Oral ivermectin before kindling

[Mama583]

I couldn't fine a thread on this with my exact situation. I have a first time mom who should be kindling in a couple days or so. She was quiet, more than usual, this morning and hasn't finished her meal for a couple days which is odd for her. I assume it may be because she is close to due date but while looking over her more closely she may be in early stages of ear mites. Just very small dark color in the inner most visible parts of her ear and I did see her scratch her ear once. I posted in this forum because we will plan to process her kits eventually. This is my first year keeping meat rabbits and I have successfully treated one buck with a small bit of oral ivermectin and his ears started clearing the next day and look great now. I am just not sure how to proceed since she is currently pregnant and we do plan to have bunny burgers later with the kits.

 

[rockyhillrabbits]

I would wait if you can, until her kits are weaned. I try to avoid adding any unnecessary stress to bred does. Olive Oil rubbed into her ear might be effective until she has weaned her kits also.

 

[Alaska Satin]

I would wait if you can, until her kits are weaned. I try to avoid adding any unnecessary stress to bred does. Olive Oil rubbed into her ear might be effective until she has weaned her kits also.

I would also avoid ivermectin, not because I think it's dangerous but because oil is a really easy and effective way to get rid of ear mites. It's an especially quick remedy if you catch the situation early, like you have.

You can use olive oil, sweet oil or even mineral oil. Just let a drop or two fall into the ear canal, then massage it gently for a little while to coat everything in there. The oil coats the mites and suffocates them. It will tickle and the rabbit will shake its head and try to clean it out, but it should work. I have had to resort to ivermectin for fur mites, but never ear mites.

I usually treat the rabbit for 2-3 days, then again a week later to kill off any mites that hatched from eggs during that time.

 

[Mama583]

Thank you both so much. I'll definitely try the oil in the morning!

 

[Buknee]

I have had to resort to ivermectin for fur mites

Fur mites
I have a doe with the very same situation. She did kindle yesterday and has quit eating her pellets for some time. I credited it to the pellets being inconsistent from manufacturer. But this morning I noticed how dry her skin is. Could it be fur mites? If so, how should I treat them since she is currently nursing?

I am in the process of going pellet free. It is just a bit of a process.

 

[Alaska Satin]

Fur mites
I have a doe with the very same situation. She did kindle yesterday and has quit eating her pellets for some time. I credited it to the pellets being inconsistent from manufacturer. But this morning I noticed how dry her skin is. Could it be fur mites? If so, how should I treat them since she is currently nursing?

I am in the process of going pellet free. It is just a bit of a process.

Dry skin with flaking is one of the signs of fur mites. It tends to be especially apparent on the neck. The rabbit will usually scratch and eventually you'll also see reddened skin, scabs and bald patches as it progresses.

If you catch it really early, you can use oil in the same way as for ear mites. Rub it into her fur/skin all around the area you see signs. A friend of mine says Listerine will also get rid of them - dribble a line of it down the rabbit's back. I've not tried this but she swears by it for all but the worst infestations.

Since it's not an emergency, I tend to try all the low-impact things first. But if the animal doesn't improve, I don't hesitate to use ivermectin. It's got a long history of safe use and it really does the trick. One judge I know just gives a spritz on the rabbit's coat of spray-on ivermectin. I have used the paste for horses: a tiny bit (the generic "small pea size" for an adult Satin) squirted into its mouth, one time and then again about a week later.

Inconsistency in the pellets, the changing of her diet and/or pregnancy could have contributed to an infestation - it's generally stress of some kind that makes an individual susceptible to parasites.

Rabbits can also get dry skin from feed deficiencies, for instance Vitamin E deficiency. So if you don't see other signs of mites you might look into that. I've dealt with Vit E deficiency and it can really depress reproduction in many ways. Adding wheat germ oil mixed with BOSS/oats is a good way to increase Vit E. Don't overdo it, though, since too much Vit E can also cause problems.

 

[Buknee]

Dry skin with flaking is one of the signs of fur mites.

Thank you Alaska Satin.
She definitely has flaking skin on her back. I will treat her with olive oil tomorrow.

I don't hesitate to use ivermectin.

Is Ivermectin safe for a nursing does kits? I have never used it. Probably would be wise to have some on hand.

Inconsistency in the pellets

So frustrating! I am working on locating better feed until we are "Beyond the Pellet". I might have located some fairly local non GMO.

Adding wheat germ oil mixed with BOSS/oats is a good way to increase Vit E.

I do feed BOSS/oats to my buns. About a tablespoon per day. My pregnant/nursing does also get a tablespoon of Manna. I don't think it's too much. ?

 

[Alaska Satin]

Is Ivermectin safe for a nursing does kits? I have never used it. Probably would be wise to have some on hand.

Unless the infestation is acute and the doe is suffering profoundly, I'd probably skip the ivermectin till the kits are no longer nursing. The only real risk that I've ever heard of with ivermectin is overdose-related. Since it would be hard to predict how much exposure the tiny kits would get to the drug, it seems to me that it would present at least some sort of risk to them. If you're really concerned about the doe, wean the kits as soon as they can make it on their own (3.5-4wks).

From what I understand, ivermectin works by propping open the cellular channels that allow the exchange of chemical signals in nerve and muscle cells, resulting in paralysis and death. Invertebrates are more sensitive to ivermectin than mammals, but the drug acts on the same receptors in mammalian cells. Thus a high enough dosage can produce paralysis, possibly to the point of death, in mammals as well as invertebrates.

If the doe ends up suffering so badly that you're worried about losing her, the kits probably won't make it anyway... In that case I'd take the kits away from her and foster or hand-feed them. Then you can use the ivermectin. But I've never heard of a fur mite case that bad. Going with the oil for a while will at least suppress the mites' reproduction. If they hang in there in spite of your efforts, you can always use ivermectin after the kits are weaned.

Here are a couple of publications concerning ivermectin use in rabbits (for ear mites)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2329086/Eradication of ear mites from naturally infested conventional research rabbits using ivermectin - PubMed

I do feed BOSS/oats to my buns. About a tablespoon per day. My pregnant/nursing does also get a tablespoon of Manna. I don't think it's too much. ?

The majority of the Vitamin E came from the wheat germ oil in the mix we used when we discovered the deficiency; rabbits don't seem to enjoy wheat germ oil's taste so we mixed it with things they did like. What you're feeding wouldn't cause me any concern. I think too much E is related to blood thinning issues; too little seems to depress reproduction - lack of interest in bucks and does, missed pregnancies, dead or dying kits at kindling, poor mothering behaviors, and interestingly, ears that flopped over at the tips in entire litters of Satins. That last one was the clue that helped me and another breeder figure out what was going on after 16 months of virtually no living bunnies being born!