• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

When taking in/rescuing/buying rabbits

honeybunny

Wise Old Thumper
I'm putting this here for more people to see..

I'm always slightly worried when a member announces they have taken some rabbits in who appear unwell.
Obviously this is great to help some buns at risk but rarely is quarantine mentioned:?

If anyone is trying to help rabbits who have come from an unknown place you MUST remember they could be carrying a whole host of diseases..even if they appear well to start with.

Any new bun must be kept well away from your resident ones, you must handle the new one last and then disinfect your hands with a product such as Hibiscrub, and change your clothes.
Do not allow new bun to run or sit anywhere your own do and they should be kept in a seperate room if indoors. If outdoors well away from any other hutches.
Seperate cleaning equipment must be used..such as a different brush and pan.

If you have used one of your own carriers to collect bun and take to vet..it must be thoroughly disinfected before you use it for one of your own rabbits. Same applies if you are helping with a bunny run.

It is a good idea to get some latex gloves and wear those when cleaning the new bun/s and when handling them...you will still need to disinfect your hands to be sure you are not carrying any bugs.
Diseases such as EC , pasteurella and mxyi can, sadly, be easily passed on .

It is also recommended that you take the new rabbits to a good vet ASAP for a check and to start vacs and/or any medical treatment they may need.

If you know you do not have the finances to pay a large vet bill then do not try to take on an ill bun..you will end up in financial and emotional trouble :(

This is not knocking anyone who has helped a bun in need..well done to all who wish to help....but the hygiene rules above are so rarely mentioned I thought it would be a good idea to re post them:D
 
Last edited:
Oh it's here now!:lol:

Jill - I agree a 1000%. I got a random bun from someone who had a few accidental litters. She had been "given" that one, & I chose to take him cos of his serious mites - his hair was falling out. One year later he had died with serious EC symptoms & I had also introduced the disease into my own buns & quite possibly several fosters - all who had gone on to live with other buns in other homes.

I lost 2 of my own buns - neither were tested for EC, as it was before Bouncer was diagnosed, but both their deaths had symptoms that COULD'VE been EC related.

My vets own words were "you thought you were helping by rescuing rabbits" - she made it clear that unless I had proper quarantine procedures, I really wasn't.

I decided not to foster, although since then I have bonded a few - buns are now kept completely away from my own buns, & I have separate cages, litter trays, clothes etc for temp buns. My own buns will be panacured for 4 weeks every year. :cry:
 
Well said! I have never taken in a bun but when i took in fish i followed strict quarantine as it would be a shame to risk your own for the sake of something you have rescued...
 
Great post, maybe this could be made a sticky. Oh and also disinfect your carrier if you are picking up buns, doing bunny runs etc :D
 
Great post Jill ... these are points that would easily be forgotten in the heat of the moment by a blonde like me lol! :thumb: I too, think this should be a sticky!
 
Totally agree with all you have said Jill and well done in saying it :) I adhere to strict quaranteen rules here with foster bunnies and always have an antibacterial hand wash by all hutches, sheds etc :)
 
Brilliant post Jill, all to often these things are ignored and by doing so other bunnies are put at risk.

Well done!
 
It may also be worth mentioning that the only product that can kill EC spores effectively is bleach unless you can steam clean.
 
Very informative post. When fostering (not rabbits though) I had the benefit of two totally different air-spaces (as airborne-spread illnesses are often forgotten about) available to me. I certainly have wondered how rescues manage to quarantine while not bringing rehoming to a standstill each time they take in a new rabbit though :?
 
Very informative post. When fostering (not rabbits though) I had the benefit of two totally different air-spaces (as airborne-spread illnesses are often forgotten about) available to me. I certainly have wondered how rescues manage to quarantine while not bringing rehoming to a standstill each time they take in a new rabbit though :?

We all do what we can to stop anything spreading..
It's a risk we take..but at least we are aware of it..
 
Great post, how long do you maintain the quarantine for though?

I was wondering the other day, If you have buns housed separately but youve had them all for ages, do you still need to use separate equipment etc for them? could one be "carrying" something but not presenting symptoms, whihc could be passed on to another?
 
Great post, how long do you maintain the quarantine for though?

I was wondering the other day, If you have buns housed separately but youve had them all for ages, do you still need to use separate equipment etc for them? could one be "carrying" something but not presenting symptoms, whihc could be passed on to another?

Yes, I think some diseases you don't notice easily, or they carry them and don#t show any symptoms. That's a risk you have to accept.
I have moved my foster hutch to the side of the house now, so it is even further away from my own bunnies. And when I got Cloud off a Gumtree ad, I kept him indoors in a dog crate for 2 or 3 weeks at least, before bonding him to Sunnie. I think 2 weeks should be the minimum time for keeping new rabbits separate from the others.

Does someone here use one of these small steam cleaners, and if so, are they effective?
 
We all do what we can to stop anything spreading..
It's a risk we take..but at least we are aware of it..

Do rescues routinely keep rabbits for x amount of weeks to wait for any visible symptoms though? I can understand the need to rehome fairly..quickly - not meaning they're rushed in and out, but I know they'd prefer to home sooner rather than later and be able to take more helpless bunnies in.
 
obviously rescues can't keep animals for months..but the vacs and neutering means they are in at least 2 and a half weeks minimum and that's if the vets trips are rushed :shock:

there is the same risk..even greater..from getting an animal from a pet shop or farm etc, as the people who work there may not be able to spot ill signs and the animals are often seen as just another line of stock..
hence the well known pet shop tag.." We will only guarantee livestock for 48 hours after leaving the store":cry:
 
I'm not dissing rescues for it as I can see how it must be hard to get the balance right - just wondering as obviously they are dealing with a larger number of animals and from all sorts of scrupulous people, it must be hard to decide whether to home an animal sooner because it might not be homed if you wait too long and will take up the place of others, or to wait to check they're not carrying something nasty that could be passed on to other buns :?
 
Livestock is such an ugly word. :(

Another problem might be that some vets don't have a good standard of hygiene in their surgeries. So you might even carry home a nasty bug from the surgery. Just like I sometimes get ill after having been in a hospital waiting room.

And when they go to a boarding place, they could also catch something there. You normally have to present proof that the vaccinations are up to date, but if a bunny is carrying a disease and not showing symptoms, it may still pass it on at the boarding place.

My vet suggested that I should give Panacur to my own bunnies twice a year, because of the fact that I am fostering other bunnies. Do people give Panacur to their bunnies after they have been to a boarding place?
 
Another problem might be that some vets don't have a good standard of hygiene in their surgeries. So you might even carry home a nasty bug from the surgery.

That happened to a friend of mine with her rabbits, it really put me off using that vets, even though they are reputed to be good!
 
Back
Top