Livestock
Senior 1 · Agriculture
Livestock
Lesson 4 of 5
22 min
Let's begin
Rabbits hide illness well. In the wild a weak rabbit is the first one a predator catches, so a sick rabbit keeps eating and moving for as long as it can. By the time a farmer notices, the disease may already have spread to the next compartment.
Rabbit farmers in Rwanda lose animals in three ways: to diseases caused by germs and parasites, to pests such as mites and ants, and to enemies such as dogs, rats and thieves. This lesson teaches you to recognise each one and to prevent it.
| Healthy rabbit | Sick rabbit |
|---|---|
| Alert, ears up, moves freely | Sits hunched in a corner, dull, reluctant to move |
| Eats and drinks eagerly, especially in the evening | Refuses food or water |
| Clean, shiny coat; clean nose and eyes | Rough coat; discharge from nose or eyes; front paws matted from wiping the nose |
| Firm, round, dry droppings | Diarrhoea, soiled tail area, or no droppings at all |
| Clean ears | Head shaking, scratching the ears, crusts inside the ears |
| Steady growth | Weight loss, swollen belly (pot belly), slow growth |
| Disease | Cause | Main signs | Prevention and control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coccidiosis | Protozoa of the genus Eimeria, spread when rabbits swallow the parasite's eggs (oocysts) from droppings in feed, water or bedding | Diarrhoea (sometimes with blood or mucus), pot belly, weight loss, rough coat; many deaths among young rabbits after weaning. One form attacks the liver. | Keep hutches clean and dry; use mesh floors so droppings fall away; never feed from the floor; drugs called coccidiostats, given in feed or water on a vet's advice |
| Snuffles (pasteurellosis) | Bacteria (Pasteurella), made worse by draughts, damp and the ammonia from urine in a poorly ventilated hutch | Sneezing, thick white discharge from the nose, matted front paws, noisy breathing; can lead to pneumonia | Good ventilation without draughts; daily cleaning; isolate sick rabbits; treatment by a vet; badly affected breeding stock is usually culled |
| Ear canker | Ear mites (Psoroptes) | Head shaking, scratching, drooping ears, brown crusts inside the ear | Examine ears regularly; treat all rabbits in the unit with an acaricide or ear treatment from the vet; clean the hutch |
| Mange | Burrowing mites | Hair loss and thick crusts around the nose, eyes, ears and feet; intense itching | Isolate and treat; disinfect the hutch |
| Enteritis and bloat | Wrong feeding: wet or mouldy greens, too much concentrate, too little fibre, sudden change of diet | Diarrhoea, a swollen tight belly, loss of appetite; young rabbits die quickly | Wilted greens, plenty of fibre, gradual changes of diet, clean feeders |
| Sore hocks | Standing all day on rough wire or wet floors, especially heavy breeds | Sores and scabs on the undersides of the back feet; limping | A resting board in every compartment; dry floors; smooth mesh |
| Mastitis | Bacteria entering the doe's teats, often through small wounds | Hot, hard, swollen, reddish teats; the doe may refuse to feed her kits | Clean nest boxes and hutches; treatment by a vet |
Two serious viral diseases of rabbits, myxomatosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease, occur in many countries and can kill most of a unit very quickly. If several rabbits die suddenly, report it to the veterinary officer at once.
A strong, raised hutch with secure doors, placed close to the house, is the main defence against all of them.
Seven weeks after weaning, several young rabbits in one grower compartment have diarrhoea and swollen bellies, and two have died. The compartment has a solid wooden floor covered in droppings, and greens are thrown onto the floor.
Tip
Memory hook: "Coccidiosis comes from Contaminated floors": the parasite's eggs are in droppings, so keep droppings away from the food. "Snuffles: Sneezes and Sticky nose."
Exam technique: for any disease, answer under four headings: cause, signs, spread, control. For an enemy, state the harm and the specific defence ("rats kill kits at night; stand hutch legs in tins and close all gaps").
Name the cause of coccidiosis in rabbits and explain how it spreads.
Solution: It is caused by protozoa of the genus Eimeria. Infected rabbits pass the parasite's eggs (oocysts) in their droppings; other rabbits swallow them with contaminated feed, water or bedding.
A rabbit keeps shaking its head, and there are brown crusts inside its ears. Name the condition and its cause.
Solution: Ear canker, caused by ear mites (Psoroptes).
Give three signs that a rabbit may be sick.
Solution: Any three of: sitting hunched and dull; refusing food; rough coat; nose or eye discharge; diarrhoea or no droppings; head shaking; weight loss.
Suggest two ways to protect newborn kits from rats and ants.
Solution: Raise the hutch on legs standing in tins of water or oil; close all gaps and holes; keep the nest box inside a secure compartment; keep the area around the hutch clear of rubbish where rats hide.
A doe refuses to let her kits suckle, and her teats are hot, hard and red. What is the likely problem and what should the farmer do?
Solution: Mastitis. The farmer should call a vet for treatment, clean the nest box and hutch, and may need to foster the kits to another doe that kindled at about the same time.
Summary
Sources and credits
The Rwandan examples, worked examples and practice questions are written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
