Myxomatosis and ongoing problems . . .

So very relieved to be able to post on this forum. Having been trying to register for ages! Thanks for activating me Tasmin.

My rabbit, Blossom has been nursed with Myxi since 31st July. (This is my fourth rabbit over the years with myxi). She has been vacinated.

Blossom has done so, so well and we are managing the snuffly side of it very well. However she stopped eating and gut problems have emerged. She has had an 2 injections of Metaclop (sp), Vit B, and I have come home with Kaline for her.

Her poos are few and unformed and her tum gurgles like mad. I have struggled with Science recovery - it is a joke to administer. Why dont the manuf. provide a decent implement? She will only lap up it up as a liquid but of course all the bits remain behind and I am concerned that she is not getting the fibre. Next week I am on my on with her as hubby goes to work. My plan is to put the recovery powder into baby food and syringe feed. What do you think? We are also using a probiotic. After so many weeks of twice daily antibiotics and nursing, I am exhausted!

Any advice very gratefully received.

Regards
Cara

If you need to syringe feed recovery have you got a big enough syringe? If not trim the top of a small one so the end is large enough for the bits to go through..the suction will remain.
Baby food is a good idea..also porridge oats..you can get fine ones..mixed with a little tepid, previously boiled , water. A little mashed banana to encourage eating often works too!

Tried every which way with syringes. The best of a bad lot is a 'metacam' syringe. I even struggle with that despite making the hole bigger. ah well...

How much baby food should I be trying to feed do you think and how often?

Thanks for reply.

Cara have you tried snipping the end off the syringe to open up the hole completely? It works..as for baby food make sure it hasn't got anything artificial in it..I use Hipp..(?)..banana and apple as that's all that's in it! Do try some fine oats as they are filling and should help bunnies tum to settle...mix some with the recovery or just moistened down pellets. Syringe as often as she'll take some food to keep her gut moving....but remember you need a break too!
Good luck x

i use a small 1ml syringe for recovery it seems to work better than the bigger ones. if you mix a little baby food into the recovery in place of some of the water it make it easier too.
good luck!

My vet gave me a 50ml syringe (I think that was the size), it was pretty big but the opening is large enough for the recovery to pass through without blocking and the tip is long enough to push it into the side of their mouths and tuck it behind the teeth to make sure the food actually goes in.

Caz

I use a pippet to give recovery it's the only thing i have found which makes it easier, the bits fit in it as well XX Good luck XX

Recovery Feeding

Hi there,

I have successfully liquid fed Alice bun with a big bore 50ml syringe and Science Recovery. The secret is to put the powder in first, then draw up some warm water a bit at a time until it's the right consitency. You can shake it in the syringe to give it a good mix.

I find the best way is to get the bun up to your height and to hold their head in one hand and feed with the other. It takes a bit of getting used to for you and your bun, but it really does work.

I got Alice bun back from the brink after an eye removal operation and several stasis episodes. I found this method to be the easiest and least stressful for the bun because they also feel that you are helping them. I really hope your bun gets better soon. Patience is definately needed and a lot of encouragement for your bun. Fingers crossed for you...

Gemma

I have let Blossom go ....

Apologies if this appears elsewhere - posted but could not find it.

Thanks for all your replies. I made the difficult decision yesterday to let Blossom go. I felt as though we were fighting a losing battle...

Through the tears I endeavoured to find a vet who would p.t.s Blossom as I wanted. I know it can be done by simply adminstering an injection through the heart, which I think is quite objectionable. I wanted Blossom to have gas prior to the injection. Blossom did indeed go this way with gas and injection to the ear. Very peacefully I am assured.

Blossom is the 2nd (vacinated) rabbit I have lost in less than a year to myxi and the third over the years. A fourth had a very mild form - just a lump on her nose and survived. I am gutted that my rabbits seems so suseptible and wonder why this is...

Woke up this morning very much missing her. I still have Sweep - so will no doubt be dropping into these forums regularly now that I have found them.

Thanks again.

Cara x

So sorry to hear of your loss, it sounds as if you made the right decision for your little one

As for why your rabbits seem to have been susceptible, a couple of suggestions spring to mind, which may or may not be relevant. Firstly, how long after vaccination have they come down with myxi? It is generally thought that the vaccine lasts around 8 months (which is why 6-monthly boosters are recommended in high risk areas), so could it be that if you were having them done annually, it was during the period that the vaccine wasn't most effective?

The other thing is that 10% of the vaccine needs to be given intra-dermally, usually into the base of the ear, for it to take full effect. It used to be thought that doing the vaccine in the scruff, then withdrawing the needle most of the way and delivering the last little bit very shallowly into the scruff, was effective, but some recent tests by Frances Harcourt-Brown (a vet who has written a rabbit medicine textbook) showed that this wasn't effective. So it may be that the vaccine wasn't fully activated.

If neither of those are a possibility, I guess perhaps you may have a resistant strain of myxi in your vicinity, which would obviously be a worry.

Big hugs to you at this sad time xxx

So very sad to hear about Blossom passing over the Bridge..

You did you best for her

So sorry to hear about Blossom

Another thought too - are you using the same hutches for the buns? I don't know how long the disease can stick around if a cage hasn't been completely disinfected?

Where I used to live - wild buns used to come into the garden (my house backed onto fields) & it was a high-risk area, so Smirnoff - my first bun lived inside full-time (he's vaccinated too)

Have you spoken to the vaccinate manufacturer? They ask to know any cases of vaccinated rabbits getting it so they can keep track if new strains develop.

Tam

Oh I am so sorry to hear this

Unfortunately the efficacy of any Vaccine depends on the individual Bunny having an adequate immune response. Sometimes this just does not happen



Janex