Is this a sore hock?

They're not brilliant photos, but hopefully you can see what I mean.

I only saw it because he was laid out with his feet flicked back and facing towards the wire mesh side. I don't know how long it's been there. He's not limping or anything, in fact he was happily running around earlier.

Is it a sore hock? What could have caused it? What creams can I use on it? Or should I just leave it? I'm wondering if he's been a bit of a daredevil and jumped off of his hutch too fast, or not used his steps and it might be just a graze from the concrete floor?

I took my Willow to the vets with a sore hock and thats exactly what it looked like,,,

Fee said:

I took my Willow to the vets with a sore hock and thats exactly what it looked like,,,

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Ah ok, so it probably is what did the vet say? Did they say it gets better by itself, or did they tell you to buy a certain cream or anything?

I thought rabbits only got them if they are certain breeds or if they use hard floors too much, Harvey runs and plays on concrete, but he sleeps snuggled on his fleece and he's not an "at-risk" breed so I never expected him to have a problem :?

My vet said not to do anything but attempt to keep the shed clen and dry and not to allow her to sit in wet conditions!,! Difficult though when she wees all over the place...

I have however heard that udder cream is very good as it nourishes and protects area,, I have ordered some off internet. I assume though that ladies 'nipple' cream may work the same lthough didnt ask...

There'll be someone who will answer, more knowledgeable then me though.. i watch this with interest..

Good luck

Fee xx

Fee said:

My vet said not to do anything but attempt to keep the shed clen and dry and not to allow her to sit in wet conditions!,! Difficult though when she wees all over the place...

I have however heard that udder cream is very good as it nourishes and protects area,, I have ordered some off internet. I assume though that ladies 'nipple' cream may work the same lthough didnt ask...

There'll be someone who will answer, more knowledgeable then me though.. i watch this with interest..

Good luck

Fee xx

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Thanks

My two have a large aviary, they are very well litter trained so only go in there "toilet hutch". It hasn't rained in ages either so they're not ever on wet floor so not much I can change there.

I did just read somewhere long nails can cause a problem... I check my two's nails every 2-3 weeks. When they lived on grass their nails needed cutting every 3 months. They now lived on concrete since I last cut them...... and that was 8 months ago :shock: but I check them all the time, and they're still a fine length :? I'm going to have to go investigate him a bit more and I'll get the nail clippers out, maybe there's just one unruly nail :lol:

Ive not had experience with this but i think sudocreme is a good alternative

Yes, that's a sore hock. I would advise NOT putting anything on it, because any kind of cream will dampen the fur around the hock and remove the cushioning, actually making it worse. At that stage, I'd be looking at her accommodation and changing it if necessary - what does she have on the floor? Keeping a healthy weight and nails trimmed is also essential for hock buns.

Bad hocks are treated with creams, sometimes for infection as well as healing, but you have a bun with early stage hocks and putting something on them will likely make it worse. If the hock does worse, I would take her to your vet, but I'd try altering her environment first.

Coineanach said:

Yes, that's a sore hock. I would advise NOT putting anything on it, because any kind of cream will dampen the fur around the hock and remove the cushioning, actually making it worse. At that stage, I'd be looking at her accommodation and changing it if necessary - what does she have on the floor? Keeping a healthy weight and nails trimmed is also essential for hock buns.

Bad hocks are treated with creams, sometimes for infection as well as healing, but you have a bun with early stage hocks and putting something on them will likely make it worse. If the hock does worse, I would take her to your vet, but I'd try altering her environment first.

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He has a 6 foot by 12 foot aviary with a concrete floor. In there they have a 4 foot by 2 foot hutch which has their litter trays and hay in, very soft floor, they can also climb on top of the hutch. They also have a 4 foot by 1.5 triple story hutch in there. This has bare wood floors except on the top story which has a fleece down (folded over multiple times to fit, so very squishy), they spend probably about 80% of their time there, mainly sleeping and grooming each other. I've gone and bought a second fleece and put that on the 2nd level so they have more padding there

I just tried to cut his nails, I could get hardly a millimetre off of the front ones, but the back ones had less than a mm between the end and the quick, and are quite worn down! They saw the vet a week ago and she didn't comment on his nails so they are fine.

