Uncle Albert Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 (edited) I've been shooting rabbits for a number of years now and occassionally I come across one that shows signs of disease when gutting them. Sometimes the liver is severely swollen and covered with white patches, othertimes the liver is slightly swollen but still has the patches. The spots are both on the surface and sub surface. I have come across one in which the liver was swollen to the extent that it occupied about a quarter of the gut cavity. In all cases they show no sign externally of myxi and their behaviour is normal, yet when opening up they display the signs shown in the picture. Wild rabbits can also get something called Viral Haemoragic Fever and I am wondering if this is the early stages of one of these diseases. Either way, those showing these signs go in the ditch for charlie. From my research I understand that neither Myxi or VHF are transmitted to other animals so it is safe to dispose of them this way. I would be interested if someone on the forum could clear up what this is, the early stages of myxi or VHF? If the mods regard the image as inappropriate then I apologise but I would like clarification. Edited March 21, 2012 by Uncle Albert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexr Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 (edited) I suspect this is liver fluke. which is , if I remember right, part of the life cycle of a snail like creature that is ingested by the rabbit and goes on to live and mature in the liver before passing out as eggs in the feaces. Any way, I wouldn't be eating that one if I were you, nor would I feed it to my dogs or ferret if I had one. Edited March 21, 2012 by alexr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 Not entirely sure what it is either. I've eaten a few that have it though and I'm still living Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drayman Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 I would have thought Coccidiosis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Albert Posted March 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 (edited) I would have thought Coccidiosis. Coccidiosis only affects the gut of animals so I don't think that is a possibility. Liver fluke generally has more translucent spots but it is a possibility. Very bad infection though. I have seen examples which were much worse that this one though. Alexr might have the answer as the bunny showed no sign of any abnormality before being shot. The liverfluke is the larval stage of a parasitic Nematode worm which matures in the liver. Some of the spots look deeply subsurface, so that may be the culprit. I did go onto a web site where you can ask a vet but they wanted £15 for an answer. How do I know they are qualified vets? Rip-off site. Never mind, I'll get the answer eventually. Either way bunnies with that don't come home, they go in the ditch for Charlie. Never seen one there the following day yet. Edited March 21, 2012 by Uncle Albert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drayman Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 Coccidiosis only affects the gut of animals so I don't think that is a possibility. Not so. It's well known in the liver of rabbits. I'm not saying this one is or isn't but would agree that whatever they have they stay out for Charlie. Might be interesting to know what the ground is like, other livestock, wet or dry etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beretta28g Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 Apache on here is a vet :good: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benji02 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 I got my first 2 rabbits last night and when I got home I gutted them, one if the rabbits had 3 not very visible whitish spots on it's liver and I was wondering what it was and if it is safe to eat the meat, they looked healthy on the outside nice clear eyes and no swelling to genitals or anal cavity and no bumps or lumps anywhere I don't know how to put pictures on here otherwise I would, many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berettacocker Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Don't think it's VHD. VHD kills the rabbits really quickly, and you don't often find the bodies. If you do,you might see blood coming from the anus, nose or eyes. A place I shoot is alive with rabbits during the summer ( not farmland ) but during the autumn, most of them seem to vanish ( no myxy ) but a few years ago found a dead rabbit that looked perfectly healthy , except for a bit of blood on the anus. Then I read about VHD in the shooting press, and now presume this is what my rabbits get most years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snipers eye Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 i have always seen the spots on younger rabbits livers ,i have never seen them on older full grown ones.i also have eaten rabbits that were perfectly healthy looking,but had those spots,im still alive also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corkycorksta Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 I would have thought Coccidiosis.Definitely Coccidiosis - I used to dress rabbit as part of my job and it's not uncommon, I always binned anything with a liver as in the pic below out of caution Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berettacocker Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Seen it in pheasant poults that have died of coccy, does look like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 I thought it would be ascarids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul taylor Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 I had one like this last weekend. As said above it was a younger adult and appeared swollen even before I opened it up. Looked otherwise healthy and looked to be behaving normal till some no 6 rolled it over. went in bin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethda9 Posted April 21, 2022 Report Share Posted April 21, 2022 Their ok to eat if it’s not spread to the meat on the outside if it’s on the lungs or liver there good to go if you cook them real good it’ll kill the bacteria, the disease is called tularemia it’s common in rabbits, it can be spread through cuts and bug bites so make sure you wash your hands real good or wear gloves if you come across them it CANT be transmitted through human to human but through infected animals to human can, it’s also an air borne pathogen it comes from ticks and flys that land on a animal, people that have risk of getting it are trappers , hunters and vets. Survival rate likely for someone to die from the disease untreated is 5 to 15 percent, with antibiotics it drops down to 1 percent, im sure our primal ancestors have came across them and didn’t give a a$$ about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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