out of control Hock Sores

Heres whats going on, Im going bonkers trying toget Miss Lucy to clear upHock Sores ,

I have used Blue Coat , neosporin , Heal away, put her on a wooden bottomcage , put in landing mats, straw ,clean them , clean them , getthem almost clearedup and WHAM! theycome back witha vengence . Any help would be greatlyappreciated ,

Lucys HIstory "

She is A pedigree Standard Rex ,she came in not quite 2 weeks ago , shehad horrible Hock Sores and was a bit underweight, she is about 7 pounds now. A beautiful Broken Red ,Sweet Tempered , and easy towork with and around .

Tis the season for FlyStrike and it has me terrified, One of the things I haventtried as yet only because I wanted an opinionfirst is the terrimycin , oremycin cream they gave mefor my French Lops eyes ,

If she isnt cleaeredby Monday or a dramaticimprovement I will have to haveher Vetted but shehas been trumatized for so longI worry about the hours ride tothe Vets at this point .

Thanks in advance for any advise .

 

[TinysMom]

Have you tried Bag balm? I don't know if its recommended for this or not...but I would think it would help!

Peg

 

[KatsMeowTree]

Yes, you can try bag balm. Thing is don't puttoo much of it on because it does what it's supposed to and softens theskin up. I also have a doe who just won't get rid of her sores. What Ido is put in a piece of old slate for a couple days at a time and Ifeed her a pretty high protein feed. She's put her weight back on thatshe lost from aborting ( I know, she's a mess) and she's workin on thesores pretty well. I don't know why but wood just doesn't seem to workvery well for me and carpet only makes a mess. Well, good luck.

Kat

 

[holland]

I have never tried this, but a friend of minehas always put in a piece of sheetrock, and has always had greatsuccess with it. Her rabbits seem to enjoy the coolness of itand it also absorbs the moisture from the sores. Anyway justa thought, and I hope things get cleared up soon.

 

Im not sure Ifi have SLate but Iknow I have a slab of Soapstone , that may do the samething , I can hope at thispoint. I was worried aboutBagBalm because of the tendecy to softenup the skin , one reason Ihavent tried it yet , figuredit would compound rather than help? I do have NitroFurisoncream tho but again Iworry about t hat too , Ithasnt been aproved for rabbitsand it worries me , I use iton me for cuts etcbut I havent dared withher yet.

My alls have 2 weeks of denting inthem from banging my head againstthe wall with Lucy ,

And who had the bright Idea toteach A Rex not to betranced geesh , just when I think I haveher out, sproing gothe eyes and thewiggles set in !!!!:shock:

 

[Roger L]

I have also heard that Preaparation H works well on sore hocks.

It reduces the swelling and promotes healing.

Roger L

 

[Carolyn]

As stated by Rick Stahl from Buck's rabbitbinder: "The best treatment i have used forSore Hocks, infected or not, is to flush sores withperoxide daily until there is no longer any pus. I put an ez mat in thecage. Cloth, hay and/or sheetrock will get wet and sitting on wet/dirtysurface is what causes the infection. Ointments, etc will usually getlicked off long before they're of much help. If infection is so badthat massive abscesses are present or if it doesn't clear up afterabout a week i give pro penn by injection but that is rare, theyusually heal with minimal intrevention if the animal is otherwise ingood health. Most cases I've seen were does in poor flesh condition, asin pregnant does or those with internalparasites robbing nutrients.Does body starts breaking down body's tissues to get needed nutrientsand feet break down."


Rick


* * * * * * *

Preparation H is said to help too.

Will say a prayer for your little one, Gypsy. I can hear how upset and desperate you are to help her.

-Carolyn

 

[BlueGiants]

Gypsy,

I just posted to the home remedies thread... we use White Iodine on ourrex feet as long as they are not abscessed. It works realwell, takes about 7-10 days and you have to keep her up off the wire,regardless of how much cleaning it takes. I read the otherposts, but I do find sheetrock works the best, you can put straw overit if you want.

Good luck with your girl. I'm sure she appreciates all you're doing for her.

 

[Lazyacre]

I've found that the best treatment is to keepthe sores clean and dry. Sheetrock, straw, carpet etc eventually allowcollection of urine and feces and must be changed frequently. There isa product called EZ Mat available that provides a comfortable restingaea while allowing urine and feces to pass through:http://www.lbtools.com/about?pageid=2&catstart=0&prodstart=0rabbit%20equipment

They cost about $4 and are avaiable from several sources.

