Have you tried other types of hay? Maybe another kind will affect you less. Wouldn’t hurt to try anyway!

Try oat hay. It’s the only type of hay I even feed Little-Bit anymore because she LOVES it and it has more fiber than Timothy.

orchard grass is a huge hit here with my buns, and the wheat hay Monkey adored when I got it as the monthly gift in a BB order.

Jenna, I’m so sorry

Def try orchard or oat. Others with allergies do better with these. Also, try 2nd or 3rd cut tim hay.   Is it just handling the hay that has made it worse? Are you ok with having in the house in general? I’m wondering also if you could have someone portion out hay into small lots. Maybe into large paper bags. Then all you’d have to do is deliver it to the buns as is.

If you need help, let me know. I’m only an hour away, with far too much time on my hands

That is super nice of you Lesley!

I too would try orchard or oat. My buns LOVE orchard and inhaled a free sample of oat BB sent me! I’m getting that kind next

Definitely try Orchard! It is still a nutritious grass hay, and some buns like it even more than Timothy. Mine have been getting Orchard almost exclusively the past year.

Also, if you can fashion a BULK HAY storage solution that only needs to be filled every week or every couple weeks, and is accessible to the buns, you won’t have to handle the hay as much. Plus, if it only has to be refilled once every couple weeks, maybe you’d have a friend or family member who could stop by for a few minutes, fill it up, and then vacuum any leftover…. Wendy has a great cabinet she made for hay storage… I think she just posted it recently…

^That.
Whenever I bought Timothy they never really ate it. The hay I feed now is mostly Orchard, Brome, and a little of white Clover.
Onigiri LOVES this stuff more than her pellets – I give her daily pellets first, but it’s always the hay she’s really waiting for

Maybe also try wearing gloves? Like rubber kitchen gloves? My brother is allergic to hay, but he only breaks out if he handles it.

It might make a big difference where your hay is coming from too. Most of the time… the small bags of petstore hay are leftover bits of… dusty crap (to put it delicately…) Either buying fresh, bulk hay, or hay from a more reputable company (like Oxbow or American Pet Diner) is going to make a big difference in the consistency.

I would wear a specific coat or jacket to handle hay, put on gloves, and wear a mask (like the ones you can buy at Home Depot in the painting section). That should help keep the allergins out of your airway.

Allergy shots are fantastic – but they do take at least 6 months to start working. They help immensely though, so I would stick it out (trying whatever you can) until then.

I like the idea of getting your hay packaged in paper bags by someone else, Jenna. All you woud have to do is drop one bag daily into their pen. I am sure the rabbits would even open it themselves. Of course, you would have to enlist someone to do this. In the meantime, how about using grass hay cubes? You can get them for horses in some feed stores in huge bulk for cheap.

Is it all timothy hay? Have you ever tried third cut?
Sarita gave me a wonderful reference for this and it’s right out of Washington state. I can hunt up the link if you like. I also can’t deal with hay, I made the mistake of opening a bag of 2nd cut/marigold right before bed and I was coughing and wheezing all night. Benadryl hardly touched it.

All the other hays mentioned here are great too, not nearly as much pollen/dust. And if they’ll eat the cubes, go for it! No muss no fuss! ^_^

Keeping you all in my prayers! (((((((((((((Jenna, Comet & Chubs)))))))))))))))))

Great suggestions!

Have you got a homedepot near you? Grab a N95 respirator from the paint section -and wear that plus gloves and seperate clothing while handling hay. Maybe some swimming goggles too to keep dust out of your eyes.*

(*don’t let anyone take pictures of you while your dressed up like a lab tech feeding rabbits rofl) 

And I hope your doing ok otherwise with the split *HUGS* It can be hard *hugs*

When Steve and I were in a smaller place, the hay would bother him when I changed it, so after I was done, I sprayed the air with light mist of water. It seemed to help bring the particles down out of the air. So maybe that with a mask and change of hay and you’ll be like new again.

I’m sorry about all the stress that is going on right now – definitely lots of changes and “unknowns”. Be good to yourself. Get a good nights sleep if you can – that can make a big difference. (that piece of advice coming from someone who can never get to sleep at a decent hour)

Hopefully things go well with Kc, and he’ll be back to hay duty We wish you luck, and Monkey and Moose send raisins for both your boys

I’m horribly allergic to Timothy hay AND have severe asthma, so I had to work out ways to limit my exposure before I was able to bring a rabbit into my home.  The things I do that help are:

1) Get a good-sized hay rack.  When Pepper was in a cage I zip-tied a cardboard box with an open side against the bars of the cage, so that she could pull the hay through.  I put her litter box right under the rack so that most of the dropped hay falls in there.  Now she is free-range so I have a free-standing one.  They should be large enough that you only have to refill weekly.  Refill the rack (I actually cover my hands and forearms with grocery-store plastic bags, and then turn them inside-out and toss them), then take a shower  and use a neti pot.  It’s awkward and hard to get used to but it’s really great for allergy sufferers.

2) Get a Roomba – or at the very least be willing to vacuum regularly with a really good vacuum.  I like the Roomba because I can do a quick broom-sweep and then let the roomba do the deep-cleaning of the hay dust while I’m at the other end of the apartment!  But get the hay dust cleaned up promptly.  When I sweep or vacuum, I dump the dustpan or dirt cups in the toilet and flush – again to keep the stuff out of the air.

3) Consider adding a HEPA filter to the room that the hay is in.  Again, the point is to keep the bits out of the air (and hence out of you).

4) I recently found that third-cut timothy is much less dusty.  I get mine from SweetMeadow Farms by mail-order.  I keep it in a rubbermaid tub (loosely covered) and then “decant” it into the hay rack.

I’ve had Pepper for almost 4 years now and this seems to work pretty well for me.  I don’t do shots (had them from age 11-22) but I take a daily zyrtec (generic), singulair AND an anti-inflammatory inhaler – all of which I’d need with or without hay and fluff.