Ear mites / Ear infection update

Dawn,

I was reading again how Pumpkin needed to fatten up a bit. My paternal grandfather became a farmer/rancher after he retired. He always had one small pasture where he planted a combination of oats(I think) and what he called crown vetch. It seems that there are several plants that have that name. Some are poisonous, what he used was not.

Crown vetch is a legume and quite nutritious. Wild bunns love it as do deer. If you could find hay that was a mixture of oat/crown vetch it might help him gain weight. Grandpa used it on cattle who needed some special nutrition due to illness or pregnancy. The URL is from our state university that educates and does research on all things pertaining to both flora and fauna in our state. Crown Vetch The particular species is Coronilla varia L. It is not a true vetch, some true vetches are harmful to bunns.

It's very tenacious and was planted in my state to help retain soil. You may have heard of the Great Dust Bowl here in the US which happened in the 30's. Severe drought, over farming and high winds blew the soil away. It was devastating to both the wildlife and farmers.

Will Pumpkin eat oats or oat hay?

I remember how beautiful that field was with the sun ripened grain with the dainty purple/pink crown vetch tendrils linking plant to plant. I always expected to see a fairy or two fluttering among the blossoms. Happy memories. He's been gone a long, long time.

gentl wrote:Dawn,

I was reading again how Pumpkin needed to fatten up a bit. My paternal grandfather became a farmer/rancher after he retired. He always had one small pasture where he planted a combination of oats(I think) and what he called crown vetch. It seems that there are several plants that have that name. Some are poisonous, what he used was not.

Crown vetch is a legume and quite nutritious. Wild bunns love it as do deer. If you could find hay that was a mixture of oat/crown vetch it might help him gain weight. Grandpa used it on cattle who needed some special nutrition due to illness or pregnancy. The URL is from our state university that educates and does research on all things pertaining to both flora and fauna in our state. Crown Vetch The particular species is Coronilla varia L. It is not a true vetch, some true vetches are harmful to bunns.

It's very tenacious and was planted in my state to help retain soil. You may have heard of the Great Dust Bowl here in the US which happened in the 30's. Severe drought, over farming and high winds blew the soil away. It was devastating to both the wildlife and farmers.

Will Pumpkin eat oats or oat hay?

I remember how beautiful that field was with the sun ripened grain with the dainty purple/pink crown vetch tendrils linking plant to plant. I always expected to see a fairy or two fluttering among the blossoms. Happy memories. He's been gone a long, long time.

thats really interesting thanks Gentl..x

Hello...

I have good news.... this weekend little Pumpkin starting nibbling his nuggests again and eating hay.... his ear spasmed less.

Today he is very active , ear not spasming just slight on his cheek, he wanted to go outside . So I put him in the flowerbed. Few minutes later and he had run down the garden You should have seen my face....

He is still a little wobbly but this is progress I didnt feel I could hope for last week..... Oxy seems to work so well...

GO PUMPKIN !!!!!!!

GO PUMPKIN!!
This is fab news

Some good news at last

I'm so pleased for you and Pumpkin and hope he continue's to improve each day

Go Pumpkin x x x x

Glad he has improved, I hope he keeps getting better hun x

Fantastic! I'm also glad he has improved and long may it continue

was worried the run down the gardne was a one off but it wasnt... he did it again today

thank you very much for your best wishes x

We had frost this morning so I refused to let him out till it thawed at lunch...

Im going to start another post about the weather and buns...

It's great to hear the little man is doing well x

Great news!

Back at vets today , he passed his lets trance 'pumpkin' test to see if he can stand upright He did and was fine.... the infection/head tilt appears under control again...

Last couple of days he has even managed without painkiller. SO its another week on Oxy, Ranitidine to make sure the infection doesnt flare up.

Its just a management situation of the ongong infection..

x

Wow that is good news!

We have had a rough couple of weeks but seem to be coming out of it again.

Pumpkin seemed fine but stopped eating his nuggests and less greens.... he lost weight down to 2.5 kg this is the lightest he has ever been.. He should be 3 .

He is back on antibiotics Septrin this time, 3 dys in and he seems to be doing much better, eating again ... Back on ranitidine and continuing with metacam.

We are also trying an ear wash as the Pred forte drops seem to be giving him side effects even when only a f ew drops for a few days. so see how the ear wash does...

He has now been poorly with inner ear infection for a year.

He is still maintaing a good quality of life, we keep going for him...

Dawn

Hi Dawn,

What a rollercoaster you've both been on.

I'd like to say I know exactly how you feel but Harley's ears are very mild compared to Pumpkin; I can't imagine how stressed you must be.

Harley's ears have pus again, and he just went this morning for an ear clean. Most of the pus was massaged out, and he had an antibiotic injection. He is on Metacam once a day and TrizEDTA/Enrofloxacin drops twice a day.

