Prevention and treatment of coccidiosis in rabbits
Industrial rabbit breeding was not widespread in the USSR due to primitive breeding technologies. If a rabbit fell ill with coccidiosis or myxomatosis, in a matter of days the population could be cut in half. But with the invention of antibiotics and vitamin preparations in the 2000s, farmers began raising rabbits again on an industrial scale.
Prevention and treatment of diseases is an integral part of rabbit breeding. It is especially important to timely prevent coccidiosis, since there is no vaccine for this disease.
Types and symptoms of coccidiosis
Rabbits become infected with coccidiosis due to improper maintenance. This disease is caused by coccids, microbes that multiply in the intestines or liver of a rabbit. Depending on where the coccidi have settled, rabbits will have different symptoms.
Hepatic coccidiosis
Hepatic coccidiosis is sluggish. One of its symptoms is weakness. With hepatic coccidiosis, the rabbit does not eat or drink anything. If you keep rabbits in a common cage, then a rabbit with hepatic coccidiosis will sit separately from everyone else. The eyelids of the rabbit acquire a yellowish tint, the diseased individual covers its eyes with its front paws.
If you notice this behavior in a rabbit, urgently plant it in a separate cage so that the disease does not become an epidemic. For the duration of the treatment of hepatic coccidiosis, exclude solid and succulent feed from the rabbit's diet. Give your rabbit only hay.
Preparations for coccidiosis treatment there are a huge number. You can use, for example, "Baycox" or "Bromoform". The drugs can be called differently, but the active ingredient is the same for all drugs. They are sold at any veterinary clinic.
Intestinal coccidiosis
The symptoms of intestinal coccidiosis are more pronounced than those of hepatic coccidiosis. The sick rabbit does not eat or drink anything. He starts having bloody diarrhea. The oral cavity becomes yellowish, proteins also turn yellow. On the 8th day after infection, the rabbit dies. If you open it, you will see that the intestines are covered with a white coating or yellow nodules and ulcers.
Treatment of intestinal coccidiosis is the same as for hepatic coccidiosis. Prevention of coccidiosis consists in burning the cells with a blowtorch. For prophylaxis, it is necessary to drink the rabbits with Baycox, according to the instructions, or with iodine solution.
If you bought new rabbits, then put them in another cage for a month. If symptoms of coccidiosis do not appear, then transfer them from the quarantine zone to the main family.