Allergies – what to do

[Emi]

My little baby bun Donna, approximately 1 year old, is struggling with allergies.

To not have any misunderstandings here is the whole story:

Back in December/January my bun Donna started sneezing, sometimes only once or twice, sometimes uncontrollably. I immediately contacted my vet for a consultation, but there was nothing to see. No sniffles, nothing stuck in her nostrils or anything else that might explain why she sneezed. I was told to keep an eye on her, in case her condition changed, so of course I did. 

There has Never been any white stuff or mucus running from her nose and her eyes have Always been fine. 

In March we decided to adopt another bunny that needed a new home asap. Of course we kept them separated in the start to make sure he didn’t catch whatever Donna had. But he never did. They have been living together – sharing the same cage – for approximately 1,5 months now and he still doesn’t sneeze like Donna does.

Therefore both my vet and I are pretty sure that Donna has allergies. 

I’ve since changed her bedding to Carefresh after trying multiple other beddings that were too “dusty”

I’ve started spraying their hay so the dust doesn’t fly around their cage.

I’m vacuuming their cage 4-5 times a week

Twice a day I rinse her nose with sterilized saltwater

I take them outside for a walk in the fresh air as often as i can – sadly that’s only once or twice a week, sadly I’m too tired to “go for a walk” with them when I get home from work because of my anxiety so they only get out in the weekends..

This has helped a lot, and she barely sneezes anymore.

What I wanna know, is if there is some of you out there who have some experience with allergies in bunnies and maybe have some “tips and tricks” to how else I can help my little girl 

[Azerane]

Have you tried different types of hay? If you’re using timothy, timothy is a common allergy causing hay. Orchard grass I believe it less likely to cause sneezing etc in both people and bunnies

It sounds like you are doing a wonderful job though, it’s so lovely to hear that she has such a dedicated owner

[Emi]

I haven’t really tried anything else than the hay they get now because both of my bunnies love eating it, but if orchard grass is less dusty, then I will definitely give it a chance 

Thank you, just want my baby bun to have the best circumstances possible 

[LBJ10]

I agree about trying orchard hay. I think oat is somewhat less dusty too. Timothy is really bad for allergies. I break out in a rash, so I imagine it’s a potential allergen for sensitive bunnies as well.

Have you thought about using an air purifier?

[LittlePuffyTail]

I third the Orchard Grass. Quite a few bunny people here on BB with allergies have commented that it was helpful to switch from Timothy to Orchard. My buns love Oxbow Orchard Grass.

[ergodic]

George has pretty bad allergies especially when shedding/change in seasons. Other than the suggestions above changing hay, using first cut timothy, oat hay, orchard grass. Using a air purifier helps. As for medicine George is currently on Zyrtec, and my vet also but him on mucinex.

[Boston's Mama]

My Oakley hashay dust allergies – I had to shop around for a less dusty hay , then I come home with it – grab a handful and shake the dust out of it outside – then put it in my hay container – I repeat in handfuls until all is shaken and out in the container. Then each time I fill his hay rack I take it from the shaken container

[Emi]

Thank you so much for all the answers! Right now I’m “watering” their hay, which seems to help a bit, I don’t have much hay left, so I’ll definitely try some orchard grass next time i buy hay 🙂
I haven’t thought about an air purifier before, but that might be a good idea. During the summer I open the windows to keep the air fresh in the entire apartment, but it might be helpful with a purifier instead, especially with VHD2 confirmed nearby where I live :s

[Author]

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