Hay allergy??

[Boston's Mama]

So Oakley yesterday started sneezing fits – 7-8 in a row , 3ish times yesterday and twice today.
First thought- great. Upper resp. Vet not on until weds. Stand in vet I don’t have a repall enough with to trust with Oakley and Boston’s yet.

Then I remembered – we have been here before… when I first got Oakley ( at Christmas ) we had a similar experience but figured out it was when he would eat hay , changed hay brands and started to shake it all first after some advice ( here I think it was ) and problem disappeared with no issues since ( except the usual ” mum I have hay up my nose ” ) …until now

So I think thought about how I had to get my hay somewhere else this month , that led me to think I should try a full clean out ( again as I only did that yesterday ) and remove all hay – throw it away and buy a new one from old place – shake it all out to remove as much dust as possible – and just see if it helps before I rush off to vet .
Well it’s now 5 hours later and no sneezing yet.

I am feeling pretty sure it’s hay dust allergy ( although I haven’t ruled out UPI and will be taking him to vet if it is like that tomorrow )

Is there any other tips if it is hay allergy ?
Both times it became a big problem were when I brought compressed hay so I won’t do that again.
I can’t buy it fresh in bales for two reasons – wild rabbits are everywhere here so for diseases risk I need it to have sat for the recommended 3 months somewhere where it won’t be exposed to rabbits – not a farm barn
Which means getting from a petstore here.
I also can’t store that amount as we have 3 (humans) with hay fever in the house.

I store it in a container , I shake it first , Boston and Oakley both have hay racks off the ground

[jerseygirl]

Ive heard of owners misting the hay (in the rack or litterbox) with some water to manage any dust. Ive also heard of owners dipping portions completely in water, shake it off and offer that. With this method, you have to only offer small amounts at a time & throw out the uneaten hay regularly so it doesn’t get mouldy.  Obviously, if they eat less hay when it’s offered like this, you’ll want to scrap that idea. 

[Boston's Mama]

Ok cool I’ll give it a go

[Author]

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