Treating sore hocks when bleeding

I know its another thread about sore hocks

I noticed one of Pickle's back feet was bleeding a couple of weeks ago and thought it must be down to sore hocks. He's never had them before, but there were no other cuts on him and it wasn't urine. I managed to clean the blood off his foot and clean it with a medicated wipe, which I did for the next few days.

I searched through some of the threads on here, and the only thing I can think that might have caused it is their run being on concreate. So for the last 2 weeks I have covered the run with thick newspaper and a thick layer of hay. They already have towels covered in soft fleeces in their hutch. They do free range during the day, on the patio and hop in and out of the house so do come into contact with carpet.

It seemed to heal and he has never shown any signs of discomfort, so I really hoped having the hay underfoot had made a difference. But this afternoon I noticed another patch of blood on a towel in the hutch, which has come from his other back foot this time.

I've read that if the skin is broken, the foot should be bandaged with a good pressure-relieving bandage. There's no way I can do this myself, I wouldn't know where to start and Pickle hates being picked up at the best of times. Should I take him to the vet? Will he need antibiotics in case of infection?

He hates going to the vets he had to go a few weeks ago and got so stressed, he nearly took a flying leap off the table several times. I'm annoyed I can't find what's causing it and worried that he won't be able to freerange if it keeps recurring. What do others with sore-hock buns do about free-range time?

Do you have grass that he can free range on? Lack of activity won't really benefit him to be honest as he'll probably spend more time sitting around on his hocks making them worse. Exercise also stimulates the circulation and gets the healing white blood cells to the point of injury.

I have no experience of actual bleeding hocks but would suggest that a vet checks the feet yes, this is important to make sure there is nothing underlying that is being missed, and the foot anatomy needs to be carefully checked. IMO if they are bleeding then antibiotics used prophylactically would be sensible to prevent infection but just as importantly a course of NSAID's such as metacam to reduce the pain and inflammation which is crucial to healing.
If they are bleeding then yes they really are going to need bandaging if they are bad to prevent infection and to replace the cushioning effect that the fur would have been having.
Someone more experienced with bandaging and appropriate creams should be along shortly. Hope bun's feet get better soon x

Thanks Prettylupin . I've made an appointment with the vet, as you said in case there is an underlying problem, as there doesn't seem anything obvious to me. I will talk to them about NSAIDS and antibiotics.

I'm going to speak to my OH about what we can do with the garden. We rent, and there are a lot of gaps in the fence that make it unsafe. The run is a folding one, but tbh its so heavy I struggle to move it on my own. There is one part of the garden that we maybe able to fence off safely, which would give them a lot of room.

I'm just really not looking forward to having to change bandages and dressings on his feet, if that's what he needs!

I agree with Prettylupin. :wave:

I haven't had any personal experience with hock issues but have been reading up on them seeing as a rex is coming my way. The vet is definitely a plan. I have also read in a few places that cream is not recommended as it dampens the fur around the sore patch and lessens the cushioning effect, but as you're probably going to have to bandage them anyway it might be different, as the skin is broken.

Recent thread here http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=230840&highlight=bandage on bandaging feet.

Coineanach said:

I agree with Prettylupin. :wave:

I haven't had any personal experience with hock issues but have been reading up on them seeing as a rex is coming my way. The vet is definitely a plan. I have also read in a few places that cream is not recommended as it dampens the fur around the sore patch and lessens the cushioning effect, but as you're probably going to have to bandage them anyway it might be different, as the skin is broken.

Recent thread here http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=230840&highlight=bandage on bandaging feet.

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This is what I was told by a couple of good vets when we were looking after our sore hock foster bun and it makes perfect sense to me, so it's what I always preach on here. However, if you are going to bandage them then yes you can put cream on as the bandage replaces the natural fur cushion.
Hoping someone with experience of actual bleeding sores comes along soon..... BUMP! :wave:

Thanks for the replies . Well we've been to the vets. Pickle got so stressed he managed to go flying off the table onto the floor :shock:

He has to have Metacam and Baytril for a week. His poor feet, although the fur coverage is good, the callouses on his heals looked very red and sore.

The vet has given me a copy of a piece Frances Harcourt-Brown has written on ulcerative Pododermatitis to read, as he said the treatment will depend a lot on his lifestyle so my own input is important. He is also going to get Rob, the senior vet who is a rabbit specialist to give me a call on Monday to talk it through with me and hopefully give me some more advice.

He doesn't think bandaging will help at the moment. He did say that Pickle shouldn't be allowed out on the patio, as his skin can't handle the hard surfacing. So today me and the OH are going to move their hutch and run onto the grass. Its not ideal as its sloped, and the garden isn't secure to let them freerange. There is a different bit of garden that's flat and seperated from the rest, so we are going to dig it over and lay turf, then next month (when we have some pennies) put mesh fencing all around it and put the hutch/run on this bit, so I can let them out during the day for a run around.

