Sore Hock?

[Spring]

I clipped Poppy's nails tonight and did the routine check over. After I was done clipping her nails, I noticed some red. I searched through the fur on the back of her foot and found a patch of raw, dry skin. The wound isn't open, but it is scaly,redand looks like it hurts. Poppy is acting normal, eating normal, and is running around like normal.

She's not on any soiled litter, and her cage is kept very clean. She gets towels to lay on and isn't on any kind of wire. She was in a fairly small cage before I got her in her new one, so I'm thinking that with her weight might have caused it.

I've been so busy I don't know when I'll be able to make an appointment to get it looked out. I'm hoping sometime within the week.

Is there any ointment I can put on now to help it heal? Is this something I can treat by myself? What can I do before I go to the vet?I read the thread in rabbit health reference and that helped a bit, but I've never dealt with this before so I'm very concerned.

:sigh:dunno

Here are some pictures. Sorry they aren't great. The best one I got isn't showing the whole thing, but it gives you the idea. It doesn' t seem too serious, but I want it dealt with before it gets worse or infected.

Clear picture, but my fingers covering a bit of it.

Next best.

 

[slavetoabunny]

Both of my girls are mini-rex, who are more prone to sore hock then most breeds because their feet are thinly furred. I would recommend rubbing them with Neosporin. That always tends to help Sparky's feet.

 

[Spring]

Thanks! I'll pick some up tomorrow.

I put in some thick flannel sheets for her to sit on. She's having a blast arranging them and digging at them.

 

[JimD]

OWIE!!

Poor Poppy!

It doesn't look too bad from the pics. If it hasn't opened, bled, or shown signs of infection you should be able to treat it easily.
Key thing is to try to catch it at it's onset.

I've used Neosporin with very good results within a couple of days.

Bag Balm is good for the hocks, too!!

Nose rubs help

Our Chippy is prone to getting sore hocks. In fact she just healed up from a bout.
Surprisingly, she's the tiniest one of our bunch at about 3-4 pounds.
I think it has more to do with the fact that the fur on her hind feet isn't that thick. That and that her cage has a wire bottom. She has plenty of places to get off the wire.


~Jim

PS: Can we put those pics in the Library???leaseplease:

 

[RAL Rabbitry]

I raise mini-rex and they are prone to sore hocks.

I have found that the best thing to use on them is Preparation H.

Sounds kind of wierd but it reduces the swelling and they heal quickly.

A piece of sheet rock for them to sit on also helps for some reason. It

won't hurt them if they chew on it.

Roger

 

[JimD]

RAL Rabbitry wrote:

I have found that the best thing to use on them is Preparation H.

Sounds kind of wierd but it reduces the swelling and they heal quickly.

A piece of sheet rock for them to sit on also helps for some reason. It

won't hurt them if they chew on it.

Roger

Hi Roger,

Thanks for the tip on Preparation H.
I've heard of using it before, but was always concerned that there might be ingredients in it that might harm them.
Any input on that for us??

Sheetrock is also a great idea. I've used it for resting boards before.

~Jim

 

[naturestee]

That's about what Oberon's hocks look like now. He used to have really, really thick callouses but those are slowly disappearing. I've been using Bag Balm (found mine at Walmart) and it's helping a lot.

 

[RAL Rabbitry]

The Preparation H tip was given to be by a long-time breeder and

I have not had any adverse reactions to it. The rabbits don't lick it

off. I think it tastes bad enough that they leave it alone. There is

nothing toxic in it that I know of. It sure does make sore hocks

heal up quickly.

Roger

 

[RAL Rabbitry]

I forgot something!

It is very important to keep nails trimmed to help prevent sore hocks.

If the nails get to long it changes the pressure points on the rabbits

foot and can cause sore hocks.

Roger

 

[Spring]

Thanks everyone!

So I could probably treat this myself? Also, does polysporin work as well as neosporin? I could probably get neosporin, but I'm pretty sure we have polysporin right now. I've never heard of bag balm. What is it?I'll see if I can find preparation H. I was also wondering if I needed to bandage up her foot?

I'll be sure to take some pictures day by day after the treatment. You can definitely use the picture in the library.

Thank you so much!

 

[JimD]

Unless it gets worse you can probably treat this yourself.

Polysporin will work as well as the Neosporin, I think.

I only know of one case where the feet needed to be wrapped (Diva?).
Generally speaking, the feet need to be kept dry. If the feet are wrapped there's a chance that the wrap will get wet and just make things worse.

A lot of feed stores carry Bag Balm. I noticed it's starting to show up in a lot of other stores, too.
http://www.bagbalm.com/

Jim

 

[Spring]

Oh,OK thanks!

I'll try the polysporin and bag balm. I asked mom and she said she's heard of it before with cows. Do I just put a bit of polysporin then bag balm on the area? What do I do after? Should I clean it up with something before? If so, what should I use to clean it up? It doesn't look dirty or infected, just red.

Poppy trances very well, so I won't have a problem putting on the ointments.

 

[Andrea]

My Rex came to me with what was left of a sore hock.
I'm sure his had to do with living on a wood serface all his life.

It is very important to keep nails trimmed to help prevent sore hocks.

If the nails get to long it changes the pressure points on the rabbits

foot and can cause sore hocks.

Roger

You learn something new everyday
This could have also been my guys problem then.


Keep us updated on Poppy's progress. I'd like to see before and after pictures with what you used to help treat this. I think it would be very helpful for future readers.

 

[Spring]

I'll for sure keep you updated on Poppy girls progress. I just hate the thought that she might be in any sort of discomfort. My poor baby. Hopefully I can get this healed quickly.I'll probably get a few better pictures now that I have someone to take the pictures while I hold her, so I'll have some day to day pictures to show how the treatment is working.

 

[bunnylover_202]

I just found out my bunny has it too..does vasilene work?

 

[Spring]

I'm not sure if vaseline would work.

I couldn't find bag balm, but I did find udderly smooth. I have that and polysporin. Im going to put some polysporin on, then wait an hour or two then put the udderly smooth on. Sound ok?

http://www.uddercream.com/

 

[Haley]

I think polysporin is fine. Ive had good results with neosporin and I think its the same, just be sure it doesnt have the pain reliever in it.

My vet recommended using PrepH or Desitin on sore hocks. Bag Balm is also good and can be found at Walmart in with the Horse Shampoo and such.

 

[naturestee]

Udderly Smooth looks similar to Bag Balm. Not quite the same ingrediants, but it should be okay.

Haley, your Walmart has horse stuff? Mine does't. The Bag Balm is in with the dog medicines.

 

[Haley]

not horse stuff really, just that horse shampoo.It was near the dog meds (flea and tick stuff). I noticed the horse shampoo because my mom bought it for me once bc she heard it was a great conditioner! ha!

 

[Spring]

I've decided to do the polysporin one day, then the udderly smooth the next. The sore is in the middle of the hock, so it's really hard to see unless you really part away the fur. I wonder how long it's been there! :shock:

It looks the same. I noticed a callus on the heel and it was red and looked irrritated. I put a good amount on the area with a q-tip and repositioned the fur around it to keep it from smudging when she walks.I'll have to check tomorrow to see if there are any improvements.

Here is some clearer pictures before I put the medicine on.
I hope this heals quick.