Cleaning

[Tamsin]

What disinfectants/cleaning supplies are best?
Tips for making cleaning quicker/easier?

[Kay]

I love the cleaning out part. From an outdoor bun point of view it really starts with your setup. Make sure your accommodation has been wood treated to protect it from pee. I wood treated each and every part of the hutch first before we assembled it.

Get your buns to use a litter tray - about 15 years ago I would have never thought of using a litter tray and would spend a whole day scraping and scrubbing the loo area out. Litter tray and a good layer of absorbant media is brilliant.

I use Zoflora when disinfecting the hutch and Milton tablets when disinfecting the food and water bowls. I make sure I really rinse the bowls and I have a spare set so one is not in constant use.

[sillyrabbit]

I use water and vinegar for cleaning out the hutches and litter trays, even for buns who dont take to using a tray buy a massive one instead of small corner ones and they wont have much choice but to use it, most large litter trays take up the whole of the bedroom area of a hutch and have high sides so they wont pee up the side of the hutch :D

[holidayhutch]

As the health and condition of rescue buns can vary widely I would recommend using a Defra approved one such as Virkon

[Sooz]

Bleach is the only cleaner known to kill EC spores and Jeyes fluid to kill Coccidia.

[luvabun]

Wear latex/ vinyl gloves and have plenty of equipment e.g. dustpans and brushes to avoid cross contamination.

[Tamsin]

You can use a marker pen to label dustpans and other equipments to associate with particular hutches/groups of hutches.

[rngpwelfare]

My hutches are stripped out once a week and brushed clean then sprayed with Tamodine E all litter trays and food bowls are scrubbed in very hot soapy water and all water bottles are sterilized for at least an hour.

When a hutch becomes empty it is completely emptied and soaked in a strong bleach solution and then rested for at least 48 hours before being re-used.

All our rabbits are kept on paving slabs as we don't have the garden to allow lawn space to be rested for 6 months between animals to prevent the spread of disease. The slabs are regularly power washed and disinfected with Jeyes fluid.

[animus]

It's been mentioned a lot in the past but vinyl floor tiles are fantaastic :D they can be purchased in pound shops, a pack of 5 or 10 for £1!!
They can be cleaned by quickly wiping them down, if a bun happens to miss the litter tray or the water bottle drips, the wood doesn't get damaged either :)

[SarahP]

Diluted bleach. I mistakenly thought for a long time that Virkon killed all infections.

[LavenderLamb]

I have got one of these as it is almost the same size as the bedroom section of my 6ft x 2ft x 2ft happy hutch
the sloped high side acts as a splashback

http://www.garlandproducts.com/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/0b73373ec5a5c9b1b7f4b2f86088c1f7.jpg

I still have a corner litter tray in there too

[honeybunny]

Earlier Zoflora was mentioned..can I just point out that any disinfectant that turns white in water is poisonous to rabbits so best not used..

I use..Diluted bleach...jeyes fluid (Well rinsed and ventilated)...vinegar for litter trays and virkon sometimes for general washing down..
milton tabs for sterilising bottles/bowls/toys

[doorkeeper]

I'm a great believer in the effectiveness of thoroughly drying hutches rather than spraying them with chemicals that are inefective if they come into contact with organic matter. Our hutches are cleaned by emptying and scraping out and being left to dry or at least to air at least once every 5 days. We only use disinfectant when the occupants change on outside hutches. Inside sick bay a disinfectant spray is used routinely - arkclens from vetark which is a concentrate. We also have more potent one for when a more thorough disinfection is indicated.-the other vetark one, the name of which eludes me at present.

I use paint scrapers to remove dirty bedding from hutches as they do not get clogged with muck the way a brush does and are really effective at removing anything dried on or stuck in corners. They are awkward to use at first but once you get used to them they are great.

[Tamsin]

Tougher versions of kitty litter scoops work well as scrappers too.

[ShivyRex]

I have got one of these as it is almost the same size as the bedroom section of my 6ft x 2ft x 2ft happy hutch
the sloped high side acts as a splashback

http://www.garlandproducts.com/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/0b73373ec5a5c9b1b7f4b2f86088c1f7.jpg

I still have a corner litter tray in there too

I have one of these too! It's fab altho can be a pain to clean out sometimes :D

[The Duchess]

Spammer above reported

[The Duchess]

I've got one of those big old gardening trays too in my blind buns hutch. He used to hang his bum over the back and wee wee everywhere. This seems to have sorted that out, plus it's go a really low front so he can get in with very little trouble. Only problem is with the low front, he likes to drag the hay out into the main hutch and then just wee wees on that too!:lol::lol: His wife does try and keep him in order but it's a tough job.

[Maizey]

Steam cleaner,safe and effective to kill all known germs dead

[marvy]

I only use disinfectant that is ok for rabbits.. That I buy online/ available in pet shops. I always had the belief that any other was halmful!? !