Indoor flooring for sore hocks

I wasn't getting much response on the other thread, I assume because it was originally someone else's, so this is my second try.

My Mini is showing signs of sore hocks developing. She and Mischa are in my room which currently has a hard carpet on it which I suspect is making it worse. I really really need to get rid of this carpet anyway so I'm trying to work out what would be best to replace it.

I have been wanting to lino the room for some time now to make clearing hay and stray poos easier. Would that work along with vetbed or a duvet or thick rug on the areas they frequent the most? They are nearly always on one particular side of my bed, between the bed and the door, so it would be quite easy to get a cheap duvet and put it downg.

I'm thinking this is an ideal time to sort this so am wanting lots of advice before I go lino the whole room and realise that something else would've been better!

I really would rather not have carpet if I can help it. I'd rather a rug or duvet I can shake out onto the lino and then sweep. I find a hoover very difficult to manoeuvre and tiring but if a thick carpet is the way to go I shall for the sake of my babies.

This is what I've done so far...



But they are being naughty and sitting everywhere BUT the duvet! Mini normally sits on the floor by the bedpost at night. Last night she decided to sleep with Mischa on their shelf covered in vetbed. :roll:

i know for out door buns often the only solution is to cover the whole run in a thick layer of hay. I appreciate how disgusting this would be indoors, having had mine inside.

My George doesnt like slippery surfaces, lino wood floors etc so i would try urs out in the bathroom first. plenty of underlay and a natural wool carpet might be enough to make a difference

I was going to use one of those textured linos. We have some in the bathroom and we also used it for the base of their, erm, bases. :lol: I will get them in the bathroom for a bit see how they get on. :thumb:

Any more advise?

Forget lino - textured or otherwise. It's great for spills/stains as wipeable and easy to clean - so you could use it as a base for the whole room definitely, but I would go with the duvet idea, or veterinary bedding for an indoor bun on top of the lino, you can always slip the veterinary bedding inside a pillow case or under a fleece blanket if you prefer - it does make it easier to pick the hay out of.
What you are aiming for is a floor surface that allows the foot to sit at the correct angle - this means toes sunk in and the weight OFF the hock when bun is at rest (sitting). Anything that is soft and padded will do this nicely

Remember to keep all nails as short as possible - this will help with the foot angle, and address any other underlying issues at the same time e.g. obesity, mobility due to arthritis etc. or altered gait, and keep litter trays/urine areas clean and absorbent - wetting/urine scald on the feet will exacerbate any inflammation.
If the hocks are bare and visibly inflammed I would suggest a vet trip just to assess the feet, any underlying condition, and if necessary a course of metacam to reduce any inflammation before it becomes chronic. If the hocks are not broken or bleeding I would AVOID applying anything at this stage and just change the flooring and address the other issues first. Good luck

(If i have mentioned anything you have already considered apologies! i have not been on here much since before Xmas )

PrettyLupin that is very helpful, thank you. Unfortunately the cause it not very easy to treat as we (the vet and I) agree it's probably due to when she dislocated her hip as a baby. She does sit a lot too, hunched, it's how she sleeps, it's how she's always slept.

I think I will go with the lino as a base and get a few cheap duvets folded in half to pad around the bed like what I've already done but extend it to cover most of the room. I have put some witch-hazel on them as per my vet's recommendation to toughen the skin. I've trimmed her nails again today but the pink area seems to protrude a long way from the nail bed if that makes sense. So I'm trimmed them as far as I believe I can.

Schuette said:

PrettyLupin that is very helpful, thank you. Unfortunately the cause it not very easy to treat as we (the vet and I) agree it's probably due to when she dislocated her hip as a baby. She does sit a lot too, hunched, it's how she sleeps, it's how she's always slept.

I think I will go with the lino as a base and get a few cheap duvets folded in half to pad around the bed like what I've already done but extend it to cover most of the room. I have put some witch-hazel on them as per my vet's recommendation to toughen the skin. I've trimmed her nails again today but the pink area seems to protrude a long way from the nail bed if that makes sense. So I'm trimmed them as far as I believe I can.

Click to expand...

It sounds like she has an altered gait AND mobility issues in that case causing her to rest more than normal in that position resting on her hocks, understandable.