He doesn't care if I touch it so he's obviously not in pain with it yet, I hope they get better

*Funny*Bunny* said:

He has a 6 foot by 12 foot aviary with a concrete floor. In there they have a 4 foot by 2 foot hutch which has their litter trays and hay in, very soft floor, they can also climb on top of the hutch. They also have a 4 foot by 1.5 triple story hutch in there. This has bare wood floors except on the top story which has a fleece down (folded over multiple times to fit, so very squishy), they spend probably about 80% of their time there, mainly sleeping and grooming each other. I've gone and bought a second fleece and put that on the 2nd level so they have more padding there

I just tried to cut his nails, I could get hardly a millimetre off of the front ones, but the back ones had less than a mm between the end and the quick, and are quite worn down! They saw the vet a week ago and she didn't comment on his nails so they are fine.

He doesn't care if I touch it so he's obviously not in pain with it yet, I hope they get better

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That's probably your problem. Can you cover the concrete? According to Jane, who has had several hock buns, the very best base is a thick layer of hay. I couldn't do this as my buns were house buns, but it could work for you, perhaps inside the hutch and something else for the run, as I appreciate you won't want hay blowing all over the place. Turf would just die but some people get on well with foam matting as a base. I used rugs with layers of fleece on top, as carpet is also abrasive, your squishy fleece in the hutch sounds great.

If you can decrease or remove the abrasive surfaces, what will hopefully happen is that the hock will just callous over and become really tough, and eventually get fur growth. If it keeps wearing away it will get more painful and risk infection, which I had in a hock bun.

Coineanach said:

That's probably your problem. Can you cover the concrete? According to Jane, who has had several hock buns, the very best base is a thick layer of hay. I couldn't do this as my buns were house buns, but it could work for you, perhaps inside the hutch and something else for the run, as I appreciate you won't want hay blowing all over the place. Turf would just die but some people get on well with foam matting as a base. I used rugs with layers of fleece on top, as carpet is also abrasive, your squishy fleece in the hutch sounds great.

If you can decrease or remove the abrasive surfaces, what will hopefully happen is that the hock will just callous over and become really tough, and eventually get fur growth. If it keeps wearing away it will get more painful and risk infection, which I had in a hock bun.

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I'll see what I can do, it's going to be difficult though, if it rains the foot around the edge gets wet, if it's wet and windy the only places that stay completely dry is inside the hutches! It is covered so it's not as wet as outside the aviary but still wet, so there's nothing suitable I can think of to put down :? To cover 72 sqft with hay would need LOADS which would probably need replacing daily as my two wee and poo wherever I put hat and it could get wet and blown about, plus I genuinely can't afford to be going through that much hay :? I don't think foam would be suitable for outside and as you said turf would just die... Hmm, I'll just have to keep thinking.....

Rubber stable matting is also very good.
You can get it quite cheaply on ebay.
Just might mean you have to trim the nails a bit more though!

natsusakura said:

Rubber stable matting is also very good.
You can get it quite cheaply on ebay.
Just might mean you have to trim the nails a bit more though!

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Not heard of that before! I'll have a look into it thanks :thumb:

These hocks are identical to Fiver's sore hocks. I have tried EVERYTHING and cannot shift them. It turned out that he actually has arthritis (or possibly an injury). I would get him to the vet for a check on his back and joints just to be sure.

The foam mats are probably your best bet to cover the concrete. They dry pretty quickly, but I would advise that you cover them in a duvet cover or something because they will love to chew them!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/32-SQ-FT-...23475?pt=UK_Flooring&var=&hash=item460833cdd3

I have these. You can find them pretty cheap. :thumb:

Vegan_Bunny said:

These hocks are identical to Fiver's sore hocks. I have tried EVERYTHING and cannot shift them. It turned out that he actually has arthritis (or possibly an injury). I would get him to the vet for a check on his back and joints just to be sure.

The foam mats are probably your best bet to cover the concrete. They dry pretty quickly, but I would advise that you cover them in a duvet cover or something because they will love to chew them!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/32-SQ-FT-...23475?pt=UK_Flooring&var=&hash=item460833cdd3

I have these. You can find them pretty cheap. :thumb:

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Thank you I'll look into them and see what I can do, glad to know it does dry quick! I hope mine don't have an appetite for it though :lol: