# Wormer for Rabbits



## lethalfire

I have read that a lot of people use the Horse wormer paste for their rabbits by just giving them a pea size amount on a bit of bread, my question is how do you store the paste? Does it need to be refrigerated? Or can it just be stored in a cupboard?

I also read where someone uses the injectable Ivermectin and put just a drop in the ear and said it treats both ear mites and worms, is it one drop in each ear? That sounds like something I might actually be able to do (I don't like giving shots) and also does that need to be stored in a refrigerator?

Thanks for any and all help.


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## Danaus29

I use the paste wormer. It doesn't have to be refrigerated. Mine is on a shelf in the livingroom right now.


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## lethalfire

I also forgot to ask with the paste does anyone have any troubles getting the
rabbits to eat the bread?


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## akane

I measure injectable by syringe and give orally for worms or behind the ears for external parasites. I dislike the guesstimate type dosage where you do not measure at all. I have used horse paste on guinea pigs but I always diluted it to a concentration I could measure by diabetic 1cc syringes.


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## Caprice Acres

Trouble with horse paste is that you should mix it thoroughly before use. The entire syringe is designed to be used on one horse - so it sometimes is not mixed well. 

I use 1% as well. Do NOT use ivermectin regularly on rabbits, as it builds up in thier bodies and can cause long term bad effects. 

I give it topically on the skin behind their heads. .2cc per 10lbs. Ivermectin is readily absorbed through the skin, but is MOST effective given orally. It's just not fun to give them anything this nasty tasting orally, lol.


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## Danaus29

The bread is so the rabbit will eat the wormer. 

I've not seen where the paste wasn't mixed well but thanks for the heads up. I don't give it unless there is a problem, which I have had a couple times.

ETA: the oral wormer I got this time can be used on a few horses. It's marked for weights and the package says it can be used for one horse to over 1250 pounds or several minis. This one isn't a paste but a solid gel type stuff.


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## lethalfire

Ok now I'm even more confused, I was going to go to my feed store today to pick some up but I don't know if I should pick up the paste or the Ivermectin. If the inj is applied (not injected) behind the ears does it also kill worms or just ear mites and fur mites? Also I only plan to de-worm twice a year, like every 6 months as a precaution type deal. I rescued a lop eared rabbit over the weekend though that I know has ear mites and seems like fur mites and I wouldn't doubt it if he had worms either but now I don't know which one to get. And how do you guys know what the dosages are? I have everything from a Netherland dwarf to flemish giants.


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## Danaus29

Ear mites and fur mites are the same from what I have read. Ivermec kills both worms and the mites.

For a twice yearly worming I would recommend using pumpkin seeds. They do kill intestinal worms and I have used them annually for years. Just feed a handful a day for 10 days to 2 weeks. Feed the pumpkin seeds about 12 hours before their regular feeding time. It's easier to get rabbits to eat unfamiliar foods when they are hungry.

For the paste, I would give the Flemish Giant a little more than a pea sized dab and the dwarfs a little less. Although a pea size dab won't hurt a dwarf. I have one and she got the same dose as the full size Rex rabbits.


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## ladysown

how about this.

before worming your rabbits, get a fecal sample. and LOOK to see if you see any worms OR take that fecal sample to the vet and get it analyzed. THEN medicate with an appropriate medication.

treating rabbits without really knowing what you are doing is what helps to create super bugs. Treat what you know or cull. there are so very few rabbit safe medications that are available to us, do you want to help or hinder that cause?


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## rabbitpatch

You can't use just *any* horse dewormer. Quest, for instance, is not recommended for rabbits. Ivermectin however is acceptable.

I do not deworm my rabbits unless they actually need it. As ladysown said, you can take a fecal sample to the vet and find out if your rabbits even have worms, and which dewormer is recommended for your area of the country (not all dewormers are effective in all places).

All that aside, I have not encountered a problem with dewormer pastes not being mixed well. The tubes are not mixed and filled individually. A large quantity of the paste is mixed and then multiple tubes filled at once. Deworming pastes are marked so as to be given according to weight...not the "whole tube." I realize this is the rabbit forum and not the goat forum but members of the goat forum often mention mixing paste dewormer before administration as well. My small animal vet also raises goats and although she did recommend that I deworm my goats with Quest, she did not suggest emptying the tube and mixing it first. She explained how the tube was marked and explained how to dose it correctly for my goats using the marks on the tube.


