HOW TO: Quarantine

Hello everybunny. 

Here is an article on how to quarantine rabbits. Thanks to the lovely members of RabbitTalk who helped me with some tips and tricks on how they quarantine. So, let's go through a step-by-step guide, but first let's go over some basics:

What is quarantine?

Quarantine is a period of time during which a rabbit is placed in a separate living area away from other rabbits/animals in the rabbitry. The three main reasons to quarantine are: 

(1) bringing new rabbits from different places when just starting a rabbitry

(2)bringing an outside rabbit to already existing rabbitry (either cage-style or colony) 

(3)removing a rabbit or rabbits from existing rabbitry (mostly due some sort of illness or intention of selling the rabbit)

Quarantining is extremely important if you house your rabbits in same space as other animals (such as poultry, cavies or chinchillas) or you have mice/rats who can transmit various illnesses.

How long to quarantine?

The first rabbit that I got a rabbit that came outside of my rabbitry was Rubin back in April 2014, and I quarantined him for about 2 weeks. Then few months after, I got Sari, who I quarantined for 2 weeks and then bred. She ended up passing about 25 days after getting to our rabbitry. The reason I am telling all this is that most breeders agree that any newcomer rabbit should be quarantined for 30 days at least, and it's because it gives just a perfect amount of time for you to see if rabbit may carry any diseases, but also gives you quite a good amount of time for the rabbit to get used to you. It is important to stick to the time rule because if you decide to make it shorter, there are greater chance that your new rabbit or even all of your rabbits might catch a nasty disease. The fact that Rubin lived and Sari passed is only due the luck. 

Where to quarantine?

Everyone seems to agree on this one; as far from the other rabbits as possible. I sort of have limited space, so I have to quarantine my rabbits in a barn which the rabbitry and the colony are located in. However, some breeders with better-safe-then-sorry approach keep quarantined rabbits in a separate building, mostly in cages, even when they are to introduce rabbits to colony, so it's more hygenic and helps with avoiding transmitting the contageous diseases. If quarantining rabbits in another building is impossbile, make sure to place quarantine cages few meters away from other rabbits. If you really have to place q-cage next to other cages, put a barrier in between, anything from a blanket to a board or plastic sheet will work. This is to prevent any sneezing onto other rabbits. The most important thing to do is making sure that bedding, droppings, food and water of the quarantining rabbit does not come in contact with other rabbits and vice versa. 

How to quarantine?

Now, to the important part. Here are the steps I pay attention to when getting a new rabbit and settling it's new temporary living space:

(1) I know it has nothing to do with the quarantine itself, but when picking the rabbit make sure it's in a good condition. Healthy and strong body, clear eyes, area around nose and genitalia. Maku sure there's no any discharges at any of the places listed before.

(2) Decide where you want your quarantine to be, and, more important, what you want it to be. If you chose floor housing like me, make sure you prewash the concrete with water (I used water alone) or some chemicals few days prior to assembling the quarantine setup. I wouldn't recommend puting quarantining rabbit on the dirt because it is not as hygienic as concrete. If you opt for wire cages, again wash them and let them dry in the sun, it will help kill off any unwanted bacteria. I would suggest you avoid wooden hutches (I used them the first two times, with Sari) because the wood is a great place for bacteria and viruses to grow and you probably won't be able to get them out so easily, so you should use them only once and then burn them. Still, this is only what I would do.

(3) Bedding. Obviously, if you use wire cages, you don't need any. In playpen/hutch setup, you can use any bedding you normally use. The only thing you shall do is make sure that bedding from quarantine doesn't come in contact with bedding in your regular cages. Also, make sure to clean every week just to lower the chances of your new bunny getting sick, since it's imunity could be weaker because, well, you changed it's living space.

(4) You should have separate food and water for any rabbit in the quarantine. Some breeders feed all rabbits from the same bag of food, but they do q-rabbits at the end. The only thing I would avoid completely is giving leftovers of q-rabbits to regulars and vice versa. Food bowls/feeders should be desinfected, either washed or treated with heat. Make sure you desinfect everything before you put it in the quarantine and after you take it out.

(5) If you use toys/decoration/activity stuff, make sure to desinfect. If you give plastic toys to your rabbits, either wash them or "cook" them. I came across people who "cook" wood/bricks/stones, but I feel like you can never tell wheter it's fully dry and ready to be put with rabbits, so I prefer baking things, for good 10 minutes on the highest temps, so I'm sure there's nothing living on them. 

(6) Avoid unnecessairy handeling rabbits, but if you have to do it (you obviously have to groom Angoras or Lionheads, or if you want to palpate possible pregnant doe), do it after you washed your hands and wash again after handling. Some breeders will even change their clothes in between handeling q-rabbits and regulars, just in case.

And, yes, this is pretty much it. Here are some bonus tips:

-To wash and clean things you can use bleach-water solution, just make sure you rinse it with water afterwards.

-I include a brick of two in the quarantine for rabbit nails to grind.
-Feeding a special vitamin+mineral pellet feed or adding prevention medicine to water might be a good idea during the first few days. Make sure to consult with your vet before though.

I will upgrade this page as I come across new information. Hope this guide helps you and you had good time reading it. Thank you for reading and have a good time setting up your quarantine and getting to know your new rabbit.

-Marko