Cleaning and disease

In seeing all the comments and disease related complaints lately I thought a little "new thread" about cleaning would help.
SO, -when rabbits have access to, or can step on feces and urine, they will clean it off their feet with their tongue, and of course swallow it.
Coccidiosis, and EC protozoan parasites, as well as enteritis causing bacteria, if at all present in your herd will be ingested in large amounts by your rabbits. This causes the rabbit immune system to be overloaded and a disease outbreak to occur.
Cleaning of litter pans is critical-- because,-- ammonia from the urine buildup will irritate and inflame the respiratory tract, paving the way, and providing a perfect breeding ground for pasteurella, and other disease causing organisms. Ammonia concentrations in the air also will suppress the rabbit immune system. [rabbits are very sensitive to even small amounts of ammonia]
People with an indoor rabbitry will also will have this problem if cleaning under the cages, and /or good "clean air" ventilation is lacking. [not just recirculating the polluted air]
comments?

Good thread, Michael! Cleaning is of utmost importance.

I would add that if you use crocks they also need to be cleaned regularly, especially for those rabbits that somehow manage to get poop or pee into or on the outside of their crocks. I carry a sponge around with me while filling water so I can quickly wipe the bowls out as needed.

michaels4gardens":20zyt4jm said:

when rabbits have access to feces and urine, Coccidiosis, and EC protozoan parasites, as well as enteritis causing bacteria, if at all present in your herd will be ingested in large amounts by your rabbits.

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This is a big part of the reason that I designed my Chewzits to be hung from the cage wire- to limit ingestion of parasitic organisms!

michaels4gardens":20zyt4jm said:

Cleaning of litter pans is critical

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I am so happy to have slant boards! The urine runs off (for the most part) and soaks into the dirt below the cages. The only time there is an odor is when I clean out the bunny berries if they have been allowed to build up for a while, but that dissipates quickly.

Great thread!

I would add for those with cage hay racks- don't forget to empty them regularly to avoid moldy hay.

M4G's post about the effects of ammonia, etc were so enlightening. I wish I knew then what I know now. Those who remember what originally brought me to RT will know that I had two does who were asymptomatic carriers of pasturella. This was confirmed by post-mortem examination of the lungs of the does after I culled them on the advice of people I had never even met (but who really seemed to know what they were talking about). 3 bucks died from exposure to those two does. I got to RT just in time to save my 4th buck.

The rabbit barn where I bought them had little ventilation, and was in fact serviced by a recirculating AC unit. If my memory serves me right, manure was removed by a CSA farm twice annually. It was above knee deep to me under the cage stacks. That's just manure. No hay. The barn was filthy on the ceiling as well with dust and years-old cobwebs hanging down. The air inside made my eyes and throat burn and my skin itch. So why did I buy rabbits there?

The rabbits were PRISTINE. They kept themselves so CLEAN. Lovely NZWs that compared very closely to the standards of perfection for the breed. Also, he had all those awards. And people waiting in line to buy his rabbits, coming from as far as Houston and D.C., Winnipeg and Montreal (I met some of them), for his genetics.

The last time I was there, I finally noticed how many rabbits he had that were sitting back breathing with their heads tilted back. I asked about them. He told me, "They won't make it. It happens." He is a very nice man who has forgotten more about rabbits than I have learned, but may be too old to run such a large rabbitry.

My current rabbits were purchased from a backyard meat producer who seem to have been raised clean. Clean is so important.

SoDak Thriver":1wfo8h5g said:

M4G's post about the effects of ammonia, etc were so enlightening. I wish I knew then what I know now. Those who remember what originally brought me to RT will know that I had two does who were asymptomatic carriers of pasturella. This was confirmed by post-mortem examination of the lungs of the does after I culled them on the advice of people I had never even met (but who really seemed to know what they were talking about). 3 bucks died from exposure to those two does. I got to RT just in time to save my 4th buck.

The rabbit barn where I bought them had little ventilation, and was in fact serviced by a recirculating AC unit. If my memory serves me right, manure was removed by a CSA farm twice annually. It was above knee deep to me under the cage stacks. That's just manure. No hay. The barn was filthy on the ceiling as well with dust and years-old cobwebs hanging down. The air inside made my eyes and throat burn and my skin itch. So why did I buy rabbits there?

The rabbits were PRISTINE. They kept themselves so CLEAN. Lovely NZWs that compared very closely to the standards of perfection for the breed. Also, he had all those awards. And people waiting in line to buy his rabbits, coming from as far as Houston and D.C., Winnipeg and Montreal (I met some of them), for his genetics.

The last time I was there, I finally noticed how many rabbits he had that were sitting back breathing with their heads tilted back. I asked about them. He told me, "They won't make it. It happens." He is a very nice man who has forgotten more about rabbits than I have learned, but may be too old to run such a large rabbitry.

My current rabbits were purchased from a backyard meat producer who seem to have been raised clean. Clean is so important.

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unfortunately , I have been in, and worked in, several large rabbit buildings, that had very poor air quality, horrible respiratory issues were the norm. It seems that some commercial rabbit people have no understanding of rabbit sensitivity to ammonia, consider the losses acceptable, -or just don't care.

