# swollen dewlap?



## Hillfolk (Apr 12, 2013)

has anyone ever had a problem with a doe have a swallow dewlap? I thought maybe she just had a big dewlap compaired to my other rabbits but then today it seems to have change and the only thing i can compair it to is if you every had a cast and didnt use appendage for a while and it swells then the skin stay streched as the fluid comes out ther different parts now idk it is weird pictures hopefully soon. she isnt in pain eating great drinking good moving good its just i cant find any info on it.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

I can't tell from your description but if there is a lump in the dewlap that seems encapsulated, then it may be an abscess. They are fairly common in rabbits. You will want to be fairly sure this is what it is before attempting treatment. 

We once treated a special doe for an abscess on her side. Treatment meant draining the abscess which was full of very thick pus, flushing it with hydrogen peroxide to liquify the pus and then using a topical antibiotic ointment. We also gave her subcutaneous injections of Pen G with Procaine. She recovered nicely and it did not recur but in some instances you will get recurrences or so I have heard.

I'm hoping someone with more experience will chime in on this one. This was the only abscess we have treated and we did not feel all that confident at the time. But it worked.


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## redneckswife (May 2, 2013)

My thoughts were like MaggieJ's. Then I re-read the post and I'm not sure if I understand the problem or symptoms correctly.

You said at first it was huge. Then you mention a resemblance to having a cast and removing it. When I had my cast and I removed it, my leg was all puny. 

So was it big, then got puny or was it large, but now larger?
The post says swollen dewlap. If it was large and got larger, I'm thinking either the doe has put on a lot of weight or what MaggieJ already posted:to check for abcess.

If it was large and got puny(of course without matting of the fur or stickiness;which could indicate a drainage of possible abcess), has the doe recently kindled or is she nursing kits?

My does have pretty good size dewlaps and when they kindle or nurse, their dewlaps shrink.I kinda like to think of their dewlap as a storage place for extra fur and fat(kinda like a woman's extra hip weight is good storage of ..urm..extra body weight to help support another life:minus the fur) that they then use that storage up nursing and kindling kits.Also, this is a place some of my does pull fur from for their nests,so when some of the fur is removed, it looks smaller.

This is just 2 possible guesses, maybe somebody else has some experience with this. If you could post a picture it would help if someone else has saw this, they can maybe tell you what's going on.


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## Hillfolk (Apr 12, 2013)

It is large and fleshy i cant find anything hard in there but it seems to have gotten smaller. Now it looks lop sided and she seems to have excess skin in from of her legs as where none of my other zealands do perhad she devolpe this way and i didnt notice but in all the excess skin no growths or hardness i can find. idk


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

That doesn't sound like an abscess to me... but I don't know what it might be either. Maybe if you post pictures someone can help you.


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## redneckswife (May 2, 2013)

Has she recently kindled or is she nursing a litter? Was she larger and has lost some weight? Is she still kinda big?

If the skins hanging and it was larger and fleshier(filled out), I would think it might be just extra skin that's stretched out due to being larger before and now not having the extra "meat" to fill it out.Sometimes rabbits will lose a little weight during heat of summer or when their extra body fat is converted into milk.Or might she be obese?

Does she seem in pain when you mess with it or could she care less?

If it doesn't seem to effect her and she otherwise seems healthy, I'd just keep an eye on her.

I did recently have one doe(a mini rex) with a dewlap like this that eventually hung down a little over her legs and looked kinda stretched out (she was eventually dressed out as a stewer/roaster) and the only thing noticed on the dress-out was she had a lot of stored fat that had to be removed from the meat before freezing.


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## Hillfolk (Apr 12, 2013)

okay thanks maggie and she is healthy ******* so Im gonna keep an eye on her i was feeding her abit more because she did get an infection that was treated no signs of that for 4 months I dont like my vet i think i know more about rabbits then she does Plus i got 200 + into her(not even sure she will be a breeder or a good mother yet.) so its gonna be a wait and see thing i was just curious if this happend to others. I wont let her suffer but as of she seems fine alittle weird looking.


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## redneckswife (May 2, 2013)

Okay, so I noticed today I have another girl who has this issue too again. However, when she has her larger litters-I don't notice it being that large.

She's American Sable X Flemish Giant. I know it's hard to tell in the picture but her weight goes up & down from 12lbs to 15lbs.

Is this what your rabbits dewlap looks like?


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