Rabbit Questions...

[DairyGoatz]

Hello all, I bought a breeding pair of Flemish Giant rabbits yesterday and they both have ear mites, the doe is alot worse than the buck ( I'm guessing it's because she lived outside on the ground and he didn't) what can I use as a home remedy for them? The guy I bought them from said to use cooking oil...

Second question, as already stated the doe was left outside on the ground and was left to her own devices and the owner said she made a burrow the size of a truck and was allowed to stay there at least a month and she really, really stinks, is there anything I can do? She smells so terrible

Third question I have two other rabbits a lionhead (Male) and a Holland lop (Female). When I put the doe into the bucks cage he just attacks her, I don't want him to hurt her so I snatch her up. Any suggestions? He's very nice with humans just not with rabbits and doesn't seem to have any interest in breeding.

And I think thats all, sorry for the long post.

 

[DairyGoatz]

Oh and also, I was holding the doe trying to brush out her hair and I glanced inside her ear and a glob of yellow/brown goo was coming out of her ear I wiped her ears out with a cotton ball and put mineral oil in both ears... Was that just from the previous owner's treatment or is it something totally different?

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Hey dairyg, I'm going to send you some rabbit links hopefully later today.

On the smell, I doubt that is just from being in a burrow. It sounds like it might be a bad smell from infection. Ear infections can really stink. What does the odor smell of? If just a strong hay smell, that could be from burrowing.

 

[Bunnylady]

Yellowish goo sounds more like an infection to me. You'll need to put a few drops of oil in the ears each day for at least a couple of weeks to get the ear mites cleared up.

You can bathe rabbits, using any cat-friendly shampoo. Human shampoos are usually a bit too harsh, but if you are only doing it one time, make sure you rinse really, really well. A lot of rabbits have a tendency to poop and pee in whatever spot they are sitting the most, so a box or board that is given as a resting spot needs to be removed and cleaned frequently.

Male rabbits can be pretty rough breeders, but if your lionhead really wants to fight, then you are wise to not risk the doe getting injured. I can remember one Mini Rex buck that I had; really sweet with people, but really rough with does. I only put does in with him that I knew were really ready to breed, and got them out as soon as he was done. If I didn't, he'd be getting in their faces and biting them.

 

[DairyGoatz]

Thank you for your replies ...

So if it is an infection what should I do for her?... What kind of oil would you recommend? Is the mineral oil alright?

As for the smell its rather hard to say, kind of like urine feces and several other unpleasant thing's that make you not want to hold a rabbit.... She is rather unclean on her backside, no signs of scours... Is bathing her a good idea since she is already stressed out from all this change? I've herd that you can soak a cloth in vinegar then wipe then down with that and it'll get rid of the smell?

But he doesn't seem interested at all in mating even if I put the doe in and wait he just wants to fight, could she be to young? 6 months going on 7?....

 

[DairyGoatz]

Alright so I've gotten the doe cleaned up somewhat and she doesn't smell as vad as before, I got her ears cleaned out (really disgusting ) and it seems the smell is coming from inside her ears and it's really strong you can smell it every time you walk by the cage. Is this normal with ear mites???.... Also I've been putting lime under their cage so that hopefully the mites won't spread to any of our other animals, anything else I could do???

 

[aprille218]

Dose them all with ivomec (ivermectin). Orally for everyone and inside the new ones ears. Repeat every 2 weeks for a month. This will kill off the ear mites, deworm the rabbits and prevent the others from getting both ear mites and fur mites from them.

 

[DairyGoatz]

Okay thank you, I gave the pair ivermectin the other day and their ears are clearing up and I've been putting mineral oil in the other rabbits ears same thing with the dogs (two herding mixes so ivermectin is unsafe for them right?)... But I think I've gotten the mite problem pretty much under control, thank you every one.