Fly Strike Prevention in Angora

[TheFrenchHopper]

Hello!

What do you do to prevent fly strike in your angoras? I just got my first two angoras and am concerned about flies as they are only 8 weeks old and still working on potty training. This means that they will run through their urine or get it on their behind if they sit in it before I can mop it up. I live in Chesapeake, Va so its humid and a great climate for flies so what are some suggestions to preventing fly strike?

So far I have:

1. Clip the private areas hair short to prevent messy bottoms
2. Clean as much poo out daily from their hutch and change litter completely every 2-3 days for urine.

Another site suggested putting up fly traps far away from the hutch but wouldn't this just attract more flies to the area? Or is it best to put traps up to kill as many flies as possible?

Any help you can give me with this subject is most appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[SableSteel]

I'd really suggest a wire floor for angoras, to keep the mess away from their wool. They usually have especially thick fur on their feet, so sore hocks shouldn't be a problem - however their wool can drag in bedding and get wet more easily than normal fur (still, you want a thick gauge of wire, 14 ga or less, galvanized after weld, with gaps no larger than 1"x.5" as the flooring. Anything thinner than that can be harmful). Frankly, the rabbits have to be in pretty bad of conditions for fly strike to even be a danger; matting or urine scald is more likely. Fly traps have helped a little bit when I tried them but I don't think they really did too much to the fly population.

 

[TheFrenchHopper]

Thank you SableSteel! I thought I would have to be much more concerned with fly strike. I kept imagining that any little fly that comes by could hurt one of my babies and it made me never want to let them outside again!