Quarantine after show?

[SixGun]

Yesterday we went to a show. We had a GREAT time and did well enough.
However I need some help with proper etiquette.
Firstly, people were friendly overall. Wonderful for my husband who wasn't so sure about the whole thing. But, not knowing much or where to go and what to do, a really friendly sort parked near us started up a conversation. They had rabbits entered and I only had one to concentrate on and caught on to how it worked pretty quickly.
Fast forward a bit. My daughter has pet their rabbits with permission, they have held my rabbit after asking. I notice that one of their rabbits didn't seem to be showing any longer and I find out it's been DQd for sneezing and nasal discharge. I'm a relatively calm person but OMFG!
So, some comfort is that when working with our animals we tend to be pretty conscious anyways and had already been using germx throughout the day. When we got home we threw all our clothes in the washer and showered. We've brought the one rabbit we showed inside but not into the rabbit room. We lysol'd her transport cage and put her in a temporary cage.
What else can I do?

 

[Prisma]

That's about it. Some times unfortunately, due to no fault of the breeder, rabbits don't show symptoms of any thing UNTIL stressed...like at a show. I keep the rabbits I show away from the others for 30 days min even if I see no snotters at the show.

It stinks. Its a risk with showing. A snotter only bothers me when they don't remove the offending rabbit from the room and take home to be dealt with but keep showing him/her and just wiping/covering up illness.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I don't quarantine rabbits after a show for a couple of reasons- the main one being that I don't have a designated area to keep my show string. I also sometimes travel to distant shows with one or more other exhibitors, so all of our rabbits are loaded up together, and have concentrated exposure to one another.

If you show a lot, it is inevitable that your rabbits will be exposed to something- this is why it is so important to breed for strong immunity.

My rabbits were exposed to snotty rabbits at the second show I attended. This was in my first year of raising rabbits, so I had a herd of about 30, perhaps. A few days after the show, my does with litters started blowing snot, despite not going to the show themselves.

I culled them aggressively, which was devastating, to say the least. But all clouds have a silver lining, and from that point forward I haven't really ever had any disease issues. The weakest were culled out of my line.

The rabbit that was not shown after being on the table the first time may have been DQ'd for something other than disease or mites. It could have been underweight, had a missing toenail, or any number of things.

The steps you have taken were a good idea, but I would not worry too much. Usually a healthy rabbit needs a pretty significant exposure to disease organisms to overwhelm the immune system, so it is doubtful that you and your family transferred enough of the organisms (if there were any) to your rabbit.

Don't let this discourage you- rabbit shows are a wonderful way to meet other dedicated breeders, make new friends, and have an excuse to travel a bit.

 

[SixGun]

Rebel.Rose
Unfortunately, the breeder knew the rabbit had a snotty nose prior to the show, and purchased meds at the show for it. The rabbit was DQd during the second show of the day after sneezing and mucus on the table. The breeder tried to hide it, and told me so when asked why the rabbit wasn't showing in the next show.
MamaSheepdog
I applaud your ideology and agree with you that the best lines are of the best health. When I raised and competed with purebred dogs I saw lines that suffered, but they won and money was poured into them and they were bred and produced pups that were substandard as well. We have only 3 rabbits in our production herd and our senior doe just had our first litter. An illness now would be such a setback, but, as you say, culling rabbits that get ill is the only way to get a stronger line.

 

[GBov]

Sorry to resurrect a thread - insert zombie bunny emoji here - but we are thinking about showing this fall and I was wondering the exact same thing.

To the point of thinking perhaps only show a spare buck and eat him once we were done showing instead of risking bringing him home.

But I think I can relax a bit now, thanks, everyone!