Had a leaflet through the door yesterday for a new vets that has just opened in my area. There was a special offer on for vaccinations .. not just for dogs and cats but for rabbits!! Has the world gone mad?! I'd love to know what rabbits are being vaccinated against. Now call me cynical but there's a money making scam if ever I saw one.

Jo

I used to show and breed rabbits. no-one ever vaccinated them, though the risk of myxamatosis in country areas where the wild cousins are was always there. After I had finished in Rqabbits and moved onto to marriage, divorce and dogs, lol it seems that a nasty disease reared its ugly head called VHD (Viral Haemaoragic disease). This one is really nasty, and shows had to be cancelled when there were outbreaks, and breeders could loose a lifes work.

I still find it sifficult to balance in my head huge sums spent on vaccs for an animal with a monetary value of a few pounds as a meal! But valuable core breeding stock needs to be protected, though I doubt many breeders have all their stock vaccinated, and this is done by Pe4t owners.

Rabbits along with other small animals are poor patients, byut the timne they show disease it is often too late.

Myxomatosis

I used to vaccinate my rabbits after I lost a rabbit to myxie and it is not very nice. VHD is just as nasty but again it doesn't have to ba an annual event. Besides I believe Rabbits are 3rd on the list of popular pets so with increased numbers you get increased risks.
Bec

We've vaccinated our bunnies annually for about five years since we had to watch one die from VHD. It was awful :( I suppose it's whether you consider a rabbit a valued pet, or vermin.

A lot of years ago, when my kids where small they had a pet rabbit.

I had never heard of pet rabbits getting myxie at the time. (I thought so long as they were in your own back garden they were safe from things like that).

Went out one morning to find rabbit showing all the signs of myxie, husband took him to the vet, and yes thats what he had! Apparently myxie can be spread by mosquitos etc. biting an infected rabbit and then biting your pet one.

Outcome of the story. Husband who is countryborn and bred and a shooting man couldn't bear the thought of destroying the pet, so it cost us an arm and a leg to have him PTS. Three children totally distraught at losing their pet this way.

Not that we would ever have another one, but I would recommend anyone to have the vaccinations to save the heartbreak we had over one small but very much loved pet. Its a small price to pay to save all the tears.

When I was a child I kept rabbits and I always had them vaccinated.The vets used to put us on alist and when
there was enough rabbits we shared the vaccine between us so therefore reduced the cost.It was
a once ayear injection.Another nasty is ear canker thats horrible as well.

Regards Briony

My vets did exactly the same although because I bred rabbits I tended to make the numbers up myself!
Bec

Oops, I stand corrected then! I used to show rabbits when I was a child, but have never heard of VHD, or that Myxi could be spread by mosquitoes. You learn something new every day. :)

We've had pet rabbits for around 20 years up until 2 years ago when we lost both of them to myxamotosis. It came on so sudden and one had to be put to sleep immediately, and despite the other one having no signs and the vet giving some antibiotics, it went downhill and had to be pts. We thought it may be due to the foxes coming in our garden.
Lorna

Yes,
I had rabbits, and i lost about half of them, including some really nice youngstock, to VHD. That was back in 1996, I had MAFF round my house day after day for weeks, testing my bunnies, etc.
In the end, they all had to be culled, and they took the remains with them.

Cant really say that i ever saw any of them suffer with it though, with VHD, it tends to kill the young ones, the older ones are fine, but will spread it, and pass it on to their offspring. The young rabbits would be fine one day, and drop down dead in seconds! Very scary!

Em