Aw {{{Shamrock}}} !

I can understand your reluctance to handle him too much.

I think silverdene cream is said to be good for sore hocks. Are they actually sores now or just calluses? Calluses are not a bad thing.
If not broken skin, I know people have used liquid bandaid products to create another protective layer.

Is he getting pee holding in his fur on his legs? I really recommend a sanitary shave if so. I saw an improvement in a week after doing this for a 10+ yr old bunny. The urine was really effecting her skin but after taking the fur away, her skin came back to a healthy pink colour.

For handling for oral meds, maybe one of those soft dog carriers that look like a bag? I’ll try find a picture of what I mean.

Something Luke this but smaller.

If you could hold him tightly in place, do you think that would work?

I have a rabbit with a sore hock issue. Our vet gave us Healx Soother Plus and it has worked wonders for our guy. It’s an antibiotic cream.
http://www.exoticdvm.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=healx.collection&parentGroup_id=82&productGroup_id=124

((( Vibes for Shamrock and you! )))

When a member is dealing with a bun with sore feet, I always recommend “Snoozy Pads”. They did wonders for my buns’ sore hocks. “Vet Bed” might make him nice and comfy too. They are really soft, cushy bed mats that are great for older/arthritic buns.

Just thought I’d offer some ways to keep your bun comfy.

Sam was one of those hypersensitive rabbits who simply neurologically couldn’t handle much human handling all his life, for all he wanted the attention. He would get overexcited and needed to be put down to go to a corner or some other quiet place and calm down. I was really worried when he was temporarily incontinent with his seizure and arthritis. But as soon as he understood that I was going to relieve that uncomfortable urine burn and make him feel better, he learned to lie still. He still likes to have a mouthful of hay or carrots to gnaw on while I work on him.

I really like using chlorhexidine to remove the urine; it is also a disinfectant and has a pleasant odor and feel that seems to soothe rabbits. I have heard of using zinc oxide/Desitin on the bald spots and found it created some other problems. . . it dries very hard in existing hair and can cause painful, pulling tiny mats of its own.

If the skin on the hocks is actually broken, Preparation H helps the skin heal quite well and reduces pain by reducing throbbing capillaries. There is a really good way to wrap sore hocks. Ideally, at the baseof the wrapping use discarded fur so it’s as if they’re walking on what they normally would. Get a long strip of vet wrap and cut it like an H with legs longer than the top of the H. The crossbar of the H goes under the heel; the two smaller H arms wrap around the ankle and the two longer H legs wrap around the foot to hold sterile things near the foot and dirt away. Some rabbits will struggle to get this off but it is safe in that it does not cut off their criculation and many ultimately like it.

You are lucky if you can convince your rabbit to undergo some waterbathing/shampooong and gentle hairdryer drying. Such is not the case with Sam. But regularly washing him with chlorhexidine and doing my best just to brush that dry, plus clipping everything short, he felt a lot more comfortable and was very greatful. It was a wonderful step forward in our relationship. I did buy a lot of incontiencne pads as he can’t always stand up to pee but has learned that if he lifts his hips he can spray away from himself and have it absorbed elsewhere. . . . . . Hope that wasn’t too graphic and was some help.

Im glad you worked out where the bleeding came from. I read about this in your other post and it sounded worrisome.
Continued {{{vibes}}} for Shamrock.

Just an FYI: my vet recently prescribed Avi-X Soother Plus cream for Sammy’s sore hock. It worked very well, and my vet swears by it for many animals.

Posted By FlemishMom on 05/14/2013 04:31 PM

I really like using chlorhexidine to remove the urine; it is also a disinfectant and has a pleasant odor and feel that seems to soothe rabbits.  

My vet recommended this (bought it at the vets office) and it too worked well for my situation.  I had a bunny (Bailey) who I had to do butt baths for almost daily.   (she had more poopy butt issues and it got rid of the harder stuff too).  If you do use this, you only need to use a tiny bit as it suds up well, but if you use too much, you end up taking forever to make sure all of the soap is off.  You don’t want to leave residue as I can’t imagine that would be comfortable.   I used this for a cuople of years on Bailey and it did a great job and wasn’t too drying (especially for how often I had to use it!)