• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Pasteurella in large groups of rabbits

yaretzi

Wise Old Thumper
A friend of mine is having problems at a place she works. They have a large group of female rabbits and then males are kept singly in hutches. Two rabbits have died in the last few weeks of suspected pasteurella.

Obviously the usual first line of treatment should always be a vet. Unfortunately the owner of the place has almost no funds dedicated to veterinary care. I've said I'll go over tomorrow to help check the existing rabbits (14 as far as I know) and weigh them.

What would be the best way to deal with this situation in terms of minimising infection to existing rabbits?

Is it best to identify any rabbits with symptoms and isolate them away from the ones without any symptoms? And then, if possible, move all the healthy ones to a new enclosure (since pasteurella can live for a while in wet/damp conditions, and it'd be very hard to clean the enclosure to a standard good enough to ensure it's free from infection)? Plus try to ensure the enclosure is as dry as possible? I think it's in a building so it should be weatherproof, I think it's more the wee from the rabbits which is acting as an easy way to transmit infection.

My friend has isolated some animals before and they've just been put back in with the population, so these measures may not even work. Just trying to see what she can do to try and help.

I'm sure my friend is trying as hard as she can to get the rabbits seen by a vet. Perhaps once we identify who is visibly ill we may be able to get them seen to. I'm not sure, I've never been there.
 
It might not be pasturella, it might be another bacteria, there are a few that cause snuffles.

If it is pasturella, they all have it already. 99%+ of rabbits already have it, because it is airbourne and also spreads from contact from the carer etc. Any rabbit from a multi-rabbit background (rescue/petshop/breeder) will almost certainly have it because it spreads so easily. So almost all rabbits have it but their immune system keeps it in check and for most they wont be bothered by it - this is also the reason many snuffle buns have healthy partners. It lies dormant until the immune system is weakened and then the bacteria can multiply and once it has been 'triggered' you get the symptoms associated with snuffles. From then it is a battle to manage the bacteria in order for the immune system to gain control.

So for it to be so prevalent in this group, I would be asking why their immune systems are compromised to allow them all to get it. I would expect forms of stress likely, or perhaps bad conditions? Removing any stresses and making sure they are being kept correctly, in order to help the immune system, as well as antibiotics to help control the bacteria, is what is needed. I would suggest tests to determine the bacteria but they are expensive and dont always show results so I'm guessing that's not an option.

Or perhaps it is a different bacteria, like bordetella.

To be honest, and this me being judgy, which I know isn't nice, but from what you've said I would expect that the conditions aren't ideal and that keeping the does in what I assume are unneutered groups in close proximity to entire males may also be causing them stress. If they are in a building as well, might be worth asking whether it is heated and if so temperature changes from inside to outside may be a factor.
 
It might not be pasturella, it might be another bacteria, there are a few that cause snuffles.

If it is pasturella, they all have it already. 99%+ of rabbits already have it, because it is airbourne and also spreads from contact from the carer etc. Any rabbit from a multi-rabbit background (rescue/petshop/breeder) will almost certainly have it because it spreads so easily. So almost all rabbits have it but their immune system keeps it in check and for most they wont be bothered by it - this is also the reason many snuffle buns have healthy partners. It lies dormant until the immune system is weakened and then the bacteria can multiply and once it has been 'triggered' you get the symptoms associated with snuffles. From then it is a battle to manage the bacteria in order for the immune system to gain control.

So for it to be so prevalent in this group, I would be asking why their immune systems are compromised to allow them all to get it. I would expect forms of stress likely, or perhaps bad conditions? Removing any stresses and making sure they are being kept correctly, in order to help the immune system, as well as antibiotics to help control the bacteria, is what is needed. I would suggest tests to determine the bacteria but they are expensive and dont always show results so I'm guessing that's not an option.

Or perhaps it is a different bacteria, like bordetella.

To be honest, and this me being judgy, which I know isn't nice, but from what you've said I would expect that the conditions aren't ideal and that keeping the does in what I assume are unneutered groups in close proximity to entire males may be causing them stress. If they are in a building as well, might be worth asking whether it is heated and if so temperature changes from inside to outside may be a factor.

Indeed, it's almost definitely a case of stress that's bringing it on, as like you say it's present in almost all rabbits/animals. A farm is just not ideal for rabbits, never mind what other conditions might be occuring. I haven't seen the place for myself yet so I didn't want to go saying much on an open forum, but I think conditions are far from ideal. I know they get hay, pellets and fresh veg and that the enclosure is of a decent size for the girls. The girls are indeed not spayed so it's pretty likely they're suffering stress from hormonal aggression/arguments. I'll have a look tomorrow to see if there's anything I can identify to minimise stress that the farm can actually introduce. I hadn't thought about the intact males being close to the females, I'll have a look and see. It may be relatively easy to move the males.

It must be very hard for my friend who works there, I know she'd like nothing more than for the owner to take them all to the vets.
 
Indeed, it's almost definitely a case of stress that's bringing it on, as like you say it's present in almost all rabbits/animals. A farm is just not ideal for rabbits, never mind what other conditions might be occuring. I haven't seen the place for myself yet so I didn't want to go saying much on an open forum, but I think conditions are far from ideal. I know they get hay, pellets and fresh veg and that the enclosure is of a decent size for the girls. The girls are indeed not spayed so it's pretty likely they're suffering stress from hormonal aggression/arguments. I'll have a look tomorrow to see if there's anything I can identify to minimise stress that the farm can actually introduce. I hadn't thought about the intact males being close to the females, I'll have a look and see. It may be relatively easy to move the males.

It must be very hard for my friend who works there, I know she'd like nothing more than for the owner to take them all to the vets.

Ah yes, farmers/businesses often have a different view of animals, as they aren't pets as such (and before anyone jumps on me I come from a line of farmers .

The boys being close to the females would likely be a source of stress for them more than the females.... BUT when I was a kid and didn't know better I had rabbits kept in a stable - the females and babies had the whole stable and the 2 males were in hutches along the wall. The males hated being shut in away from them and the females reacted to that - they often allowed them to escape, turning catches and even small bolts and generally scrabbling at the hutches (hence the babies :oops: ) My point being I think the stress/sexual frustration of one rabbit affects the others, as they are very social animals.

But it can't be just the rabbits close together, or all the rescues would be plagued by snuffles. So there is something else there causing the buns stress, or something else at play compromising their immune systems.

Good luck! I hope you can suggest some improvements!

P.S. if you don't have any luck the rspca visiting may get them to take the buns to the vet? It is the law that ill animals are treated.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top