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## SquashNut

I use Ivermectin horse paste once a year followed by a second dose 10 days later, but not on bred does.
I've tryed every thing else and it didn't work.
My rabbits had what I thought was snuffles, but turned out to be lung worms. The horse past cleared it up. i do wait at least 3 weeks before i butcher after using.


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## Danaus29

Pumpkin seeds won't help with lung worms or much of anything except tape worms, round worms and pin worms. In other words, intestinal worms.

I had one poor rabbit with a very stubborn case of ear mites. Nothing worked but Ivermec. I did treat the whole herd because ear mites are contagious.


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## lethalfire

Thanks for all the help everyone. I got some of the Ivemectin horse paste yesterday and gave it to "most" of my crew (minus some of the ones that are in the house) as a precautionary. Of course the ONE that needed it the most is also the one that wouldn't eat the darn bread w/ the medicine on it so if I have to cull it I will, just wanted to give him a fighting chance first but I'm also not willing to risk the health of the rest of my crew.
I guess I should of went the injectable route and just put some drops behind his ears but I was hoping to avoid the $50 price tag considering I do not plan on doing this ALL the time. I will definetly start using pumpkin seeds but was more concerned w/ the ear/fur mites.

I am by no means constantly medicating my rabbits for no reason and creating super bugs. I had thought this was a nice and helpful friendly forum but it seems that no matter what there are those who are just flat out ready to attack regardless of the intentions.

I really appreciate all the helpful advice. I have just started out and have a nice herd going, had a litter of 8 flemish giants (all sold before I could cull any) and now I have a litter of 4 red NZ's and 4 NZW's and have not listed ANY because I want to cull some but yesterday at the feed store I had the lady ask me if I had any NZW's because a customer wants to trade bloodlines, I WILL get to cull atleast one LOL.


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## rabbitpatch

I haven't used ivermectin orally for fur/ear mites but I have used mineral oil in the ears for ear mites and Sevin or DE on the fur for fur mites. I prefer to use the DE but would use the Sevin if I had no other choice.

You can use the mineral oil and the DE safely in addition to the Ivermectin you have already given. Put 1-2 cc's of mineral oil in each ear and stand back! The rabbit will shake it's head and splatter the oil everywhere, but shaking also helps to move the oil further into the ear and to dislodge any of the crusty buildup that ear mites cause in the ear. To dust them with DE, cover the rabbit's face so that you don't get DE in their eyes and they don't breathe the dust. Rub the rabbit's fur in the wrong direction (tail to head) and rub the DE into the fur, down to the skin.

Hope you are able to find some relief for your poor buns. I know what it's like to battle ear mites in a herd. If you have 1 rabbit that is more prone to them than the others, it's best to cull that rabbit. I had 1 buck that would get ear mites twice a year but he has been gone for 2 years and I haven't seen ear mites since.


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## MaggieJ

ladysown said:


> how about this.
> 
> before worming your rabbits, get a fecal sample. and LOOK to see if you see any worms OR take that fecal sample to the vet and get it analyzed. THEN medicate with an appropriate medication.
> 
> treating rabbits without really knowing what you are doing is what helps to create super bugs. Treat what you know or cull. there are so very few rabbit safe medications that are available to us, do you want to help or hinder that cause?





lethalfire said:


> I am by no means constantly medicating my rabbits for no reason and creating super bugs. I had thought this was a nice and helpful friendly forum but it seems that no matter what there are those who are just flat out ready to attack regardless of the intentions.


Read Ladysown's post again, Lethalfire. She was not attacking you. She did not even say that you were planning to do something that may help to create superbugs. She merely suggested that you find out, via a fecal sample, whether or not your rabbits need worming before administering medication. 

Ladysown is one of the most helpful and generous-spirited rabbit people I know and I thought she gave you darned good advice.


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## ladysown

who was attacking you? I certainly wasn't. I was saying find out what you have FIRST, then medicate.

If you don't know what you have, then how do you know if what you are doing is going to solve the problem?

