Care and Management of Rabbits/Chapter 24
XXIV
DISEASES AND REMEDIES
DISEASES AND REMEDIES
The domesticated rabbit is not in any sense of the word a sickly animal. On the other hand, it is an extremely hardy individual and seems to stand exposure and ill treatment as well as any animal we know. There are, however, one or two conditions which, if present, will invariably result in disease and expense to you.
Oftentimes the rabbits will die when there is no apparent cause for it. They will seem to be healthy and in the best of condition. The next time you go to the rabbitry you will find them in their nest boxes or in a corner of the hutch dead.
It is not natural for rabbits to drop off in this way without any reason. You can count on it that the average rabbit is too healthy an individual to die so easily without there being a reason for it.
We have already mentioned the fact that dampness is a deadly enemy of rabbits; likewise draughts. It is not too much to mention it again. For from dampness and draughts comes about one-half of the rabbit diseases and disorders with which you will have to contend. The other half will come from improper feeding and care. If the hutches are right and the ration is right and the attention right, you will never need to consult this chapter to find out what is wrong with your stock, provided the stock was right in the first instance.
Overbreeding is a fertile cause of death among young stock. The does have been bred to death and they are so impoverished in strength and vigor that they cannot give birth to properly constituted young. So you may find the answer to your troubles written right here.
Snuffles. Snuffles is the most dreaded, persistent and common disease among rabbits. It starts with a cold in the head. The rabbit sneezes, shakes its head and tries to rub its nostrils with the forepaws. There is a discharge from the nostrils which, at first, is white but later changes to yellow. This discharge is a thick substance and is very annoying to the animal.
There has been a great deal of discussion as to whether snuffles is incurable. Many experts claim that the only remedy after the rabbit has passed from the cold to the snuffles stage is the ax. There are dozens of snuffles remedies on the market. We have tried many of them, but with indifferent success.
Discoveries have lately been made which prove that snuffles is a germ disease, a disease that fastens itself in the blood of the animal. It is not merely a nose disorder, so those remedies which look to a clearance of the nostrils are really working in the wrong direction. The proper way to cure such a disorder is to clear the system, drive out the germ from the blood, and it stands to reason that the nose discharge will cease when that is done.
Snuffles in rabbits is due originally to exposure to diseased rabbits, to draughts or dampness which give the animals a "cold." Unless checked, this soon runs into "snuffles," which is little less than tuberculosis.
Great progress has been made in the past two or three years in the study of this disease. Rabbit fanciers have realized that if the industry was to reach any permanent basis some means of dealing with the disease successfully would have to be perfected. As in every disorder, there is no cure like that of prevention, but it is not always possible for even the most careful breeder to escape this disease.
Within the last two or three years breeders have been experimenting with a serum inoculation for snuffles. This is based upon the same principles as serum inoculation for hog cholera or typhoid inoculation for human beings.
While the writer has not had any personal experience with the serum treatment, it would seem that it is the only way to successfully combat the disease. It is a germ disease, that much we know, and it would seem that proper inoculation would not only tend to cure the disorder by giving cultures which would aid the rabbit in throwing off the germs, but that rabbits not afflicted would also be rendered immune from future attacks.
Such, at least, are the claims of those breeders who have used the serum treatment. It is now being manufactured by a number of companies which put up the serum and furnish the necessary apparatus and directions so that the breeder can inoculate his own rabbits. While the cost is still a trifle high, it is believed that it will soon be cheap enough to warrant wide-spread inoculation of all rabbits in the immediate future. Surely a good specimen, one that is especially valuable as a breeder or show animal, should be inoculated even though it will cost two or three dollars to do so.
Where local treatment is desired, the afflicted rabbit should be isolated from the rest of the herd and be placed in a comfortable place where it will be free from dampness and draughts. If possible try to keep it warm and it should be tempted to eat, if possible.
But be very careful not to feed green food to a rabbit in such a condition. It is better to stick to good whole oats and clean hay while treating the rabbit for snuffles.
