Considering Vaccination

For Ginger :?

We've had some 'gut' blips in the past couple of months, her respiratory condition is 'okay' but as it always has and always will be, its not great. Her teeth are 'okay' right now, her muscle tone is excellent and she's been learning to jump

I've been sat here petrified, because of late, all i keep seeing is myxi this, myxi that, and so many lovely bunnies either being PTS due to illness or sadly passing away. My vets have now completely stopped doing the individual vaccinations, our vet, who looks after Ginger has offered to order them in for us if we want to make that decision, but there will be a additional charge for this.

She's put on weight and is JUST under 2Kg's right now, so she's in a good place if i want to do it.

I know the majority of people will just say "do it" but last time she had a vaccination, it nearly killed her, she went into horrible stasis, was admitted, and had to be syringe fed, had 3 dentals in the space of a month and was on the verge of considering not carrying on.

My head says now is the time if i'm going to try it. My vet says she's in the best place to do so right now and has even offered to come to our home to administer it, to remove stress of being removed from her environment.

My heart however, says - she's happy, she's Gingery, should i risk it.

Gut feeling says to leave it, but i dont know what i'd do if she got ill, because of a indecision.

:?

Anyone, please just throw your thoughts at me, need to see others opinions and outlooks.

Thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to read and comment.

Just a quick picture to focus upon. This was taken last night.

Right I shall get ready to hide but my thoughts are....

Go with your gut. If she were my rabbit and had shown a reaction to a vaccine in the past I would NOT vaccinate.


IF you dod decide to go ahead with it then I would be asling the vet to administer metaclopramide by injection AT THE SAME TIME. This is what I have to do for Dolly Boobies any time she has to go to the vet. She really doesn't do stress well so when she is vaccinated she gets a metaclop shot too and since implementing that we have had no more stasis issues

Good luck coming to a decision that sits right with you

How sure are you that it was the vaccination that caused the illness last time? Did anything particularly stressful happen, perhaps at the vets or on the journey? Was it administered correctly?

Excellent to hear little Ginger is doing well!,
I personally Like Geoffs People would go with my gut instinct.
although at the same time, was it the Vaccination itself that she reacted too or the stress?
if its the stress of the vet trip or needle Ask the vet if its at all possible they could do it at home?

I dont know thats my thoughts on it. Your a top bunny daddy and youll do whats right By Ginger as you always do xxx

That's a difficult one, but I think if she were mine I would leave her be :wave:

Firstly - omg she is gorgeous!! And i totally thought that was my tia when i scrolled down to the photo, i have a pic JUST like that of Tia

Tia also had a reaction to her myxi jab in january, she didn't eat for a week, lost weight, and was generally very sorry for herself, it was awful

I was terrified in the summer when it came to the due date for their boosters, but I had her done, with no problem at all.... I know its a bit different, and of course, all bunnies are different....

The thing is, you need to go with your gut instinct on these kind of things, I'd personally be inclined to give it a go, as I think the risks of myxi are so dire that I'd worry about it... but, mine are outdoor - are yours indoors?

Either way, i hope she's ok, thinking of you as I know its so hard x

I still wonder if it was his vhd vaccine that finally resulted in Damson passing away 6 months after his kidney removal op . . .

I definitely wouldnt have the combi vaccine, and wouldnt have vhd vaccine . . . however having had myxi in a house rabbit I too would dither about that one . . .

I certainly don't envy the dilemma as you get the guilt trip whichever you decide.

Artie had his myxi vaccination only about a month after his kidney removal last year and although didn't appear ill had a really awful skin reaction, which scared me with regard to having another, though he had one 6 months later and had no obvious reaction to it. In May about 10 months post-op he had the combined vaccination - I'm not even sure I had a say in it - our vet wanted him protected and was quite horrified with me when I was dithering about it. I supposed she sees so many cases of myxi that it sways the decision. He had no quiet days or anything obvious after the dual vaccination. He doesn't have the underlying illness ready to be re-triggered that Ginger does though and her previous reaction is a huge factor. I really don't know what I'd do in her case, but just wanted to contribute a positive story in case it helped in any way.

Trust your gut. If you don't an she suffers you will regret that more than going with it and risking Myxo. The risks of her suffering after the vaccine are far greater than that of her contracting Myxo, in my opinion.

If you don't vaccinate her, then potentially you can reassess this in due course. As far as I know currently, Wishycool and Flameyface will be having their combo vacc in January. This may provide you with a ball park for what may or may not happen to Ginger (minus her pastuerella). They might provide an indication for you for what you can do for her because they are fitter and healthier, and if they struggle, then potentially it's not even a considerable for Ginger.

But yes, trust yourself. It's all you can do.

A difficult decision... I think if I were you I'd enjoy Ginger being happy and Gingery and not risk making her ill with the stress of vaccination. Her history suggests she's at risk of reacting to the vaccine... And with her health status there is a chance it may not be fully successful anyway. I'd just take extra precautions against biting insects. That's what I'm doing with Elsa this year.

Good luck with whatever you decide- you know her best!

Which vaccine did she have the terrible reaction to? Has she been vaccinated for both VHD and Myxi in the past?

If she reacted to the 'old' myxi vaccine, as the myxi element of the combined vaccine is different perhaps she would not react. But then you have the added stress on her system from the combined vaccine.

We have several buns with dormant pasteurella - the combi vaccine caused it to become active in two of them, although this has been relatively easy to manage with long courses of abx.

We also have one (unvaccinated, indoor) bun with fairly active pasteurella, and are going through the same tough time trying to make the decision for her, and whether to go for the single or combined vaccines if we do vaccinate. Like you, we seem to be seeing a lot of domestic buns coming down with myxi - what is not all that clear is how many of them were indoor buns...

Gray, I think in recent weeks I have changed my mind about lots of things to do with rabbit health.

I'm sitting here in tears because my first ever rescue bunny is gravely ill. She appeared fine always and never had any major issues. She was vaccinated for myxo a few weeks back and only a few days later she became ill and has deteriorated with chronic infection and multiple bouts of stasis ever since. Today I thought she was leaving. She's seen the vets again and tomorrow has to go back for xrays to determine if it's a battle with her lungs and heart that we can even try to win.

I so regret what has happened - we couldn't have known because she had no symptoms at all, but I don't think it's a coincidence that she is now failing. If I had have had a clue about any lung issues, I wouldn't have vaccinated. I would have risked it to have kept her on an even keel for longer.

I would now say go with your gut, and don't risk it unless you feel you can deal with the fallout again if something goes wrong. I never thought I'd be saying that, but there.............said it.

I would say go with your gut.

Tim; 100% - vet agrees also.

Thanks guys.

I've made the decision to not for now. I've spoken with Sky about this in the past, as she has Ginger's older siblings who have some similar issues, but it kept niggling at me.

Sky; i know you've offered in the past, but can you let me know once Wish and Flame have had their combo vaccines, i'm going to hold off until at least a month or two after those have had theirs if you dont mind giving me the information.

I sat and talked it over with Ginger, yes, im a nutter. We sat for about 30 minutes on the floor of my office while i asked her what she wanted to do. She bit me 3 times in the space of that 30 minutes.

Right now, she's Ginger. I don't want to fight with her over something that could ruin everything. She's told me she doesn't want it and wants to just be Ginger forever. If that means running the risk, then we run it.

Quality over quantity every time.

Thank you to EVERYONE who took the time to post, it means a lot to have the support and opinions of so many like minded people.

Helen; i'm so sorry to hear about bun Hope she pulls through, really do.

I think you're doing the right thing.