Causes and Treatment of Diarrhea in Baby Rabbits

1 Causes of Kit Diarrhea

1. Food-based diarrhea: from unclean, rotten, toxic, or chemically contaminated feed. Early signs: poor digestion, low or refused appetite, sticky or loose foul-smelling stools, low spirits. Prevention: feed fresh, clean greens. Early on, add purslane or cucumber vine; for severe cases, oral oxytetracycline 0.1–0.25 g three times daily until it stops.

2. Mucous diarrhea: white mucus in stools, swollen belly, cold limbs, drooling, teeth grinding. Isolate the rabbit and disinfect the cage and gear; treat with streptomycin intramuscularly twice daily for 3–5 days.

3. Dysenteric diarrhea: early on, large amounts of stool with translucent jelly; later, less stool and only jelly, then possibly blood. The kit may die in 5–7 days. Give 50 g fresh amaranth and 25 g brown sugar, stir-fried 4–5 minutes then boiled to 150 ml, split into two doses; or oral berberine 0.05 g twice daily until diarrhea stops.

2 Clostridium perfringens Type A

Rabbit Clostridium perfringens type A causes acute watery diarrhea, is contagious, and has a high death rate.

Prevention: inject the aluminum hydroxide inactivated type A vaccine, 2 ml subcutaneously, with a 6-month immunity — repeat every 6 months.

Treatment:

1. Oral penicillin 50,000 units plus streptomycin 50 mg.

2. Intramuscular 2.5% enrofloxacin 0.5 ml twice daily for 2 days.

3. Subcutaneous mequindox injection 1–2 ml twice daily — effective early.

4. Subcutaneous hyperimmune serum 5 ml early, repeat after 7–10 days.

5. Or whole-blood therapy: draw 2 ml 4% sodium citrate, collect 20 ml blood from a healthy rabbit’s ear vein, mix, and inject 5 ml intramuscularly into the sick rabbit; repeat once after 6 hours if severe.

Manage the rabbit’s diet strictly and keep feed clean to reduce diarrhea.