Protecting our first rabbits, not immunised yet.

Hi all,

We have just purchased two Netherland Dwarf rabbits who are 8 weeks old and have called the local vet to get them their immunisations.

They will be having their Myxomatosis vaccinations on Thursday and their VHD two weeks later.

I am a little aware of them being unprotected as we live in a rural village and they are living in an outdoor hutch which is ground level (attached to a run).

Will they be safe outside until they are vaccinated and what can we do to improve their safety until their accination day?

Or should we detatch the run and bring them into the garage for now? I'd prefer not to as that seems cruel but if that would make them safer then I'd do that.

Also how long after the vaccination does it take until the rabbits defence against the disease is established?

Thanks in advance for any advice, we are new bunny owners so any advice is appreciated.

Hello

It is great to hear how conscientious you are regarding the health and wellbeing of your Rabbits

Myxomatosis is mainly spread by blood sucking insect vectors such as fleas and mosquitoes. So flea treating your Rabbits and any other domestic pets you have would be a good idea. Ask your Vet which preparation would be the most appropriate for your situation.

Covering the hutch and run with mosquito netting would also be a good idea.

Do you have any standing water-eg a pond- in your garden ? Mozzies love to gather around standing water, so if you have a pond etc then keeping the Buns in a more protected garage until they are fully vaccinated might be a good idea as long as it is NOT used for a car,petrol fumes would be just as harmful.

If at all possible I would also not encourage visits from garden birds, obviously not possible to totally prevent, but remove any bird feeders you may have. Also, as you are in a rural area wild Rabbits may be about. So try to minimise their ability to access your garden.

The myxomatosis vaccine is called 'Nobivac'.

http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/MSD_Animal_Health/Nobivac_Myxo/-29530.html

It can be given from the age of 6 weeks and a full immune response is established 14 days after vaccination. It is very important that the Vet administers 10% of the vaccine intradermally. Some Vets prefer to do this part of the vaccine into the ear base where the skin is thickest. Other Vets do all the dose into the scruff, pulling the needle back to administer the 10% intradermal dose. The latter rmethod relies more heavily on the vaccinating skills of the Vet. I always prefer to see the intradermal dose go into the ear base .

There are three VHD Vaccines currently available, LAPINJECT, ANIVAC and CYLAP

CYLAP has been known to be MUCH more likely to cause side effects such as general malaise, a front leg limp, gastrointestinal problems, a fever and some extremely nasty skin reactions. Whilst these side effects are usually transient,(although skin reactions can be longstanding-sometimes for months) I personally would not allow a Rabbit in my care to have a CYLAP VHD Vaccine.

Both Lapinject and Anivac appear to be far less likely to cause adverse side effects, although as with ANY Vaccine for ANY species, an individual animal may react badly. But as I have said, Lapinject or Anivac are the Vaccines I'd agree to allow my Rabbits to have.

The other advantage of Anivac and Lapinject is that a full immune response is established in 7 days for Anivac

http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Animalcare_Limited/Anivac_VHD/-53398.html


and 6 days for Lapinject

http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Ceva_Animal_Health_Ltd/Lapinject_VHD/-42507.html

With Cylap onset of immunity takes 21 days

http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Pfizer_Limited/Cylap/-44934.html


Good luck with your Bunnies

Thanks for the reply.

I think we will move them to the garage today, it's not used for the car, it's used for the garden stuff and the kids outdoor toys. Moving the hutch will be fun though lol.

I'll ask the vet about the VHD vaccine when we go (I believe the are doing myxomotosis first so would probably be a good time to ask a million questions. Thanks for the heads up on that.

I suppose we should put mosquito netting over the meshes as a matter of course anyway.

A old net curtain (very fine mesh not lacey!!!) would work as well until they can come out and play!!

Unfortunately we lack one otherwise a good idea, I was going to nip into town to hunt one out tomorrow so I might grab a net curtain if I fail to find a proper one.


They are in the garage now, they were on the patio facing the kitchen so we could see them and they certainly could see us, hopefully they won't be too lonely in there, and more importantly they arent afraid if spiders >.<


Back on topic, when they have he vaccines it takes 2 weeks to fully set in, so I guess we should treat them as unvaccinated?

Fizix said:

Unfortunately we lack one otherwise a good idea, I was going to nip into town to hunt one out tomorrow so I might grab a net curtain if I fail to find a proper one.


They are in the garage now, they were on the patio facing the kitchen so we could see them and they certainly could see us, hopefully they won't be too lonely in there, and more importantly they arent afraid if spiders >.<


Back on topic, when they have he vaccines it takes 2 weeks to fully set in, so I guess we should treat them as unvaccinated?

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Yes, you could treat them as unvaccinated if you wish, although 2 weeks is until the vaccine is fully effective, they will still be partially protected up until the 2 weeks. I wouldnt worry too much about it. I'm sure I read that VHD in particular is not usually found in baby bunnies for some reason, although they can certainly get myxi.

It is important to remember that the myxi vaccine is not 100% effective anyway, and sometimes bunnies do still get it. But vaccinated bunnies usually get a much reduced version of the disease and are much more likely to survive. Because it is not 100% effective, preventative measures like mosquito nets and citronella insect repellents (kept where bunnies cant get them!) are a good idea to have in the summer. They will also help protect against flystrike.

The VHD vaccine is 100% effective

Is there space in the garage to allow them to have the run attached to the hutch? It will be fine on concrete, in fact it is often reccommended as it means predators cant dig in. This will give them some extra space and keep them happy. Or if not, could you bring them indoors for several hours a day to run about?

They wont be scared of spiders, although some bunnies eat them! :shock:

We haven't I'm not sure whether it would fit. We are gOing to give them a couple of hours run around time every day. We let them have out time for most of this afternoon and they seem quite happy.

I understand that they can still get Myxomatosis but as we are in a rural area we get a lot of wildlife in the garden, not seen any wild rabbits but lots of hedgehogs and regular squirrels.

It's the hawk that worries me most though, we have seen one on occasion :-/ needless to say they won't be in the garden outside of the hutch or run.


If they want to eat the spiders in the garage they are more than welcome lol