swollen testicle

Question

rabbit testicle   My rabbit has a swollen testicle.  I raise them for meat, its just not economical for me to take to a vet.  there is a 2 mm wide abrasion on the testicle and it is twice the size of the other testicle with no real redness.  Is there an antibiotic I can administer to see if that is the cause?  If it is anything else I will have to cull.  I do not want to cull because he is a big buck.  All my rabbits are treated well and so forth, they get sunshine pellets hay and treats.  I want to be able to treat the rabbit but seeing a vet is off the table.  If it is as simple as giving an injection below a fold of skin (say, like the neck skin) I am equipped to do that.  I can get most antibiotics and syringes.  Obviously if its anything too complicated I cannot proceed, but simple injections are something I am equipped to do.

While it may be that it is not an infection, if it is anything else i will have to cull.  Since infection is a likely cause and since it means I could potentially keep the animal, I would like to try antibiotics to see if it helps.  If it does not I will cull.

The animal did not get this way in my care.  Rather I bought the rabbit and did not notice until today.

Answer
Hi,

I can't really tell from the photo but this is the way I look at things.  If you are just going to cull the animal and it is not suffering then it doesn't hurt to try to treat it.  While I don't think the penicillin is the best choice for infections in rabbits, it is the easiest to get.  It has to be given by injection because oral penicillin is toxic to rabbits and can cause fatal enteritis.  If you have any baytril (enrofloxacin) this would probably work better.  This can be given orally or by injection.  

His testicle does not really look that bad.  It is not uncommon for rabbits to suck one testicle up inside.  To me that is all this looks like.  The swelling may get better on its own.  I understand that breeders can't always take their animals to the vet but if he is still eating, drinking and pooping and has no open or obviously distressing injuries I would just keep an eye on him.

Good luck

Pam