Preventing flystrike in a rabbit?

[DutchBunny03]

I don't think I need to build my rabbit a new hutch. It only needs the hutch for sleeping in, to my knowledge; it spends most of each day outside of its hutch in its enclosure.
Both compost bins are very large, so moving them is not a one-man job, and even if I could move them by myself, I can't think of anywhere to move them to.
I have arranged a date for when I will change the hay that currently lines the floor of my rabbit's hutch.

Okay. Lucky bunny, gets a nice, big enclosure.
Have you tried fly spray or repelant sprayed on the compost piles?

 

[Ducks4us]

Its okay to disagree, as long as there are good reasons. 
My opinion is mostly from experience. I have never had any foot problems on wire floors, but did with solid floors. On solid floors, like wood and/or plastic, the rabbit's toenails are pushed up higher than is good for the rabbit. On wire floors, the nails are allowed to hang down, like they would in the wild, because the ground outside is soft and gives under the pressure of the rabbit's nails.

I can see your point . Mine is not from personal experience. But from others and being a vet tech for many many years. So i never kept one on wire to try. But my sister did,not good. And the bunnies who came to our vet clinic . So just something i prefer. I know of some who have had success with it. But i also dont agree with the majority of the small cages rabbits are kept in so im prob not a good one to ask lol. Lucklily mine have been able to live free with a hutch to go in for shelter if they decide.

 

[DutchBunny03]

I can see your point . Mine is not from personal experience. But from others and being a vet tech for many many years. So i never kept one on wire to try. But my sister did,not good. And the bunnies who came to our vet clinic . So just something i prefer. I know of some who have had success with it. But i also dont agree with the majority of the small cages rabbits are kept in so im prob not a good one to ask lol. Lucklily mine have been able to live free with a hutch to go in for shelter if they decide.

I have seen that many vet techs say that wire is bad for rabbit's feet, but not many have had experience with it. It depends on what kind of wire you use. Too big, hurts the rabbits feet. So does too small. I agree that most commercial rabbit cages are too small. The absolute minimum is 1 sq.ft. per pound of rabbit.
Lucky bunnies. Mine are show bunnies, so they cant have that kind of settup.

 

[Ducks4us]

I have seen that many vet techs say that wire is bad for rabbit's feet, but not many have had experience with it. It depends on what kind of wire you use. Too big, hurts the rabbits feet. So does too small. I agree that most commercial rabbit cages are too small. The absolute minimum is 1 sq.ft. per pound of rabbit.
Lucky bunnies. Mine are show bunnies, so they cant have that kind of settup.

Probably because they see so many rabbits come into their clinics with sore feet . Thats what we had happen. And then my rabbits were from breeders who recommended against it.

 

[DutchBunny03]

Probably because they see so many rabbits come into their clinics with sore feet . Thats what we had happen. And then my rabbits were from breeders who recommended against it.

From he thousands of rabbits that live on wire floors, only a tiny fraction have to go to the vet for it. Also, different people have different experiences with the same flooring.

 

[BantamLover21]

I've been raising several different breeds of rabbits (Mini Rex, American Sables, Cinnamons) in all-wire cages for a little over three years, and have had no problems with sore hocks or other cage-related injuries. The wire cages are easy to clean, durable, and safe--that is why I use them. All of the rabbit breeders I know (some who have been raising, breeding, and showing rabbits for decades) also use wire cages.

From what I've heard, the only time when solid-bottomed cages are a good idea is when raising "giant" breeds, like Checkered Giants or even Flemish Giants. Those larger breeds put so much pressure on their paws that sometimes wire isn't the best choice. Still, that can lead to sanitation difficulties, among other things, and there are certainly breeders who raise very large breeds on wire successfully.

Also, I don't deny that there are some breeds (like Mini Rex) that have strains which are more susceptible to sore hocks. This tends to be a genetic problem; fortunately, the Mini Rex that I am currently raising seem to be hardy, well-furred, and resistant to sores.

 

[RHRanch]

I keep mini rex, and wire can be a challenge for thier hocks. I have one line that has amazing fur, but they all develop sore hocks. I even tried keeping one of that line on solid flooring, just to see how strong the genetic issue in this line is, and that rabbit gets sore hocks too, so the floor isn't really the issue when the issue is the quality of the fur, and how brittle it is. From what I understand, the hair on mini rex is more likely to break than normal rabbit hair, which is the reason they develop sore hocks. Other reasons are being kept on urine soaked bedding/floors, even solid flooring can contribute to it. I have never had sore hock with my non-mini rex breeds kept on wire. All of my rabbits are kept on wire, with one half of the cage covered with foot saver plastic mats and each also get a nest box.