Rex living on wire - a problem or not

[kusanar314]

I am in the research phase of getting meat rabbits, and while I would love to have rex for the pelts, I have seen / heard that they are more likely to get sore hocks when on wire due to the thinner foot fur. Is this an issue? If it makes them 50% more likely to get sore hocks, then yes, if there is only around a 5% chance a normal rabbit will get sore hocks and then a rex increases by another 5% that may not be a big deal and could be managed.

So, opinions are welcome and if people here keep rex on wire and have workarounds to keep their feet healthy that would also be useful information to have.

 

[Graceful Rabbitry]

I have two Rex does on 1/2 by 1/2 wire and they have gotten sore hocks once. My wire does need upgrading. I didn’t do research on wire when I built my hutches. I will be upgrading to KW cages very soon. So I think if you start off with great wire and use a surfaces like tiles you should be good. One of them does not have them anymore at all. All my rabbits have tiles in the cages and when I noticed her getting sore hocks (just calluses not real bad) I gave her a another tile for more solid floor she was on them almost all the time and the sore hocks went away pretty quickly. My other Rex doe has them right now but I am tryin the same method. My does never get them where they are bleeding or open wounds just slight calluses and adding more tiles seems to help. I also will add hay occasionally since it is softer.
Hope this helps!!

 

[kusanar314]

I have two Rex does on 1/2 by 1/2 wire and they have gotten sore hocks once. My wire does need upgrading. I didn’t do research on wire when I built my hutches. I will be upgrading to KW cages very soon. So I think if you start off with great wire and use a surfaces like tiles you should be good. One of them does not have them anymore at all. All my rabbits have tiles in the cages and when I noticed her getting sore hocks (just calluses not real bad) I gave her a another tile for more solid floor she was on them almost all the time and the sore hocks went away pretty quickly. My other Rex doe has them right now but I am tryin the same method. My does never get them where they are bleeding or open wounds just slight calluses and adding more tiles seems to help. I also will add hay occasionally since it is softer.
Hope this helps!!

Thanks for the input

 

[user 8761]

I raise Rex on 1”x1/2” wire and have no problems with sore hocks. All my rabbits have a one foot square piece of wood they can sit on if they don’t want to sit on the wire. I find they don’t seem to care either way to sit on the wood or the wire, depends on the rabbit. They all like to lay out on the wire in the heat of the summer though, get the breeze from all sides.

 

[kusanar314]

I raise Rex on 1”x1/2” wire and have no problems with sore hocks. All my rabbits have a one foot square piece of wood they can sit on if they don’t want to sit on the wire. I find they don’t seem to care either way to sit on the wood or the wire, depends on the rabbit. They all like to lay out on the wire in the heat of the summer though, get the breeze from all sides.

Ok, I was actually thinking about getting a bunch of 1 foot square ceramic tiles to put in the cages, less likely to be chewed and easier to clean than wood.

 

[user 8761]

Ok, I was actually thinking about getting a bunch of 1 foot square ceramic tiles to put in the cages, less likely to be chewed and easier to clean than wood.

Those will work, especially in the summer they’d be cool I think. I figure rabbits like to chew on stuff so if they want to chew the wood that’s up to them, rather that than their water bowls lol

 

[kusanar314]

Those will work, especially in the summer they’d be cool I think. I figure rabbits like to chew on stuff so if they want to chew the wood that’s up to them, rather that than their water bowls lol

I would give them stuff to chew, I just would prefer that they not eat their furniture. lol

 

[rockyhillrabbits]

I use big pieces of tile and each rex gets two pieces. Most of my does prefer sitting on the tiles. My bucks don't have an issue with sore hocks but my two does do and I have to treat them constantly, even with tile.

 

[Sapphire16]

We have KW 1" by 1/2" coated wire, use square ceramic tiles in the summer and always have a KW plastic pad or two in their cages, have never had a problem. Look for Rex with heavily furred feet. I have one doe that has always had a callous but never has got sore.

 

[MuddyFarms]

This is definitely a topic that can be hard to determine. One time I found some old posts on a forum where it was stated that there were possibly a couple lines of Rex that hardly ever got sore hocks. I have been unable to locate any Rex where this is the case, and in talking with another Rex breeder who shows (I do not), it seems ‘most’ Rex have a bare/calloused area at some point in their life (again, hard to determine for sure how much this is happening across the breed).

I have found that my bucks tend to have much less of an issue with sore hocks than my does. Certain does’ feet seem to be affected by the weight gain during pregnancy, which is alleviated by kindling.

Certainly wish this was not an issue for the breed, as they are great rabbits. In my research, it seems (and this is an area with much debate as well) that there are structural/genetic AND environmental influences on any rabbit getting sore hocks. There are lots of things that you can do to manage and help prevent it. I am breeding as much as possible for wider feet in my herd.