I see the vet's line of thinking in dousing with witch hazel, but I would be concerned that 'tightening' the skin - witch hazel has quite a taughtening effect on skin, might make the hocks more prone to fracture when weight is put on them and there might be an increased risk of tearing the skin - but I see his point and it might be worth continuing trying this for a bit. Creams tend to soften the skin which again makes them more prone to fracture. It's always best to avoid fracturing the skin otherwise there becomes an opening for infection to get in which is not what you want. The witch hazel is an interesting one - I'll be fascinated to see how that pans out for her actually, please do update on that one.

Yeah some buns have a more extended quick (pink, live part of the nail bed) than others, i'm sure you have cut them fine, better to stop short than make them bleed. Hope she feels better soon.

I have some of the jigsaw type floor mat (turned onto the softer side) in our wendy house. I got them from B&Q last year but not sure if they still have that type now.

They have these but don't know what they are like.

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.js...isSearch=false


This may be similar to what I have (but not kids ones)
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3674361/Trail/searchtext>PLAY+MAT.htm

i would say lino is a no no, its very hard and wont do hocks any good.

Peanut Butter used to suffer from sore hocks, and although that was due to him having slipping ligaments which rubbed on the floor, he needed soft flooring just like any other suffering bunny.

Thick hay is the best solution, or childrens foam tiles. I used these in the bunny shed and they were fantastic!

I think what I will do is, get a few duvets and some foam stuff. Put the duvets around my bed and the foam for any area uncovered. Then if this helps I will think about what to do next.

Whatever happens eventually I need to get rid of this carpet. It's horrid. It's not very comfy on my feet, let alone theirs. Whether I go for lino as a base and foam and duvets on top or some sort of thick pile carpet her nails can sink into.

ETA; Seriously starting to think about a thick spongey carpet with good quality underlay. Would that be better? I can still always put foam on top if I don't see an improvement. It won't be so easy to keep clean but those two are pretty tidy buns.

Schuette said:

ETA; Seriously starting to think about a thick spongey carpet with good quality underlay. Would that be better? I can still always put foam on top if I don't see an improvement. It won't be so easy to keep clean but those two are pretty tidy buns.

Click to expand...

You can use carpet or lino - whatever you prefer - but you must use something deeply padded on top - whatever that is that works best for you. For our sore hock bun we found deeply layered blankets and veterinary bedding the most beneficial but a duvet will work just as well.
Carpet itself is never pliant enough really - even with a good underlay and often produces frictional heat which can make the sores worse if hopping on it due to static/friction.

I've had a manoeuvre around slightly and moved the main door to their crate to the shorter side just to contain poos as they jump out. It means the duvet is slightly more where they spend their time. I am going on Weds to have a look at some thick pile carpets and we're going to get a couple more duvets from Nettos.

Anyway, something seems to be helping. The main one I was worried about seems to be covered in a fine smattering of new fur now and looks less red.

One of my buns suffers from sore hocks, she lives in my living room which is covered in good quality wool carpet with the thickest underlay available as we have concrete floor. I've been struggling with this for a v v v long time. She's been to the vets several times, we can't find anything wrong with her, she's been on metacam for months incase it case it was arthritis etc but it made no difference.

Anyhow, fingers crossed I'm now making progress. I am sure its the carpet that caused the sore hocks. So now when we're out at work they are in an enclosure (we use a movable puppy pen fence) about 10/12 ft by 6ft which is covered in several layers - couple of old thick candlewick bedspreads (second hand shop), various fleece blankets (lots of inexpensive ones in Primark) and either a folded fleece blanket or a quilted fleece square (one of the Kirby Rescue ones) in the corner where she tends to like to sit the most. I've not found any spots of blood for several weeks. Although it has to be said that the bunny end of my living room is very colourful and like a big patchwork!

Just thought I would update this. Two weeks into having lino down and their sore hocks have almost completely disappeared!! I'm now convinced it was friction from the carpet. Mini still has one on her right hock which was the leg she hurt so I'm not expecting that to completely disappear for a while yet but even that is looking a bit better and has new fur growth on it. I still put a couple of towels down in certain places so they have a soft bit to sit on.