Ten drops of aconite, which can be bought at any drug store, mixed in a gallon of water, should be given it to drink for a period of two days. This will aid in cleaning out the system. A mixture composed of one-third sanitas oil and two-thirds olive oil will make an excellent application to clean out the nostrils. It is best administered by placing it in a small oil can and forcing it into the nostrils. The best way to hold the rabbit while doing this is to place it between your knees and grasp it by the ears in order to steady its head.
A washing of carbolic soap around the outside of the nose and the inside of the forepaws will generally clean out the germs there and should soon end the discharge.
Another very effective local treatment is composed of 1 drachm of oil of eucalyptus and 1 ounce of liquid petroleum. This can be applied best in an atomizer two or three times a day. If colds are taken in hand at once with this treatment, they will generally be cured.
But where the specimen is badly afflicted, run down in flesh, refuses to eat, and the discharge has reached a yellow or green condition, it is best to kill the animal, if it is not especially valuable. It may be and generally is the cheapest policy in the long run.
At any rate, the hutch occupied by an afflicted animal must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before other animals are allowed to occupy the hutch. It should be scrubbed in strong soap and water, given an application of lime and carbolic acid and allowed to sun for several days. It should then be given a good spraying with a strong disinfectant to insure the end of all germs that might be lurking there.
Do not jump to conclusions if your stock happens to sneeze a little. Rabbits do this very frequently when they get dust in their nostrils, especially when eating dusty hay. It is best to examine them carefully, though, when it is noticed in order to be sure. Oftentimes one can discover a cold in its first stages by listening to the animals breathe. If they wheeze, it is time to get busy.
The seasons to be particularly careful are in the fall, winter and spring, especially during changes from one season to another, and during damp and foggy weather.
Slobbers. This is a disease most apparent among young stock. Its symptoms are a discharge around the mouth, generally thin and slimy which dirty the fur and give the animal a decidedly repulsive look. It is caused from improper feeding, often by green food at too early an age, but just as frequently from eating oats and hay too soon. It is also caused by lack of proper nourishment.
It is a digestive trouble pure and simple, and the first thing that one should do on discovering its presence is to examine the ration and see what is causing the trouble. Once ascertained, it should be removed and steps taken to relieve those already afflicted.
The rabbit should be isolated in a separate hutch and the ration formerly given should be taken away. It should also be denied water for a while. The best local treatment, outside a change of feed, is to rub common table salt on the jaws in the corners of the mouth and such other parts as appear wet. Also put it on the forepaws if they are wet.
The only feed that should be given is bread and milk and crushed oats, rolled oats being better it procurable.
Diarrhœa. Young stock are usually affected oftener than old stock. The disorder is first apparent in the droppings and as soon as they appear to be loose and in long links, or to stick to the vent so as to give it a plastered effect, isolate the rabbit and change the ration to hay and grain. It is most often caused by feeding too much green food, or feeding it when wet, sour or too old. No green food whatever should be allowed in the ration of an animal under treatment. A change in diet will generally bring the animal back into normal condition. Bran mashes will be found beneficial as a change about twice a week. Where the ration is correct in the first instance there will be no trouble along this fine experienced.
Constipation. If plenty of green food is included in the ration, as recommended elsewhere in this book, you will never be bothered by this ailment. The writer has never had a case of constipation in his hutches. Where the animal is especially ill castor oil is the best remedy, a teaspoonful to the dose.
Pneumonia. There is no recognized cure for this disease. It is best to use the ax. Once rabbits are afflicted with lung disorders, they quickly perish for it is unnatural to them and they seem to be unable to shake it off. While some breeders have so-called remedies, you will save yourself grief and worry by using the ax at once, disinfecting the hutch and putting it down in the profit and loss ledger.
Infant Mortality. This is a disorder that affects the morale of breeders, especially beginners, more than anything else. The youngsters appear to do fine up to a certain age, then they commence to drop off one at a time. The beginner is perplexed, to say the least. He cannot understand it.