As soon as this infection clears up, he is having his ear surgery (the lateral ear resection). Basically, the current situation is:

Ear infection - cleanings, drops and injections.
Ear infection clears up.
Ear clear for two weeks and then the infection is back.

So the surgery is the only way forward for him, as it can only get worse. It's not that something that will ever be fixed or that will ever be cured. Now we have to manage it as best we can, and by having the surgery it means his ear infections will be far less severe, far less frequent, and when they do pop up they will be very easy to treat.

I would suggest shooting an email to the clinic I use. Let them know your situation and what you've gone through, and let them know you've heard they perform the ear surgery and you're just desperate for some advice. I can't imagine they'd have any issues giving you some advice (keeping in mind that they are located in Australia).

http://www.melbournerabbitclinic.com/wordpress/

I read somewhere in this thread about using heat? This is a no-no. Any heat/warmth irritates the ear with the infection. We had a really hot day here and Harley stopped eating (even though we had air con, he had gotten a bit warm in the morning before we turned it on) and it was because it has caused his ear to flare up again.

I am so sorry you're going through this. Poor Pumpkin.

Harley's surgery will be in around three weeks, and I'll keep an updated post about it for everyone.

Sending lots of healing vibes. xx

Oh Dawn I'm sorry to hear Pumpkin has been poorly again I really am

Hope he continues to improve Bless him,

Sending mega 'Keep Well' Vibes for him xxxxxxxxxx

Jodie wrote:Hi Dawn,

What a rollercoaster you've both been on.

I'd like to say I know exactly how you feel but Harley's ears are very mild compared to Pumpkin; I can't imagine how stressed you must be.

Harley's ears have pus again, and he just went this morning for an ear clean. Most of the pus was massaged out, and he had an antibiotic injection. He is on Metacam once a day and TrizEDTA/Enrofloxacin drops twice a day.

As soon as this infection clears up, he is having his ear surgery (the lateral ear resection). Basically, the current situation is:

Ear infection - cleanings, drops and injections.
Ear infection clears up.
Ear clear for two weeks and then the infection is back.

So the surgery is the only way forward for him, as it can only get worse. It's not that something that will ever be fixed or that will ever be cured. Now we have to manage it as best we can, and by having the surgery it means his ear infections will be far less severe, far less frequent, and when they do pop up they will be very easy to treat.

I would suggest shooting an email to the clinic I use. Let them know your situation and what you've gone through, and let them know you've heard they perform the ear surgery and you're just desperate for some advice. I can't imagine they'd have any issues giving you some advice (keeping in mind that they are located in Australia).

http://www.melbournerabbitclinic.com/wordpress/

I read somewhere in this thread about using heat? This is a no-no. Any heat/warmth irritates the ear with the infection. We had a really hot day here and Harley stopped eating (even though we had air con, he had gotten a bit warm in the morning before we turned it on) and it was because it has caused his ear to flare up again.

I am so sorry you're going through this. Poor Pumpkin.

Harley's surgery will be in around three weeks, and I'll keep an updated post about it for everyone.

Sending lots of healing vibes. xx

Hi Jodie,

Many thanks for telling me what you and Harley have been going through.

Ear resection just isnt done here very often and unfortunately Pumpkin isnt strong enough/bad chest to get through the surgery.

I am wishing Harely all the best... please let us know step by step how Harley gets on with his surgery in 3 wks time....

lots of love
Dawn x

Tuckerbunnies wrote:Oh Dawn I'm sorry to hear Pumpkin has been poorly again I really am

Hope he continues to improve Bless him,

Sending mega 'Keep Well' Vibes for him xxxxxxxxxx

ah thanks you

Vets tomorrow to see if his chest sounds any better and if he has put weight on...

He seems ok been out for a few hours again tomday in the sunshine.. he hasn;t eaten his nuggets but has had plenty of greens.

Will update tomorrow.

Dawn x

Hope all goes well at the Vet's tomorrow with Pumpkin and you get some good news,

Will look for the update tomorrow xxx

Get better Pumpkin!

Vet vibes for Pumpkin

Just got back , he is the same weight which is better than losing more I suppose....

His lungs are inflating well again Couple of more days of Septrin then we will try him without again ... Its finding the best way to maintain him at this level of quality of life for the longest as possible. Even the vet looks sad cos we cant fix him...

The ear wash Otoclean seems to be helping and not irritating him , which is good. Vet cleared his ears manually.

His eating is still up and down, but he has had a good day. He is fast asleep now.

Thanks for all your good wishes and support x

That sounds like it was a positive trip Dawn!

Good stuff!!

Pumpkin it's time for you to get better! Sending vibes to get your ears in tip top shape! Sounds like you may benefit from some nom nom vibes as well! A nose rub to you and a hug for your mummy!