Will kits sneeze at hay if they grow up with it?

[GBov]

Put hay in with my quarantine rabbits today and they all started sneezing so it had to be the hay.

Its all the hay they will ever have from now on.

So will they ever get over reacting to it?

And any kits the doe has, will they, having grown up with the hay, be allergic to it like the doe?

 

[Miss M]

If they are allergic to the hay, they probably will never get over it.

Perhaps the hay is excessively dusty?

Or perhaps it has mold in it? Though if your other rabbits aren't having an issue, then this probably isn't the problem.

You would likely see hay allergy in some of the kits. I had a doe who was allergic to the hay I could get where we lived in Florida, which was coastal Bermuda grass. About half of her kits were sneezers, too. When we moved here, I switched to Alicia Bermuda grass hay, and, now that I think of it, the sneezing was not nearly as bad in her or her kits.

I get Bahia grass hay now, if I'm not mistaken, and I get no sneezing at all.

 

[dragonladyleanne]

Perhaps you can get some hay from a different source? I had one litter who were fine in the feeder hay I put in their cage at home, but started sneezing after the first livestock swap I took them to - I was soooo worried it was Pasteurella, but after about a week, they were all fine again. Next market day (once a month, usually), sneezing before the day ended. I let them go cheap to a guy who wanted them all, but I warned him first - he seemed to think it was the grass at the swap site. Their mom has never shown signs of sneezing, and they were about 10 days old when I got her and them. I will be breeding her (on purpose!) soon, so I hope it's a "moving around too much" thing.