Rabbit Neck Sores

Question
I have a 1-yr old doe who lives with her 3 offspring, and there is no fighting amongst them. I noticed a healing wound on her neck and thought she'd been attacked, but she's had no access to any of my other rabbits since kindling her litter, so I KNOW she wasn't bitten. She now has an identical sore on the other side of her neck, and they look infected and getting bigger. Maybe her lymph nodes got infected? Could it be a round worm, or do those not puncture the skin? She is now separated from her babies, because I don't know if it's contagious.

I know you'll suggest I take her to a vet, but that is very expensive and my dad would rather put her down.

I read a post you answered about "mysterious neck injury" in 2006, with a similar "hole"-like description of the wounds. What can I buy commercially to treat for infection? Is there anything else you suggest? Thankyou

Answer
Dear Alida,

That your father would suggest killing this rabbit because of a treatable wound is beyond disgusting and shameful.  I hope he treats the rest of his family better when they are ill.  I won't go further than that.

It is possible that your bunny has molar spurs making her drool.  Saliva is caustic, and will burn the skin, causing wounds and when she licks at them, it will get worse.  This is NOT contagious (nor are pretty much any of the other things that could cause this; and besides, the babies would already have been exposed, so separating them now is not only pointless, but could cause them to fight upon reintroduction), so return the mother to her family ASAP, so they don't fight.  If they do show any aggression, please see:

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=00062824-sp00000000&sp-q=bonding

For now, use dilute povidone iodine to wash the lesions very well, then rinse gently and pat dry with very clean gauze or lint-free toweling.  Keep doing this daily, and this will help.

If there are swellings, this is more serious, and could be a sign of an abscess.  And yes, the only thing to do is get her to a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

You'd need a vet for euthanasia, anyway.  So why not spend the money in a positive way, and get her proper medical treatment?

I hope this helps.

Dana