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Forum DIET & CARE Deathly allergic to Fiver’s hay

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    • MimzMum
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        So my vet told me to put Fiver on ONLY timothy hay for 6 weeks. Week 1 went well, for the most part, until Saturday night when for some reason I had a major allergic reaction after cleaning his night hab and filling his basket, and I almost thought I was headed for the ER, my nasal tissues and windpipe were so swollen and I had not only running nose but eyes as well. (I’ve never had water stream from my eyes like this.) I downed a benadryl and took a shower for over an hour just to be able to wheeze, plus drank some sinus clearing herb tea and was still hoarse yesterday evening. I thought I was going to be at least using my husband’s inhaler from his pneumonia treatment, that was how scared I was that I might stop breathing.

        I talked to the vet yesterday and she says it’s understandable that I wouldn’t want to continue the timothy treatment, but that he has to be on a grass hay. Either timothy or brome. She is not convinced (because she has no experience with it) that orchard or oat would help. Since this problem may have started with Fiver eating bluegrass, a less stalky hay much like orchard, that option is out.

        The only place that sells brome up here puts it in 50 lb. bales that I have nowhere safe to store it in. If I remember bringing home the sample last summer, it was also a hay that tended to make me wheeze, but I figured it was because it was in a horse barn, and I can’t be near horses either. I will see if I can tolerate it better, but needless to say, whatever I switch him to is going to start the 6 week quaratine all over again. He still has minor messy cecals, plus some brown puddling where he sits to try to eat them, but it has improved since starting the timmy treatment.

        Sooo…I still have the organic timothy that BB no longer sells becasue the company went out of business, which I started adding in small amounts to his basket today. I tolerate it better than KayTee brand which is bad enough that if I prick my fingers with it they begin to rash and I get hives. Then I begin having trouble breathing. I have to get some gloves to handle hay with plus I use a mask now and wash after each hay I touch. I have been on non-stop benadryl and kicking it with gypsy cold care herb tea for the last few days. I am hoping Fiver will be able to eat the organic timmy, I have hardly used it since I got it -trying to stretch it out and not get the buns dependent on it since it’s the only one we’ll ever have…so it’s like a treat hay- and it’s been in it’s box in the living room of my house, so when I sniff it I don’t get any bad smells from it. He seems to like it, but once it’s gone, it’s gone. It will probably last 6 weeks though, if I only feed it to him and not the other two. (easy enough, they have their own favorites)

        The question is, after the 6 weeks I have to start introducing other hays, then discontinue them if his dysbiosis returns. But I am wondering if there is a hay out there that I can eventually put him on that will not cause me respiratory distress, but will also work for his bowel trouble.

        Next question…when and if I finally get the three of them bonded…how am I going to get them to all eat just one hay? (this is of course a future worry, but I am thinking I will not have a threesome unless we find some other cause for this problem Fiver has) I haven’t been able to get a sample from him to take to the vet for testing yet. Even so, last time I took one in they found nothing wrong with it and that was after he’d been on the metronidazole for ten days, which didn’t do the job.

        I can’t move him away from where he is, there is nowhere else in the house to put him. And eating that hay for 6 weeks isn’t long enough for me to put myself on allergy shots if he eventually won’t have to eat it anymore.

        Suggestions? Opinions? It seems to me that the idea is…as long as he only eats one kind of grass hay, he should be fine, it may be that combination hays were too much for him to digest. But WHY does it have to be the one hay that I am MOST allergic to?

        And Benebac doesn’t help. He is also not allowed to have pumpkin. So I’m at a loss.


      • LizzieKnittyBun
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          oh yeesh… I wish I had a solution for you, but I’m afraid I don’t know enough about different types of hay…

          But I do know about allergies!

          Can you wear a surgical mask while cleaning his habitat? Also, perhaps your husband can refill the hay if you do everything else? Also, definitely keep wearing gloves. Treat the stuff like poison ivy… no contact whatsoever.

          Can you go to an allergist and get on something prescription-strength? We don’t need you going to the ER over this… too scary. I’ve been there.

          ::hug::


        • MimzMum
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            Yeah, my son was telling me to make my daughter give them their hay, but she is not up and around at the right times to give them their feed.
            My hub is just about as allergic to the hay as I am…and the bunnies as well. He can’t take this part over for me unfortunately, but it was a good thought.

            Not sure if we have a decent allergist here in Fairbanks…but I’ll see if I can find one. At the very least, even my oncologist should be able to get me a script for something to help with my breathing.

            I’m currently researching hays online. I am wondering if bermuda grass will work?


          • LizzieKnittyBun
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              Well definitely try the surgical masks. Stan uses them sometimes for dusting his computer stuff. I would do it, but I’m afraid of breaking something = D


            • MimzMum
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                LOLZ…Oh I hear that with my bad ear! ^_^ I don’t dare mess with anything of my hubby’s, even if I just move it over a few inches, it’s wrong! xD
                I’ve had to use surgical masks for a long time now just to dust in my home….the only difficulty I have with them is keeping my glasses out of the way of the mask. I don’t know how doctor’s who need glasses manage with them during something as delicate as surgery. Mine always fog up. Or fall off.

