Health problems of various breeds.

I thought it might be a good idea to have a list of problems that breeds tend to be prone to, so why not add it here and help others.
The first rabbit we bought, as a companion to Benji, our wildie, was an english butterfly called Daisy.
She never produced normal droppings in the few months we had here, and died after a bad bout of diahrroea. We did get a post mortem done, which showed clostridium in her liver, but having been on here I've read that the spotted breeds are prone to megacolon and wonder if this is what she had.
Any body else know of other illnesses which seem to be breed specific?

halfpenny said:

I thought it might be a good idea to have a list of problems that breeds tend to be prone to, so why not add it here and help others.
The first rabbit we bought, as a companion to Benji, our wildie, was an english butterfly called Daisy.
She never produced normal droppings in the few months we had here, and died after a bad bout of diahrroea. We did get a post mortem done, which showed clostridium in her liver, but having been on here I've read that the spotted breeds are prone to megacolon and wonder if this is what she had.
Any body else know of other illnesses which seem to be breed specific?

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Rex- sore hocks
Nethies/lionheads/lops- dental problems

Never had any, but believe Rex's can also be prone to heart conditions. Can anybody confirm.

I would be interested in knowing anything that Dutch rabbita are prone to please?

halfpenny said:

Never had any, but believe Rex's can also be prone to heart conditions. Can anybody confirm.

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Yes, I have had several Rexes with Heart problems

Frenchies-Ectropion/Entropion
Lops- Otitis externa/media, Malocclusion
Nethies-Malocclusion, Eye injuries
Lionheads-Malocclusion, Epileptiform Seizures
Giants-Skeletal problems eg hip dysplasia
REWs-Poor eyesight
Orange Rexes-Poor eyesight
Rexes-aswell as heart problems sore hocks
Spotted Rabbits and Belgian Hares-Dysautonomia

I am sure there are loads more..........

Angoras tend to be lousy mothers....not sure if that counts as a "health problem" but it sure us unhealthy for the babies:?
We had four angoras at school, two of them got pregnant (mother and adult daughter) but killed their babies within days... a while later the eldest died of a heart condition which apparently also was inheritable...makes me doubt the breeder they came from:evil:

Could that also have been something to do with the environnment? I can't imagine that any pregnant rabbit would thrive in a school situation and would be at higher risk of killing their offspring in order to 'protect' them against the perceived danger?

Also, cross post to this thread here for a similar discussion : http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=155800

dwarf lop..teeth roots malocclusion.....ear infetions and eye infections (but i think they were all linked poor soul)stasis etc

cross breed uppy eared maybe part dutch.........suicidal tendencies..eating brickwork..anything!! no stasisno mites ever..no ear infections no runny eyes..BUT he did have blader crystals a lot..died from vet neglect.

mini lop fine then spurs on teeth...stress after losing moggies and my dad dying stress too much overload of cecals and then died form gi stasis rleated illness as vet never took him in and i was naive.

frenchie.....weight issues as she was a food addict anyfood rabbit or human or cat! died of suspected embolism..i think it was heart failure/attack personally.

she never ever had a dirty bum..wee infectons..dental issues...eye issues ear issues etc..not obese but a masive bunny!

i have alionhead whos prone ot weeing himself stupid with fright smeels but vet says no infection jjust goes a bit fishy when hes major stressed.when i got him form the rescue he oculdnt be homed as he had messy bum 24/7 and stopepd eating each time he was rehomed. well he ate like a horse after being here for a few minutes and once he was deplummed of his bigger than expected even for a big bunny plums he was fine..able to eat his soft poos..able to scoff hay when he refused at the rescue...too skittish..too easily scared..hell die of fright i swear

my lionhead lop cross other rescue bun has had more tummy probs htan i can count onboth hands..dental probs..nerve probs post traumatic stress syndrome!!

my frenhcie buck adopted whenhe was 18 months old has had mites..haematoma...hes rew so he goes around with his eyes almost shut all the time and cant see that well...hes had an abcess under his chin.....hes been not too bad..until willow died now hes got major depression grieving not eating/drinking etc etc.....

so lops are worst for dentals but os are all dwarfed breeds nethies etc too.

i think its not just the breed its the animals theyre bred from and the feed lifestyle they have..poro bif was 18 month sold when she came ot me form a rescue..they said shed never had dental probs or vet didnt see any..but shes had loads...i dont care just would have liked the rescue to be honest.

Any short nosed breed (e.g. nethies and the smaller lop breeds) is more prone to blocked tear ducts and runny eyes due to there not being enough space for the teeth roots.

AlisonA said:

Could that also have been something to do with the environnment? I can't imagine that any pregnant rabbit would thrive in a school situation and would be at higher risk of killing their offspring in order to 'protect' them against the perceived danger?

Also, cross post to this thread here for a similar discussion : http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=155800

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No, its not a normal school, and we've had several successful litters before:3 In fact 4 out of my five bunnies were born there XD Zakura from a classmate's rabbit, Sasuke from a school rabbit, and I also brought Aroma there where she gave birth to Tobi, Rufus, Niko and Conejo (Conejo was sold at school and Niko stayed there) Most of the time the animals are locked up and only those who work with them are allowed in... when the Angoras were born the door was locked, no one was allowed in but the teacher who fed them:roll: Didn't do any good though

I've had 2 lion heads from rescues & both had dental problems.

I did some searching on this subject and I couldn't come across any real evidence for breed spesific illness'.

I did find the same health issues for pretty much all rabbits however;

Hairball obstruction
earmites
pasteunella
respiratory disease
dental problems
bladder stones

It's interesting to read how some of the breeds came about though, like the rex, a normal grey that had two kits in the same litter (of opposite sex) with a mutated hair gene and they were then bred and worked on by breeders to get the rex we have today.

The Lionhead rabbit originated in Belgium. It is reported to have been produced by breeders trying to breed a long coated dwarf rabbit by crossing a miniature Swiss Fox and a Belgian dwarf.

More info like this is available here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rabbit_breeds