For instance... a bad case of coccidiosis can look very similar to a kit with enteropathic issues. How do you know the difference? the treatment is different. If you vet it, then you at least know what you are dealing with. An unthirfty rabbit can merely be a rabbit with bad genes OR it can be a rabbit who has worms, a breathing issue, coccidiosis, or had a poor recovery from enteropathic illness. You simply Don't know unless you find out. 

Treating without firm knowledge of what you are treating IS the pathway to creating superbugs. As does treating without using the the RIGHT treatment to do the job.


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## lethalfire

lethalfire said:


> I rescued a lop eared rabbit over the weekend though that I know has ear mites and seems like fur mites and I wouldn't doubt it if he had worms either but now I don't know which one to get. And how do you guys know what the dosages are? I have everything from a Netherland dwarf to flemish giants.


I never stated that I didn't KNOW what I was treating, I was asking about the methods and dosages everyone uses.

I'm sorry if I misinterpreted your response but when someone starts off with "how about this" my defenses tend to go up because over the computer without facial expressions and tone inflections it's hard to know how to take that.


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## ladysown

you said 

I have read that a lot of people use the Horse wormer paste for their rabbits by just giving them a pea size amount on a bit of bread, my question is how do you store the paste? Does it need to be refrigerated? Or can it just be stored in a cupboard?

I also read where someone uses the injectable Ivermectin and put just a drop in the ear and said it treats both ear mites and worms, is it one drop in each ear? That sounds like something I might actually be able to do (I don't like giving shots) and also does that need to be stored in a refrigerator?

and you said
Also I only plan to de-worm twice a year, like every 6 months as a precaution type deal. I rescued a lop eared rabbit over the weekend though that I know has ear mites and seems like fur mites and I wouldn't doubt it if he had worms either but now I don't know which one to get.

My Concerns
"only plan to de-worm twice a year, like every 6 months as a precaution type deal" 
"seems like he has fur mites"
"I wouldn't doubt ...had worms".

the ONLY thing you are sure about is that he has ear mites. ear mites easily treated using oil. Fur mites you have to Check for, and if he has them THEN treat for it. (granted I would check for the fur mites first and then treat both types of mites at the same time) and ivermectin works well for that...either as the injectable or the paste. But you need to remember to not butcher for a month post the LAST use of it. (needs to be given once and then 10 days later).

IF you suspect worms. PLEASE do a fecal float first. they aren't expensive and then you know what type of worms you are dealing with and can give the best treatment to do the job right the first time.


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## akane

Fecals for a rabbit are $50 here and most won't do it without seeing each rabbit you want a fecal on at least once which is $30 an exam fee. The livestock vets won't do rabbits.


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## lethalfire

I guess that was my fault I shouldn't have said "seems" like he has fur mites I should of said he does, his fur is blotchy as in missing in spots and he has white flakes through out his fur.
I just figured with the weak immune system from the ear and fur mites and the fact he feels awfully boney that he probably has worms also. And I knew the Ivermectic would treat for that also. The problem is the little booger won't eat the bread w/ the medicine on it, I even tried smearing a little peanut butter on it to make it more appealing and he won't touch it or have anything to do with it.


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## ladysown

put it on a popsicle stick --- just a wee bit and then scrap it onto his tongue/side of the mouth. If I ever have cause to do that with an animal that's what I do. keeps my fingers safe from the ones that don't want to eat their bread.


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## ladysown

> Fecals for a rabbit are $50 here and most won't do it without seeing each rabbit you want a fecal on at least once which is $30 an exam fee. The livestock vets won't do rabbits.


are you serious?
they won't even do a fecal float on a rabbit? 
that's just stupidity. They are missing a market in that because it costs them NOTHING to do a float (beyond the few minutes man hours) and gives them good will and medication sold.


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## lethalfire

Thanks for the tip w/ the popsicle stick, I think I will try that tonight when hubby is home to help me.

Yeah the vets around here charge RIDICULOUS prices and they view rabbits as exotic animals which means they can charge even more.  The vets around here anymore care more about their pockets then the actual animals they are treating.


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## rabbitpatch

Tell the livestock vet it's goat pellets and then when they tell you what kind of worms they see, do your own research to find out which dewormer is recommended for rabbits with that type of worms.


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## ladysown

excellent advice!


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