Sore hocks in 6 week old buns?

MedicatedFluffball said:

Just noticed tiny little red patches on the back paws of my four young fosters... 3 out of four have them
What do I do? :shock:
I know to keep their hutch clean, and soft (at the moment I use fleece to line my hutches, would I be better to use wood shavings?)
Also, would I be better putting them in a run on grass? At the moment I give them run time in the aviary, which has a cement floor
I've never had this problem before, help?! I'm really scared for them..

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prettylupin said:

Gosh they're very young to have this, poor buns
Yes I would minimise as many risk factors as possible: these are soiled bedding, hard flooring, abrasive bedding, wet ground, putting creams on at the early stage, long claws, etc.
So I would avoid wood shavings - too abrasive in my opinion and use a soft paper based litter such as megazorb and then 'deep' soft hay on top. Or, if you do use fleece - one blanket is not 'deep' enough - you need 'cushioning'. Therefore I would pad the blanket from underneath with quite a few towels folded over to make a deep soft bedding. Fleece is good but I prefer veterinary bedding on top as it is designed to distribute evenly weight and pressure, more so than a flat fleece or towel. I would also move a run to grass if you have it, hard floors of any kind have no 'give' and so the toes won't sink in and the foot angle tips back onto the hock - you want to find a surface that does the opposite. Sand, soil and grass are ideal.
I would also suggest a vet check up if this is feasible to rule out any underlying or alternative issue. At this stage I would also avoid any creams - these can further squash any fur that is acting as a cushion absorbing friction/pressure and protecting the sores from further damage.
Hygiene and keeping bedding dry and feet dry if been out in the rain or damp grass is also optimum. We exercised our sore hock foster bun on damp grass at times but he came back into a dry padded enclosure with vet beds and fleece blankets which instantly dried his feet out again. Hope that helps a bit.
Worrying in buns so young.

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