First Time Keeper (Flystrike worry)

Hi All,
I have had many pets in the past however will be a first time keeper of rabbits next week (collecting two mini lops). They are being kept outside and having researched about health and care i am now paranoid about flystrike. My general question is how common is this? On reading about this it makes you feel that everyone is losing rabbits all the time from this. On a positive note (to chill me out about it) has anyone kept rabbits outside for a many years without any issues?
My plan to address this is to complete twice daily checks of the Rabbits, Spray Johnsons Fly Strike once per week, daily quick clean of hutch and weekly full clean. Also going to put some drops of Citronella Oil around outside of the hutch, and hang fly strips to the fence. I will also purchase some plants that are supposed to help - Lavender and Basil . Also may get the Rabbits fur trimmed and kept short around the rear end regularly.

Any thoughts on the above? And back to my main question - how common is this?

Thank you in advance, those that contribute to this forum/site have been of great help past few weeks while i'm learning about this.

(Also concerned about foxes however have done as much as i can to protect them)......

Very excited to collect my new Rabbits however full of anxiety from over researching about risks.....

Exciting times - getting your first bunnies!

Daily checks in hot weather are a great idea but if your rabbits are healthy & kept clean I think the risk must be relatively low. If your rabbits are eating all their cecos & keeping their bum clean, they have no wounds / open sores & generally healthy the risk I'd thought would be minimal. Personally I'd avoid the fly spray - rabbits are super sensitive to chemicals. Shaving fur would be only recommended if a bunny is struggling to keep his rear end clean (or his coat is long & unmanageable).

I've been on this forum several years & you don't hear of flystrike that often but its a really upsetting experience (& frequently fatal) for owner & rabbit

Making sure you don't let you rabbits get fat & they are fed appropriately is really important. A bunny that is given too many carbs (nuggets, sugary veg, fruit) is more likely to leave their cecos +/or be unable to reach them

Hello

The Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund is a great source of up-to-date and accurate information about all aspects of caring for Pet Rabbits. This is the link to their information about Flystrike

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/illness/flystrike/


I really would have a look around the entire website when you have time

joey&boo said:

Exciting times - getting your first bunnies!

Daily checks in hot weather are a great idea but if your rabbits are healthy & kept clean I think the risk must be relatively low. If your rabbits are eating all their cecos & keeping their bum clean, they have no wounds / open sores & generally healthy the risk I'd thought would be minimal. Personally I'd avoid the fly spray - rabbits are super sensitive to chemicals. Shaving fur would be only recommended if a bunny is struggling to keep his rear end clean (or his coat is long & unmanageable).

I've been on this forum several years & you don't hear of flystrike that often but its a really upsetting experience (& frequently fatal) for owner & rabbit

Making sure you don't let you rabbits get fat & they are fed appropriately is really important. A bunny that is given too many carbs (nuggets, sugary veg, fruit) is more likely to leave their cecos +/or be unable to reach them

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I completely agree with this!

You have some excellent advice above.

For a healthy rabbit with plenty of clean space to run in and a good diet (ie lots of grass / hay), there is minimal risk of flystrike. The flies have to be attracted to something - so unclean hutches, dirty bottom, urine, wounds etc as prime candidates. So keep them fit and healthy, check the bums twice a day (and act quickly if they are wet / dirty / fly eggs found), spot clean toilet areas daily. I would not be regularly applying any chemicals to a rabbit. I've never had one with fleas, for instance (even if the cats and dogs have had an outbreak). Typically, it is a rabbit that can't clean it's bum for some reason that may become a flystrike victim (poor diet, unable to reach to clean due to arthritis, overweight, dental issues, etc).

Have you looked at local vets for vaccinations and neutering? There are much bigger risks of contracting myxomatosis or RHD1 or RHD2, so annual vaccination is essential. Neutering will prevent certain cancers (especially in girls) as well as fights (any un-neutered rabbit) and unwanted pregnancy.

Flystrike is one of the many risks of keeping rabbits outside, especially in the summer, in my opinion. I have dealt with Flystrike 3 times when I had my first rabbit who was living indoor 1/2 the time, outdoors the other half (I was miseducated and would never keep a rabbit outside again for this reason and many others). However, she wasn’t great at keeping her bum clean, which is the main reason for Flystrike. The main combat to Flystrike as others have mentioned is keeping the rabbit’s area and the rabbit themselves very clean at all times as flies are attracted to smell, although this doesn’t completely eliminate the risk. Sorry if I’m being very biased in my opinion, but as I said having seen what Flystrike does first hand, I really would advise people to keep rabbits inside if at all possible. Rabbits are domestic animals and can get ill quickly so prompt medical treatment is almost always needed.

Hi, thank you for those who have replied. Not sure on others however on deciding to get rabbits i then spent an age worrying about everything that can go wrong! Anyway i just wanted to say a thank you. I am more informed about fly strike and the twice daily checks do put me at ease. I also clean daily and do a full clean twice a week (two rabbits who are not yet litter trained). I also spray "NAF Off Citronella Spray" (Amazon) around the Hutch and have a few Lavender plants in view of keeping flies away. They both have clean bottoms and only feed them Grass, Hay and a very small amount of pellets at the moment.

I have kept alot of rabbits outside for many years and with twice daily checks and regular cleaning to date I have not had an incident with flystrike. As said above the rabbits most at risk are those that have mobility or digestive issues where they cannot keep themselves clean. If you are still concerned you might want to look into a product called rearguard as it is longer lasting (10 weeks I think) so you are not having to apply chemicals to your bunny as regularly.

I have also used net curtain wire to hang net curtains across the front of my hutches as a cheap fly screen.

I am pretty sure rabbits shouldn't have citronella. Maybe try Lavender plants.

Hi, When i commented that I also spray "NAF Off Citronella Spray" (Amazon) around the Hutch i mean outside of the hutch. i.e. surrounding area not inside the hutch. I have the hutch close to a fence and i spray the fence behind the hutch as such. Rabbits do not get close to this spray. Its a product thats used on horses to keep flies off them. No idea if its working in my garden as i dont sit and watch for flies all day however my mindset is that if it helps even in a small way in terms of keeping them away then i will continue to do this.

I attached fly netting to the whole of the aviary. I’m not sure how long it will last but it does stop a lot of flies, although not all. The big blue bottles can’t get in though.