I completely understand that we all have other things to do besides dealing our rabbitries, but there are times when other breeders will post pictures of a rabbit and all I see is the messy cage that should have been cleaned. I would be embarrassed to post such a picture!
This week I had taken a good looked around my rabbitry and thought that is was getting a bit too furry for my taste. Plus, we had not cleaned the fans last week. I try to do them at least once a week, but sometimes other things take priority. While my husband worked on a project this weekend that was in preparation for the new rabbitry—very excited about this!—I worked on cleaning the rabbitry alone.
Some people will advise to torch the fur on the cages, but heating up the cage wire weakens the wire and welds resulting in reducing its lifespan. A rabbit can bite and pull off wire that has been subjected to being torched much easier than wire that has not, which is why I practice the more labor intensive, but wire saving, method of brushing the fur off the cage. Sounds easy, but fur tends to wrap itself around the wire as it is being brushed off.
Also, I do believe it is healthier for the rabbits to have the fur removed because it collects dust and pollen. Even rabbits can sneeze from dust or, worse, have allergies! I took pictures of the worse cage and fan to show the most extreme differences, but actually most of the fans and cages were in better condition. The green pad over the back of the motor of the fan is a brillo pad to filter fur from getting into the motor and getting wrapping around the shaft of the fan.
This week I had taken a good looked around my rabbitry and thought that is was getting a bit too furry for my taste. Plus, we had not cleaned the fans last week. I try to do them at least once a week, but sometimes other things take priority. While my husband worked on a project this weekend that was in preparation for the new rabbitry—very excited about this!—I worked on cleaning the rabbitry alone.
Some people will advise to torch the fur on the cages, but heating up the cage wire weakens the wire and welds resulting in reducing its lifespan. A rabbit can bite and pull off wire that has been subjected to being torched much easier than wire that has not, which is why I practice the more labor intensive, but wire saving, method of brushing the fur off the cage. Sounds easy, but fur tends to wrap itself around the wire as it is being brushed off.
Also, I do believe it is healthier for the rabbits to have the fur removed because it collects dust and pollen. Even rabbits can sneeze from dust or, worse, have allergies! I took pictures of the worse cage and fan to show the most extreme differences, but actually most of the fans and cages were in better condition. The green pad over the back of the motor of the fan is a brillo pad to filter fur from getting into the motor and getting wrapping around the shaft of the fan.
The furry cage before the cleaning...
The same cage after the cleaning!
The fan before the cleaning...
Same fan after the cleaning!
