It’s wise to build yourself a basic first aid kit for your meat rabbits. This does not have to be complicated or costly. A few good, basic things will treat most of the issues that crop up in a well-maintained rabbitry.
Jump to:
- My Preference: Mostly Natural and Home Solutions
- What’s In My Meat Rabbit First Aid and Care Kit
- 1. Triple Antibiotic Ointment – WithOUT Pain Relief
- 2. Mineral Oil
- 3. Rabbit VetRx
- 4. Tea Bags, Dried Chamomile, or Chamomile Tea (alternative: sterile saline solution)
- 5. Coconut Oil
- 6. Salve and/or Petroleum Jelly
- 7. Apple Cider Vinegar
- 8. Probiotic Powder or Capsules
- 9. Colloidal Silver Liquid (Drops or Spray)
- 10. Cotton Balls
- 11. Cotton Swabs (Q-Tips)
- 12. Clean Rags
- 13. Old Towel or Hand Towel
- 14. Nail Clippers
- 15. Dropper and/or Dropper Bottle
- 16. Hand Sanitizer
- 17. Carrier or Caddy
- Other Things to Consider for Your Kit
- A note about Diatomaceous Earth (DE):
- Quick-Reference Shopping List
My Preference: Mostly Natural and Home Solutions
For my kit and for the treatment of issues in my meat rabbit barn, I prefer to use more natural, over-the-counter, and home cures. Antibiotics are not something that usually find a place in my rabbitry, with the exception of low-dose, over-the-counter topical products (though I do believe in caring well for animals and believe they do have a place for use in livestock in general – and I have certainly used them for other animals in the past).
If it came to it, I would not refuse to use antibiotics for my rabbits, but there would have to be a very good reason to use them, and generally speaking, for meat rabbits, it does not often come to that.
These are the reasons that I primarily use simple, home cures and avoid things like medications and antibiotics:
- Good cleaning and maintenance, along with quarantine of new rabbits, should prevent most serious illnesses in the rabbitry, so there should be little to no need for stronger medications and antibiotics
- The most common issues for healthy rabbitries are things like ear mites and nest box eye, easily treated with natural products and over-the-counter mild antibiotic ointments
- Oral, IV, and injected antibiotics require withholding for harvesting and meat consumption (this can be months)
- Regulations make antibiotics difficult to obtain in a timely manner (often, by the time you can get to a vet and get them, you'll have a hard time saving a rabbit anyway)
- Cost – these natural and home solutions work and are of minimal expense
- Expiration – these solutions don’t have expiration dates like antibiotics and medications do; it’s highly likely that a healthy rabbitry will never need some medications before they would expire
- Ease of access – it's easy to find and buy all of these products, and most can be obtained with a quick run to the local pharmacy or grocery store (you might already have several of these in your home or pantry)
For these reasons, it is cost effective and easy to keep these products on hand and at the ready for when something crops up. This will allow you to react quickly to help your rabbits with whatever the issue might be.
Fast action is important for rabbits when a situation crops up. Like many prey animals (those that are preyed upon by predators in the wild), rabbits’ instincts are to hide illness and weakness. That means that most of the time, by the time you know a rabbit has a serious problem, it’s close to being too late for intervention anyway; time is of the essence.
Prevention is key. The keys to prevention are good care, selective breeding, and culling for a strong breeding program. (Note that when I say strong, I mean vigorous, healthy, well-growing, and culling out weakness and immune issues – this can be done as well in meat “mutts” as it can be in purebred and pedigreed animals.)
After that, the best you can do is be prepared with some simple and effective solutions.
Fortunately, most rabbit issues are not serious if you tend to your rabbits well, observe them daily, pay attention when you’re feeding and cleaning, and act as soon as you notice a condition.
Most of what you’ll deal with are things along the lines of ear mites and nest box eye. No more serious than kids with pink eye or fleas on a cat or dog. Inconvenient, but entirely treatable and not life altering.
What’s In My Meat Rabbit First Aid and Care Kit
With all of that said, here are the things that I keep in my meat rabbit care box/first aid kit, along with examples of what they are used for:
1. Triple Antibiotic Ointment – WithOUT Pain Relief
Over-the-counter (OTC) Triple Antibiotic Ointment is always around. It’s good to put on a cut or wound “just in case”, can treat a minor external or topical infection, and – most often – is used for treating nest box eye.