I raise Rex on 14 gauge galvanized after welding wire. I would not use the lighter 16 gauge that comes in most cages, as I have even had issues with Californians getting sore on those floors. I give them all quite a few plastic resting mats (the ones with the holes in them) and some wooden pieces. I also am uninterested in using a setup other than wire, unless it was a big area that I could effectively keep very dry and clean. Wet foot fur tends to increase the likelihood of feet going sore, as the fur gets rubbed off easier and is a less effective barrier. This also means I don’t use any kind of misting system near cages for cooling.

I only have experience with Californians as a breed with a normal coat. Out of the three original Cals I purchased, one or two developed sore hocks and none of the three we kept back as breeders developed them (up to 6 months old when we sold them). I am suspicious that the misting system we used during an extreme summer kept their feet too wet, but I won’t ever know if they were just already prone to getting them or not.

I would personally love to hear how often sore hocks delevops in breeds with normal fur, since there are so many factors involved in it. I also would be very careful if considering purchasing Rex from a breeder that says theirs never go sore. It could be they just haven’t had Rex long enough to see it happen in their line, or they don’t understand how common it is and try to hide it for a sale…or maybe they have the super-Rex we’ve all been looking for!

 

[StonyCreekSilverFox]

I think it's also wise to define "wire". I've seen a lot of hutch floors finished with hardware cloth used for their rabbits and that stuff is horrible and should never be used to house any living creature.

 

[kusanar314]

I think it's also wise to define "wire". I've seen a lot of hutch floors finished with hardware cloth used for their rabbits and that stuff is horrible and should never be used to house any living creature.

Yeah... Was going to use heavy gauge cage floor wire, not hardware cloth. I could see something like quail doing ok on hardware cloth, but nothing heavier.

 

[Alaska Satin]

I would personally love to hear how often sore hocks delevops in breeds with normal fur, since there are so many factors involved in it. I also would be very careful if considering purchasing Rex from a breeder that says theirs never go sore. It could be they just haven’t had Rex long enough to see it happen in their line, or they don’t understand how common it is and try to hide it for a sale…or maybe they have the super-Rex we’ve all been looking for!

To avoid sore hocks, raise Satins. The odd rabbit we've seen have trouble with sores often appeared related to wetness in the cage, as observed by @MuddyFarms. When fur builds up in a corner where the rabbits urinate, it creates a wet spot that seems to aggravate their feet. Satin fur is so silky that it rarely builds up on the edges or corners of cages even during molt, so we do not encounter the problem often.

We've raised Satins for almost 20 years, Mini Rex for around 10 years, and Polish, Rex, Cals, and NZs for spans of 5-8 years each. I have only had one Satin get sore hocks in all that time, and rarely had rabbits with sore hocks in the other breeds. I know some lines of Rex have problems, but ours did not have any particular tendency. The two Rex breeders I know locally do not have much trouble either, but they both cull hard for health problems. It may be, too, that living where we do (Alaska) encourages selection for heavier-furred rabbits in general.

Our cage floors are 1/2" x 1" galvanized wire. Most of the time, rabbits have a wooden resting board to sit on if they choose, but interestingly enough, the larger breeds mostly just eat it; it's the smaller breeds (Mini Rex and Polish) that sit on it.

Also note that there is a difference between callouses and sore hocks. Our Mini Rex almost always developed callouses on their hind feet as adults, but they were not sore. The only time it became a problem was when a particularly agitated buck stomped constantly, which began to tear his feet up and he ended up bleeding a little. Moving him away from the source of his agitation - another buck - solved the problem.

 

[MuddyFarms]

To avoid sore hocks, raise Satins. The odd rabbit we've seen have trouble with sores often appeared related to wetness in the cage, as observed by @MuddyFarms. When fur builds up in a corner where the rabbits urinate, it creates a wet spot that seems to aggravate their feet. Satin fur is so silky that it rarely builds up on the edges or corners of cages even during molt, so we do not encounter the problem often.

We've raised Satins for almost 20 years, Mini Rex for around 10 years, and Polish, Rex, Cals, and NZs for spans of 5-8 years each. I have only had one Satin get sore hocks in all that time, and rarely had rabbits with sore hocks in the other breeds. I know some lines of Rex have problems, but ours did not have any particular tendency. The two Rex breeders I know locally do not have much trouble either, but they both cull hard for health problems. It may be, too, that living where we do (Alaska) encourages selection for heavier-furred rabbits in general.

Our cage floors are 1/2" x 1" galvanized wire. Most of the time, rabbits have a wooden resting board to sit on if they choose, but interestingly enough, the larger breeds mostly just eat it; it's the smaller breeds (Mini Rex and Polish) that sit on it.

Also note that there is a difference between callouses and sore hocks. Our Mini Rex almost always developed callouses on their hind feet as adults, but they were not sore. The only time it became a problem was when a particularly agitated buck stomped constantly, which began to tear his feet up and he ended up bleeding a little. Moving him away from the source of his agitation - another buck - solved the problem.

It is so funny that you said to raise Satins!!! I had been considering adding those to my herd for that exact reason, plus the unique fur. I guess I should continue my search for ones with good growth AND good temperaments. We don't want any 'satans' around here...