I have never needed to remove any from the wire, though I do often usea liquid bandage, like Nu Skinl, on the sores after cleaning withperoxide and drying. To heal the foot pads must be kept dry, moisture,including blood and pus, mascerates the tissue wprsening the condition.Even on a smooth surface moisture can cause problems. EZ Mat allows fordry surface.

The worst case I ever dealt with was a severely malnourished Satin doe.Lack of proper nourishment caused tissue breakdown and the skin on herfoot pads couldn't support even her skinny body. While keeping her hocksores clean and dry (peroxide and EZ Mat) I got her returned to goodbody condition and she went on to produce several litters and never hadsore hocks again, even though she lived on wire her whole life.

 

Thanks but I havea few questions first one is 'what is White Iodine ? I have never heardof it , and good thingI have gloves lol(alergic ofall dumb things ) .

Would regular Iodine workas well ? or would it bedeterimental ?

Preperation H i would never have thought of that , good suggestion ,

So far there is no actuall abcess, but wont be long before onecould develope its very brightpink and raw looking , but thankfullywhat I have managed with her isto keep oozing and pussing atbay , one tiny tiny pin size holeis open. but no leakage . TheSytandard Buck I got in withher had hock sores also but managedto clear up in a few days .

Is it safe to assume Doe's havemore problems with Hock Soresthan doMales ? Or isit more the condition of the differentgenders that will make the difference ?

As for condition , well likeI said shewas underweight when I got her in ,we are working on thatas we speak ,

She was on wire when I gother, I switched her to a solidbottom cage to aleave pressure , then putin an easy mat, and an inchand half straw bedding , ,her cage is cleaned every daysome times more than once a day depending onhow messy she decides to be .going from a poorly diet toa healthy one has taken a lotof time and she has a lot of thosegrape type poops ( i can never spellthe right word andfeel a fool trying lol ) . Sosometimes her cage is cleaned alot . She fights like a wildcat over the NutriCal geesh ya think i wasforcing her to eat dirt orsomething ,

I have delt withSores in the past but neverones such as this Doe is suffering, generally once they go away and heal upand proper bedding isprovided they stayed clear .

Well its time for her daily cleanout and Nutri Cal , Im goingto take a tranquilizer and gowrestle her into taking her meds likea good girl should .

I think I will trythe Prep H today afterthe peroxide treatmentand see what will happen ,Being properly tranquilized I shouldbe able to let hersit on me till I calm down ,maybe a bit of time onherbutt will allow meds to work .

 

[Lazyacre]

Also called DECOLORIZED IODINE, only differenceis that there is no dyes added to color the iodine. I bought mine atRite Aid Drugs. It's very good for fungal skin disorders.

I don't recall any gender based difference in incidence of sore hocks,it can occur in healthy rabbits too. Rex furred rabbits that lack furdensity on the foot pads may develop it too, whether on wire or solidbottomed cages. If their feet are wet, from urine or water the skinbreaks down, allowing infection. Many develop reddened hocks, but noreal sores (open wounds), these will usually develop callous over thearea a nd do fine, even on wire, as long as their feet can be dry.

I haven't seen any increased benefit from Prep H over any otherointment, rabbits will usually lick them off long before they can be ofmuch benefit. I like the Nu Skin, once it dries the rabbit can't lickit off and leaves it alone. It wears off so I clean the area andreapply every 1-2 days.

 

[BlueGiants]

Gypsy,

White iodine is clear, not like orange iodine. (AndIMHO,it smells very bad.) It has anti-bactrialproperties as well as anti-fungal properties. We have found alot of sore hocks in Rex rabbits comes from a fungus.(Ourvet did scrapings and gave us very expense medication,but told us the white iodine works just as well.)The rex has thinner fur over their pads than otherbreeds. I find their feet very delicate. I forgotto suggest, scrubbing out the cage floor with a bleach solution orspray and letting it dry well before putting her back in. Ifit is a Bacteria or Fungus, it may prevent re-infection.

BTW, We have used the Preperation H (or any hemmoroidal ointment) onour Flemish hocks, and it does work (in combination with using a solidfloor until healed).

Best wishes to you and Miss Lucy!

