I Screwed Up!

[Hobby Farm]

Last night my neighbor brought over one of his does to breed with one of my bucks. I didn't notice until they were done breeding that his doe had what looked like saw dust in her ears. My wife thinks it was ear mites. Would a bad case of ear mites look like an earfull of sawdust? I put DE powder all over my buck after my neighbor left. Is there anything else I should do? Are ear mites contageous?

I learned a valuable lesson with this expirience. I just hope it doesn't cause me too much trouble.

Thanks for your help!

 

[trestlecreek]

I suppose a horrible case of ear mites could cause it to look like sawdust,... or I wonder if may it had a skin staph infection or a general body mite infection?
Yep, I would treat all with a sq shot of Ivomec and I would be tempted to bathe the goat with a pesticide shampoo such as adams just to be sure....

 

[Hobby Farm]

I suppose a horrible case of ear mites could cause it to look like sawdust,... or I wonder if may it had a skin staph infection or a general body mite infection?
Yep, I would treat all with a sq shot of Ivomec and I would be tempted to bathe the goat with a pesticide shampoo such as adams just to be sure....

It is a rabbit not goat. Not sure if you meant to type rabbit or you were thinking this was goat section.

 

[trestlecreek]

Yep, I did not see that it was in the rabbit section!! LOL.
Same idea here, but OMIT the bath,...LOL.

If it were my rabbit, I would give 0.4mg/kg SC shot of Ivomec(cattle injectable) every 10-14 days for a total of 3 treatments.
If you have a cat/kitten bug spray, I would spray a tad of that on a q-tip and apply inside the end of the ear cautiously. I would also use the spray on a cloth and rub it throughout the rabbits coat. Just a little.
This could take a good 3 weeks before you would see a mite infestaion, so starting this now; may take care of the issue before it develops.

Another thought, did you happen to get a look at he rabbits mouth? Or genital area? Any signs of crusties there? It may have syphilis on top of the mites,....which you don't want that either!!
It is very treatable,...but will really hinder breeding programs...

 

[trestlecreek]

Another thing,...in case you haven't:
Disinfect every surface the infected rabbit has touched. Spray the surface with a bug spray too.
Do not use the rabbit(breeding) that was in contact w/ the infected rabbit for at least 4 weeks.
You need to make sure your rabbit is clean before any future breeding's, you don't want to spread around this problem.

Sorry you had this happen, but I think we all have had something similar happen!!

 

[Hobby Farm]

I think the most important thing is that I learned that I shouldn't breed other peoples rabbits without inspecting first, or I may just never breed for someone ever again. I guess it's a newbie mistake, but never again.

Thanks for the advise!

 

[redhen]

Yes, thats what it looked like when my rabbit had it in his ears. I brought him to the vet and she gave him a shot of ivermectin..it cleared it up right away...
Now ask me how the rabbit got the ear mites?? No clue!..hes ONLY been inside the house..and around no other rabbits (except the breeders house/..and they didnt have eat mites..)
I was wondering if they can get them from hay? I buy bales of hay for my goats and i also use it as his hay and bedding...could he get it from that??

 

[trestlecreek]

Well, rabbits can be subclinical carriers. The breeder could have many rabbits w/mites and just not know it.
Goats, sheep, deer and rabbits all can get this particular mite. From what I have read though, it usually does not transmit between species. It can live 21 days off the host.

 

[lupinfarm]

Rabbit mites can come in your clothing, shoes, etc. We had puppies a few years ago that ended up with Rabbit Fur Mites. They can also piggy back on dogs, and cats and jump off onto your rabbits (ear and body mites). If you have other animals like dogs and cats, I would treat with Revolution.

 

[JoieDeViveRabbitry]

The use of Ivomec or Ivermectin on rabbits is typically done orally, not by injection.