# Weird???



## dunroven (Dec 6, 2004)

My neighbor has some New Zealand rabbits. I think he has 6. Anyway, one of the does had 4 babies. They are about 3 weeks old now and he had me come over and look at them. They have little bumps all over them and you can squeeze the bumps and little bits of white pus come out, kind of hard pus. This is ALL over their bodies. I told him it couldn't be good, but I have no clue what it is. Also, the babies seem healthy and happy other than this. They are eating, fat as butterballs, and playing.

What could be the problem with them? Any ideas for treating this?


----------



## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Sorry, never heard of such a thing. I hope you took proper biosecurity measures when you got home before going out to your own rabbits. Not the kind of problem you would want to bring home with you.


----------



## dunroven (Dec 6, 2004)

Absolutely. Nothing goes near my habbits! I do my best to keep everything away from them. We even change shoes from their house to anywhere else.


----------



## Honorine (Feb 27, 2006)

I try to keep such things away from my habbits and my hobbits, better that way!! Hmm, white pimply things all over the babies, yea thats weird. I've had dogs/cats get a blocked pore from time to time but usually not all over, its got to be something funky. Would definitely want to know what it was before eating them, and would probably quarantine them and cull the mother as well.


----------



## susieM (Apr 23, 2006)

I just called my vet, here in France, to ask about this. He says that if all the babies have it, it may be a sort of virus, perhaps affiliated with myxamatosis. Has the doe been vaccinated?

He's very curious to know.


----------



## dunroven (Dec 6, 2004)

No as far as I know, the doe has not been vaccinated. We have no vets in this area that really do much with rabbits. I called for a couple of rabbits once and was basically told, well, put them aside in another area. If they live, they will be fine, if they die, well, there you go. I don't vaccinate my rabbits for anything either, so I doubt this man has.

I just looked this disease up on the internet, and none of those symptoms are what these rabbits have. They are just little white pimple type bumps that have this pus in them. They have no problems with breathing and no problems with their eyes or nose at all, so I kind of doubt myxomatosis.


----------



## susieM (Apr 23, 2006)

My vet is perplexed, too...but he's sure that it is some sort of virus, seeing as all of the babies have the same thing. Does the doe have it, too?

Please be sure to disinfect yourself, before you touch your own rabbits.


----------



## dlwelch (Aug 26, 2002)

Sounds like abcesses....normally caused by a staph or perhaps
pasteurella. I tend to believe the problem is bacterial and not viral
but without culturing it would be hard to determine the exact culprit.


----------



## lscheopner (Jan 3, 2006)

It might be a staph or strep infection on the skin. I have seen dogs get a similar thing. It usually really acts up when it is very hot outside. We used genocin spray on dogs and they cleared right up but not sure if you can use it on a rabbit. 

Laina


----------



## tbishop (Nov 24, 2004)

Is there any possibility it could be insect bites? Are there any ants showing around the cages? Do you have a bunch of mosquitos hatching? Just something to think about.

Tim B.


----------



## dunroven (Dec 6, 2004)

I was, and still am, very curious about these little ones. I went back and checked everyone in that cage. The mother is fine, no bumps. Three of the babies are just covered with these bumps, 1 has just a few of them. I squeezed some of the little bumps to see if they would express anything, and it was white, some hard, some pus-like material, and some sort of a powdery material that came out. One a couple of the babies there are so many of them that if you pick up the skin, you can pop like 10 to 15 of them all at one time. No, there are no ants or insects, and no hatching flies. I at first thought maybe warbles, but that's why I wanted to express something and see what happened,and it wasn't that.

I really am perplexed by this. I asked him if this doe has had any babies before and did they have anything like this. He said this is about her 4th litter and none of them have had it. Feed is all the same as always, water bowels are clean. He keeps the cages and the floor clean around them. I just have never seen anything like it.

I think I am going back over there tonight again, and I am going to take 1 baby out and treat some of the spots with some peroxide and triple antibiotic solution and see what happens. What do you think?


----------



## Terry W (Mar 10, 2006)

It won't hurt--

Are these by chance sebaceous cysts?A re the coats different from the last litters?(causing ingrown hairs)


----------



## susieM (Apr 23, 2006)

I thought it might be bug bites...when rabbits get hurt, from fighting, the sores get pus...but not white powder?! 

When you pick up a baby, do the things pop, by themselves? Or do you have to squeeze them? No blood? Is the bunny in pain, when they pop?

My vet called me, to see if it had been figured out, yet. He'd like to know what the bedding is?


----------



## dlwelch (Aug 26, 2002)

Valorie, I've seen this from time to time in my herd. Usually it
occurs when the babies are still in the nest box. I just culled a doe
who had babies with little bumps (pustules) with her last two litters.
As the kits grew, the bumps went away. But I don't need a
doe like that in my barn. I suspected she was a carrier of
pasteurella. 

