Hello BB community!
Firstly just wanted to say a big thank you for all the wonderful advice and reassurance that can be found on this site – even though this is only my second post in a year and a half, I’ve still learned so much by reading through these forums and looking at past questions from other members.

Apologies in advance for the length of the post!
So, my question/concern at the moment relates to the two new bunnies which we’ve recently welcomed home – my partner loves my dear rabbits Bramble and Bluebell so much that he decided he would like to own two little ones himself (although of course as we live together, we share all the care duties and bunny cuddles between ourselves anyway). The new bunnies are two 10 week old mini lop boys (I think they’re called Holland lops in the US? We’re UK based). Ideally, we’d like them to live as a quad with Bramble and Bluebell eventually, once they’re fixed (B&B are already spayed), but we have done lots of research and understand that this can be a long process, and have the space to house them separately if the quad bond doesn’t ‘gel’.

Before we picked them up, the lady told us that there had been suspected e cuniculi within the litter – one baby had passed away and a second had shown signs of head tilt (neither of the two we picked up though, apparently). She said all had been treated with 28 days of Panacur. Once we got them home (10th Nov), my vet recommended a second 28 day Panacur course, as he said we couldn’t be sure without having seen the doses, cleaning regime etc of the previous house. So far, we thankfully haven’t seen any obvious signs of EC (apart from a couple of small things, I’ll explain in just a moment), but I am feeling so worried about risking the health of my existing girls who are so precious to me (they have helped me through some of my saddest days), and so guilty for bringing these new bunnies into the house in case anything happens. I have actually been crying every day since over this as I’m so afraid now of making the girls ill – it’s so hard to know if I’m worrying over nothing or not. We have been strict about handwashing + hand sanitiser gel, new bunnies are housed upstairs in a separate room, separate equipment etc (including Virkon S solution to disinfect fleece blankets etc) but I’m still worried about passing something on! I know once the 28 days have passed, we should be able to relax the biosecurity, but I still have that fear of the bunnies retaining some of the EC spores or having some other illness which could affect B&B. Can anybody tell me whether they have ever been in a similar situation, and how things worked out? I know everyone’s experiences will differ slightly, just looking for any kind of hope of a good outcome, or honest answers about the risks too. Also, can anyone please tell me if there there any illnesses apart from EC which can reside long-term in the system which may pose a risk either to Bramble and Bluebell, or to the new rabbits themselves? In which case, is there any other preventative treatment I could be asking the vet about on top of the Panacur? I just want every bunny to be ok. The thought of having to house them separately for health reasons and keep up this level of biosecurity permanently is daunting.

In terms of the slight symptoms we have noticed – one of the new boys seems to have irritated outer eyelids (rather than the eyeballs or third eyelids) – no discharge, and nothing like you see on poor bunnies with myxi etc, but enough to look uncomfortable for him. (Sorry can’t attach photo from my phone). I asked my vet about it, but he said just to monitor for the moment. Could this potentially be a sign of an active EC infection? Or something more innocuous/treatable. Also, the other little boy has had a little bit of a rumbly stomach/intermittent slightly loose caecotropes since coming home – again, had him checked by vet who said continue with the fibreplex which I started as soon as I noticed the issue. I’m really encouraging hay with them too and limiting pellets till it clears up. Could this also be a sign of EC, or coccidosis etc? Or maybe just stress from moving I guess. Sorry, I know it’s so hard to say without seeing the rabbits themselves, I’m just spiralling at the moment and looking for any kind of reassurance.

I’m so sorry for such a long message, and again very grateful to anybody who’s read this far – very glad to have come across this supportive community!