                *sigh* Funny, I used to not have any allergies at all…over the years, my hay fever, food allergies and problems with dust and fur/hair have worsened to a point that life is not really enjoyable at certain times of the year.

                I’ve also run the gamut of meds for the conditions I have. Zyrtec doesn’t work as well as the dye free benadryl…Sudafed is almost impossible to find anymore…I look forward to getting something prescription strength.
                And poor Fiver. HE still has such terrible tummy gurgles. I don’t know how it can be comfortable for him. He mostly ignores all the stalk pieces of hay and tosses them aside, so I don’t know how well the timmy is working for him anyway.
                He sure is making lots of poopies though! 0_o


              • LizzieKnittyBun
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                  aw, give him a kiss from me please!

                  I *would* have dusted his stuff… but he took the whole side of his computer tower off and dusted it. Now, I’m extremely glad I didn’t even try…


                • BinkyBunny
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                    Oh, how awful. I mean, I would normally say use Orchard and/or Oat, and Meadow (which is rather stalky and soft all at the same time) would be good options but if that seems to be doing best on Timothy only due to his sensitive tummy, then that is definitely awful for you.

                    I think the mask, wearing gloves and having a hay container that keeps hay dust down are some good suggestions. You could also get a water mister and after you put handle the hay and put it in the bins, then mist the air to help bring the particles down.

                    My folks now live in Alaska (North Pole), along with my brother and they have an EXCELLENT doctor — amazing actually, and so I can have my brother ask him for an allergist recommendation if you want.


                  • MimzMum
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                      Thanks BB, I would appreciate that. Sorry I haven’t answered your email you sent me awhile back…things are still crazy busy here. I’ll get on it! ^_^

                      Yeah, I’ve been feeding the Meadow to Mimzy, he LOVES it…won’t eat anything else except an occasional handful of oat now, but I am not sure the meadow would be fibrous enough for Fiver. It is very much like that third cut timmy I was getting for awhile, but unfortunately that one wasn’t stalky enough for his tummy either. >.<
                      And of course the stalks are what carry the seedheads and all the good stuff to keep bunny’s digestion going, so…
                      Yeah, orchard doesn’t bother me at all…darn-it. I even asked the vet if I could mist Fiver’s hay directly and she said not unless he’s going to eat it right away…and I mean, WHOSE bunny eats ALL their hay the minute you set it down? I don’t know anybunny who does that. Otherwise she said it would get moldy. No winning for losing here.

                      Lizzie…I haven’t EVER dusted my computer tower. I don’t even want to know how filthy it must be inside! 0_o; It’ll be too dusty when it explodes on me.


                    • BinkyBunny
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                        Posted By MimzMum on 05/10/2011 12:14 AM
                        I even asked the vet if I could mist Fiver’s hay directly and she said not unless he’s going to eat it right away…and I mean, WHOSE bunny eats ALL their hay the minute you set it down? I don’t know anybunny who does that. Otherwise she said it would get moldy. No winning for losing here.

                        Oh, I’m sorry — I didn’t mean to mist the hay — I’d cover the hay and mist the area around the hay, and the cage — I was thinking of the air where all the particles with be floating around after you settle the hay into the hay racks. 


                      • cactuspancake
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                          My boyfriend is also really allergic to hay! I actually have solutions for you!

                          —–Get an air purifier! They WORK as long as they are HEPA which will trap hay pollen.
                          —–Try orchard, my vet is a super good vet at the biggest pet hospital in the us, and she says that orchard, timothy, oat…. get them on grass for those issues. My boyfriend DOES NOT react to the orchard! The fiber content is VERY similar to timothy, just look for yourself.
                          —-Keep the hay contained! Keep it in tupperware in a closet, and I bring it out just to dispense and put it back. I don’t let my boyfriend near when I do this, and I warn him.
                          —–Vacuum with a HEPA filter vacuum so you’re not blowing it around so much. You might be able to buy this for a vacuum you already have. Vacuuming this way often will keep surfaces pollen free.
                          —–Hay rack is key, and keep it over the litter box. Strategically place the air filter in this area.


                        • tobyluv
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                            I know that Timothy hay is the one most likely to cause allergies, and orchard grass is the hay most frequently mentioned as a good substitute, but your vet isn’t sure if it’s the right hay. Do you think that your vet would give you the okay to try orchard grass, since you are having such a horrible reaction to the Timothy? You might also try other brands of Timothy to see if they cause less of a reaction for you. Some brands or batches are dustier than others.

                            I looked on a couple of sites to see what else may be available. Drs. Foster and Smith sells a hay brand Alfalfa King, and they have an Oat, Wheat and Barley combination that is high in fiber. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+17311+16617&pcatid=16617. I have never heard of this brand or variety, but I see that it gets good reviews.

                            Since you mentioned brome hay, I found some on Pet Food Direct. http://www.petfooddirect.com/Product/16108/Living-World-Small-Animal-Brome-Hay. Again, it’s not a hay brand that I’m familiar with.

                            I hope that you can find a good hay for Fiver that won’t cause any irritation to you.

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                        Forum DIET & CARE Deathly allergic to Fiver’s hay