You might read page 232 in Rabbit Production, 8th Edition, regarding
Staphylococcosis and small pustules or bumps on the skin of kits.


----------



## dunroven (Dec 6, 2004)

Okay, Linda, I will read that. I need to get that book. I don't have it yet. The kits are out of the nest box though and have been for about 3 days. The box is still there, but they have been sitting just in front of the box. I told him I figured he would have to put the babies down, but you think it is the doe and not the babies? You think the babies will be okay then?


----------



## dlwelch (Aug 26, 2002)

I'm not saying that every case of "little bumps" is related
to pasteurella or staph coming from the doe. I "felt" that is
what happened with my doe. 

I'm also not saying the kits will be okay. I have put down kits
with little bumps. Others have died. Considering the number of
kits in my barn, I feel really lucky that I seldom have a problem
like this.

It's entirely possible the mother doe had a mild case of
mastitis and passed the bacteria to the kits and it manifested
itself as the bumps. 

Since you don't have Rabbit Production:



> "Another major manifestation of this syndrome is staphylococcal
> septicemia. This occurs when the S. auereus gains entrance into
> the cardiovascular system and begins multiplying rapidly, quickly
> resulting in death. Staphylococcal speticemia is fairly common
> ...


----------



## Farmer Willy (Aug 7, 2005)

Two possibilities: either rabbit pocks or byrus (read all about it in a Stephen King book. It's breaking out in the south, they're calling it Morgellens disease now, but we know better).


----------



## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

The thing with rabbits is if they get an abcess or anything similar is they do not have the enzyme most animals have to break down the material so it results in a thick white substance which does not liquify. When these things occur it makes me think- weak immune system. Myself I would put momma and babies down and dispose of them and either burn the nest box if wood or sterilize it if metal. I would also disinfect all the cages and supplies the rabbits have been near and use a torch to make sure any resistant bacteria had been killed- on all surfaces that can take it (metal). I had a rabbit with an abcess once and it kept coming back after it was lanced and cleaned out. He could not take the stress of winter and passed away. Had this not been my son's pet, I would have put him down immediately.


----------



## dunroven (Dec 6, 2004)

Well, I went back over with my bottle of peroxide and triple antibiotic ointment and all of this advice. We opened lots of these things on one baby and then pretty much doused the baby's body with hydrogen peroxide and put some antibiotic ointment on it. The baby didn't fight us doing any of this. Actually it just laid on its back in my hand. Anyway this little one is isolated from even the others that are isolated from his herd of others, which is small anyway (6). We are going to keep an eye on the baby and see what happens. It is already starting to eat and drink on its own, and it moves around fine, doesn't even act like it knows it has a problem! LOL

Anyway, I'll keep you posted.


----------



## SmokedCow (Sep 25, 2004)

There was once a girl who showed rabbits at the fair, and one of hers had a big old lump..it was an absest (sp??) and yeah...when they are ready to pop, they will. I havnt had this happen with rabbits, but we have a ewe who had it happen to her face. nasty nasty nasty!
GOOD LUCK!
AJ


----------



## Epodunk (Nov 25, 2005)

What's the news?

I'm really interested in the outcome of the little guys and you're treatment. I'd be leaning to a Staph infection too. 

Keep us posted!


----------



## dunroven (Dec 6, 2004)

Sorry I haven't been on here. Things have really been "hopping" (pardon the pun)! around here. Lots of babies being born. I'm over 100 babies now and not done yet! LOL

Anyway, been working with the neighbors little rabbit. It is doing very well, healing quite nicely actually and it never has stopped its eating or drinking and just seemed like a case of "acne". Sorry, best way to describe it. Anyway, we just kept dousing the little thing with peroxide and it seems to be doing really good, so we started treating the other 3 in that litter and they too are all fine.

We talked about him culling the mother; however, she is pregnant. Sooooo, we put her in isolation away from the babies (cause they are eating well enough on their own although not really old enough to wean normally).

Anyway, we are going to see what happens with this next batch of babies, and if they are all the same, we are going to cull her and keep the babies, as someone else suggested. He doesn't show these or anything, but it was just kind of interesting. We really don't have a vet that does much of anything with rabbits around here, so you kind of become your own doctor.

Anyway, I'll again, try to keep you posted. Remind me if I forget. I don't get to be on here much anymore.

Thanks!


----------



## Somerhill (Dec 13, 2005)

Stephen King is a VET?   
Lisa at Somerhill




Farmer Willy said:


> Two possibilities: either rabbit pocks or byrus (read all about it in a Stephen King book. It's breaking out in the south, they're calling it Morgellens disease now, but we know better).


----------

