Baby English lop ears

[luvabunny]

One of my 3 litters of baby English lops are giving me ear concerns. I've never had this happen before.

The babies are 4 weeks old, completely mobile, eating and drinking normally, but their ears are stuck shut. When opened, there is a gooey, white, sticky substance. This is in the long part of their ears, not in the canal, which appears to be open and healthy as normal.

Truly, I believe this to be....milk? These babies aren't overly fed, they've never had the nice rounded tummies I would prefer. Their ears are quite long, but really fairly thin, and not as hair covered as I would like for their age, possibly due to the stuck shut ear condition.

I cleaned them all out with peroxide last night. Quite an ordeal, as whatever it was just gummed up and made a sticky mess. Not an easy clean at all. There was no infection, sores, rashes...whatever it is is obviously from an outside source. I then baby powdered each ear to help with any remaining stickiness. I've yet to check them this morning.

In all my years of raising rabbits, I've never seen this. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Dood]

I have not had this in rabbits but dogs. In a hound pup one ear was 'glued' together at the tip. The vet said it was a body fluid called sebum holding it shut, he put rubbing alcohol on it to de-glue it and said to lubricate it with vegetable oil to prevent it from resealing and so the ear cartilage would not become set in a folded position. By 12 weeks her ear looked normal.

I assume it would be similar for a rabbit and hope my experience helps.

 

[luvabunny]

Makes sense that it could happen in hound dogs too. Checked their ears this morning and again this evening. Everything appears normal. The ears have unfolded and are much more open. No sign of any stickiness now.

Did your vet give you any idea where it came from? Is it something they are born with that mama never cleaned out?

 

[Dood]

Thankfully it was just a fluke. At first he thought the skin was together and surgery would be needed but it was just the waxy goopy sebum. Puppy, and kittens, ears are closed shut with sebum at birth, it's the same stuff that keeps their eye lids together as well, normally after a few days the body absorbs it so the ears and eyes open but for some reason the one ear didn't get the message.