot, overcook it for 15-20 minutes. Next, dip a cotton swab in an oil mixture and lubricate all affected areas;
• Treatment with camel thorn solution. It is necessary to collect a full jar of these thorns and fill them with hot water. Then close the jar with a lid, leave to stand for 2-3 hours. After this time, the solution must be filtered through a gauze material. This solution must be drawn into a syringe and injected into the rabbits' shins. The dosage for adults should be no more than 5 ml, and for small rabbits 2 ml. Before using this recipe, you should consult a veterinarian;
• For wound healing, you can use the following recipe: you need to collect urine in a jar or bottle and put it in sunlight, preferably in direct rays. After 2-4 hours, it will be possible to dip a cotton swab in this liquid and lubricate all the affected areas in rabbits with it. The skin will heal much faster, and the smell of urine will scare away all mosquitoes and blood-sucking carriers of myxomatosis.

Edematous form

The edematous form or the classic form of myxomatosis in rabbits is considered the most severe. Its duration ranges from 4 days to 15 days. It usually ends in death.

The main features of this form:

1. Redness occurs in the form of spots or bumps on the surface of the skin around the eyelids and on the auricles;
2. Lesion of the mucous membrane of the eyes, conjunctivitis manifests itself with purulent discharge from the eyes;
3. Severe swelling of the eyes;
4. Bonding of the eyelids;
5. The appearance of liquid nasal discharge;
6. Difficulty breathing.

Treatment of miskomatosis in edematous form is not carried out, because it does not give results. If individuals develop myxomatosis in an edematous form, then they should be slaughtered. Meat after slaughter cannot be consumed in food.

Nodular form

Myxomatosis in a nodular form in rabbits lasts from 30 to 40 days. This form of the disease is considered the mildest, and is characterized by the appearance of small nodules in the greatest number on the head and ears. Later, there are signs of conjunctivitis and runny nose.

For the treatment of myxomatosis in this form, it is necessary to start immediately after the first days. Usually, antibiotic drugs, vaccination and treatment of wounds with iodine solution are used to treat this form. The survival rate after this form is almost 70%.

Is it possible to eat the meat of sick animals and is it dangerous for humans?

But what about the meat of a sick animal? Myxomaosis disease in rabbits leaves open the question of whether their meat can be eaten after or during the disease.

There is no definite answer to this question. Many experts argue that this disease does not pose a particular danger to humans and therefore the meat of a sick rabbit after slaughter can be eaten.

After slaughter, animals must be burned.But if you are not too squeamish, then after slaughter you can leave the carcasses for their further consumption. But it is advisable to carefully prepare them before that.

Prophylaxis

In order to prevent the occurrence of this serious disease and to protect your rabbit offspring from infection with this infection, it is worth following all the preventive recommendations:

• During the period of activity of blood-sucking insects, it is necessary to carefully protect all animals from their attack. The greatest activity of these insects is observed in May and June, during this period a special room should be equipped for rabbits, which will exclude contact with all kinds of blood-sucking insects;
• For new animals, it is imperative to carry out quarantine measures;
• Regularly check the coat of animals for fleas and lice... At their first occurrence, carry out treatment with appropriate means against these parasites;
• If the animal is sick with myxomatosis, it should be immediately deposited in a separate cage;
• Animal cages must be regularly treated with disinfectants;
• Be sure to feed the individuals, even if they have no appetite. If individuals cannot feed on their own, then they are fed through a syringe;
• Pumpkin pulp and pineapple juice are added to rabbit feed. The components are mixed, the mixture should resemble mashed potatoes in consistency. This mixture must be fed to individuals every day before and after their recovery;
• Regular and timely vaccination of all individuals.

Myxomatosis is a serious illness that usually occurs in an acute form. When it occurs, many owners cannot immediately determine the presence of this disease. For this reason, in many individuals, it turns into a severe form that cannot be cured.

Many veterinarians advise, when a disease occurs, immediately slaughter sick individuals., because often the treatment does not bring a positive result. Also, there is no intelligible answer to the question of whether the disease is dangerous to humans. In any case, we advise you to play it safe and not risk your health.

Finally, we suggest watching a short video on the topic: