Please Help me Protect my New Rabbits

Hello everyone,

I've been posting a lot on this forum recently and everybody's been so kind and helpful so I thought it wouldn't be too bad to ask some more questions.

I've recently lost two beautiful bunnies (but I'm not going to go into that again ) to VHD2/RHD2. I learnt only afterwards that there was a vaccination available from this summer against it. I'm not somebody who doesn't research everything until my brain melts, and I always spend a lot of time trying to make sure that I'm completely up-to-date with everything, but somehow I just didn't know (it didn't help that I developed a fear of the internet - that I've now been able to conquer - during the time the vaccine came to the UK).

I'm hoping to adopt again when I'm ready and although I feel I do absolutely everything I can to protect my bunnies, I want to make sure there's nothing else I can do to minimise risk. So I'm going to write a list of things I did with my rabbits who are gone (+ my new knowledge of the VHD2 vaccine), and if there's anything anyone thinks I may have missed, I would be so grateful if they could let me know.

• 
  Combo vaccination against myxomatosis and VHD1.
• Vaccination against VHD2.
• Taking them for boosters for these vaccines.
• Making sure my other animal (dog) is not allowed anywhere near them.
• Washing every piece of green food that they are given.
• Anti-bacterial washing every new toy I get them and their enclosures.
• Refreshing all of their bedding every week.
• Removing any uneaten food after a couple of days so it doesn't go off.
• Cleaning out their enclosures every week with anti-bacterial.
• Cleaning out their bowls every week with anti-bacterial.
• Keeping on the look out for numbers of wild rabbits in our area to get an idea of disease prevalence.
• Washing my hands before and after handling them.
• Checking their stools for abnormality.
• Keeping them in my room so I can be incredibly conscious of anything possibly wrong (so I can see any change in their behaviour, eye discharge, stability, etc).
• Taking them to the vet to get their teeth checked regularly.
• Taking them to the vet for health checks regularly.
• Keeping their hair brushed and their nails trimmed.
• Closely looking up every new thing I add to their diet to make sure it is recommended.
• If I feel they are unclean, going over them with a pet-safe wipe (I don't want to risk bathing them even though some people recommend it).
• Cleaning their pet carrier with anti-bacterial regularly.
• Using this forum and Facebook rabbit groups to keep up to date with new outbreaks of disease and new ways of helping them.
• Marking the water level on their bottles with a marker so I can tell they are drinking and providing them with a bowl of water if I feel they're struggling.

And I think there may be more that I might have forgotten.

Thanks so much in advance, everybody. I'm so glad I found this forum!

It sounds a brilliant and extremely comprehensive list.

The only things that I do differently are:

I provide a water bowl rather than a bottle as I think they drink more out of a bowl. I change this at least once a day.
I would never bathe my rabbits and as I think they keep themselves very clean, I do not use any wipes on them.
I do not bother to wash green foods, although I know some do and of course it certainly doesn't hurt.

I think you should add checking your rabbits' weight to your list. I probably weigh mine at least once a month, much more often if they are unwell.

We have no uneaten food here :lol:

When you say bedding what do you mean? Litter trays or where they sleep?

Omi, thanks so much for replying.
Okay, I think I'll go for a bowl then. I always used to worry myself that they weren't drinking nearly enough! Moth & Ziggy were Nethies, so I kept them in really big enclosures. I filled the base of them with soft wood shavings - that's what I mean by changing them. But I'm changing my room up a bit so that I can adopt any rabbit that needs me.
They are so clean, aren't they! Moth and Ziggy used to lick their paws and then wash their faces with them and their ears.
Checking weight's a really good point. I'll do that.

Thanks so much.

IndigoRabbit said:

Omi, thanks so much for replying.
Okay, I think I'll go for a bowl then. I always used to worry myself that they weren't drinking nearly enough! Moth & Ziggy were Nethies, so I kept them in really big enclosures. I filled the base of them with soft wood shavings - that's what I mean by changing them. But I'm changing my room up a bit so that I can adopt any rabbit that needs me.
They are so clean, aren't they! Moth and Ziggy used to lick their paws and then wash their faces with them and their ears.
Checking weight's a really good point. I'll do that.

Thanks so much.

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I don't use wood shavings and I think they are considered as detrimental to rabbits' respiratory systems. I don't know what sort of enclosure you have, but would it be possible to put lino down? If you wanted to have them on something soft, then I would put hay down. My rabbits are outside in a shed and I have hay on the floor. This is mainly because they are Rexes and so are prone to having sore hocks though.

