Cleaning

A breeder once told me, the best way to prevent disease is good sanitation. This statement has held very true to me. Cleaning your rabbitry not only reduces dirt, dust and odors, but it reduces the risk of bacteria build up – therefore reducing the risk of disease transmission.

Two good cleaning agents are regular household bleach and vanodine. Bleach is easy to come by, and is used more often. Mix one part bleach to 10 parts warm water. Just a caution though – bleach when mixed with ammonia can cause harmful gasses. Rabbit urine has a lot of ammonia in it – so after you scrub the cages and pans down, make sure to rinse them off well.

Vanodine is an iodine-based product made specifically to clean and disinfect around animals. Vanodine kills bacteria, fungus and even some viruses. You can use it like bleach to scrub down cages, soak bowls, water crocks and feeders. However vanodine is safe for consumption and won’t produce any fumes that may be harmful to your animals.

How to clean
Before you even begin using soap and water – it’s best to remove any hair that has gotten stuck on the cages. For this, use a propane torch. Burn off any hair that has accumulated on the cage floor, crocks, feeders, etc. If you use any plastic equipment, do not use the torch on them – they’ll melt!

Once you’ve used the torch, then scrub the cages down with your bleach or vanodine mixture and then rinse. For really dirty cages, a power washer can be your best friend! It blasts manure, hair and hay right off of the cages and will literally cut your cleaning time in half.

When to clean
Below you will find my normal cleaning schedule. This is what works for me – you may find that cleaning more or less often works for you.

Every Day:

• Empty feeders or water crocks that have been soiled

Every Week:

• Empty pans, wash them with bleach water and rinse.
• Brush off manure that has stuck to the cage floor.
• Wipe up any urine that has missed the pans.
• Sweep the floors.
• Disinfect water crocks.

Every Month:

• Wipe down the rabbitry equipment (groom table, scales, brushes, combs, etc)
• Clean nesting boxes
• Clean out transport carriers, wash with bleach, & rinse

Every Spring & Fall:

• Take all of the cages out of the rabbitry & clean them with bleach/vanodine, a scrub brush and a power washer.
• Power wash the urine guards.
• Scrub down rabbitry walls and floors.
• Disinfect feeders, crocks and other equipment.
• Go though the "supply cabinet" and throw out old meds, tattoo inks and other unnecessary clutter.

Article written by Mindy Borer
Rabbit Registrar #RR473
www.TranquilAcresRabbitry.com