Major Illness

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Orionchins

New member
Joined
Mar 6, 2017
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1
Hello - this is my first post here, and I have not taken time to introduce myself yet. I have a herd of chins and am a hobby breeder.

During the last two months, my chins have suffered a major unknown illness, and I have lost several. I need advice, if anyone has thoughts. Here's what's happening:

Basically, I find the chin, not alive. It's that fast. Occasionally, the chin will look down for a day or so, and other times, it's so sudden, I never realize anything is wrong. This has hit all age groups.

I feed Purina Rabbit Show, fresh mixed hay and occasional Manna and oats, etc. No sweet treats or nuts.

I have washed, sanitized cages and waterers.

I sent one chin to the University of Minnesota for an autopsy, and the results were inconclusive. The chins was about 18 months old, went very sudden. She was healthy and frolicking one day in a dust bath - gone the next day. her cage mate girls were fine, then I lost another a week later. The other cage mate girls seem fine - for today.

The vet there said he noted a small amount of giardia, nothing that would have caused major issues. There was no loose stool. All other parasite, viral and bacterial studies were negative.

He noted her bones were very week, and her liver was pale and fatty.

That's all I have to go by. Today, I am losing another - she is taking longer to pass. She is three years old, seemingly very healthy to this point. Is not pregnant/lives with one other girl chin. There is no violence/attacks, etc.

The UofM vet seemed to think nutrition was the issue. I do not feed fatty treats or sweets. They get fed every day, no skipping. They are not too hot or cold, have 12-hours of light.

Please help. I live in an area with no exotic pet vet. My local vet can draw blood, but won't know what to look for, plus I don't know what else I can learn that the UofM didn't see.

Thanks.
 
Have you treated with any type of antibiotic? I had an illness go through my herd years ago that resulted in one chin after another prolapsing and either dying or needing to be PTS. $3000.00 later (necropsies, vet visits, repeated medications, burned/bleached runs and houses, new runs, etc.), I had concrete answers, a lot of lost chins, and the remainder of my herd healthy. My necropsies were done by Texas A&M and they traced it to contaminated supplement that I was giving my chins (something hadn't been heated correctly).

In your case, I don't know. I have not experienced those particular symptoms. I do know that human Strep can kill chins. I also have been told that they are susceptible to other human illnesses, even if it's their own version, like the flu, etc. When I'm sick, I wear a mask in the chin barn. Having them simply die one after another though, makes no sense to me. A vet needs to get them started on SOMEthing, even just a broad spectrum antibiotic to see if it helps. If it was me, I'd try TMZ (trimethoprim sulfa). It's broad spectrum, I've never had an issue with it (though I have been told it can cause them to drink less, I've never had this issue), and chins generally love the cherry flavored and don't fight taking it.

Are they all eating? Contact Tayna at fuzzy's kingdom and find out about some holistic herbs/supplements that might help. I know she has some that specifically target the liver.

You mentioned that you sanitized, but what kind of water do you use? Contaminated water is a sneaky, silent way that chins can die. My water is treated by reverse osmosis. Basically, it's like liquid nothing. There are no fluorides, no minerals, nothing. It's just wet. What is your water source?
 
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