foot problems

[nanny]

Well for starters I acquired 4 rabbits from a man who was going to slaughter them for meat.I took care of the ear mites and have been cleaning and treating the various scrapes and cuts, the male Californian whom we have named Meat is doing so much better his cuts are almost all healed he will however have a hole forever on his ear but it is only affecting his swave looks so I think it just gives him character. but my main concern now is the female Californian Potatoes, her poor feet is so sore its crusted over with scabs that keep splitting open and i cant get these suckers to heal because she keeps hopping to the door and following me around sigh I love it but wish she would just stay still till they heal. the only two tame ones are Potatoes and Oreo, and there not fully tame, anyway I was wondering if there is anyone who could help me make her poor feet better. I went out and bought some way great cages and they have there own play yard outside which they so love but poor potatoes just cant enjoy it as much. please help her and I out with some suggestions.

 

[ZRabbits]

Congratulations on your new bunnies. I guess the man didn't know what a truly good way to care for meat rabbits. Hopefully he's not into cows or chickens.

Anyway, they seem to have found someone who will love them and take care of them properly. Sore hocks is an issue to any bunny sitting on wires (whether, pet, meat or show) and the best medicine is preventive medicine. But since this guy had no idea what bunnies were expect procreation, no wonder they are that state.

In this article I'm posting, they talk about "New Skin". Maybe putting them on your bunny's feet will help stop the splitting and start on the road to healing.

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/sorehocks.shtml

Plus you could probably find something in the RO Library, along with some threads that discuss ear mites as well as sore hocks. It just doesn't happen to meat rabbits.

Hope this helps.

K

 

[tonyshuman]

First, make sure Potatoes's nails aren't too long. Sometimes long nails can put pressure on certain areas of the foot. Second, make sure they are on a soft surface and don't have to stand much in wet bedding. A wire-bottom cage is not a good choice, if that's what you have. A towel and/or piece of wood over the mesh is better. A grate may be good to have in the litterbox because it will keep their feet out of wet bedding, but they won't have to sit on it all the time.

There are a lot of ways to treat sore hocks. I'd recommend a cream-like substance since she's active and an oily substance might rub off quickly. A cream would soak into the skin. Neosporin cream without pain medicine is a good choice, and so is Udder Creme or something like that. Preparation H cream is also sometimes used. Bag Balm, neosporin ointment, or vaseline would me an oily substance that I don't think would help much due to her hopping around. I'd start with that, unless there are large areas of broken skin or the hocks have developed abscesses.

It might be good to have a vet check them out since you don't know their condition and they weren't treated well before you got them. They also have a great cream with silver sulfadiazine in it that they can prescribe for the sore hocks, and they can get a better idea of the severity of the problem than we can here.

I have not used New Skin on bunnies hocks but I have never had a serious case of sore hocks. I do know that that stuff hurts like the dickens when I use it so I don't know if I'd want to apply it to a bunny. It may be best to try wrapping the feet daily, but you'd need vet wrap for that and many bunnies won't tolerate it.

 

[tonyshuman]

Also found this, it's for urine scald, but that's often related to sore hocks:
http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Antibiotics/cream/antibiotic_cream.htm

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[nanny]

Wow thank you this is such a help! you guys rock!!:biggrin: I will try the triple antibiotic and put down a grate in the litter box (which none of them have been using yet but hey they like me cleaning the puppy pee pads every hour lol,)then after it starts to heal Ill try the new skin but yes IT BURNS!! so I wanna let it heal as much as I can before I have to put that evil stuff on lol. The bottom of there cages are a wood and you can slide them out but I was going to put a layer of that outdoor rug stuff on them I thought they spent all there lives in a crappy cage made of wire Ill do up somethin nice for them to live out the rest of there lives in, even though I don't think they care that I picked up shingles and paint and yes even window boxes for these guys lol now the nails are LONG on Shanequa but I was reading up and have my trusty flashlight and nail clippers and I'm almost ready to tackle those as soon as my husband gets home he can help me lol the other ones have clear nails so they aren't happy with me right now but I'm sure they will thank me later with happy bunny hops:big wink: Thank you all again I'm so glad I found this site! Ive only had them for a week so far and thank god I had my dogs kennels still I have a great Dane and bought three as she out grew them, now all 4 bunny's have a wood house all to them self with a connecting play yard that is split in half the girls side and boys side and I make the boys take turns out there because Ive read they fight. and real quick I was worried at first about my dane eating them well instead she is determined to make friends with them she sleeps next to them on the rug brings them her food and toy's and hasn't done anything to spook them but trust me I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her to be left alone with them. :rollseyes something in me knows its just not natural lol. thanks again yall this was a HUGE help!!!

