# Cocci prevention with rabbits



## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

I knew it was likely to happen when I set it up - but my big dog kennel growout pen - where bunnies range on the floor - had horrible cocci problems this last group. Diarrhea, and high mortality. Slow stunty growth even in those without diarrhea. Slower growing than previous batches with little/no diarrhea and same diet.

Plan on cleaning the cage out (lots of oats were dug out of the feeder because they don't like whole oats, and lots of waste hay) but obviously there isn't a way to really 'sanitize' it. 

I'd like to do cocci prevention on these guys. I find Corid meat withdrawals of 2 days for other species, so I'm thinking this would be my best bet. Because I often have different age batches in there, I can just pause treatments for 2 full days when I'm getting ready to butcher, then repeat. Plan on keeping that pen pretty much constantly on cocci prevention somehow. 

Questions: 

Does Corid dissipate from water? Do they NEED fresh solution daily? I ask because the waterer for the pen is a 5 gallon chicken waterer... it often takes a LONG time for them to go through 5 gallons of water. It'd be nice to mix it up and offer it till it's gone... but that's probably not how it works.  I was thinking we could instead use smaller chicken waterers instead. Or maybe I could rig up something else... Or just put out fresh daily. 

Also, does Corid need to be protected from sun? 

What is the mix rate of Corid in water for bunnies? Powder or 12.5% solution?

What is the withdrawal time you all use for bunnies? For goats, meat withdrawal is 2 days - which is why I was thinking to use Corid instead of a sulfa which I think has a 28 day withdrawal (off the top of my head).

Thanks!


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

Mix fresh daily for 5 days on , 5 days off, 5 days on or at half dosage for 21days straight. I was told there is no withdrawal for rabbits with corid. Use the standard cattle instructions for solution. I hand dosed mine by cc daily because it did something weird with our well water and the rabbits wouldn't drink it so I don't remember the concentration. I can tell you the stuff tastes nasty. I had one kick a couple cc in to my mouth in protest while I was pushing the plunger on the syringe.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

I've heard that a solution of household ammonia in water will kill coccidiosis. If you can empty the pen for a few days, I think it could be sprayed on the ground. When it has had time to work, you could flush the run with the garden hose to remove the traces of ammonia left. 

Please be aware that I have never tried this and I don't remember off-hand the percentage of ammonia to use. You'd have to do a little research yourself if you decide to pursue the idea.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

I'd probably just do corid every day until 2 days before I butcher a batch, for a 'withdrawal'. Because there is usually different ages in there, after I butcher the ones that are ready to be done, I'll put the younger ones back on it.

I do know it tastes nasty, but they won't have any other option - I'm sure they'll get used to it. 

I had also heard that ammonia is the best for killing cocci in the environment - though I've never heard of putting it IN drinking water. I planned on cleaning the pen out, making an ammonia solution and spraying the ground etc.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Yikes! I did not mean to put ammonia in the *drinking* water! I said you could make a solution to spray the pen. Sorry if I wasn't clear.


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

You will never kill all the cocci by treating the environment. It is everywhere and it will be back. What you need is to look at why it's building to levels that cause illness and fix those problems. For us we had heavy rains causing 100% humidity plus overcrowding which soaked the bedding in the colonies.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Maggie - I didn't THINK you meant to put ammonia in the drinking water, but it was hard to tell for *SURE* in your post.  I wouldn't have tried it, lol. 

The bun growout pen has never been overcrowded. I rarely have problems in my caged bunnies, except in rare cases. The dog kennel cage gets cleaned between batches because they do make a mess with digging their oats out of the feeder and picking through their hay - but I wouldn't call it DIRTY with poo. Then again, animals DO encounter poo more often simply because they are on the ground, whereas in cages the poo falls through the floor. It also has paving stone floor and good drainage, so cleaning it should be fairly easy.


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