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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Dustless Hay??

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    • Rabbitqueen
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        I’m having an issue with my little Fritz. He has a narrow nasal duct in his right eye that is constantly getting blocked and needs to be flushed by his exotic vet. It’s fine when it happens every so often it’s no big deal, but lately…it’s been happening every month and now sometimes 2x a month since December 2015! I feel so bad for him and my wallet because it is costing me about $100 every time we go. The vet and I have been trying to figure out what exactly is causing it so we can try to prevent it from happening all the time. We are thinking it’s because our home has been so dry and their hay is so dusty! I clean their room once a week and spot clean when I can in between but I cannot keep up with the hay dust that floats through the air. Is there a brand that is less dusty? We buy 35lbs of pesticide free timothy hay for rabbits from Farmer Daves Pet Supply which both Fritz and Penelope LOVE. I’m also thinking about buying a air purifier to help as well. I’ll do anything to help my little guy. Any suggestions?  (sorry so lengthy)


      • blubudgie
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          I’m not sure what kind of hay would help (air purifier seems like a good idea), but with the dryness of the room you could possibly get a humidifier.


        • jerseygirl
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            Has your vet done x-rays to check the incisor roots? If these have overgrown, they can impact on that duct.

            Does the vet do the duct flushes with the rabbit sedated or conscious? Its possible to do them conscious and they could even show you how to do it at home.

            I don’t know of any dust free US brand hays sorry… Maybe google dust extracted hay?? If it’s Timothy you feed them, you could try some different varieties like Oat, Orchard or Blue grass.

            One of my buns kept getting leaking eye late last year. In the end, a warm compress is what helped clear it up and it hasn’t recurred. *touch wood*


          • Rabbitqueen
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              The vet has not done X-rays to check the roots. She has & does look at his teeth every time this happens though. Fritz is conscious when they do the flush. They numb his eye and flush it. His eye always gets beyond a warm compress remedy. I wish that was the answer, but his eye usually gets infected. As for doing it at home, I don’t think I could safely flush his eye because they have to numb his eye then put a soft tipped syringe into his lower eyelid in order to flush it out. I could easily damage his eye if done incorrectly. I am bringing him back again today and we will discuss things. I’m in the process of relocating his dusty hay into a different room for now.If I switch their hay to orchard, oat, or blue grass, will it be less healthy for them than the timothy hay? As for the humidifier, I was doing that but I didn’t want to do it too often because their hay was being stored in there and not to mention cleaning a humidifier daily is a pain in the butt. BUT I may need to get both an air purifier and humidifier for my little guy. Such a problem child.


            • Bam
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                I’ve recently bought Oxbow’s orchard hay for my buns and it seems pretty dust-free.


              • skysblue
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                  yeah I have a bag of oxbox orchard,too; they are pretty clean. You can substitute any grass hay for timothy. I have all kinds of hay from Oxbow except for timothy. They are all pretty dust free.

                  You can also store the hay in a storage box so dust doesn’t go everywhere in the room. I have allergies to hay/dust but ever since i use these I don’t get any if i am in the room.

                  http://www.homedepot.com/b/Storage-Organization-Storage-Bins-Cubes-Totes/N-5yc1vZc89j


                • Rabbitqueen
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                    Ok great! I will get some orchard hay and see if that’s better. I don’t want to just throw out the hay I have though. I have 2 boxes of 35lbs of hay that was quite expensive. My fiancé and I were thinking about making something that we can throw the hay on outside to kind of sift the dust out. Do you think this will even help? Or should I just donate it to my local rescue?


                  • Bam
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                      You could perhaps pour the hay onto a tarp on the ground, then collect the hay in bags (before it gets moist from the outside air) and throw out the dust that’s left on the tarp.


                    • Rabbitqueen
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                        That sounds like an easier & cheaper idea. Thank you!


                      • Boing
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                          You could always rinse the hay before feeding it. Lots of horses need dust free hay, and that is what’s done. You would have to give smaller amounts more frequently though as you wouldn’t want to risk mould.


                        • cinnybun2015
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                            I’ve heard about the mini-bales of Oxbow hay that reduce the dust. They’re just compressed hay, no chemicals or anything added. My brother loves rabbits, but he has hay allergies, so I told him about the mini-bales.


                          • Azerane
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                              If switching out hay doesn’t work and removing the hay bales from the room, I would definitely second the suggestion of getting a dental x-ray done, then you will be able to see if the roots of the teeth are overgrowing and causing the issues with the blocked duct.


                            • Rabbitqueen
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                                Thank you all very much. So far things are going well. Fingers crossed it stays that way!


                              • MiNinoJack
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                                  I actually found Organic Hay Co. today and their hay is almost perfect. They’re a little pricey with the shipping, but I’ve been looking for dustless hay also. There is almost no dust in this bag I got today. They ship out of Berkshire NY.

                                  As a bonus the hay smells like chamomile to me. Even has some flowers in it.

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                              Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Dustless Hay??