What do you mean by good vet back up? The every day vet? Emergency? Or generally how good the vet's knowledge of rabbits is?
And how do you test this before they have the rabbit? You can ask the basic questions but then if your rabbit has something unexpected the vet may have no idea. I think if you have somewhere like RU where you can ask for advice and the vet is willing to do research it doesn't matter how much they know.
When Grim got his abscesses my vet wasn't too sure what to do but did research and conferred with other vets and came back to me with treatment that save his life. So my definition of a good vet is different to most people's. It's not the knowledge, it's the willingness to learn.
I know of people who have been turned down on a homecheck solely because of the vets they use, even if everything else has seemed perfect. Knowing one practice in particular where I wouldn't take an animal if they paid me, I quite agree with it, although I guess it wouldn't be a normal reason for turning someone down!
So does all that mean I shouldnt have my bunnies? I hope others don't think that. It's down to luck really whether you have a true rabbit specialist vet near where you live. Sure, vets can say they treat bunnies but you have no idea to what level of depth their knowledge extends to.
I mean a vet who would be competent to treat rabbit issues. I'm not talking specialists. I'm talking vets who might be willing to learn, who might already have the knowledge or contacts. That said, that is my interpretation and everyone else will have a different one.
And I never said it should be tested before someone has a rabbit (although that, ideally, would be part of research into taking on an animal). I just asked a simple question, nothing more, nothing less.
Yep, Sky-0 we are talking breaking backs during neuters, prescribing oral antibiotics which will kill if given orally, that sort of thing...
How does the average person know which vets are 'good' and which are 'excellent' though until something bad happens? My doggy vets are excellent but the journey can be 30 mins in the car, which Poppy would hate. My vets at the top of my street are more expensive but seem to be really good, the vet certainly talks about all the things you all do and was confident neutering her.
I guess I am just hoping that if/when Poppy needs him for anything serious he is 'excellent' because I really dont think she would like the 30 minute journey to the doggy vets (who I suspect would be as excellent as they are with the dogs:?). I dont know other people around where I live who have rabbits (well I do but they probably dont use vets for them) so I cant gauge who is good/bad