Disinfecting The Rabbit Hutch

Disinfecting the rabbitry is an important part of the hobby. When I first started
raising rabbits, I asked other breeders what they use to disinfect
their hutches and how often this should be done. Of course, I received many
different answers and have come up with my own system over the years. 

In my opinion, the best solution for disinfecting the rabbit hutch is old
fashioned bleach and water. I have used bleach and water to clean everything from
water bottles, feeders and the cages and trays. For cages I try and spray down each 
cage and wipe dry when cleaning the trays about once a week. I like the summertime
when all cages and trays get pulled out of the rabbit hutch and scrubbed down with
bleach and left to dry in the sun. The rest of the year, all cages are cleaned every 
7-10 days and wiped down with bleach and water to disinfect.

The other disinfecting agent I use is Vanodine. It's a stabilized iodine compound 
that has viricidal, bactericidal and fungicidal properties. It's safe to use 
around the rabbits with no ill effects. It can be used directly on cages to disinfect
or it can be used as an aerial disinfectant. After all cages have been washed and 
bleached, I spray a general mist over all cages, waterers, feeders and rabbits 
themselves to further disinfect the hutch. I often mist my hands with the 
Vanodine upon entering the hutch as a precaution. In between handling different 
rabbits, I try to spray a quick spritz of Vanodine on my hands as a further 
precautionary measure against any cross contamination which may have occurred 
while traveling to a show or some other circumstance. Vanodine can be purchased 
through several websites such as WWW.Hornbecks.com and is worth keeping in the
rabbitry.