I think you need to add a litter tray to your list as well

Don't worry, I read all about the problems with shavings. It's if the shavings are too fine and if they have any sort of smell agent added to them. I was sure to make them big enough not to be inhaled and I got ones that were just in their natural state w/o any perfume. I also made sure they were the best type of wood. I had no problems with any of that. The only other option was newspaper and I think I've read that's bad because they get ink on their paws and it can sometimes be detrimental?
Hay's a really good idea, though. However both my rabbits used wherever I put hay as a litterbox! So I want somewhere clean.
The new buns will be spending most of their time on lino now, though, as I'm putting that down as part of my room do-up.
I will need to get a litter tray now my new ones will be out and about!
Aww... you've got rexes.

Omi said:

I don't use wood shavings and I think they are considered as detrimental to rabbits' respiratory systems. I don't know what sort of enclosure you have, but would it be possible to put lino down? If you wanted to have them on something soft, then I would put hay down. My rabbits are outside in a shed and I have hay on the floor. This is mainly because they are Rexes and so are prone to having sore hocks though.

I think you need to add a litter tray to your list as well

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Don't worry, I read all about the problems with shavings. It's if the shavings are too fine and if they have any sort of smell agent added to them. I was sure to make them big enough not to be inhaled and I got ones that were just in their natural state w/o any perfume. I also made sure they were the best type of wood. I had no problems with any of that. The only other option was newspaper and I think I've read that's bad because they get ink on their paws and it can sometimes be detrimental?
Hay's a really good idea, though. However both my rabbits used wherever I put hay as a litterbox! So I want somewhere clean.
The new buns will be spending most of their time on lino now, though, as I'm putting that down as part of my room do-up.
I will need to get a litter tray now my new ones will be out and about!
Aww... you've got rexes.

IndigoRabbit said:

Don't worry, I read all about the problems with shavings. It's if the shavings are too fine and if they have any sort of smell agent added to them. I was sure to make them big enough not to be inhaled and I got ones that were just in their natural state w/o any perfume. I also made sure they were the best type of wood. I had no problems with any of that. The only other option was newspaper and I think I've read that's bad because they get ink on their paws and it can sometimes be detrimental?
Hay's a really good idea, though. However both my rabbits used wherever I put hay as a litterbox! So I want somewhere clean.
The new buns will be spending most of their time on lino now, though, as I'm putting that down as part of my room do-up.
I will need to get a litter tray now my new ones will be out and about!
Aww... you've got rexes.

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Yes We've had them 4 1/2 years. They are a family of Mum (7), Dad (6 1/2) and son (5 1/2). We adopted them from a rescue and they were ex-breeder. We did have one other son, but he sadly died quite soon after we adopted them.

Rabbits love to sit in their litter tray to munch on hay while they do their toilet. You have to clean the litter tray out every day and refill with substrate and hay. You can also use a hayrack above the litter tray. Keeping rabbits clean should keep them healthy as bacteria soon grows in dirty bedding. A lot of us use the underbed storage boxes for a litter tray. Rabbits on a good diet will not leave food uneaten so you shouldn't have to remove any food :thumb:

Besides the additional information you have already gathered from the other replies I would add during the summer months checking their bums for flystrike

If they're indoor bunnies, you could also make sure people leave off their outside shoes when they walk in the rabbits' area, as this can bring in VHD.

Zarla said:

If they're indoor bunnies, you could also make sure people leave off their outside shoes when they walk in the rabbits' area, as this can bring in VHD.

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I was just going to say this. Leave outdoor footwear at the door. Always. I saw some recent research that shows just how much contamination you can bring in on shoes. Leave it in one small area and you reduce the risk significantly.

Another vote for under bed storage boxes here. My group of four have three 32l boxes between them and lino on their shed floor. They also have a magazine rack full of hay and two large ceramic (dog) water bowls.

tonibun said:

Rabbits love to sit in their litter tray to munch on hay while they do their toilet. You have to clean the litter tray out every day and refill with substrate and hay. You can also use a hayrack above the litter tray. Keeping rabbits clean should keep them healthy as bacteria soon grows in dirty bedding. A lot of us use the underbed storage boxes for a litter tray. Rabbits on a good diet will not leave food uneaten so you shouldn't have to remove any food :thumb:

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Thanks. I did used to do all that (partially by coincidence, I'll admit!), but it's good to know that I need to keep on.

Horace the Bold, Thanks so much! *Adds to list.*

Zarla said:

If they're indoor bunnies, you could also make sure people leave off their outside shoes when they walk in the rabbits' area, as this can bring in VHD.

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Good point. I've always done this, but I will be more strict with my family doing so too.

Thanks so much for replying, everybody.
Some stuff was stuff I'd been doing already, and some was new. Both were really useful though as it's good to know what I am doing well as well as extra things I can do to improve.

I use Megazorb litter rather than sawdust, it's bunny safe and my bunnies love it.

I also use it in a big litter box which they dig and play in.