 

Luck has it I havea Power washer I use onall solid bottome cages and norabbit is put back into one before aweeks time or complete drinessoccurs , i use a bleach and antibacterial soap (Borax also works well )to clean out the cagesThe cage she went into wascleaned over a month ago ,and was cleaned againlast week , lol she wasnt happy withher temporary cage , Ihad figured cleaner was thebetter part of keeping infections away, and with her poor feetso unpredictable i wasnttaking chances. and still wont ,

I have to go toRiteAid later so I will pick upthe white iodine andsome Nu Skin , just a bitago she was such a goodgirl she let me burrito her andtend her feet all thewhile gazing up at me lol Iput some bacitracinon her feet and shesat with me for nearly 15 minutes beforeshe got sick of me cooing onher , I put her back into hercage and she flopped out on hertummy hidng her feet in herhidy box , I guess she figured IfI couldnt see them they weresafe lol . she never did tryto lick off the ointmenttho. Im hoping I Can take that as a good sign .

 

[BlueGiants]

Awww! She probably can't figure outwhy you are paying so much attention to her feet!LOL! (I have a bunny we had to treat for aninfection from a cut in her ear... she's all better, but she stillcan't stand to let me touch her ear!Can you imagine what theythink of us?)

 

ya actually fromthe look on her face when shewas hiding her feet im thinkingthis was to be my destiny lol

:gun::duck:

 

[Carolyn]

How's the little one doing now, Gypsy?

-Carolyn

 

Her feeetseem to be getting a littlebetter , every other day Igo and put on some LiquidBandage on her feet ,its going slowly but at leastthe harsh red isfinally leaving ,

One thing I have found with Heris No matter how mad she getsat me all is soothed over withan Icy Bottle , lolShe has yetto refuse it and rather looksforward to it , especially after her feettreatments lol ,

She gets to do to itwhat she feels shecant do to me lol , she beats the crap out of it, then after that grooms itand nudges it all over the place , Sucha silly Girl lol .

 

I am so wanting toscream so loud right now butthroat just huurts too darn much .
( whining , Yep You betcha ) I hate being sick ,
Checked on Lucy's feet againtonight , I am so disapointed, she has all the comfort pads , wireand wood bottom , everything tokeep the Hock sores away , well Tonightthey reapeared , I swear they were not there lastnight when I checked her ,. For those who dontknow Lucy is a Standard Rex ,weighs about 8 or 9 lbs , not overly fatnor is she unhealthy . I ambegining to think the Hock sores are notfrom pressure at all . When I first gotLucy in all she did was selfmutilate , but not her feet ,just her fur and Private parts , Took herto the vets and he suggestedLetting her have a litter To see if shestopped , Which I did , andwhich She did , I never gave a thougt tothe sore feet then asI am now wondering . she had 11babies , one passed right away , theother 10 are healthy and happy andgrowing like weeds ,3 castors and 7broken castors . very pretty butlaced on the sides , I amhoping their coats clearup with their first moult .
I guess the questions are ,Has anyone ever run acrossedsuch a problem before ? could there be alink with just weaning and thereturn of the Hock sores ?> Whywould she do this to herself ?Im going slightly insane with her rightnow and there is no way inHockey sticks she is having anotherlitter so soon .
Roger Have You ever had thistype of problem with your Mini Rex, Blue Giants ,same questiion ? . Has anyonegot any other Ideas , she isa registered Show animal andI hate to have her spayed .

 

[Roger L]

Gypsy,

I have not had this problem with the Mini-Rex. Usually by the time I wean

the kits at 7 or 8 weeks the mothers are not unhappy to see them go.

The does that want to be bred tend to cut back on eating and have

other things on their mind. Some of my rabbits have callouses on their

feet but that is it. They all have EZ-mats but only about half use them.

Roger

 

[BlueGiants]

Aww, I'm sorry you're still having troublewithMiss Lucy'sfeet. Silly question, butdid you try Preperation H? Once a day for 10 days.It really does seem to help the Flemish feet if they get sorehocks. I've never had a rabbit deliberately hurtthemselves... but some of my boys spend so much time thumping andstamping their feet, they occasionally get a sore.

And I know what others have said about the sheet rock staying wet, butI haven't found that to be a problem. My rabbits loveit,I keep all my Flemish cage floors covered 2/3 withit. (I leave the back 1/3 open and they all seem to pee backthere.) I put a good layer of straw (not hay!)overthe whole floorand change that every 2-3days. The sheet rock is limestone based, it neutralizes acid(urine) and seems to be soothing to their feet. I have foundplywoodstays wet and can make the situation worse...

Poor Miss Lucy... sore feet are a miserable thing.

:sickbunny: