Abbesses on hocks.

Both of the boys have got abbesses on both of their hocks
I check their legs & back end area twice a day. I never noticed the abbesses before. The other day I was putting them back into their wendy house & Billyboy had blood on his hock!
I cleaned it all up & there it was..........An abbesses. I then parted the fur on the other hock & there was another one but smaller.
I had to part the fur on Pepe hock & found very small abbesses on both his hock also.
I got straight into the vets that day & got them on Depicillin & the gel to rub on twice a day.
I have always made sure that they are cleaned out every day & there is lots of room in their wendy house for them to run around. Their run is huge. It is 12 ft by 12ft & it stands 5 ft high.
When Honey came to me, she had ver nasty abbesses on both her hock & was at the vets every week for the 2 years I cared for her. Theirs is no where near like Honeys were, but I am scared to death that they might get like that.
I have tried so very hard making sure that they have lots of room & not sat in one place & the litter tray is clean.
Why does this happen? It is sickening to see these beautiful rabbits suffer with abbesses when we look after them so well.
The vet said that rabbits bang their hock a lot & this is the reason it happens

It does sound a bit odd that both your buns have the same problem. Are they Rexes?

Foot thumping isn't enough to cause abscesses on the hocks...they are caused by a number of things:

- Inadequate fur on the hocks (i.e. rex type fur)
- Nails too long, which causes the weight to be thrown back onto the hock.
- Soiled or wet flooring/bedding
- Obesity, causing too much pressure on the hock area
- Mobility problem causing the rabbit to be sat in one position too much or drag their back feet.
- Urinary incontinence, causing urine scald from sitting in wee.

It's good that you're cleaning their living area regularly...I'm not sure what else to suggest really.

Perhaps post some pics of their housing so we can spot any potential problems?

Have swabs been taken ?


It sounds as though it *might* be a Staphylococcus Aureus pathogen involved

Have they both been prescribed anti-inflammatory pain relief ?

What lines your wendy house?
I know Sarah Jane used foam tiles for Mr. Peanut Butter.
He had an abcess due to the fact his ligaments slipped.