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The main problem in rabbit farming is considered to be bloating in rabbits, since in these cases animals die in large numbers. But bloating is not a disease. This is a sign of problems with the gastrointestinal tract. Bloating can be caused by either a non-infectious cause such as fermentation of food in the stomach of a particular animal, or it can be a sign of an infectious disease, one of which is rabbit eimeriosis, caused by bacteria belonging to the order Coccidia.
Coccidiosis in rabbits is caused by 11 species of Eimeria, of which one affects the liver, causing hepatic coccidiosis. The most common form of the disease is a mixed form: the development of intestinal and hepatic coccidiosis simultaneously. Like any other coccidia, Eimeria in rabbits has the opportunity to cause harm when the animals' immunity weakens. Weakening of the immune system contributes to:
- crowded content;
- unsanitary conditions in the rabbitry;
- high humidity;
- animals of different ages in one group;
- poor quality feed;
- excess protein in feed;
- unbalanced diet;
- presence of animal feed in the diet;
- other factors that reduce the body's resistance to diseases.
For heat-loving rabbits, winter frosts can also be such factors, and rabbits in pits can become infected with coccidia from rats or their own feces, since no one ever cleans the holes in the pits. It’s not even a matter of the owners’ negligence, it’s just that you can’t crawl into these holes.
A video clearly showing why eimeriosis breaks out in rabbits on private farms.
But isosporosis is a disease of carnivorous animals: dogs and cats, although it is also caused by Eimeria. Just not those eimeria that parasitize rabbits.
Features of the life cycle and living conditions of Eimeria
Eimeria, which causes coccidiosis in rabbits, is specific to this species of animal; there is no need to worry that chicken coccidiosis will spread to rabbits. Only the general unsanitary conditions in the yard can “spill over” to them. Eimeria oocysts prefer cool weather and high humidity; in the heat and drying out they quickly die. Therefore, outbreaks of coccidiosis in rabbits are observed in the spring and summer, although to a lesser extent coccidiosis can occur in the rabbitry all year round.
Sources of infection with coccidiosis are recovered animals that have begun to release oocysts into the external environment along with feces, and lactating rabbits. Due to unsanitary conditions and the entry of infected droppings into water and feed, coccidiosis is transmitted to animals that have not yet been sick.
Symptoms of different types of coccidiosis in rabbits
The incubation period of coccidiosis is 4 – 12 days. The course of coccidiosis can be acute, subacute and chronic.There are three types of disease: intestinal, hepatic and mixed. A mixed type of coccidiosis is most often observed on farms. Rabbits under 5 months of age are most susceptible to coccidiosis.
Signs of mixed type coccidiosis. With a mixed type of coccidiosis, depression is observed in sick rabbits. Animals prefer to lie on their stomachs, not interested in food. Rapid exhaustion, yellowness of the mucous membranes. The abdomen is swollen, the rabbits are in pain. There is diarrhea with mucus and blood. Frequent urination and copious discharge from the mouth and nose. Dull fur. Muscle spasms in the back, limbs and neck may occur. Convulsions appear before the imminent death of rabbits during acute and subacute course of coccidiosis, which lasts from 3 to 6 days. The duration of coccidiosis in a chronic course is up to 4 months. In this case, the growth lag between sick rabbits and their healthy counterparts becomes noticeable.
Symptoms of hepatic coccidiosis in rabbits. The disease is caused by the protozoan parasite Eimeria stiedae. With “pure” hepatic coccidiosis, the duration of the disease is from 1 to 1.5 months. Signs of the intestinal form of coccidiosis are mild. An indication of liver damage is the yellow color of the mucous membranes characteristic of hepatitis. Rabbits lose weight quickly. As a result, the animals die severely exhausted.
Upon autopsy, the liver is 5 to 7 times larger than its normal size. On the surface of the organ, white nodules the size of a grain of millet to a pea and white “threads” located flush with the surface are noticeable. When the nodule is cut, a creamy substance is found inside - a cluster of eimeria. There are growths of connective tissue. The bile ducts are dilated and thickened.
The photo below shows microscopic damage caused by the parasite.
Intestinal coccidiosis. In rabbits aged 3 to 8 weeks, this type of disease occurs in an acute form. Especially if the rabbits caught the infection at the time of transition to green grass. The baby rabbit has diarrhea alternating with constipation. The coat is matte and tousled. The abdomen is enlarged and saggy. Tympany may be observed.
Some rabbits with eimeriosis may experience convulsions, falls on their side with their heads thrown back, and floating movements of their paws. If treatment is not taken, the baby rabbit dies on the 10th – 15th day of illness.
At autopsy, the intestinal mucosa is strewn with white plaques similar to those found in the liver. The mucous membrane is inflamed and red. The contents of the intestine are liquid, with gas bubbles.
