Normal scent glands?

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FourRingCircus

FourRingCircus

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OK, so I am slowly figuring out rabbit anatomy and what is and is not normal. Somehow along the way I missed the whole "scent gland" thing. I have seen them, noticed some "stuff" in them, thought it was vent disease or something :slap: . Now that I know what they are, what is "normal"? I saw some things saying they need to be cleaned periodically, then others say to let them be. I really really want to practice good herd management so I am not entirely sure what I need to do in this area or even what to look out for...
 
Cleaning when there is build up is OK, just do gently. Try with a dry q tip or finger nail edge, if that doesn't work moisten q tip and try again with water (if still stubborn I use perioxide). IF it builds up enough, can cause a nasty infection and make a good place for maggots to get into but that is a really bad build up and not too common. Show rabbits are cleaned more often, least mine are. Build up over a long period of time gets really musky/stinky (some almost as bad as skunk imo), so I do once a month or 2 time a month cleanings depending on the individual. I do have some out there that I've never cleaned, but check once in a while just to make sure they are OK.
 
I've never cleaned my rabbits scent glands.

I think, for most clean and healthy rabbits it's not something that requires human intervention.

I do regular nail trims, and I might help remove lose hair if they are shedding heavily, but that's about all the grooming my meat herd has ever needed. No one has ever gotten an infection or fly strike, or maggots, or even a bit of redness.

I've only been at this for a few years though, and most of my experience has been with younger rabbits. (0-3 years old mostly)

From your other posts, I think your (newish?) buns are in a rough kind of way.
What with being overweight, having a poopy backside with stuff gunked in the glands, etc.

You should definitely clean them up and keep them clean and dry for a while..
 
Am I correct in assuming a little gunk is OK? I know what I dealt with last night was definitely not normal, but for all the others? Any pics anywhere showing what is and is not OK?
 
Don't have any pictures on hand, but if some one doesn't beat me to it will do this weekend if can at all.

There's going to be some, I've not seen your other posts. Its going to stink imo (musty/musky scent) and is normal. Zass maybe its a show thing and issue. When I was little, can never remember actually doing it but after started showing. Had a buck have so much build up he was in obvious pain/discomfort and had an infection started (obvious smell was that of death/wrot instead of just musky/musty odor and bugs where there for him though) I just started checking/cleaning. The buck that I had that got the over build up was a 5 year old breeding buck, main buck I used for 20 or so does every month, had the issue about 6 months after continuous breeding and a few shows. I've not had one do that since. Maybe that's some thing else to do with it? Was a HL to boot. It seems the ones I have a more active breeding schedule end up with more build up. The ones I do clean out, by the time a month or 2 goes by, are built up to the point it is on the outside of that flap of skin. After cleaning out, skin's normal and no sign of other issue though.
 
Thanks for the run down Rebel Rose!

What I am dealing with right now is a nastry cruddy doe... she had a wad of poop/hair/crud about the size of a large marble stuck in the folds of her skin. There looks to be infection underneath which I assume is where the smell is coming from. I didn't see any maggots initially. I need to work with her some more today... poor thing is going to hate me. She's also very heavy so I am thinking she just can't clean herself properly at this point...
 

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