Ear Mites (nasty buggers)

Hi all!

I bought two new does around January 26th and after a few weeks noticed her ears drooping. I thought nothing of it as she was new and I wasn't sure of her behavior so I let it go. Well, she became moody and I was told she charged when her other owner first got her.

Now, it appears she is probably introduced ear mites into my herd. My issue is my rabbits are housed in solid wooden hutches. It seems that 3 of them have ear mites, if not all of them. I have a quarantine cage, but not enough for three. :cry_baby:

Should I try and quarantine 3 and hope for the best with the others or treat them all, strip the hutches (empty bedding, spray with white vinegar, DE, tea tree, and rub the legs of the hutch down with oil) and put them back in? Or treat the three is a semi secure quarantine area and hope for the best for the others? :explanation:

I'm open to other ideas, but I've got to get ahead of this.... :all-ears:

I never quarantine for ear mites, but instead assume if one has them they all have them. I use coconut oil in their ears and I think it works wonderfully, I can't speak on what to do for the wood cages, all I know is I want rid of the only one I currently have. I use the day 1,2,4,6,8.. so on until 28 days, which is apparently how long it takes to get rid of them fully. Even if they don't have mites, a little coconut oil to the ears never hurt anybody, do beware though, they are gonna look like they are losing all their hair around the ears, head, and neck because they spread the oil everywhere during cleaning. (I got some really soft buns lol)

Same, if i notice ear mites I go ahead and check everyone. If there's even a light suspicion that another bun has them I will just treat the whole herd. I use a re-purposed small dropper bottle with olive oil, any oil as long as it's not toxic should work (toxic oil will kill the ear mites too, so yeah, I guess it'll "work" but it might also kill your bun! ) I've heard coconut oil, mineral oil, olive oil, etc... it suffocates the mites. I'll treat them all generally only 2 days and replace bedding after the first day. Never seems to need longer treatment with the buns scratching and shaking their heads.

i've always just used ivermectin to treat ear mites, mostly because i have it and i might as well use it before it goes bad. a couple CCs injected in the back of the neck and they've cleared right up with next to no work (so far nobody's transmitted them to their neighbour or anything.) sometimes they say to give a second injection in two weeks but i've forgotten before and they never came back. not as 'natural' as olive or coconut oil, but it's faster for me to give an injection than to fight with a rabbit who doesn't really want liquids poured in their ears ;P i have enough scars on my arms from treating cat ear mites with drops, i don't need any more!

shazza":2brwjypp said:

i've always just used ivermectin to treat ear mites, mostly because i have it and i might as well use it before it goes bad. a couple CCs injected in the back of the neck and they've cleared right up with next to no work (so far nobody's transmitted them to their neighbour or anything.) sometimes they say to give a second injection in two weeks but i've forgotten before and they never came back. not as 'natural' as olive or coconut oil, but it's faster for me to give an injection than to fight with a rabbit who doesn't really want liquids poured in their ears ;P i have enough scars on my arms from treating cat ear mites with drops, i don't need any more!

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perfect-- I use Bovine Ivermectin .25 ml sub-q -for adult NZ size rabbits, - no fuss no muss..

I've used Ivermectin as well. I had a doe with mites and tried treating with oil and also the over the counter stuff for cats. Then I discovered it in a different rabbit. After that, I treated everyone with Ivermectin, then 14 days later treated again. I'll never never use anything else. It was much easier and only required two treatments. I have not had a re-occurrence and it's been over a year.

Just curious, if you give Ivermectin subcutaneously, is there a typical period of time you have to wait if you were planning on butchering so it's safe for human consumption? Like I said, just curious, don't mean to derail the thread.

I did assume if you're raising rabbits for meat you ought to stick with the more "natural" remedies, but reducing the overall stress on everyone involved (humans and rabbits) sure sounds appealing.

Nymphadora":1nng4l5k said:

Just curious, if you give Ivermectin subcutaneously, is there a typical period of time you have to wait if you were planning on butchering so it's safe for human consumption? Like I said, just curious, don't mean to derail the thread.

I did assume if you're raising rabbits for meat you ought to stick with the more "natural" remedies, but reducing the overall stress on everyone involved (humans and rabbits) sure sounds appealing.

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I have only used it on breed stock, but typically [for hogs] recommended hold time to butcher was 90 days.