How to prevent and treat ear mange in rabbits? Practical advice is here
Rabbits in breeders' homes showed symptoms such as restlessness and scratching their ears. After follow-up investigation, they were diagnosed with ear mange. Some prevention and treatment suggestions for this disease are now proposed for reference.
Affected rabbits mainly show unbearable pain and itching in the ear area, often constantly scratching with their forelimbs and shaking their heads, while also showing symptoms such as lethargy, restlessness, reduced appetite or refusal to eat, and weight loss. Physical signs include redness and swelling of the ear skin, scaling and hair loss, with the affected area gradually expanding, inflammation of the external ear canal, discharge, scabbing, and thickening of the skin. Because the rabbit keeps scratching, it often causes skin infection, making the injury worse, with bleeding, fever, convulsions, epilepsy, and ultimately death.
To prevent and treat this disease, the first step is to control infection. Because ear mange is highly contagious, once one individual is affected, an entire litter of rabbits is very likely to be infected. Therefore, once an infected individual is found, it should immediately be isolated and raised separately to prevent cross-infection.
To treat affected rabbits, first use a cotton swab dipped in 2% trichlorfon and apply it directly to the affected area and its surroundings, once a day for 3 consecutive days; then use ivermectin by intramuscular injection in the neck at 0.2 mg/kg of body weight, once a week for 3 consecutive treatments.
Do a good job of disinfection. Ear mange is a disease caused by pathogens. In order to thoroughly eliminate pathogens in the environment, cut off transmission routes, and prevent continuous spread, spray with 1% trichlorfon once a week for 3 consecutive weeks; carry out two thorough disinfections for disease-free rabbits, and thoroughly clean up rabbit excrement, rabbit hair, leftover feed, and so on.
Enhance resistance. Ear mange occurs mostly in individuals with weaker constitutions and lower resistance. Therefore, in daily feeding, breeders should focus on increasing rabbits' intake of vitamins, as well as feeding a combination of green feed and complete feed, to improve rabbits' immunity and resistance.