Treating Mucoid Enteritis in Young Rabbits

1 Young Rabbit Mucoid Enteritis

One: Symptoms and diagnosis. Rabbits of 40–70 days easily develop mucoid enteritis from poor management; mortality is high and treatment must be prompt. The pathogen comes from pathogenic E. coli in the gut and its toxins, which disrupt normal gut activity, unbalance flora, and trigger the disease.

Signs: bloated abdomen, severe diarrhea, fur around the anus soiled with mucus or yellow watery stool; with other gut disease, mucosal necrosis and sloughing. Severe diarrhea causes dehydration, weight loss, emaciation, cold limbs, lethargy, refusal to eat, no movement, rough coat, and death from exhaustion. The course is about a week; severe cases die in 2–3 days.

Diagnosis: from dehydration, gelatinous diarrhea, bloating, fast onset, and contagion, make a preliminary diagnosis.

No specific drug exists; use these measures: 1. Antibiotics to control secondary infection—streptomycin IM 20,000 IU/kg twice daily for 3–5 days; add 10 ml aureomycin and 0.001 ml vitamin B12 to feed to cut deaths; oral furazolidone 15 ml/kg twice daily for 2–3 days; or a herbal decoction of 3 g lobelia, 6 g scutellaria, 3 g andrographis per day for 5–10 kits, twice daily for 3–4 days.

2. Symptomatic care: IV 50–100 ml saline and 20–50 ml 5% glucose twice daily to prevent dehydration and give energy.

3. Oral astringents: rhubarb-soda 0.5 g/kg, tannin protein 2–3 g/kg, yeast 0.5 g/kg, twice daily for 3–4 days.

Prevention: 1. Manage and disinfect feed to raise resistance and suppress pathogens. 2. Watch weanlings; change feed gradually over a week so gut flora adapts; never introduce rabbits from affected farms. 3. Isolate sick rabbits and disinfect with 20% lime water; treat other gut diseases early to protect flora.

That’s the guide to young-rabbit mucoid enteritis; we hope owners prevent it well.