Bad sore hocks

[Birds Buns N Bees]

I have an 18-month old Mini Rex doe who has developed really bad sore feet in the past few months. She had a litter in May, and her foot issues started around the time that they were weaned. She has a slatted plastic resting mat as well as a wooden resting board in her cage, but her feet have gotten worse. She currently has NO fur at all on the bottoms of her forefeet, and they have open sores. Her hocks are largely bare as well but don't look as bad as her front feet. She doesn't like to rest her front paws in the ground and is constantly licking them. She has become quite cranky in the past month or so and I'm thinking it's because of her poor feet.

I have a carpet square in her cage, which she seems to appreciate, and I'm keeping her nails trimmed as short as I can and am putting Vetericyn on her feet. What else should I be doing? Though she was a good show rabbit and a great mother, I plan to never breed her again nor give her to anyone else as a breeding doe. I feel so sorry for her as she must be in constant pain, and sore feet are no fun at all.

What do you think is the best course of action for this doe?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Try spraying her feet with Blu-kote. Maybe she has a secondary fungal or bacterial infection, and the Blu-kote treats both. A friend of mine just recently had a couple of cases of sore hocks in her Satins, and has NEVER seen that before. We think it is because she is using misters and fans to keep her barn cool and the moisture caused it.

Miss M has a rabbit that gets sore hocks too. I forget what she applied (Nu-Stock, maybe?), but she also put baby socks on his feet to protect them while they healed.

If they don't heal up despite your best efforts, I would cull her so she doesn't suffer. I had a Rex doe that lost the fur on her front feet and I could tell she was in pain because she would shake her feet all of the time. It isn't fair to let them live like that.

 

[katiebear]

Title of thread is "work around for sore hocks "it is on page five of the management section under subheadings illness and injuries. This really works my doe is all better and the fur has grown back. But they weren't too bad only small sores.
Sorry I don't know how to post a direct link.
The just of it is spray with blue-kote or use some kind of antibiotic wrap in gauze,tape gauze,place a toddle sock over foot tape on. The sock keeps the wound clean and prevents the bun from removing the bandage. If she is in pain give willow branches or baby aspirin.
My doe was healed up in about a week...fur took a month or so to start regrowing.

 

[Miss M]

Here's the link for the thread: workaround-for-sore-hocks-t21237.html

I forget what she applied (Nu-Stock, maybe?)

I actually didn't do Nu-Stock for this. Because of the swelling, the pain, and not being sure if there was something to draw out, I did Epsom Salt compresses, brushed off the salt, applied Betadyne, and then applied gauze pads with antibiotic ointment with analgesic. After I had the gauze pads taped on well, I covered it all with a toddler sock (longer than a regular baby sock), and taped around the ankle so it couldn't be pulled off. I also gave her a chewable baby aspirin every night, stuffed in a raisin.

She's still wearing socks, because the fur has not grown back on those spots. I think she had sore hocks too many times for too long. The socks really seem to help, though. She moves around her cage willingly, unlike when her feet had sores. We actually saw that huge rabbit doing binkies after about a month, I think it was! And she was long since off of pain relievers by then.

It sounds like you'd need socks (probably regular baby socks) for the front feet, too, if you decide to treat. Unfortunately, those will probably be a lot harder to keep on.

Katiebear, that is so wonderful that your doe's fur grew back on her feet!

 

[grumpy]

I've rolled an idea around in my head for quite a spell.

Sore hocks MUST be very painful to any rabbit. I've often wondered if
just turning the patient loose inside the rabbitry would be alright. Mine's varmint tight and they'd have nearly 1100 square feet to run around in.

Of course, they'd step in some "poop" more often than not, but wouldn't
their feet begin to heal a little quicker on the ground??? Just a thought.
I wish I had an outdoor covered, bear-tight and bull-strong pen, I could put
them in until their feet healed completely.

Seeing sore hocks on a rabbit sends those twinges of butterfly pain right
through my lower stomach. That's the one malady that really bothers me.

grumpy.

 

[Miss M]

In that thread, Grumpy, Dayna tells of letting a chronic sore-hocks bun loose in her aviary to heal.

 

[ladysown]

i'd totally get her off the wire and put her in a solid bottom pen that you can clean easily. LOTS of resting areas up off the floor. Or if you can, a cage outside on the grass (protected so she won't dig) .. but run on the grass and move daily to keep her off poop and pee. Give her resting areas as well. if she's that sore...being on wire isn't going to be of benefit and wood holds bacteria really well. Some rabbits don't do well with those plastic resting boards.

Since her feet are so bad I would PERMANENTLY retire her from a breeding program. Good feet are a MUST on rabbits.

 

[Miss M]

Yes, I think I mentioned in the other thread that I flattened cardboard boxes to put in her cage, so she didn't have much cage area that was not solid. We changed it out frequently.