Sold A Rabbit, Kid Has Allergies to Hay, What to do?

So, sold one of my babies a week ago to a super nice woman and her son. We had talked about it before hand, and she told me her son had had some awful reactions to furred animals in the past. We worked it out that if he did have a reaction, she'd bring the baby back, and try it again with a single maned baby, and if that didn't work, I'd refund her money. The day care her son goes to has 4 baby cottontails, though, and he's never reacted to them. He seems fine when he's playing with the lionhead, but if he snuggles up to her, he starts sneezing, and when he goes near the cage, sneezing.

The mum thinks it might be the hay. I suggested removing all the hay, giving her a lukewarm bath to clean her fur, and feeding fresh grass for a while to see if that helps at all. She's also using wood shavings in the cage, so I suggested that she stop using those as well, and get a dust free litter.

If it does turn out to be the hay, though, what would be an option for a healthy diet for the rabbit that will keep the kid from sneezing all the time? Would hay cubes keep her from getting hay dust on her? It's not so much the cage that's a problem, as the kid can just stay away from it, but he really likes to cuddle her and play with her. Anyone got any suggestions?

It just breaks my heart, because she sent me photos of the kid with the rabbit, and the kid looked SO happy. It also seems like a wonderful home, as the mum's in contact with me whenever she has questions, and they're giving her loads of run around time and lots of human interaction.

Another option might be alfalfa pellets (same size as pelleted feed).

Doesn't someone on here feed a grain mix with pellets in it? TCS sells small bags of alfelfa pellets, boss, and rabbit feed. Use pellets and cut out the hay completely. They could buy mixed leaf lettuce without cabbage or spinach to give as a treat maybe?

Im no expert but Im sure their are ways around the hay thing. How about a quick wipe over the bunny with a baby wipe before he plays with it. or how about getting the kid allergy meds. lol

My guess is that it is the wood shavings. Even pine shavings are quite aromatic. If it turns out to be the hay, you could suggest alfalfa cubes. I can't see how they could be dusty.

Tell them to get the paper bedding. It comes in about every color. Care Fresh I believe it is called. We used it for our ferret for years and it helped allot with allergies to him.

I thought they needed hay for their digestion and teeth, though?

In a more recent email, she told me that she had already gotten rid of the shavings. So it's not that. As far as allergy meds, the kid is special needs, and I don't think she wants to give him more medication just so they can have a rabbit.

I did suggest using cubed hay instead of regular hay. She's washing out the cage and giving the bunny a rinse off today to see if that helps. Since we're not entirely sure what the allergy is, she wants to make sure it's not the rabbit herself that's causing the problem. We'll then go from there.

She could try straw, or a different type of hay, such as bermuda, timothy, etc. They make allergy wipes for cats and dogs which remove saliva and dander, I believe. They might work on the rabbit.

Orchardgrass or bluegrass are usually some of the least likely to cause allergies. Avoid timothy at all costs. It's worse than alfalfa and will set off allergies in just about anyone prone to them. I can instantly smell if something has timothy in it and tell my husband to leave the room while I partially hold my breath feeding it out and I have no problems with other hay. While it's preferable rabbits have loose long stem hay it's better that they have a happy home so I see no problem resorting to cubes or hay based pellets as a substitute. You can also use beet pulp without molasses as a fiber substitute but it's hard to find without the molasses.

Make sure the bedding is not dusty. Sometimes those paper beddings, especially the off brand stuff from walmart, can actually be dustier than shavings. Allergies can occur to proteins in the urine which get on the dusty bedding and stick to the coat or fly through the air. It's actually more common with guinea pigs to be allergic to their urine than to their dandruff.

You can also get masks to wear while handling an animal. My husband does that. He's allergic to everything but dogs however we have gerbils, birds, rabbits, and guinea pigs in the house and previously cats with minimal issues. We confine most animals to one room that gets wiped down frequently with no carpet and he wears a painters mask when handling or taking care of the animals both inside and out at the stable. It's even more important at the stable or he'll be popping allergy pills all night. It's a minor annoyance but it solves the problem completely.

I'm going to copy and paste all that info you've given me Akane and email it right to the woman. You've obviously had more experience than I have with allergies, and that is a wonderful bit of info right there. I feel so bad for people with allergies

I'm allergic to animal fur, dander, shavings, hay, grass...basically anything required for any kind of animal. Claritin is my blessing in a bottle. One pill the size of half an M&M everyday & I'm set as long as I don't rub my eyes after touching the critters.

ReiLossefalme":lwrbgpxh said:

I'm allergic to animal fur, dander, shavings, hay, grass...basically anything required for any kind of animal. Claritin is my blessing in a bottle. One pill the size of half an M&M everyday & I'm set as long as I don't rub my eyes after touching the critters.

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I love claritin. I'm allergic to everything involved in my rabbitry except for the wire cages, LOL! It rocks.

I was allergic to rabbits. Regular exposure cured it. It used to be so bad that just taking care of 1 rabbit (no cuddling or anything) would have me wheezing, nose running like a faucet, eyes swollen shut and skin all red and itchy for most of the day. Now I only have a reaction if the hair gets in my eyes which is a normal itchy eye reaction. I can even groom my English angoras and get covered in hair and not have a problem. If the problem is the hay she can just feed a complete rabbit pellet with a bit of grains like oats and sunflower seeds (those 2 have a lot of nutritional value) and something fresh like greens, apple slices, slices of banana, etc. to keep the digestive tract moving.

Whoops, forgot to update on this sometimes I get forgetful.

The kid was allergic to the hay. she cleaned the cage, cleaned the rabbit, and tried hay cubes, and those are working much much better for them. The bunny is staying AND I've gotten two word of mouth referrals from her, because of the way I chose to handle the situation. One sale is "pending", because the rabbit they wanted was already spoken for, so they said they'd wait til I had another born the same. The other person is driving 2+ hour to get here to buy a rabbit... But I think they're combining it with a visit, lol.

Well done! :goodjob:

Gotta love a happy ending!

Congrats on getting the referrals- keep up the good work... we rabbit breeders need all the positive press we can get!

So thrilled to hear this happy ending.

And congratulations on the pending sales. Have to agree with MamaSheepdog, rabbit breeders are getting a bad rap out there right now because of the intense focus, and the good breeders need all the help they can get with good press. Showing those that not all breeders are those bad, bad people.

Karen

Thanks, guys

I don't like to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty proud, if a little flabbergasted by the whole thing. I didn't feel as though I was doing anything special, I just felt so bad after I saw how happy the little boy in the picture looked. I knew she had been looking for a pet he wasn't allergic to for a long time, and had had to return 2 guinea pigs already(within a day, with only 1/2 the money returned). I just treat people as I'd like to be treated, and provide them with the support that I wish the people I'd gotten my rabbits from had given me.

Hay cubes do not have the long strand fibre rabbits need! :|

bunnyluv":24disk5b said:

Hay cubes do not have the long strand fibre rabbits need!

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by the time it gets into the rabbits stomach, it is all the same. The difference is that they may not chew as much.

Piper":3qfj9ihm said:

bunnyluv":3qfj9ihm said:

Hay cubes do not have the long strand fibre rabbits need!

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by the time it gets into the rabbits stomach, it is all the same. The difference is that they may not chew as much.

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That's what I was thinking when I saw this... Unless some rabbits slurp their hay like spaghetti? I didn't think of the not chewing as much/teeth thing, though. Which teeth are used for hay, and what can be provided to make up for the lack of hay-generated wear down?