Infant mortality is apt to be due to one of several causes, but nine times out of ten it is due to the impoverished vigor of the breeding stock. The breeder that tries to get five and six litters a year from a single doe, and expects her to nurse six or eight youngsters at a time, need not wonder why his young stock seem to drop off without any apparent cause. It is due to lack of constitutional vigor and improper nourishment.
Sometimes it is due to both weakness in breeding stock and improper feeding. One cannot feed unbalanced rations composed of green food and other cheap stuff without expecting trouble in raising your litters. There must be a balanced ration, as stated in the Chapters on Feeding, and the stock must have plenty to eat or they will fail to deliver the goods.
Convulsions often seize young stock and cause death. This is due almost entirely to lack of constitutional vigor or feeding.
Abscesses and Boils. The cause generally arises from bites, scratches or bruises. They may also come in young stock as a result of the parents having been bred while in that condition. The hair must be removed from the skin around the abscess and an incision made in the skin clear across the lumps. If you are careful, the pus bag can generally be removed entire. In the case of boils it will be necessary to squeeze out the pus as the boil ripens. It is best to wash the boil or abscess in a solution of weak peroxide in warm water, to which have been added two drops of carbolic acid. This is to prevent infection.
Paralysis. Generally first noticed by the inability of the rabbit to move hindquarters. Oftentimes they drag the entire hindquarters and sometimes appear to be in great pain. It may be caused by any number of things, some saying that excessive heat will cause it. If caught at first, it is said that a teaspoonful of brandy in a glass of milk will give relief. It is also recommended that the back and hindquarters of the animal be rubbed with a good liniment every other day. A pill made of two grains of camphor and one grain sulphate of iron, once a day, is said to effect a cure.
Red Water. First noticed by discolored urine. It is generally caused by damp hutches and improper feeding. We have found that feeding plenty of dandelions and drying up the hutches will generally effect a cure in two or three days.
Swollen Teats. Should be treated with camphorated oil or unsalted butter. Must not be rubbed hard or squeezed.
Pot Belly. A very serious disorder, especially in young stock. Caused by improper feeding, which causes the belly to swell to abnormal proportions. Is often fatal. Can sometimes be remedied by cutting green food out of the ration and feeding very sparingly for a while. A pinch of flowers of sulphur in the oats once a day for three days after resuming feeding will generally bring about the desired result.
Ear Canker. Starts with a creamy discharge in the ears and soon ends in a canker in the ears. Often causes the ear to droop and drag. It is caused from dirty hutches and by a tiny parasite which eats the inner lining of the ear. Can be cured in a couple of days by pouring a little camphorated oil in the ear. This will soften the canker and by taking an old pencil or blunt stick and placing cotton on the end saturated in the oil, one can generally thoroughly clean the ears. Then keep things clean and watch closely to see that all the parasites have been killed and it does not start up again.
Sore Eyes. Caused by colds settling in the eyes. It is first noticed by inflammation and often is followed by a sticky discharge which sometimes closes the lids completely. It is best to bathe the eyes in a weak solution of peroxide in warm water. Another bath that is good is composed of a solution of water, two ounces; sulphate of zinc, four grains; or water, two ounces; boric acid, four grains. Bathe the eyes twice daily.
Sore Hocks. Caused by improper conditions in the hutch. Wet hutches, or those improperly bedded, cause it. However, this trouble is rarely met with under the hutch construction methods of today. It is best to bed the solid floor hutches where it occurs with plenty of sawdust and straw or marsh hay and rub camphorated oil on the sore hocks. Some people have a shoe made of leather which they place on the affected part to keep it clean and to keep the animal from rubbing off the ointment.
These hints should serve to aid the beginner in meeting the common diseases and disorders that assail the domesticated rabbit. There is one thing which cannot be impressed too strongly upon all who are raising rabbits and that is the necessity of sanitation, good feeding, and prompt, efficient and regular care.
There is only one satisfactory cure of rabbit diseases and that is prevention. If the beginner follows the general advice offered as to feeding, housing and care, he will have little cause to worry about disease in his herd.