Rabbits with ear Mites....

[akaj9]

As we are new to this rabbit thing...we have had our first experience with ear Mites...We haven't had the buns that long so I'm pretty sure they came with them, as the housing conditions at the breeders were very crowded and not so clean....All three Does were affected, some worse than others. I cleaned all of the ears out and placed Olive oil in along with some antibiotic ear drops in case some secondary infection had set in....So my question is after reading all about treatments...I see that ivermectin is such controversial tx. I have mixed rabbits, for meat production (home use only) but one definately displays colorings associated with a dutch, one is mixed with angora, and the other....a sister of the dutch(like) is probably got some dutch in her also...so I'm reluctant to tx with ivermectin....what suggestions do you have for alternative or oil treatments, how often, and what type oil is best? All three tolerated the cleaning and treatment very well....poor babies....would love to hear stories or experiences with the treatment from any of you....from minor to major...and what has worked best...thanks for sharing

 

[Lastfling]

I have not had this issue, but in reading, have learned folks use a lot of different oils, from baby oil, to olive oil, to mineral oil. As the goal with oil is to smother the mite, I would think any of the above should do the trick.

 

[MaggieJ]

We've had several threads about ear mites in the last couple of weeks. You could look at them for details, but a bit of olive or mineral oil in each ear, enough to coat the inside of the ear, will smother the mites in most cases. Some people use something stronger, but I do recommend trying the oil first.

 

[akaj9]

Sticking with the oil. after cleaning ... a drop of oil every few days...things look very good...The stronger stuff scared me...so far so good...Personally I'm using only olive oil, but the first day I did place some antibiotic drops for swimmers ears...