cocci in rabbits need info quick!!

[therealsilkiechick]

i showed 20 of my rabbits at a show last week as well as friends and a family member did. all our buns were fine before show. 2nd day of show a water line broke and the water we were useing was yellow. noone noticed it right away and alot of animals got sick with diareah a few were pulled from show just to be safe since they started getting sick to quarenteen them. we thought it was a change in feed so we dumped feed and water and all started bringing it in from home. however more got sick and some died later.

is it possible they have cocci from contaminated water due to bacteria?? i lost 2 already to diareah an anorexia is what it seems my mil lost 3 already same way but i'm very worried their was almost 70 rabbits at the show. i have contacted almost all of the people that showed so they know there is a problem still trying to get ahold of the last few people. i've talked to several breeders all say they think it is coccis.

there is a few others sick still most have shown no signs of being sick. we were told use 10% amonia to clean everything and get albon. is their anything else we need to know or need to get? if they r not eating what can we give them to help keep them hydrated and eating? should they have antibiotics as a precaution for secondary infections till their immune systms have had time to fight this off? my husband is going first thing in the am to get albon if u know of anything else that may help or have info please let us know. we have never had a rabbit sick and r very heartbroken at the loss of 2 we cannot bare the thoughts of possibly looseing our whole herd or anyone else's animals. do i have to worry it will transfer to my chickens, pigeons or doves or is cocci's in rabbits species specific? i've never had to deal with cocci before.
thanks for any help,
silkie

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i'm so sorry! Not an expert, but one of the most urgent issues for a rabbit with diarrhea is dehydration. You will want to get sub-Q fluids into them quickly and on an ongoing basis. From what i have read, there are eight species of coccidiosis that can effect a rabbit's intestines. i think you should get a veterinarian involved to identify exactly what pathogen you are dealing with and to get the appropriate protocol going.

Sorry i don't know if cocci in rabbits is species specific. But i do know that coccidiosis is around all the time, in the soil. It only becomes a problem for chickens when their immune system is compromised or the levels in the ground become too high. That's what my vet told me. So i try to turn over the soil in my pens on a regular basis, and bring in new soil every so often.

Hope you can get into a vet to solve this dilemma and get your bunnies healthy again.

 

[therealsilkiechick]

thank you. yes i know it's why i posted i know that alone can kill them. yes that's true and one affects the liver i think it was also there is actually 9 species. the vet was not in today but the office was open so we got the albon and gave it to all of them since it is possible they could have it and not show signs. i was going to take one that died to the ag lab i work for but they r closed till mon so can't do a nycropsy quick enough. with 20+ exposed to it i didn't want to waste time and get started immediately in hopes to start fighting it off asap toprevent anymore from dieing since it is hitting them quick. i don't have $40+ a rabbit to take them all to the vet and there is only one vet here that will see rabbits since he is an ag vet that's the one we just picked up the albon from. so i'm pretty much stuck with what i can do myself for them. i only have one ground run/hutch the others are all off the ground. we have never had cocci here from chickens or rabbits and all my chickens r in off ground coops/runs.
thanks again,
silkie

 

[Maryallison]

I am really sorry to hear about what happened. I am also a rabbit breeder. Do you belong to the ARBA? I do and I have this wonderful book that talks about diseases and cures If you need any further help send me a PM.

Good luck & I really hope your buns are ok.