It is important that you do not use antibiotic ointment that contains pain relief, such as lidocaine (or any other pain reliever). The pain-relieving ingredients are toxic to rabbits.
The ointment can be generic or name brand (such as Neosporin or Bacitracin), just be careful about the pain reliever.
This is, of course, not for internal use. As a topical and a low-dose OTC product, there is no withholding period for meat as far as I am aware; there is none to be found in the research I have done. Even prescription Terramycin ointment does not have a withholding period for meat as far as I can tell.
Triple antibiotic ointment is one of the two most commonly used healthcare items in my rabbitry, and almost exclusively for treating nest box eye.
2. Mineral Oil
I use a mineral oil to quickly and easily treat ear mites in rabbits. Just a few drops in each ear for three to seven days*, then again once each week for the next two weeks after that (ear mites have a 21-day life cycle, so this gets any new hatches or stragglers). (*see an important note below regarding Tea Tree Oil)
*Some people treat every day for 21 days; there’s no harm in doing this, but I’ve found it’s unnecessary and causes unnecessary upset to the rabbits (because no one likes drops in their ears all the time).
The oil itself is enough to kill the mites. It works by smothering them. Any rabbit-safe oil will work, including coconut oil (see below) and olive oil.
This is the other of the top two products that get used in my rabbitry. If I had to guess, I probably use this and treat for ear mites more than anything else (at least this year with all the rain and humidity – these little creatures survive longer in humid conditions and it hasn’t stopped raining in a year, so no wonder. It seems the mites blow in on the humid winds.)
I treat when I see signs of the mites – when there is crusty, waxy canker in the ear or when I see scabs from scratching. You might also choose to treat a new rabbit preventatively, or use this if your rabbits have been to a show, exposed to other rabbits or other rabbit keepers, etc.
Tea Tree Oil and questions regarding safe use in rabbits
Update and an Important note about tea tree oil: I have used tea tree oil in the past in the mineral oil to treat ear mites, but recently I've come across information indicating that it may be toxic for rabbits. I used it for its antimicrobial and antibiotic properties along with its insect repelling properties. The information is mixed and sometimes contradictory. I've found respected resources, such as Rise and Shine Rabbitry (author of Beyond the Pellet book and a resource I fall back on often), who use it and take no issue with its safety, other sites that recommend it and its safety, vets on sites who say it's probably toxic, vets on sites and sites who say it's definitely toxic, and a range of information in between. Unfortunately, I cannot find a good, solid university resource on the subject (share if you find one!).
It seems that the issue is that if it is safe, it is only safe at very low concentrations and vets consider that in home use, that is difficult to measure, so their advice errs on the side of extreme caution, but likely rightly so. As with many things, tea tree oil is not often studied specifically for rabbits. Many medications and products that are used for rabbits are used "off label" because industry does not put money into this "less popular" livestock/pet animal. However, it has shown some toxicity in cats and dogs, anecdotal evidence and reported case studies, and rabbits are considered more sensitive to toxins than cats.
I've used tea tree oil in the past without issue. It is always diluted in a carrier oil like the mineral oil, and this may be why it has not caused a problem for me. The oil may not kill your rabbits, but it may cause instability and upset and can potentially upset their systems enough to lead to problems that will (like digestive issues or not eating). Anecdotal reports are said to have caused immediate death following cage cleaning with tea tree oil (but this was apparently on a vet forum and was not linked at the source).
Tea Tree oil may also be called melaleuca oil.
The bottom line is this: Use tea tree at your own risk.
For ear mites, it is the oil (mineral, coconut, olive, etc.) that smothers and kills the mites anyway, so it's easy enough to do away with the tea tree oil use. VetRx below would be a good replacement that does contain safe essential oils and does not contain tea tree.
3. Rabbit VetRx
Rabbit VetRx is a good, all-natural essential oil product. It has contains things like camphor oil, and balsam, oregano extract, and rosemary oil. It is handy to have for a few different uses. The top two are respiratory support and ear cleaning/ear mite control.
As respiratory support, if you have a rabbit that is sneezing or seems to be congested or having difficulty breathing, put a few drops in their water to help calm and clear passages.
