what else to do about fly strike?

My new doe is having some problems, she came to me with a little hutch burn and I've been keeping an eye on it. Also she has been having some digestive issues. I checked her yesterday morning and things seemed to be healing and today she had three maggots! I washed her bum up good and clipped the hair, treated with iodine and moved her inside. The area is inflamed and raw but no wounds.

I've never dealt with this before, I think I caught it early but any suggestions?

I think you are doing what you can...just keep watching it and keep it really clean.

Maybe a little desitin or other diaper rash cream? Only if it doesn't show improvement tomorrow.

As for digestion, the first thing you might want to do is limit her feed to rolled oatmeal (Old Fashioned Oats for breakfast) and a good grass hay or timothy hay. Monitor her liquid intake to be sure she is staying hydrated. Slowly introduce pellets back starting the 3rd day, and work her up to a whole ration by the next evening. You can also tempt her appetite with a bit of pineapple or dandelions from the yard if they haven't been sprayed with toxins

To supplement a 16-17% feed try a couple tablespoons of whole/rolled/cracked oats and a tablespoon of Black Oil Sunflower Seeds (BOSS). Including a mineral/salt block (the red one) will provide additional options for the rabbit. With serving the supplements seperately, you have the option to stop them completely in the summer when the buns cut back on a lot of their consumption in hotter climates. Or to include them in the winter when it is cold and they need more calories to withstand the cold. Although, rabbits do very well in the cold as long as they have some sort of wind break and plenty of hay, they are wearing a fur coat after all

You and your rabbit will also be happier if it has an outdoor pen to run around in. You might think this is a bit backwards, but put the bun out at night ... they are very active at night and it will help protect against heat stroke. That way, when you are up during the day, it can come inside with you and hang out in the AC Of course, you want a very secure enclosure

Thanks for the suggestions.

I pulled the pellets she was getting (the ones the breeder sent along) and she has been getting grass hay, a little comfrey and a small amount of oats for a couple days now, my buns all get a natural diet. It seems to have helped but not before her bum turned into a wet mess. I was keeping an eye on her but never expected to see maggots! yuck.<br /><br />__________ Sun Jun 30, 2013 11:26 am __________<br /><br />She is doing much better and it looks like everything is healing well.