Worms in Rabbits????

[TanksHill]

I posted this in the homemade section because I am hoping for a homemade remedy

First off let me say that I was trying to set up my red wiggler bin under my rabbit hutch. I went to dump the tray of poop into the red worm bin and it was full of little white worms. Yuckkkkk!!!!!!

so I put a dish of pumpkins seeds in the hutch.

I guess this is my question. What the heck do I do?? Should I dispose of the whole red worm bin, as to not keep white worms around the hutch? Should I add DE around the hutch?? How contagious are theses????

I am totally grossed out. Not to mention worried about my dog. My rabbit hutch as some of you may know is kinda like a run. She has access to the ground.

At this point I am tempted to let the bunny go in the field and wash the whole mess with bleach.

Any and all advice welcome. gina

So, looked at the remaining couple poops that were on the wire floor of the hutch, they looked normal no worms. Is it possible that the tray, because it was on the ground in the run area got the worms from out side? Could they be maggots?? I have no idea and am totally grossed out. Why do I have animals???

 

[hennypenny9]

I'm sorry, I don't know what they are, but when we had small white worms it was maggots. My parents set up the chicken house so that the floor is small chicken wire, and their poo falls straight through the wire onto some wood panels. Then we pull the panels out and clean them off. Well, once we let it go too long in the summer, and we got the maggots. But I dunno if yours are different. Ours only come if we leave it too long, or if it's especially warm. If flies can get in, that's what it could be.

 

[Beekissed]

I've never heard of rabbits having worms and we raised them for several years without any evidence of worms. I'd say you have some fly bots or something. I wouldn't worry about it unless they are taking over the bins.

 

[2dream]

I read your post a couple of times before I replied. Since your rabbit has access to the gound worms could be the problem. However, everything but pin worms causes weight loss. I guess a sever cases of pin worms can cause weight loss too but I can't imagine them being that bad and you not noticing a sick rabbit. I am guessing what you are seeing is probably maggots or something similar. If you are really concerned just use some DE if you have it on hand. You can either put it on their food or in their water. I think it takes 90 days of treatment for some worms where others just need 30 days, so I would just give them the 90 day treatment.
Use 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons a day. Since you can't overdose on DE to much won't hurt but to little will not work.

 

[TanksHill]

Thank you guys for your help. I was a bit shocked today and may have over reacted. Just not what I was expecting to find. I have allready given her a dose of DE. She does not look ill at all and is looking really good I think. I disposed of everything that was on the tray. It had built up to about an inch deep and yes it is exposed to whatever. So the red worm bin contents got bagged up and dumped in the trash. Then I cleaned the bin with bleach. My plan is just to continue with the DE and keep an eye on her size.

 

[2dream]

Gina, I understand that over reacting thing. LOL I just lost all but one kit out of 2 litters. So I was kind of doing some hair pulling, internet searching, and head scratching myself. When something strange happens I think we all do.

I did learn something about DE that I did not previously know. So just in case there is someone else out there that does not know this. Once you start a treatment - don't skip a day. (I know some people use it on a regular basis but I don't). In the past I have only used it for about 30 days but I now know that some worms require a 90 day treatment.

Live and learn.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Hi. I'm guessing from what you wrote that the white worms where fly larvea. It's certainly the season for it whith the weather warming up and you being in So. Cal.

Don't worry about them being in your bin. Just feed your rabbit the DE once a day. You may still see flies around but their larvea will not be able to survive in the manure with the DE in it. It's also good for the fur.

I tried it with my herd and I saw a significant decrease in the number of flies and NO white worms (larvae) in their poop even if I was late cleaning their pans. I'm just starting the animals up on the DE again this week since we are seeing flys again with the warm weather. They'll be on it every day until the weather is cold again.

Now, on a different topic, if you want to de-worm your rabbit for internal parasites, I use Wazine (piperzine) and Ivermectin 3 - 4 times per year. Each med takes care of different worms. This helps keep my rabbits in top shape and makes a difference in how their coat looks. My rabbits travel a lot to shows and you never know what they can pick up there but I'd be even more inclined to use it if my rabbits lived on the ground.