Some will also do this routinely if their rabbit is going to or has been to a show or for new rabbits, as these are times of increased stress and exposure.
It’s important to note that Rabbit VetRx does not cure a respiratory infection, and if you think you have a respiratory infection you are strongly urged to consider other treatment or action – perhaps an antibiotic or a vet visit. VetRx is more like vapor rub for rabbits when used for respiratory support.
In my rabbitry, respiratory issues usually end in culling from the program in favor of a healthier rabbit with less sensitive airways, for the simple reason that a vet’s visit is bound to cost four times as much as a good breeding age rabbit. Some conditions are long-term and can never really be cured; even with antibiotics, the condition often lingers as a sub-clinical condition that never really goes away and can be passed on to others when it flairs.
Negative respiratory traits are too significant to want to pass down or threaten the whole rabbitry, and even signs of allergies or sensitivities mean a rabbit is prone to respiratory issues and infections that are too risky to keep in the barn. This is a difficult reality but is most often the right thing to do for the health and well-being of all.
For ear cleaning and ear mites, VetRx Rabbit works much the same as treatments like mineral and tea tree oil or coconut oil. A couple of drops per ear daily for a few days or a week, then repeat one and two weeks later.
4. Tea Bags, Dried Chamomile, or Chamomile Tea (alternative: sterile saline solution)
When an eye or abscess needs to be soaked or cleaned, I used a cotton ball soaked in warm chamomile tea water. This will draw infection and remove crust and has some antibacterial properties, too.
This is most often used for opening up crusty eyes when kits get nest box eye.
A regular black tea bag or sterile saline solution is a good option, too.
5. Coconut Oil
Coconut oil can be used to smother ear mites just like mineral oil can. Put a dab in the base of the ear, gently massage it, and leave it to do its work.
Coconut oil (which is solid to a fairly high temperature) is also a good option if you need a natural salve, such as for wound care or skin protection.
Coconut oil helps to heal skin naturally and has antibacterial/antimicrobial properties and works as an antifungal, too; so coconut oil acts as a good topical antiseptic agent. It’s also a food, so a safe option for rabbits that might lick their wounds.
6. Salve and/or Petroleum Jelly
I like to keep a heavier salve on hand in case a rabbit gets a cut or wound, has skin abrasion, or is used for treating sore hocks. This works better for some things (especially on feet where lighter oils and salves will wear off quickly).
When I want a heavy, long-lasting barrier with healing properties, this is what I use.
This salve doesn’t see a lot of use in my meat rabbit barn, but sometimes you’ll get a rabbit with something like urine scald or sore hocks. Because I keep rabbits in cages where waste drops down and away from them, and they all have rest mats, neither of these is a frequent issue. Once in a while molted fur or something will block wire in the waste corner, and some rabbits seem to linger there.
This is when I clean it up, add some shavings, and put a good dose of salve on to repair the skin and stop it from further burning. I find that skin issues and hock issues are more often a condition of aging does or breeders when their skin isn’t as young as it used to be (I can relate).
A good petroleum jelly is a good choice that you can find in any pharmacy or grocery store.
My salve of choice is Raleigh Salve, a time-proven farm and livestock salve (that lots of farmers and farm families use themselves – we just keep a separate can that’s used for us!). It is an antiseptic salve, and it does contain turpentine but is listed as safe for animals and livestock. I have used it on older rabbits with no issues.
Another good option would be Bag Balm (another friend of many farmers).
These are available in many places online, and in farm and pet stores. They may be regional products, but you’re sure to find something similar.
Plain petroleum jelly (like Vaseline) works, too.
7. Apple Cider Vinegar
There are at least 15 different uses for apple cider vinegar in the rabbitry.
The main thing I use it for is to reduce calcium sludge buildup in urine or used preventively in the water and given every few weeks to prevent too much urine sludge.
Treatment for urinary tract infections and as an insect repellent are other top uses (so this is one that may see more use in the summer when biting insects and flies are a problem).
ACV is easy to use and just gets added to the water before waterers are filled.
