D6—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 17,1981 Q Ask the t3l vmd Hi ■*—MUM? r K Leon Riegel If you have a question you would like answered by Dr. Leon Riegel and Dr. Edgar Shealfer of Valley Animal Hospital, Palmyra and Dr. Tim Trayer, Denver, send it to Ask the VMD, Box 366, Lititz, PA 17543. Questions will be kept anonymous on request. A reader writes I’ve been raising rabbits for years. A couple months ago, I started having problems that I never had before Back around March, I had a young doe that had a Utter in January. Soon after I took her away from the young, she started losing hair un derneath and around her back legs. I looked in books to find out about ringworm and it said ‘skin inflamed in rings’ Ringworm seemed to be the closest thing to what she had, so I treated her for that The problem cleared up and new hair grew back Soon after that, I noticed she only hopped on one back foot and the leg was hard Later, she got a hard lump on her stomach area She got thin and wouldn’t eat right I tried Terramycm on her, but she didn’t get better Finally I got the vet to look at her She told me the rabbit probably wouldn’t make it The next day, my dad killed Overstocked Sale COMPANION “E" BOILER Over 27% Discount SAVE *280“ Regular Price $lOl9 SALE *739 ★ Factory pickup price ★ All controls included ★ Offer expires January 24,1981 FEATURING • Produces up to 110,000 BTU/hr. • Large firebox will take • Fully baffled for greater logs up to 30’' efficiency • Airtight construction • Automatic control rate • Water capacity 28 gal. of burn • Utilizes existing coil to produce abundant hot water for domestic use • Automatic multi fuel operation MITCHELL PRODUCTS the rabbit When the vet opened her up, she found a lot of pus She said it might have been an infection. Over the summer, I had three other rabbits at least that I lost and they all had lumps It seems the hard lump appears about three to six weeks after they have a litter Then they lose tneir appetites This happens in both young and old does I want to know what’s causing this problem and what I can do to prevent it My rabbits aren’t purebreds They’re mixed and different colors I feed them a mixture of oats and rabbit pellets To the does with young, I give them Calf Manna in ad dition I also give my rabbits hay and ear com Judy Landis, R 3 Box 410, Hamburg, PA 19526 Dr. Maas comments In looking at the symp toms you’ve described, several signs could indicate possible post-weaning mastitis Since the problem occured in your young and old does with litters, the abdominal lumps may be mammary tissue either engorged or infected, with the infection becoming generalized in the abdominal cavity This would also Free Literature on request. Rd 1 Box 346 A, Edwards Rd. Narvon, PA 17555 Ph: 215-445-5990 Dealer Inquiries Invited Tim Trayer correlate with the loss of appetite Treatment for this con dition would entail hot packing the abdominal area after draining the mammary gland Then an appropriate antibiotic, probably penicillin by injections, would need to be ad ministered to combat the microorganism causing the infection A second possibility for the conditions you’ve described might be multiple abscesses first confined to the tissue just under the skin, and later becoming generalized Lameness, lumps, and loss of appetite would point to this Again, treatment is the same opening and draining each area, followed by penicillin Although the multiple abscess condition is a possibility, this condition is more frequently seen in fighting males And then, only one animal is afflicted The loss of hair in the first doe is probably unrelated to the other problems Your diagnosis of the problem as ringworm, a fungus and not a worm, was no doubt correct since your treatment resulted in improvement Ringworm is a commonly seen skin problem condition in many mammals, and is moderately to easily com municable to humans • Eliminate oil cost and burn wood Edgar Sheaffer Treating ringworm on any mammal usually involves cleansing the areas, drying them, and applying several tunes for at least six weeks, an anti-fungal ointment containing tolhaftate Often anti-fungal medication is taken orally for six weeks as well Some basic facts about a rabbit’s life cycle mav prove useful to those con templating raising rabbits Gestation lasts 28 to 36 days with approximately seven babies bom per litter, each weighing about 100 grams that is, less than a quarter pound The babies’ eyes open when they are about 10 days old, and they are weaned when they are 42 to 56 days old Puberty is reached between 4 and 9 months and the rabbits can be bred up to 6 years, though usually 1 to 3 years Weight at adulthood is approximately 4 kilograms for females (almost 9 pounds) and 4 3 kilograms FRANK A. FILLIPPO, INC. - WANTED - DISABLED & CRIPPLED COWS f BULLS & STEERS Competitive Prices Slaughtered under government inspectlo Call: Frank Fillippo - Residence - 215-666 Elam Cinder - 717-367-3824 C.L. King - 717-786-7229 for males pounds) Normal body temperatures range from 101 to 103 2 degrees Fahrenheit, and life span ranges from 5 to 7 years A basic diet for rabbits consists of commercial rabbit pellets and greens in moderation, totaling 100 to 150 grams per day depending on age and condition, with Mi cup water per 2 2 pounds of body weight Since the rabbit has three pairs of incisors or gnawing teeth which keep growing, lengths of hd> to chew help suunwi Company INSOLATION SPECIALIST” ultural • Commercial • Industrial BLOWN IN - FOAMED IN PUCE •a 717-898-2760 Paid prevent these teeth from becoming impacted The environmental temperature for rabbit housing should be 62 to 68 degrees with 50 percent humidity for optimum conditions Rabbits may be inoculated against contagious rhinitis or ‘snuffles’ If this respiratory disease is contracted, the rabbit needs to be kept warm, rested and placed on a regimen of in jectable or oral an tibacterials READ LANCASTER FARMING FOR COMPLETE AND UP-TO-DATE MARKET REPORTS
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