If you eat your rabbits, read the label to find the recommended waiting period before processing.

 

[TanksHill]

ChickenPotPie,

Thank you for the advice. We don't eat or process rabbits. At this point I only have the one. I originally got the rabbit as a pet for my children and to use the manure for the worm farm. Are the meds your mentioned available over the counter at the feed store. I guess I will check next time I am there. Do you not think the bunny should be on the ground?? I thought having access to growing grass would be a good thing. Maybe not???

Thanks for the help. g

 

[big brown horse]

Hi Gina,

My bunnies are "ground dwellers" and have been for quite a while. They have the first floor of the chicken coop with an open door policy. Then they have access to their own bunny run AND also the chicken run totaling about 100 square feet. They have dug a very intricate tunnel system under the coop and they clean it out themselves by shoveling out dirt etc. daily. I wouldn't change this system for the world. Both rabbits came from the SPCA and spent their first year in a tiny cage . I love to see them race around in the evenings nibbling on green grass. (I have one Holland lop named Benjamin and one lion head named Sasha. )

Anyway, I am courious on how to administer the DE to rabbits, do you sprinkle it on their food? How much per rabbit? We haven't seen any worms ever, but I still would like to know.

Thanks!

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Are the meds your mentioned available over the counter at the feed store. I guess I will check next time I am there. Do you not think the bunny should be on the ground?? I thought having access to growing grass would be a good thing. Maybe not???

Thanks for the help. g

Yes, both are available over the counter at feed stores. The piperzine is administered in the water, the ivermectin comes in several forms. I really like the apple flavored gel made for horses. Just give a small pea-sized dollop shmeared on your rabbits upper lip (he'll lick it off) for 3 days then again after 10 days. Then a week later, give the suggested dosage of piperzine in the water and redose after 10 days. I do this about 3 times a year.

I'll note that I've never seen parasite worms in their fecal matter but have seen signs of worms based on their coat and muscle condition before. I think you'd only notice the worms out of it's host if it were an extreme case of infestation.

I know some won't let their rabbits touch the ground for the parasites they can pick up by eating the grass and that incurable "thing" they can get from coming in contact with raccoon droppings. Sorry, I forget what it's called. I also know people do their best to keep their rabbits from coming in contact with chicken poo because it can kill them and I've know of these cases. But from what big brown horse wrote, clearly it's being done by others without trouble so you never know.

There is nothing wrong with keeping your rabbit on the ground. But, just like keeping rabbits in wire cages, it has to be done properly, so they can be kept happy, and healthy. Of course, I would never keep my rabbits running loose in my yard, willy nilly, all day long, either. They'd eventually get out, bother the neighbors, and get eaten by a predator.

I don't know anything about keeping rabbits using the "colony method" (together, in a large, secure, enclosure on the ground) but that is a legitimate method of keeping rabbits. I think this method is used for keeping neutered pets and breeding meat rabbits. I'd love to learn how to do it properly if we had room for a meat breed.

Yes, there are risks of parasites, viruses, and such from keeping them on the ground but those can be passed on to cage kept rabbits, too, if they're not kept isolated and short of keeping them in a lab environment, there is no perfect way of keeping rabbits completely safe of such problems. So we use preventative measures.

The DE...I've been pretty liberal with it, I think. You can't overdose on it really. I think I was using 3 - 4 cups for a 50 lb bag, so about 1/2 - 3/4 cup per 10 of feed, I think. Just make it look whitish and a little dusty. It will coat coat the pellets but you won't have any loose at the bottom of the container when done mixing.

Mixing it in 10 lb batches would work nicely. As a precaution, wear gloves and a dust mask when mixing it. The dust is very fine. I'd just wash my hands afterwards and keep my face out of the mixing container.

The rabbits may need some time to get used to the powder on their food so you may wish to start small and in crease the dose over a week.

As with all posts, take my advice with a grain of salt. I'm just sharing my own experience.