8. Probiotic Powder or Capsules
This is simply the same probiotic powder or capsule that you would buy in the store or pharmacy if you needed to boost your own gut health. It is most useful for meat rabbits during times of transition, stress, dietary change, or dietary dysfunction like enteritis (diarrhea) or GI stasis.
The gut biome is important for all types of rabbits, and they naturally make and balance good bacteria in part by producing and consuming cecotropes. Cecotrope production can be disrupted by gut issues or abrupt changes to the diet.
The weaning period is also a time when meat rabbits may need a probiotic boost. It’s particularly helpful if they are removed from their mother too young or if they have difficulty adjusting or didn’t receive and build up enough beneficial gut bacteria of their own (kits get this from the mother’s milk and cecotropes).
Some good times to use probiotic powder for your meat rabbits might be:
- When you are adding to their diet, especially fresh greens or vegetables
- When you need to change their pellet or diet
- When kits are weaned, especially if under 5 weeks at weaning (I do not typically do this and have never needed to for kits that are weaned at 5 to 6 weeks old that do not have dietary changes – but it also won’t hurt)
- When you get a new rabbit (for stress and diet changes)
- During or after transporting, such as when you get a new rabbit, send one out, or travel to and from a show
9. Colloidal Silver Liquid (Drops or Spray)
Colloidal silver is anti-everything: antiseptic, antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal. It has a variety of uses. It is often used as a treatment for nest box eye (in place of antibiotic ointment).
Some uses for colloidal silver include:
- Treating eye infections including nest box eye and pink eye
- As a topical wound treatment/antibacterial
- Orally or in water for immune and respiratory support/issues
- For ear infections
I don’t have extensive experience using colloidal silver, but it is something you see discussed and used by many meat rabbit breeders.
10. Cotton Balls
Cotton balls are useful for obvious reasons, such as cleaning eyes, ears, wounds, and more, as well as for applying ointments.
Another reason it is good to keep a bag of cotton balls on hand is for kindling. When a doe does not pull enough fur to cover, warm, and protect her litter, you can pull the cotton balls out of shape and use them to line the nest box.
11. Cotton Swabs (Q-Tips)
Cotton swabs are good to have on hand to apply ointments to eyes and wounds (obviously without touching the eye – apply to the lid), apply oil to ears for ear mite treatment, etc., and for whatever other various first-aid type applications you find.
Just something that’s useful to have on hand when you need it.
12. Clean Rags
I collect soft, clean, rags (like old t-shirts) and cut them to size to use for cleaning and treating rabbits. Then wash and sterilize them (bleach) between uses.
13. Old Towel or Hand Towel
Old bath towels and hand towels are helpful if you have a hard time handling your rabbits, especially for rabbits that bite or scratch (though a biter or serious scratcher would be culled from my barn – especially a mean biter).
These come in handy when you can’t get a good hold on a rabbit in its cage. Drape over the top of the rabbit, then scoop under the rabbit, and you will have a papoosed, calm rabbit.
I find this especially useful for things like trimming nails and keeping a rabbit calm in handling (because they feel more secure if they’re not flailing, feeling like they’re flying through the air, or if they have their eyes covered).
The time I use towels the most is when small children are visiting and want to hold a rabbit. I roll the rabbit into the towel and tuck their feet in. This helps stop accidental scratching that usually leads to squeezing or dropping and loose rabbits.
Another time I do this is if rabbits are scared when they’re being set on the scale. Zero the scale to the towel, then cover the rabbit and its eyes and they normally will stop moving so you can get an accurate weight. This is also helpful on slippery scales because those make the rabbits nervous. Most scales are slippery, so they’re cleanable.
14. Nail Clippers
Grow outs don’t get their nails clipped because they don’t live long enough for them to be a problem, but breeders will need their nails clipped at least three or four times a year.
A decent set of pet nail clippers for cats or dogs will do the trick. Any style will work, but something like this scissor style pet and rabbit nail clipper works well for me.
15. Dropper and/or Dropper Bottle
I buy some new, clean dropper bottles and keep a few on hand so I can mix and apply products (like mineral oil and tea tree oil) as needed.
16. Hand Sanitizer
This one is not for the rabbits. It’s for me! (And other people handling my meat rabbits.)
I’m not afraid of dirt or manure, but there are times when you should be sanitizing your hands both for the protection of yourself and your other rabbits.