 

[nanny]

Wow thank you this is such a help! you guys rock!!:biggrin: I will try the triple antibiotic and put down a grate in the litter box (which none of them have been using yet but hey they like me cleaning the puppy pee pads every hour lol,)then after it starts to heal Ill try the new skin but yes IT BURNS!! so I wanna let it heal as much as I can before I have to put that evil stuff on lol. The bottom of there cages are a wood and you can slide them out but I was going to put a layer of that outdoor rug stuff on them I thought they spent all there lives in a crappy cage made of wire Ill do up somethin nice for them to live out the rest of there lives in, even though I don't think they care that I picked up shingles and paint and yes even window boxes for these guys lol now the nails are LONG on Shanequa but I was reading up and have my trusty flashlight and nail clippers and I'm almost ready to tackle those as soon as my husband gets home he can help me lol the other ones have clear nails so they aren't happy with me right now but I'm sure they will thank me later with happy bunny hops:big wink: Thank you all again I'm so glad I found this site! Ive only had them for a week so far and thank god I had my dogs kennels still I have a great Dane and bought three as she out grew them, now all 4 bunny's have a wood house all to them self with a connecting play yard that is split in half the girls side and boys side and I make the boys take turns out there because Ive read they fight. and real quick I was worried at first about my dane eating them well instead she is determined to make friends with them she sleeps next to them on the rug brings them her food and toy's and hasn't done anything to spook them but trust me I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her to be left alone with them. :rollseyes something in me knows its just not natural lol. thanks again yall this was a HUGE help!!!

 

[nanny]

Wow thank you this is such a help! you guys rock!!:biggrin: I will try the triple antibiotic and put down a grate in the litter box (which none of them have been using yet but hey they like me cleaning the puppy pee pads every hour lol,)then after it starts to heal Ill try the new skin but yes IT BURNS!! so I wanna let it heal as much as I can before I have to put that evil stuff on lol. The bottom of there cages are a wood and you can slide them out but I was going to put a layer of that outdoor rug stuff on them I thought they spent all there lives in a crappy cage made of wire Ill do up somethin nice for them to live out the rest of there lives in, even though I don't think they care that I picked up shingles and paint and yes even window boxes for these guys lol now the nails are LONG on Shanequa but I was reading up and have my trusty flashlight and nail clippers and I'm almost ready to tackle those as soon as my husband gets home he can help me lol the other ones have clear nails so they aren't happy with me right now but I'm sure they will thank me later with happy bunny hops:big wink: Thank you all again I'm so glad I found this site! Ive only had them for a week so far and thank god I had my dogs kennels still I have a great Dane and bought three as she out grew them, now all 4 bunny's have a wood house all to them self with a connecting play yard that is split in half the girls side and boys side and I make the boys take turns out there because Ive read they fight. and real quick I was worried at first about my dane eating them well instead she is determined to make friends with them she sleeps next to them on the rug brings them her food and toy's and hasn't done anything to spook them but trust me I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her to be left alone with them. :rollseyes something in me knows its just not natural lol. thanks again yall this was a HUGE help!!!

 

[ZRabbits]

Your Dane sounds like my Jake. Little did we know that Jake would take to our bunnies. He actually when Neville got ill and he still does, sometimes you can see Jake mimic Neville's neck tilt. It's amazing. They really bond.

Jake stays with the bunnies at night. And when the bunnies are out will lay by them and watch. He's very protective of his bunnies.

K

 

[nanny]

thats great news lol i was worried my dog seriously had some kind of issue like that movie about the dane and all those docksuns (if thats how its spelled lol)

 

[TinksMama]

Try putting Bag Balm on her hocks 2-3 times a day. Good luck with your new bunnies!!