5 of 5

Write now Article Tools

As some as you know, my husband and I are truck drivers. In September of 2005 I decided to join my hubby back on the road as a career which I really enjoyed. I
made arrangements for an older family member to take care of all my animals while I was gone. I am very careful in my rabbitry of cleaning, disinfecting cages, and crocks,
which are done daily. I left a to do list and routine on how my rabbits were to be cared for on a daily basis.

We had a load going to help the people from the Katrina hurricane disaster. We were transporting material to a Home Depot that was in need of supplies.

The first call came from home regarding 2 French Lops had died. Being concerned and upset I had told them to clean everything and burn all the wood cages in every
corner, thinking maybe a spider had bitten them. A couple of days later I got another call telling me the same thing happened again. I was so upset and I felt so helpless
being so far from home. I could not get there as fast as I needed to be. I told them to empty all the feeders and give them the daily amount to keep track of what they are
eating.

I was so worried that this was going to get out of hand, so we requested a load right away to get back to Oregon. We were told they would see what they could do to
get us home. The things that go through your mind are so hard when you are needed at home and you can't just get up and leave.

It was 2 days later before we could even get home. By this time we had lost 12 rabbits. We were so puzzled by what was going on. We emptied all the feeders,
disinfected everything, and got them all on hay and medicated water. A couple of days later 2 more rabbits died. Knowing what I had to do from before, I rushed up to the
state school again and took in 2 rabbits that had died that morning. I took another sample of the feed and made sure they tested that too.

There were no major signs other than they stopped eating and died the next day, with bloody stools leaking out their bottoms. It also spread to a pair of French Lops
that I had bred together. I lost them both. When the results came back I could not believe what they had found. E-coli. I had no idea what the poor babies went through. It ma
de their organs rupture, causing a very painful death.

I know what you are thinking, how can that get into the rabbits? There were a few cases in a petting zoo not too long ago. The vet called me and told me he had done
some research and called many top vets in other states to shed some light on the subject.

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Signs of sickness in a rabbit?
We want to hear your view. Write now!