- Any time you treat a wounded or infected animal, use hand sanitizer until you can get inside and wash your hands.
- If you suspect a rabbit is ill, use the sanitizer before handling others and until you can get inside and wash your hands.
- Use it after treating things like nest box eye
- Use it after handling rabbits that are in quarantine (such as new rabbits or rabbits returning from a show where they were exposed to other rabbits) -- these rabbits should be fed and handled last, though
- Have visitors and live rabbit buyers sanitize their hands before and after touching or handling yours, just in case (especially if they already own other rabbits and may be carrying unknown illness from their animals)
Just be sensible, keep it handy, and use hand sanitizer when it’s wise to do so.
17. Carrier or Caddy
I find it easiest to have all the things I might need to treat a rabbit in one place – easy to grab and go and have what I’m looking for on hand for when I figure out that I need it.
Much of the year these products can live in my rabbit room because my rabbits are in their own room in a barn, but during the freezing months they need to come inside, and this makes it easy to take the kit in and out as and when needed.
Other Things to Consider for Your Kit
There are a few other things that are not in my kit but may be called upon at some time, and they also prove useful and successful for other meat rabbit raisers. Some of the more common are the following:
- Infant gas drops – to give to rabbits in gastric distress; rabbits can’t belch or pass gas, so this helps soothe the pain until their bowels start moving again, reducing stress and increasing your chances of success
- Raspberry leaf or dried raspberry leaf tea – different uses including (but not limited to) as a digestive aid and for inducing uterine contractions such as for stalled birth, to help dispel afterbirth, and aid contraction to help stop uterine bleeding
- Iodine – for care, disinfection, and cleaning of wounds
- Antibiotics for various illnesses and treatments. Truth be told, I don’t find these worth keeping on hand. Depending on what country you live in, they may be difficult to obtain without a veterinarian's prescription (as they are now in the U.S.), and for that, you’re likely to need to show a sick animal, which becomes a real consideration and cost-benefit analysis. They also expire, are not often called for in a well-maintained rabbitry, and become an expense and waste in many cases.
- Terramycin – nest box eye treatment option; now falls under veterinarian/prescription status in the U.S.
- Ear mite treatment -- (such as what you’d use for cats or dogs)
- Ivermectin – drug option for treating ear mites, fur mites, and some other conditions
A note about Diatomaceous Earth (DE):
Diatomaceous Earth is a natural organic product made of tiny prehistoric fossilized silica. It is a fine white powder that is a good treatment for pests and parasites, including in the garden as garden pest control.
While Diatomaceous Earth (DE) will kill things like fleas and mites, it’s not a great choice for use on the rabbit itself. The reason? It is too fine and too easily inhaled when applied or when rabbits groom themselves, and this can lodge in their sensitive lungs and cause problems.
A better use for diatomaceous earth would be on the ground or floor around rabbit cages if crawling insects like ants, fleas, flies, etc., are coming up to infest or bother your rabbits. Just try not to make too much of a cloud when you sweep or remove it. If you wet it, it will not become airborne and poses no real threat. (Note that when wet, DE does not kill insects, either, so I’ve found it to be limited in use in drop pans or where wetted by urine.)
Most of what you need to treat in your rabbitry can be treated – and treated well – with the products listed here. With good care and a few good tricks and treatments up your sleeve, you and your rabbits can live well and healthily.
Quick-Reference Shopping List
Here’s a quick and easy shopping list for you to copy, paste, or print so you can go out and build your own meat rabbit care and first aid kit:
- Triple antibiotic ointment
- Mineral oil
- Tea tree oil
- Rabbit VetRx
- Salve or petroleum jelly
**If you only buy a handful of products, these five will see to most of your rabbit needs. For a more complete kit, include the following, too:
- Coconut oil
- Chamomile tea
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Probiotic powder or capsules
- Colloidal silver
- Cotton balls
- Cotton swabs
- Nail clippers
- Old towels
- Clean rags
- Dropper and Dropper bottle
- Hand sanitizer
- Caddy to hold it all!
Have something to add to this rabbit first aid kit? Something that’s worked well for you or for a condition not mentioned? Please leave it in the comments below, and tell us how and what you use it for!
Leave a Reply