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Urgent! Sudden rabbit death?

N

Natty123

Warren Scout

Hi everyone
So my friends rabbits are all suddenly dying :(. We reckon it is some sort of virus and most likely not fly strike as they are all getting it even though they are in separate cages. Unfortunately there has been about 5 deaths, I'm not too sure. It is very sudden, they are a bit lethargic in the morning, but still eating and then they pass away a few hours later. The main symptoms are not eating, staying completely still in the hutch and basically just sleeping the whole time. They have completely scrubbed the area around them and burnt their hutches, but they are very worried about their remaining rabbits mainly as one is a two week old baby with no mum :shock: I thought I should post on here just incase anyone would have any ideas as to what this could be? The only thing we could think of is that they did get out of the cage about 6-8 weeks ago, but even so, we didn't think that a disease would take this long to show. Any help would be much appreciated.
 
VHD is very likely if they were not vaccinated. If this is the case then sadly more losses are very likely to occur within the next 14 days.

All the remaining Rabbits should be seen by a Vet ASAP
 
Please look up VHD, it is a very quick killer - are any of your friends rabbits vaccinated? If not, would be good to get the remaining rabbits vaccinated asap.

Most sudden deaths in otherwise healthy rabbits are down to VHD, though lots of people will put it down to 'heart attack' or 'heat stroke' or 'just getting old' as you can leave your perfectly healthy bun one day, and then come back to find a dead rabbit.

Has your friend asked for a vets advice?

Must be so awful for your friend :(
 
I can only echo what other people are saying and that it sounds like vhd/rhd which are different names for the same thing. I'm afraid if the rabbits are not vaccinated there is no cure and it is extremely contagious. She needs vet advice straight away, I am very surprised she has not sought it already. Hopefully it is not too late for the vet to do something to save those remaining.
 
It is terrible at their house, the children are devastated and we are all very sad as well as 3 of their rabbits were the ones i had bred :cry: And yes, VHD was the other possibility, but a few of them had been vaccinated against it, so we weren't too sure why they had died. Also, does anyone know what causes VHD and would it be a possibility of them catching something when they got out the cage? They do live on a farm and one was found in a field around 100 metres away from the cage, so would more that likely to have come into contact with a wild rabbit that night. Thank you all for the fast replies
 
VHD is airborne so they could have caught it in the cages, in the house anywhere that has any kind of air supply from outside.
Basically unless it is something like a hospital isolation unit, an unvaccinated rabbit can catch VHD :cry:
The vaccine lasts for a year, so do you know when the buns that had been done where due their boosters?

Your friend needs the vets ASAP, I know it is upsetting but it wasn't so long ago that VHD was a notifiable disease (like foot and mouth).
For the sake of her remaining rabbits, and anyone else's rabbits in the area, the vets need to be involved so a definite diagnosis can be made.

I hope I don't sound to harsh, but this is really one of my soapbox issues, as it isn't just your friends bunnies at risk here.

Please please make sure your rabbits are vaccinated also, you can be carrying the virus on your clothing/shoes if you have been with the sick ones:cry:
 
Geoff's people said:
VHD is airborne so they could have caught it in the cages, in the house anywhere that has any kind of air supply from outside.
Basically unless it is something like a hospital isolation unit, an unvaccinated rabbit can catch VHD :cry:
The vaccine lasts for a year, so do you know when the buns that had been done where due their boosters?

Your friend needs the vets ASAP, I know it is upsetting but it wasn't so long ago that VHD was a notifiable disease (like foot and mouth).
For the sake of her remaining rabbits, and anyone else's rabbits in the area, the vets need to be involved so a definite diagnosis can be made.

I hope I don't sound to harsh, but this is really one of my soapbox issues, as it isn't just your friends bunnies at risk here.

Please please make sure your rabbits are vaccinated also, you can be carrying the virus on your clothing/shoes if you have been with the sick ones:cry:
Click to expand...

Ok, I think their rabbits may have been overdue on the vaccination, but I'm not completely sure and it would have only been by a few weeks or so anyway. I will tell her to go to the vet as I didn't realise it was that contagious. Do you think my bunnies are now at risk?:shock: I made sure not to touch anything around their cages and we were madly washing our hands when we came inside, but if you said you can carry it on your clothes and shoes then do you think i could have spread it to my buns? :cry:
 
I never wish to be alarmist, but read the links that Jack's Jane gave you, it really is that awful.
I would get in contact with your vet ASAP and ask his advice, and urge your friend to do the same as you NEED to know what the diagnosis is. In something as serious as this you need more than just the advice given on a forum (though I suspect Jack's Jane is more rabbit savvy than most vets:lol:;)).
But please do ask them.


