Kits eyelid looks "flipped inside" so hair rubs on eye

[dirtyduckz]

I have 2 kits, who are both 3 weeks old now. Each one has a single eye with the same problem: At first glance it looks like hair is growing out of their eye socket. After almost 2 weeks of treating the eye with eyewash and washcloth wiping, the rabbits still will not keep their eyes open. Their upper eyelid is actually flipping/rolling over so that the hair is brushing on their eyeball. One rabbits eye is still clear and the "flip" is minimal in a small area. I have hope for her. The other rabbits upper eyelid is almost totally flipped, the eyelid looks swollen (maybe from daily treatments), and the eye itself is a sickly white color, and I think she may already be blinded.

Please, any suggestions for treatment, I should have posted a week ago, but I just figured out that this is not weepy eye or something more common with kits.

 

[pamnock]

This genetic condition is known as entropian and can cause permanent damage to the eye or loss of the eye.

Surgery can correct the condition, but it is inherited and the kits shouldn't be used for showing/breeding.

Pam

 

[dirtyduckz]

Wow, I was worried that would be the answer. Since both the buck and doe are new to my rabbitry, I don't know who has the problem in their genetics. Do you think I should keep trying to treat the eye myself, or is it not going to help the eye?

 

[Leaf]

You can "treat" the eyes as much as keeping them clean and watching for/treating infections, but surgery is what will correct the problem in those two. Of course, genetics can't be altered

 

[dirtyduckz]