Meat rabbits and treating with food grade DE

Zass · Jul 28, 2015

:yeahthat: x2, and ringworm could be another possibility.

ekaelliott · Jul 28, 2015

Here is a picture a few hours post DE treatment. (just to explain some of the white coloring in the fur). The bigger white spots are flakes of skin. Let me know what you think! I'm taking this partially as a good excuse to change to all wire cages but want to get everyone healthy first.

Miss M · Jul 29, 2015

Are we sure the rabbits are not molting?

I think flaky skin isn't normally associated with molting, but I just thought I'd ask.

ekaelliott · Jul 29, 2015

I'm pretty sure this isn't molting. They just have patches missing here and there and then spots of flakiness. It isn't chewing either because they are in their cages by themselves.

Miss M · Jul 30, 2015

You haven't mentioned red, scabby skin, so I'm going to guess it's not ringworm...

Do you have any places where you could get a really clear, large picture of a patch of bare skin? If any spot looks worse than others, that would be the spot to take pictures of.

Jessykah · Aug 3, 2015

That is definitely still mites. The DE will work, but will wear off like any dust will, and when rabbits groom, they take it off as well. The mites will simply return because of the environment they are in on the ground, near wood, etc. To eradicate the problem, you need to move the rabbits to wire cages and treat again with DE. After a few days, treat again to get any that may have hatched and not been killed. Then treat a third time if you like. You will see the fur start to grow back and the flakes of skin will eventually be gone. Dust their old pens with DE and leave them vacant for a long time. Consider that mites are not only transferred through caging or animals, but can be brought in on hay, etc.....Keep us updated please.