Here's a tale I'm not proud of and would do anything to turn back the clock
Over 15 years ago I found out the hard way , it was after the disease ceased to be notifiable but I wasn't aware of a vaccine for VHD:cry::cry:
I lost many many friends in 36 hours with the vet helping as much as was possible, oh how I wish I had known about the vaccines then:cry::cry::cry:


VHD spares nothing and nobun, and it is the most horrifying thing I have ever had to deal with, please please please get in touch with your vet.
 
Last edited:
Ok, I will get in touch with my vet today, might be going down there anyway because the cat has got fleas :evil: I will have a look at the links now then. I am getting seriously worried about my buns now :cry:
 
Yes, vhd is extremely contagious. Yes, you can bring it into your home on your clothes and shoes. To put it bluntly, ALL rabbits should be vaccinated against it yearly, or this happens. I dont know why your friend hasnt sought vet advice yet, but you need to as well. Today. Vhd kills very quickly. Perhaps it isnt too late to get them vaccinated.

Can I ask where you and your friend are located? As this outbreak could represent a real risk to others in the area.
 
nessar said:
Yes, vhd is extremely contagious. Yes, you can bring it into your home on your clothes and shoes. To put it bluntly, ALL rabbits should be vaccinated against it yearly, or this happens. I dont know why your friend hasnt sought vet advice yet, but you need to as well. Today. Vhd kills very quickly. Perhaps it isnt too late to get them vaccinated.

Can I ask where you and your friend are located? As this outbreak could represent a real risk to others in the area.
Click to expand...

Oh I'm so worried! Would I be able to pass it on even though I wasn't touching anything and wasn't very close to the cages? My friends are in Avonwick, Devon and their house isn't close to other house as they are on a farm, so I hope it won't be able to spread :'(
 
Natty123 said:
Oh I'm so worried! Would I be able to pass it on even though I wasn't touching anything and wasn't very close to the cages? My friends are in Avonwick, Devon and their house isn't close to other house as they are on a farm, so I hope it won't be able to spread :'(
Click to expand...

It is still possible, if it is vhd and they have that many rabbits in the house, I imagine the house will be covered in the virus.
 
nessar said:
It is still possible, if it is vhd and they have that many rabbits in the house, I imagine the house will be covered in the virus.
Click to expand...

Oh no, no, no, sorry you must have misunderstood me, they are all living outside and the rabbits never go inside unless they have to because they have dogs, cats and little children! :D
 
Natty123 said:
Oh no, no, no, sorry you must have misunderstood me, they are all living outside and the rabbits never go inside unless they have to because they have dogs, cats and little children! :D
Click to expand...


I know you would love for us to say no your buns are not at risk, but we can't tell you than hun.
IF it is VHD and you have been on the property then yes your buns may be at risk, and the buns of any other people that the postman delivers to after this house, and anyone who walks through the fields, etc etc.
But it might not be, there is only one way to find out and IMO your friend or her parents have a responsibility to find this out for sure.
Have you 'phoned the vet yet? the sooner you can get yours done, the sooner their immune systems can mount a response;)
 
Natty123 said:
Oh no, no, no, sorry you must have misunderstood me, they are all living outside and the rabbits never go inside unless they have to because they have dogs, cats and little children! :D
Click to expand...

Well if you havent been in their garden there would be less of a risk than if they kept the rabbits indoors, as you wont have been near the actual rabbits. But the problem is that your friend, her children, cats and dogs will have been, and then will be walking about everywhere, and then you go in and walk in the same places, maybe sit on the sofa, give your friend a hug, and then you also have a high risk of being a carrier. We're not talking about a high or low risk here... we are talking about an extremely high risk compared to a high risk... vhd is airbourne, through direct contact and also transmitted through insects, clothing, shoes, surfaces... and it can stay on a surface for 3 months.

Have you contacted your vet yet?
 
Oh gosh ok, I will get in touch with my vet straight away. Does anyone know the rough cost of each injection as I have 12 bunnies? :shock:
 
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