So, all of this being said, what is the best way to clean and disinfect with ammonia but for it not to be too strong? We dilute our s and use it to clean outside cages, where the ventilation is good. I always remove the rabbits first and never spray it while they are in the cage, and try to allow it to dry before returning them. Sometimes they do get returned before the cage is completely dry. I also hose off the area where ammonia was sprayed, to lesson the diluted spray and hopefully get rid of more of it. Is all of this good or is there more steps I should be taking? I feel like my own lungs are affected by the ammonia smell, but i think thats more from when I am pouring it directly from the bottle to the bucket to be diluted......

macksmom98":1f42kseu said:

what is the best way to clean and disinfect with ammonia but for it not to be too strong?

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Do you use ammonia because of a coccidia problem? I ask because it kills the oocytes, but if you don't have an issue with coccidia there are many other things you can use instead.

I have used diluted bleach, white vinegar, betadine surgical scrub, and a steam cleaner (filled with vinegar!) on my cages. If you use bleach or vinegar, make sure to rinse the wire well. Bleach dries to a salt which will rust the wire, and the acidic nature of vinegar will etch the galvanization.

I use it because my cages are wood, and I was told it was the best for that.....

for those with metal cages, - a propane torch is a good sanitizer -[after a good wire brush cleaning].

To add to the above, the small torches make a great cage de-furrer. I learned that here and wow, does it work.

The torch worked great for getting rid of the hair that the brush, water etc just wasn't removing. The person here who builds the cages wants to know if cleaning with a torch has any negative effect on the life of the wire. Anyone here know anything about that?
Thanks for this thread. When we first started, cleaning didn't look like such a big deal but over 2 years it's clear that we need to have a regular schedule of cleaning as everything accumulates. (And clearly the full SF had lots more hair in his cage--don't know how those of you with woolly rabbits cope )

macksmom98":29ljpna5 said:

I use it because my cages are wood, and I was told it was the best for that.....

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I would guess that is for the reason I stated- coccidia- since rabbits that come in contact with their feces will continually reingest the oocytes (eggs) and may become overwhelmed with the organism.

Rainey":29ljpna5 said:

The person here who builds the cages wants to know if cleaning with a torch has any negative effect on the life of the wire. Anyone here know anything about that?

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I haven't used a torch, but I remember reading here (likely from someone who raises a wool breed) that you do have to be careful to not heat up the wire too much because high heat will destroy the galvanization.

Rainey":29ljpna5 said:

When we first started, cleaning didn't look like such a big deal but over 2 years it's clear that we need to have a regular schedule of cleaning as everything accumulates.

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I powerwash my cages twice a year, and three times would likely be better. My Rex are very clean rabbits, but the Satins are more work. The bucks spray a lot, which coats the cage wire, gets on feeders, etc. The does tend to get poop strung together with fur which has to be brushed off of the wire regularly.

Once your wire gets even a little build up of urine (or whatever) on it, more and more sticks to it and seems to accumulate much faster. Regular cleaning will actually save time in the long run.

Although it doesn't pose a health hazard per se, cobwebs in the rabbitry make it look very unkempt. We have what are called "daddy long legs" here (known by other names elsewhere) that make very messy looking webs and once they establish themselves the population explodes. Some argue that they keep down the flies, but honestly, I have not noticed any difference whether I have spiders or not.

I have extendable "cobweb brushes" in the rabbitry that I use to scrub my slant boards and will use those to knock the webs down when I see them, but at least once a year I pull out the shop-vac (and ladder!) and vacuum them all up which is much more effective in the long term.

For those that use fans in their barns, keeping the area free of fur (and webs!) is very important because it poses a fire hazard. Fan motors must be cleaned regularly, as they are the usual culprit in barn fires.

MamaSheepdog":20vwidj7 said:

The bucks spray a lot, which coats the cage wire, gets on feeders, etc.

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I have low-functioning bucks. The testicles don't descend, they often only mount once with no fall-off, and they don't spray --They just produce kits every time. We put a urine guard on the buck's cage when we started 2 years ago but took it off at some point and the young buck never had one. I'm very thankful we've gotten off so easy and know it is going to be shocking someday to get sprayed in the face.

Back on topic--I'm finding this thread very helpful as we try to establish a routine beyond the daily and weekly basics for our rabbits. Thanks, everyone.

Another quick way to clear out dust and cobwebs (reservoirs of bacteria and potential fire hazards if there is electric in the barn) is a air compressor or grooming power blower. I use the latter every couple months in my rabbit barn

MamaSheepdog":39d52pus said:

For those that use fans in their barns, keeping the area free of fur (and webs!) is very important because it poses a fire hazard. Fan motors must be cleaned regularly, as they are the usual culprit in barn fires.

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I found this on pinterest...



Box fan with air filter stuck behind it to keep fluff and dust out of the motor. I think it was used in a chicken coop originally but we like stealing ideas from them ingenious chicken folk occasionally, right?

Well, that's an interesting box fan filter thing! I like it!

I think I would make two velcro straps to hold the filter on. Tighter fit (it wouldn't stand off of the fan because of the velcro), and no need to put velcro on the disposable filter.