Rabbit and Parasites...talk me down!

[Kangasox]

As a teen, I raised rabbits and had no issues the few years I did it. Or didn't know about the world of gross parasites

. I am thinking about getting 2 rabbits to raise and kids kids are crazy about the idea. But then I started thinking about the worms and bot flies (a friend's rabbit got them) and now I've convinced myself that rabbits are super susceptible to parasites and we and the rest of our animals are going to be victims too.

. Are rabbits more likely to get stuff, or am I just overreacting (entirely possible)?

 

[Bunnylady]

Well, during my 30+ years of having rabbits, I have never had a rabbit get attacked by bot flies. Does that help?

From what I have heard and read, I understand that bot flies lay their eggs on the ground, and the larvae climb onto the host as it passes by. Rabbits that are kept in cages above the ground or in the house hardly ever get parasites of any kind, simply because they aren't exposed to them (cocci are an exception, because a lot of animals carry them in numbers too low to cause symptoms, but they can still infect young animals whose immune systems haven't learned to handle them). If your other animals haven't had problems so far, simply adding rabbits to the mix shouldn't put them any more at risk than they already are.

 

[Ducks4us]

My bunny has lived free in my yard with a large hutch to go to for his food and water . He is now 5 years old, we got him at 8 weeks. He has never had any parasites or any trouble with flies, fleas, ticks,lice, nothing. He is a rex with short dense fur.

 

[Kangasox]

That is a bit of comfort @Bunnylady . Maybe our friend's rabbit was a freak thing. I don't know that I have it in me to deal with bot fly larva. UGH!

We were hoping to have our rabbits in a "rabbit tractor" in the garden, during the day, so not sure if that changes things. The bigger issue at the moment is that we were hoping to adopt from the shelter, but haven't found what we are looking for there yet. We looked at getting two babies and then having them spayed/neutered...I called this morning and that will cost $400/$300. Yowzers!

We are in the same state! What breeds of rabbits do you have?

 

[Kangasox]

Rex rabbits were what I raised and bred in high school @Newtochicklets . Soooo sweet and soft!

 

[Shadow920]

we raise both meat and pet quality rabbits. right now we have pets/breeding stock. we have a lionhead pair, a californian pair and three New Zealand does. our lionhead doe has just recently reached the age where she no longer wants to share her space with the buck. so we need to build a new hutch. we need to do that anyway because we want more rabbits. one of the shadiest places on our property is around the chicken coop. my mom is worried about anything that chickens can carry that might make the rabbits sick. so can anyone tell me if there are any life threatening illnesses that can be spread to our rabbits from our chickens.

 

[Ducks4us]

[COLOR=333333]we raise both meat and pet quality rabbits.  right now we have pets/breeding stock.  we have a lionhead pair, a californian pair and three New Zealand does.  our lionhead doe has just recently reached the age where she no longer wants to share her space with the buck.  so we need to build a new hutch.  we need to do that anyway because we want more rabbits.  one of the shadiest places on our property is around the chicken coop.  my mom is worried about anything that chickens can carry that might make the rabbits sick.  so can anyone tell me if there are any life threatening illnesses that can be spread to our rabbits from our chickens.[/COLOR]

I have read not to in many places. However my rabbit is free range bunny 24/7 and everytime i let the chickens out he runs in their coop and eats their food. The chickens roam the yard with him on a regular basis. For over a year now we have had the chickens. The rabbit is still perfectly healthy and alive. And he was here first and so the chicks have been around him since they were tiny. So they dont bother him. We even got a new rooster a week ago and he dont bother the rabbit either.
So in my case it has worked out great

 

[cassie]

I have never heard of any parasites or diseases domestic rabbits can transmit to humans.

 

[BirdsNRabbits]

I have been keeping Holland Lops for about three years now. Not as much experience as @Bunnylady but still some. I have never dealt with any sort of parasite or fly. My rabbits are off the ground and are never sitting in their own poop. Of course I think keeping your hutches clean is one of the most effective ways to keep a fly strike or parasite problem from happening. I did have a friend who one of their rabbits had fly larva in his vent and around his genital area. It was horrible, poor thing didn't last very long. But they didn't keep their hutches very clean, and the hutches were beside a not-very-clean and muddy chicken run.

I think for the most part having parasite problems is pretty rare, but taking some consideration into the building and maintenance of the hutch is a good step to keep fly strike and parasites down. Plus I've never HEARD of any diseases humans can get from domestic rabbits, but still be careful when handling the waste.