Sick wildie on hubby's delivery

DH came from work today telling me about a young wild bun that was sat on someones doorstep. Dh delivers in the rurals in a van (a right regular postman Pat!!). He said it looked to have a swollen eye and it looked up at him and hopped away clumsily, bumping into things
Dh said if' he'd been quick enough, he could have picked it upbt had his hands full with post. Poor little thing.
What would be the correct thing to do in a situation like this? I told DH not to bring sick bunnies to the house incase they made my buns ill. But would a vet sort it or is it best to let nature take it's course? I think if it had been hit by a car or attacked by a fox beyond repair, my DH would have taken care of it (assisted it to rest in peace).

Sounds like Myxi. There are many people that would say there is only one kind thing to do for a wildie in this situation. I don't think I could though. You were certainly right to warn him not to touch.

I'm very glad he didn't bring it home now Poor little thing.

Swollen eye, dozy and disorientated - it's classic myxi signs. I remember reading a while ago that most buns that get hit on the road have myxi as they potter into the road and then don't have the mental capability to move away from the danger.

Up to the individual really, personally if I found an animal that wouldn't get better in the wild I would always try and get it to a vet or rescue. Not always possible, especially if the animal is still mobile and able to run away!

I took a little myxi wildie to my local vet and they put it to sleep. It had been sitting in the middle of the road and never even tried to get away when I picked it up in a blanket and its little eyes were sealed shut

Yes, Myxi.

And having lived alongside myxi all my life believe me the "solution" you mention is infinitely preferable to the hours of thinking of the suffering and fear the bun is going through.

But the sick bun will no doubt have fleas (the myxi vector) and you don't want to bring them to your buns.

I count it a major blessing that we do not have myxi here in the USA. How horrible it must be for the poor little wildies.

Wow what a dilemma - when mentioning the vet my first reaction is to worry about the other rabbits at the vets, Rory was in for a day before having his vaccine as he wasn't well enough to have it

aww poor little munchkin mankind has a lot to answer for.

poor mite, and you were right, you shoudln't touch them, esp if they look ill.

I have this dilema now, and it really pains me. Being raised on a farm, I'm very adapt at necking rabbits (sorry...) and as a youngster, me and the old man would routinely neck Myxi Rabbits (there was a massive outbreak in the mid 70's that nearly decimated the population again).

Over the years, thius has come in very handy, and Ive been able to put a lot of buns out of their misery, whether it be Myxi, or they've been hit by a car etc.

Now, I have to leave them untouched, and it breaks my heart. But I can't risk bringing anything home to Stewie, and it's just not fair to do that, so I just have to pray that they get nabbed by a fox or similar asap

gentl wrote:I count it a major blessing that we do not have myxi here in the USA. How horrible it must be for the poor little wildies.

Actually the USA does, but it's mainly in CA, and the Cotton Tail and Jack Rabbits have a higher level of immunity, meaning that the full blown sypmtoms don't come to fruition. These buns can get 'Nodular' Myxi - which is the much lesser form that some UK vaccionated buns get. It's largely survivable, and produced lumps (nodules) on the skin, crsusts around the eyes etc. But these normally disappear over time, and the rabbits make a full recovery, and are then completely immunised against any form of Myxi

They do carry the Myxo virus and can infect pet rabbits - see http://chris-mclaughlin.suite101.com/myxomatosis-the-rabbit-disease-a83485