Flystrike HELP!!

[M.R. Lops]

Ok. Its been in the 100's here lately and my buns are kept out in a small barn/shed. They have a window air conditioner so it stays in the 80's in the there. I have 2 does that have cages that are plastic on the bottom with wire on the top and they have litter boxes. Recently I noticed that there are maggots in their cages. I don't notice them on the rabbits though. How do I get rid of them and keep this from happening again? And are my rabbits in danger? Can I buy something to treat them in case they have flystrike? And one of the does was just bred a couple days ago, so if there's a treatment for this, would it hurt her babies? Please help, I don't know what to do!

 

[ksalvagno]

Have you physically inspected the rabbits? If there are maggots in the cage, then there is a good chance they might have fly strike. Here is an article about fly strike and how to treat: http://www.rabbit.org/journal/4-3/maggots.html

 

[M.R. Lops]

I checked the bunnies for signs of maggots but I didn't see any on them. I cleaned and bleached out the cages and didn't see any in the bedding either. I guess I got rid of them all last night when I cleaned out the litter boxes. But, one of them is missing some fur on her thighs. You only see it when you turn her on her back, and pull her legs away from her body. The fur is missing on both sides and is kind of symmetrical. Its missing where the bone is and the skin doesn't look infected or swollen or anything. I don't know why its bare there though. Anyone know if this is normal?

 

[dewey]

Dang flies....they lay eggs where there's moisture, so keeping things dry will knock out fly issues...things like moist litter or ground and drippy water bottles attract egg laying. Insect netting over windows or open areas can help keep them out, and hanging several sticky fly traps around will usually catch any that get in.

 

[M.R. Lops]

i just bought a fly trap and fly paper to hang around the barn. Hopefully that keeps the flys out. I called my vet. and he said that unless the rabbit has an open sour, then the maggots wouldn't harm the rabbits. So, the bunnies should be fine. I'm planning on getting some more wire cages with pull-out trays for the bunnies that are in plastic bottom cages. So, hopefully i can get those soon, and that should help.

 

[BunnyMom]

I tried something new this year. I bought a spray from the local farm store that is meant to be sprayed on stall walls and around doors of barns to keep flys away from horses and cows. I make sure that the rabbit's food is covered incase of a breeze and I spray the trim around the doore and the windows of the shed each moring. So far it works! By evening there are a few flys but at lunch there are zero flys in our bunny shed.

 

[M.R. Lops]

I tried something new this year. I bought a spray from the local farm store that is meant to be sprayed on stall walls and around doors of barns to keep flys away from horses and cows. I make sure that the rabbit's food is covered incase of a breeze and I spray the trim around the doore and the windows of the shed each moring. So far it works! By evening there are a few flys but at lunch there are zero flys in our bunny shed.

What is the spray called? I'll have to check some local stores for it. I put fly paper up today and planning on hanging up a Fly trap soon, I heard the fly traps tend to smell though, so I will probably hang it outside by the door. My mom kills about 20 flys with a flyswatter every time she goes in there. But, hopefully with the fly paper and fly trap there won't be as many flys.

 

[dewey]

Take care using the stinking fly traps...those may tend to attract more flies than the traps can keep up with.

 

[BunnyMom]

They spray I have is in a deep dark blue bottle called Repel-X. (Sorry as earlier I posted that this was a black bottle) I bought it in th horse section of Family Farm and Home. Using this and keeping the drop pans cleaned has been working great for us. Just make sure the spray isn't reaching your bunnies or their food when you spray it.

Also, the fly traps fill so fast and smell so bad that we determined they weren't worth the money or the effort. I think like was mentioned in a previous post that they attract more flys to the area.

 

[M.R. Lops]

Well, when I went to buy the fly trap, I accidentally got the wrong one and got a yellowjacket trap. So, I returned it yesterday, but they were out of the fly traps. And it sounds like they aren't any good anyways. So, I guess I'll take your guys' advice and just stick with the fly paper and maybe get that spray, I'll have to check some stores for that.