The photo shows that in the rabbit’s intestines there are not normal food masses, but fermenting liquid that produces gas.
Diagnosis of coccidiosis
When making a diagnosis, coccidiosis in rabbits is differentiated from listeriosis and pseudotuberculosis. When making a diagnosis, the condition of the farm where the sick rabbit came from, symptoms of the disease, pathological anatomy data and laboratory tests of feces or pathological material are taken into account.
During a postmortem examination of a rabbit with coccidiosis, the following is discovered:
- intestinal hyperemia;
- nodules in the liver;
- bloating;
- liquid contents of the gastrointestinal tract.
After an accurate diagnosis, treatment is prescribed.
How to treat coccidiosis in rabbits
Immediately at signs of disease, without waiting for a diagnosis, animals are placed in bright, dry, well-ventilated areas. Keep them in cages with mesh floors only to minimize contact of rabbits with excrement. Only high-quality feed is given.
After an accurate diagnosis, the veterinarian selects a treatment regimen. Treatment of coccidiosis in rabbits, like any other animal, is carried out with the help of coccidiostats and antibacterial drugs. Antibiotics are also used.
Each region may have its own medications for coccidiosis for rabbits, so the treatment regimen will need to be built depending on the availability of the medicine at the nearest veterinary pharmacy.
Several treatment regimens for rabbits against coccidiosis:
- Phthalazole 0.1 g/kg, norsulfazole 0.4 g/kg at a concentration of 0.5% are added to water;
- Sulfapyridazine 100 mg, simultaneously mnomycin 25 thousand units/kg, chemical coccide 30 mg/kg in double courses of 5 days with an interval of 3 days;
- Trichopolum twice a day, 20 mg/kg in food for 6 days. If necessary, the course is repeated after 3 days;
- Salinomycin 3-4 mg/kg;
- Ditrim 1 ml/l of water for 5 days;
- Biofuzol or nifulin 5 g/kg feed for 7 days;
- Sulfadimethoxine 200 mg/kg on the first day and 100 mg/kg for the next 4 days;
- Furazolidone 30 mg/kg 2 times a day for 10 days.
Some of the rabbit breeders tried to use levomiticin and claimed that he managed to cure the rabbits. But here it is necessary to take into account that the diagnosis was determined “by eye” by the rabbit breeder himself and there is no certainty that his animals had coccidiosis.
The “homemade” vaccine is the simultaneous use of coccidiostats and providing rabbits with contact with litter infected with eimeria oocysts. It is clear that it will not be possible to accurately calculate the dose of eimeria oocysts and such a “vaccination” is, in fact, “Russian roulette”.
Against the backdrop of the impossibility of vaccinating animals against eimeriosis, the prevention of coccidiosis in rabbits becomes very important.
How to prevent coccidiosis and what it includes
First of all, the prevention of disease in rabbits is strict adherence to the rules of veterinary and sanitary hygiene. The premises of the rabbit farm, cages, and equipment should be regularly fried with a blowtorch.
Eimeria could rightfully say that you cannot take them with your bare hands, and even with a blowtorch. But it is quite possible to thin out the number of eimeria oocysts on a cell grid.
Washing with disinfectant solutions is not very effective in the case of Eimeria oocysts. Feces are removed daily.
After weaning, rabbits are kept in clean, dry rooms in cages with a mesh floor. From the 3rd week of life, all rabbits are given antibiotics and vitamin C.
Opponents of antibiotics are trying to fight coccidiosis in rabbits with “proven folk remedies” by adding iodine and lactic acid to the water.
It is believed that the “iodide” solution causes the oxidation of proteins that have not been processed by the stomach when feeding animals with high-protein feed.But in a healthy body without hormonal imbalances, these functions should be performed by the thyroid gland, secreting the required amount of iodine. The only excuse for artificial malfunction of the pancreas in a rabbit is that the animal’s lifespan is usually 4 months.
Lactic acid is a good remedy, but it does not kill eimeria. It simply stops fermentation in the intestines.
Treatment and prevention of coccidiosis in rabbits
Is the meat of sick rabbits edible?
Eimeria, which parasitizes rabbits, is not contagious to humans. At least until they mutated yet. The meat of slaughtered rabbits can be eaten, but if the rabbits have undergone treatment or prevention of coccidiosis, you need to check the instructions for the drug. You can eat meat only after the medication has been removed from the animal’s body. These terms are different for each medication and are indicated in the annotations.
Conclusion
The main measures to prevent the occurrence of coccidiosis in a rabbitry are strict hygiene. If the symptoms are recognized in time and treatment for coccidiosis is started immediately, then there is a chance to save a significant number of livestock.