I was planning to bring them indoors during the next winter, but now wondering if this is possible? If anyone has any advice on house rabbits with sore hocks I would be greatful!

Debs, if you read this before tomorrow (as your popping over) you know Noco the dalmation rex here, she had the sore hocks when she came, vet said that was because she must of been on concrete.
You know in the big run, I put cardboard down and hay on top as that is on concrete, admittedly she gets a run every other day in the garden but thats on concrete and dry hard earth. The cardboard thing is worth a go, I have lots!!!!

Debster said:

Thanks for the replies . Well we've been to the vets. Pickle got so stressed he managed to go flying off the table onto the floor :shock:

He has to have Metacam and Baytril for a week. His poor feet, although the fur coverage is good, the callouses on his heals looked very red and sore.

The vet has given me a copy of a piece Frances Harcourt-Brown has written on ulcerative Pododermatitis to read, as he said the treatment will depend a lot on his lifestyle so my own input is important. He is also going to get Rob, the senior vet who is a rabbit specialist to give me a call on Monday to talk it through with me and hopefully give me some more advice.

He doesn't think bandaging will help at the moment. He did say that Pickle shouldn't be allowed out on the patio, as his skin can't handle the hard surfacing. So today me and the OH are going to move their hutch and run onto the grass. Its not ideal as its sloped, and the garden isn't secure to let them freerange. There is a different bit of garden that's flat and seperated from the rest, so we are going to dig it over and lay turf, then next month (when we have some pennies) put mesh fencing all around it and put the hutch/run on this bit, so I can let them out during the day for a run around.

I was planning to bring them indoors during the next winter, but now wondering if this is possible? If anyone has any advice on house rabbits with sore hocks I would be greatful!

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The preventative baytril dose sounds about right for starters, but I think you will need to be prepared to give the metacam for longer than a week if there is still significant inflammation. The bun I fostered here with terrible hocks - no fur on them at all and he chewed them all day and couldn't even weight bear on them (although they never bled) needed metacam a lot longer than a week. We started on a high dose for the week though and then he was on a maintenance dose for several weeks after. It depends how bad the feet are. We kept him indoors as a house bun at night and then he was out on the lawn all day in his run (as it was summer). The grass was great for his poorly feet to play on. Indoors his entire floor space was padded out with vet beds with blankets laid on top, and several layers of towels under the vet beds, this is a lot less messy for indoor buns than hay. He actually preferred to sit on an uncovered vet bed on top of the others when they were bad, but other members on here find bun prefers a vet bed with a covering over it, either a sheet or blanket. We let him choose and he chose a vet bed as it gave him the most relief, but he would as they healed sit on the fleece blankets as well which covered the rest of the vet beds. Everything was padded out as his front feet were as bad as his back. Within a few weeks the inflammation began to settle and fur regrowth commenced. We did not use any creams for the reasons I described above.

However, without the use of ongoing metacam I do not believe the chronic skin thickening (which is what happens with chronic inflammation) would have receded and his skin softened again, this allowed fur regrowth. So I think you will need to discuss the ongoing NSAID with the rabbit specialist if after a week there is only mild improvement. Teshie our foster bun was part Belgian hare so had very narrow feet and fine fur rather like a Rex.
Plenty of exercise is important - I think your grass idea is great, and a good diet so they can repair themselves properly. Keep nails as short as possible and address any weight issues to lessen the pressure on the feet. Carpet can produce friction that can exacerbate sore hocks so if you can find cheap duvets for example to line an indoor room some people on here have found this equally sucessful. The key is a floor that 'gives' underfoot to allow the toenails to sink in. Good luck x

I will talk to the vet about continuing the meds, I want to take him back in a week anyway, so the vet can have a look at his feet and see how they are doing.

I might try putting cardboard down underneath the hay, at least until I can get the hutch moved next weekend!

So now its just the usual struggle trying to get the very stroppy Pickle to take his meds!:roll:

Gorgeous Gilbert my Rexy boy came to me with dodgy hocks.
Because he & his partner are real chewers when it comes to soft fabrics such as fleece & vetbed I have had to remove those through fear of a gut blocking incident!
In all honesty the things that seem to have helped for him have been lots of exercise in a safe free range area of the lawn, very regular claw clips & keeping him slim. These things had not been adhered to in his earlier life & as a result he also has early arthritic changes to his feet so that has also been helped.
I've ended up using thick foam mats (like the ones they have in judo places I think) which luckily they don't chew, to provide respite areas in their shed that his claws will sink into & areas with a deep layer of hay.
My advice would be to try a variety of things & take a really holistic approach. There will not be one single answer & you may have to experiment a bit. But its often the simple things in combination that seem to work best.
Good luck with getting Pickles hocks sorted.