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Any advise

Amo2000

New Kit
I think my boyfirend may be allergic to our rabbits.

It seems very strange. He has always been very healthy and never really got colds, and now he seems to have a cold all the time or feels like he is getting a cold. Now looking back at it, it does seems to have started when we got our first rabbit but it never really clicked!

Is there anything you can take or do to help with this situation, we dont want to get rid of them, they do live indoors so maybe getting them an outdoor hutch maybe the solution but I really dont want them to be outside at night and now its getting colder, I dont really know what to do? :(
 
What country are you in?

Its too late in the UK to put them out now unfortunately.

I would suspect he's more likely to be allergic to hay than he is the rabbits themselves.

You might find different hays are better for him, especially things like hay cubes too. You could also use an air purifying (or similar) to get as much hay dust out of the air as possible.

Could the rabbits have their own room where you could keep the door shut and window open to help keeping the air fresh?

He could also try allergy meds. I am allergic to hay and use a nasal spray and it helps hugely.
 
I think my boyfirend may be allergic to our rabbits.

It seems very strange. He has always been very healthy and never really got colds, and now he seems to have a cold all the time or feels like he is getting a cold. Now looking back at it, it does seems to have started when we got our first rabbit but it never really clicked!

Is there anything you can take or do to help with this situation, we dont want to get rid of them, they do live indoors so maybe getting them an outdoor hutch maybe the solution but I really dont want them to be outside at night and now its getting colder, I dont really know what to do? :(

If they are indoor buns it is too late to put them outside this year now, you would have to wait until Spring.

It is far more likely that your boyfriend is allergic to hay than the buns themselves. My OH is asthmatic and allergic to the hay, but by taking DAILY anti-histamines such as ceterizine throughout the year it controls his response to the allergy. I would suggest your boyfriend sees his GP to get a proper diagnosis - there could be something else causing his symptoms completely unrelated to the bunnies, and if not they will issue with him with antihistamines.

I would go for a less dusty hay with fewer seed heads as this will contain less pollen allergens, hoover and clean daily if necessary (use a hepa filter hoover) and you do all the hay handling, or if he does it get him to wear disposable gloves and/or face dust mask (you can buy them cheap in B&Q). :wave:

ETA :lol::lol: Sky-O beat me to it! :p
Yes my OH also uses a daily corticosteroid nasal spray.
 
Timothy hay is one of the biggest allergens for humans.

A soft green meadow hay straight from the bale might be much better in this case.
We continue to use a very high proportion timothy hay knowing that it exacerbates my OH's condition but as long as he keeps away from the box of hay itself he is fine. Different years produce different hays with different allergen contents also.
 
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