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We already dedicated a video to describing the symptoms and treatment of fly strike in rabbits. Today's video is going to outline the 2 main aspects of the prevention of that condition, identification of predisposing factor and use of available effective products

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Identification of Triggering Factors

Flies aren't interested in clean, dry fur. They are attracted to damp or dirty fur, which is why mucky rabbit bottoms are a major predisposing factor for fly strike. The rabbits at greatest risk will therefore be those which:

• Produce loose droppings
• Suffer from urinary scalding
• Have skin disease
• Cannot attend to their personal hygiene

For the later group who struggle to clean themselves, there is a number of common underlying problems which you might identify in your pet rabbit. Those include:

• Obesity
• Arthritis
• Loss of balance
• Loose skin or fat on the abdomen
• Dental disease
• Very long hair

If your rabbit falls into one of these high risk groups, seek veterinary attention as soon as possible because you need a strategy for tackling the underlying problem, for example, pain killers for arthritis, weight loss for obesity or treatment for diarrhoea.

Active Prevention Of Fly strike

Apart from identifying and correcting the conditions predisposing your rabbit to fly strike, it is necessary to take additional measures:

• Daily to twice daily bottom checks
• Insect proof hutches and runs
• Use of chemicals to:

- repel flies
- stop maturation of fly eggs into maggots

We recommend a product called Rearguard.

It prevents fly strike by blocking the maturation of the blowfly eggs into the harmful maggot stage. It is very simple to use and lasts for up to 10 weeks.