Front leg injury

One of my rabbits is holding his front paw in the air for the past 3ish weeks now and not trying to put any pressure on it.

It doesn't feel broken (guessing hair line fracture?) I tried to look at his paw for a hay splinter but didn't see anything, I felt around his shoulder blade but it felt like it was in the socket.

He doesn't grind his teeth and will even thump his back legs here and there. I gave him some willow branches but is there anything I should do to speed his recovery? I'm not going to put him in the play pen or try to breed till this is resolved. But how long to heal or reevaluate?

6 weeks total to heal a broke leg that still looks straight?
Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Hmm, three weeks is a long time in rabbit time. They heal amazingly fast.

Is there some way it could be re-injuring itself? If it was a hairline fracture, it should have been better by now? Give it another week, perhaps, but also check to see if it's anything else. If they're kept on wire, do they have a resting place?

hotzcatz":2y1ik5vw said:

Hmm, three weeks is a long time in rabbit time. They heal amazingly fast.

Is there some way it could be re-injuring itself? If it was a hairline fracture, it should have been better by now? Give it another week, perhaps, but also check to see if it's anything else. If they're kept on wire, do they have a resting place?

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It feels like a long time to me too. Yes and he is often resting in his hide box. He only comes out once in awhile.

He hates me feeling between his foot pad and has a decent amount of foot fur. How would I check for other issues? Just run my finger back and forth through his foot and not let him pull away?
He also doesn't eat as much as the others. But will eat the BOSS I feed him trying to keep his calories up. I'm considering culling him since it is winter so his coat is prime and he is also the one with sore hocks I'm also treating.

I wouldn't get a replacement till spring though if I culled him though so the new rabbit would be use to the weather before winter.

if you gently squeeze the leg and foot,gradually moving from top to bottom...
you will see a reaction when you get to "the damaged" area
This will give you a "place" to examine more carefully ..
If you cut 4 leg holes in a feed sack, you can create a "sling, with his legs dangling..
it makes it easier to "work on" hurt rabbits legs.
you may need to put a tie on the sack just above the rabbit, to keep hin in the right position.
[If it is a plastic or paper sack cut a small "nose hole" also]

michaels4gardens":3e6xc3a1 said:

if you gently squeeze the leg and foot,gradually moving from top to bottom...
you will see a reaction when you get to "the damaged" area
This will give you a "place" to examine more carefully ..
If you cut 4 leg holes in a feed sack, you can create a "sling, with his legs dangling..
it makes it easier to "work on" hurt rabbits legs.
you may need to put a tie on the sack just above the rabbit, to keep hin in the right position.
[If it is a plastic or paper sack cut a small "nose hole" also]

Click to expand...

Oh I like that idea! I've been doing it all with him on my lap.

This time on closer look the poor dude has a sore front hock not broke or sliver. Before when I looked close it probably wasn't as bad and I just have been waiting for it to heal.

So I not only used iodine and blue kote on his back feet I also used it on his paw. I closely checked his front right foot and its fully furred and looks healthy. No wonder the guy hasn't been real mobile.

I gave him a little CBD and 1/5th if one ibuprofen crushed and mixed with pear juice. That will calm him, reduce swelling, and help with pain I figure. I then gave him the usual teaspoon of BOSS which besides the treat the fat should help with the medicine not upsetting his stomach I think.

Man I wish my grandpa was still around to show me the ropes. (Had 200 back in the late 70s) PETA would have a field day with me.
P.S. Do you wrap the paw after spraying on medicine? I held him till it dried but as soon as he was in the cage he started licking it a lot. I've used vet wrap before but a few hours later that is slide off. So wrap or don't wrap?

best = prevention - make sure he has a board, or piece of carpet to rest on..
in my experience, topical medications didn't help much.

michaels4gardens":2pjp3mpd said:

best = prevention - make sure he has a board, or piece of carpet to rest on..
in my experience, topical medications didn't help much.

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Thanks I will get carpet for him!

Yes, boards or carpets should prevent sore hocks, and about the vet wrap, it's your choice, some owners (of all species) despise vet wrap but it's my best friend, I use it to keep polysporin on wounds, to keep dirt out, to support a sprained or pulled muscle, and many many other things. It really depends on the price in your area, If it's expensive it's smarter to use less. In my area, it's about 2 CAD per roll, its super cheap so we use it all the time!

michaels4gardens":2u0biqhb said:

if you gently squeeze the leg and foot,gradually moving from top to bottom...
you will see a reaction when you get to "the damaged" area
This will give you a "place" to examine more carefully ..
If you cut 4 leg holes in a feed sack, you can create a "sling, with his legs dangling..
it makes it easier to "work on" hurt rabbits legs.
you may need to put a tie on the sack just above the rabbit, to keep hin in the right position.
[If it is a plastic or paper sack cut a small "nose hole" also]

Click to expand...

I LOVE this!!!

NewZealands4Lyfe":2xojrfwu said:

Yes, boards or carpets should prevent sore hocks, and about the vet wrap, it's your choice, some owners (of all species) despise vet wrap but it's my best friend, I use it to keep polysporin on wounds, to keep dirt out, to support a sprained or pulled muscle, and many many other things. It really depends on the price in your area, If it's expensive it's smarter to use less. In my area, it's about 2 CAD per roll, its super cheap so we use it all the time!

Click to expand...

Thanks. Yeah it's pretty cheap here just over $1 for the generic brand.

I ended up giving up on the wrap though because he kept pulling it off or trying to where it was doubled over and pretty tight on his foot.

a rabbit with three sore hocks is NOT a rabbit to keep and use for breeding. You'll just be perpetuating the problem.