I keep a bottle of diluted iodine in our show table and spray surfaces if I can. If I have seen a rabbit DQ for snot or vent, I have sometimes sprayed that coop before putting our rabbits on the table then wiped it down with paper towels. We also just started giving a product made by OxyGen called Immunize that is supposed to help boost immunity a few days before shows. We try to worm after shows. I know a breeder that said he worms his show string after every show. We keep hand sanitizer in our show table and encourage frequent use between handling rabbits, especially rabbits belonging to someone else (not always possible of course). I also have a big bottle of hand sanitizer in the rabbit room at home, too.
Additionally, in our new barn, I plan to keep the show rabbits in a separate room from the breeding herd. It will be kind of a "soft quarantine" for those animals that come and go in and out of the barn. I will have another, completely separate area as a true quarantine for those newly purchased or possibly ill rabbits.
I will say that having a rabbit become ill or injured on the way to/at/on the way home/after a show is a risk that you have to consider when deciding whether to show or not. We haven't had any major problems so far in the year we have been showing, but things do happen. However, the people we have meet and the fun the kids have had showing, plus all they have learned about their rabbits and the responsibility in caring for them has far outweighed the potential for loss, in our experience. I know it isn't the same for everyone, so I respect those that choose not to show, but we love our rabbit family and the kids will start asking, "when is the next show??" if it has been a while. I think the shows have helped the kids become more motivated and invested in their rabbits.
I will also say that a rabbit getting sick at or after a show does not necessarily mean it caught something there; stress can cause an infectious agent that is already present but kept in check by a healthy immune system to take hold and cause an illness. Our only broken back and broken limb so far occurred with rabbits that had never left our house (one died, one recovered). No matter what you do, if you raise rabbits long enough, things will happen and you will loose a bun. Not that I want that to happen, but dealing with the losses are part of the learning that I find a valuable lesson for my kids. I never want them to become callous to it though, because it is our responsibility to provide the best care possible while the rabbits are with us.
After writing way more than you were probably looking for I will sum it up by saying this: decide what your goals are as a rabbit owner (or parent of a rabbit owner) and then take appropriate steps to mitigate the risks in whichever situation you choose for yourself and your buns, but don't let the fear rob you and Bug of an opportunity to truly enjoy your rabbits!
