Ear...Mites?...Infection?...or just plain Irritated?

[Lost Creek]

Hi All!

I'm spankin' new to the forum, and this is my first post. Yep, even before my introduction.

We're pretty new to meat rabbits, too. I noticed today that one of our does has what looks like some red irritation deep in her ears (both of them). What is this? Is it something we did/didn't do? How do I treat it? Can I prevent it, if so, how?

Any and all suggestions and input will be appreciated. thanks, in advance!

Daniel

 

[Southern by choice]

I do not have rabbits and know nothing about them, however I do have a limited background in parasitology. This may be helpful. Rabbits are prone to mites, specifically Psoroptes cuniculi. They infest the auditory canals causing psoroptic mange. It can cause severe otitis externa and heavy crusting. You will need a microscope for proper identification. Some mites may be large enough to see with a hand magnifying glass. Take a q-tip, or cotton swab (dry) and swipe inside of ear lay swab on black paper and look closely with magnifying glass. You may or maynot be able to see them. As far as treatment I'm not sure, one of the goats had this when we bought her from the breeder. It was very advanced and had a great deal of crust, she ended up with a secondary infection and needed an anti- biotic injection(actually 2). Yes goats can get this too! We were able to treat with permethrins dabbed into the ear. But rabbits are so sensitive it's best to get the rabbit checked by a vet.

Hopefully someone with experience with rabbits will be more helpful.

and WELCOME TO BYH!!!!

 

[Bunnylady]

Ear mites are a common problem in rabbits. Frequently, you do see heavy crusting, but what you are seeing might be a very light case. My favorite weapon against mites is Ivermectin, though for a light case of ear mites you might just try a few drops of mineral oil in each ear. The oil is supposed to suffocate the mites. Some people use vegetable oil, but I've heard there is some concern about a fungus possibly growing on vegetable-based oils. If you go with the oil, a follow-up treatment about 10-14 days later is usually recommended.

 

[Lost Creek]

thanks, southern by choice and bunny lady!

I think we caught it in the early/light phase, and can hopefully knock it out.

 

[secuono]

Use a few drops of veggie oil per ear if it's still early. The more extensive it is, the more oil. But don't forget to retreat in 2wks.

 

[mjgh06]

I just bought two meat rabbits that had ear mites. This is how I treat and it works very well.

8-10 drops of permethrin (found for dogs/cats ear mite drops) in each ear repeat in three days and again in another three days

at same time

Ivermectin pour-on - 1cc placed on the back of head right below ear base (this is for meat rabbits which are large so if you have a smaller breed use 1/2cc) repeat in 10 days, and again in another 10 days.

All done and the ivermectin treatment will keep reinvestation of parasites away for about 5 months.

EDITED: I need to add that Ivermectin should not be used on white rabbits or broken colored rabbits because of the possibility of the MDR1 gene mutation.

 

[hitnspit]

You will all think im nuts but this works and works well. You do it 2 times. day one spay WD40 in the ear. You will see it get better in a half haour the crap will be falling out. By day 3 do a little more and rub the bottom of the ear. An old timer showed me this and i have had very good luck with it with no problems to the the rabbits at all. you do need to use the cans with the spray hose on it to get in the ear. Will tell you the rabbit will lose hair around the ear but it will grow back. Very cheap and very productive.....

 

[K.Briggs]

I just bought two meat rabbits that had ear mites. This is how I treat and it works very well.

8-10 drops of permethrin (found for dogs/cats ear mite drops) in each ear repeat in three days and again in another three days

at same time

Ivermectin pour-on - 1cc placed on the back of head right below ear base (this is for meat rabbits which are large so if you have a smaller breed use 1/2cc) repeat in 10 days, and again in another 10 days.

All done and the ivermectin treatment will keep reinvestation of parasites away for about 5 months.

EDITED: I need to add that Ivermectin should not be used on white rabbits or broken colored rabbits because of the possibility of the MDR1 gene mutation.

what do you use in broken colored rabbits then?

 

[secuono]

what do you use in broken colored rabbits then?

Drown in oil. Disinfect everything super well. Then hope.
Or risk it. I never heard of it being an issue for rabbits, just herding dogs, so I used it.

 

[Baymule]

what do you use in broken colored rabbits then?

I always used mineral oil. I applied it with an eye dropper twice daily until the mites were gone. Once a month, I treated all the rabbits with mineral oil drops in their ears.