- Thread starter
- #161
DianeS
Lovin' The Homestead
I culled five rabbits today. In the last two weeks I've had three rabbits die, and the symptoms all point to listeria. 
I don't know where it's coming from. After making my diagnosis I suspected a food source for the initial one and maybe the second, but it keeps spreading. I had a third death today, and knew I had another with symptoms. I went out to do my culling, and found two more with symptoms. Two more apparantly healthy, but they shared cage space and I NEED THIS TO STOP, so I culled them too. Listeria spreads fast, death is within 48 hours of the first symptoms. With the first two rabbits it was within 4 hours of me noticing the symptoms, before I knew what to look for.
I have six rabbits left, out of 14. Their cages are a little separate from the ones that were ill. I don't have any meat rabbit bucks anymore.
When I went out to feed my remaining six I took measurements of the feel of body fat over their upper rib cages - weight loss there is the first symptom I've been noticing. I have one more rabbit a little skinny in that area. If she gets worse tomorrow I may lose the rest of the rabbits.
Listeria is spread via contaminated green feed, or by fecal-oral contamination. The rabbits in the upper cages should have been safe after I stopped the green feed, but some of them died, too. Is this getting spread between hutches by flies, or squirrels? Or maybe I have the disease wrong entirely. I don't know.
I just know I'm frustrated. And sad. And frustrated.
I don't know where it's coming from. After making my diagnosis I suspected a food source for the initial one and maybe the second, but it keeps spreading. I had a third death today, and knew I had another with symptoms. I went out to do my culling, and found two more with symptoms. Two more apparantly healthy, but they shared cage space and I NEED THIS TO STOP, so I culled them too. Listeria spreads fast, death is within 48 hours of the first symptoms. With the first two rabbits it was within 4 hours of me noticing the symptoms, before I knew what to look for.
I have six rabbits left, out of 14. Their cages are a little separate from the ones that were ill. I don't have any meat rabbit bucks anymore.
When I went out to feed my remaining six I took measurements of the feel of body fat over their upper rib cages - weight loss there is the first symptom I've been noticing. I have one more rabbit a little skinny in that area. If she gets worse tomorrow I may lose the rest of the rabbits.
Listeria is spread via contaminated green feed, or by fecal-oral contamination. The rabbits in the upper cages should have been safe after I stopped the green feed, but some of them died, too. Is this getting spread between hutches by flies, or squirrels? Or maybe I have the disease wrong entirely. I don't know.
I just know I'm frustrated. And sad. And frustrated.
I've only really had pet rabbits and losing them was bad(they just got old old) but losing potential food and breeders is horrible! I don't suppose a vet would take a blood/sample and run it thru a lab cheap for you so that you know for sure?
