hay allergy

Jack has been on antibiotics for snuffles for the past few days; I was up at my vet for a check up today and to get his myxi vaccine. His snuffles hasn't improved this time on antibiotics, they have made a difference in the past. He's had outbreaks of pasturella a few times since I got him.

A similar thing happened this time last year, so the vet suggested I try soaking his hay to get rid of any dust, in case it is a seasonal thing and is possibly an allergy (maybe in addition to pasturella?).

Has anyone tried this? Do I put the hay in wet or leave it to dry again after washing it (I forgot to ask the vet)? I use hay as bedding and nothing else as Jack eats everything you put in his cage, I'm worried about him getting too damp if I put it in wet!

We're going to try it for a while to see if it makes a difference, and if not the vet is going to do some x-rays to see if there is any internal problem this time around.

My Hamish had a constant snotty nose and sneezed all the time. I always thought it such bad luck for a rabbit to have hayfever. He was however fine and coped with his snotty nosed. I have never tried wetting the hay and would have the same worries as you. You could use a towel for bedding. Hope jacks ok

How is he at litter training? He inside? If so then I'd be tempted to try with no bedding and just hay in his tray.

Tam

LOTS OF RABBITS THAT HAVE PASTURELLA ONLY SHOW SYMPTOMS EVERY NOW AND THEN, I THINK ITS HIGHLY UNLIKELY TO BE HAY PROBLEM, BECAUSE IT WOULD CAUSE A PERMANT PROBLEM AND WOULD NOT COME AND GO. BATRIL WILL ONLY HELP WHEN THERE IS A FLARE UP IT ONLY TREATS THE OTHER PROBS THAT COME UP BECAUSE OF THE PASTURELLA THEY WILL DO NOTHING TO CURE IT. VAL

taylor v 109 said:

LOTS OF RABBITS THAT HAVE PASTURELLA ONLY SHOW SYMPTOMS EVERY NOW AND THEN, I THINK ITS HIGHLY UNLIKELY TO BE HAY PROBLEM, BECAUSE IT WOULD CAUSE A PERMANT PROBLEM AND WOULD NOT COME AND GO. BATRIL WILL ONLY HELP WHEN THERE IS A FLARE UP IT ONLY TREATS THE OTHER PROBS THAT COME UP BECAUSE OF THE PASTURELLA THEY WILL DO NOTHING TO CURE IT. VAL

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I agree hay is an unlikely cause although the dust will certainly aggrevate the pastuerella when he has a flare up ~ i dont think you need to soak the hay<if you do ensure you change it regularly as mould spores will be produced quite quicvkly in warm weather>, just make sure you buy the best quality hay, supaforage excel or timothyhay and although i hate pets at home their hay is of a good quality too.

Hay and straw quality makes a massive difference to small animal well being and there are alot of poor quality ones on the market, look for batches that have no nettles, thorny bits etc. and if theres a slight smell of mustyness steer well clear. Good hay should feel smooth and smell fresh, you know its been cut last season or stored very well if both apply.
Also if your rabbits hutch/house has woodchip or straw bedding stop this and swap to a product called carefresh for a month ~ its recycled vacuum packed paper and has much less dust particles ~ if the symptoms ease up you know its the dust and can continue using it but if symptoms persist you know you need to investigate other avenues! ive only seen it available in smaller petshops but you can find it on most online petstores. My rats are on this bedding and it eliminates the chance of mites and any dust irritation.

Hope that helps!

Hi!
Thanks for all your suggestions. I was buying bales of "ordinary" hay, but have now started using only timothy hay as bedding, it certainly seems a lot more dust free. (Although very expensive in comparison, but if it makes a difference it'll be worth it.)

I'm going to try soaking the hay in his hayrack and litter tray as I change them daily, and use the dust extracted timothy stuff in his bed. He doesn't seem to much like standing in a slightly damp litter tray though, so I may have to change that plan...

I've tried carefresh bedding in the past, and used it for my rats after learning of the problems woodshavings can cause, but Jack tends to eat it so I use newspaper in his litter tray instead which he doesn't like to eat.

Jack is otherwise very healthy, his breathing is sound, and he is a good weight, very active and seems very happy: the vet gave him a checking over, and said he was in perfect health apart from his sneeze. He wasn't keen on keeping him on antibiotics for too long as he said it could cause more problems than good, which is why we're trying to find alternative solutions to reduce his problems with sneezing.

I know there is no cure for pasturella, but it would be good to find something that reduced the symptoms, I hope Jack isn't bothered by it, its so hard to tell with rabbits as they are so good at hiding symptoms when they are ill. There is so much mixed advice about snuffles: several members on another forum advised me to have Jack p.t.s. as soon as he started sneezing! Other things I've read say most rabbits carry pasturella, it just affects some more badly than others.

I nearly tried the soaking hay thing. My plan was to soak the hay and lay it out on newspaper on the living room floor, by the morning it should be dry. But I resigned to the fact that my buns have pasturella, not an allegy.

However, I do now only use Timothy Hay for bedding, litter trays and hay rack. And other (cheaper) hay for their outdoor area.

I have no idea if this is helping, but they seem to like to eat the timothy hay more than any other that I've had.