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Help - found a stray baby bunny (English spot possibly)

jay

jay

Mama Doe
My brother in law found a baby bunny this morning and not knowing what to do with it brought it round to me. During the day he fed it rabbit muesli, water and dandelions. Bunny is now running round my living room, has eaten some hay and is lively and seems relaxed. However bunny has not drunk or poo'd and we are getting on for an hour. Keeping bunny exercising, keep offering him a water bottle and have a plate of water with a drop of fresh orange but nothing yet. Any ideas? He's so friendly and little I'm already in love.
 
No idea - bro didn't know it was important. Bunny was in a building bucket all day because bro was working (is a builder). Still lively and oh my goodness...so cute!!!
 
Aww I hope it's pooped now! Have you let the RSPCA etc know? Might worth making a post on facebook (but not actually showing the bun to ward off people who may falsely claim its theirs) as somebody could be missing their lil bun.
 
Hope Bun is doing OK

Do be ultra vigilant about quarantining him away from your own Rabbits and taking extra precautions about when you handle him and your other Rabbits, making sure you do not handle your own Rabbits after handling the stray without washing your hands (personally in the current situation re RHD2 I'd also change my clothing). I'd use separate cleaning utensils for the stray's accomodation from that you use for your Rabbits.

Some may think I am being paranoid, but the current situation with RHD2 means I personally dont think we can be too careful if we take in a new Rabbit, especially a stray and/or if our own Rabbits are not yet vaccinated against RHD2.

Good luck with the little fella :)
 
Thanks Jacks-Jane. I haven't been that careful...will be now. Mine are only vaccinated against Myxi and VHD.

Came down this morning to a few small, hard poo's so I went and picked some herbs, chopped them onto a plate, filled plate with water and the bunny tucked in. An hour later and we have normal, big healthy poo!

Have asked bro where he found bun and will contact nearest RSPCA. This is a baby bunny who is used to being cuddled - in fact he is friendly than my two! So he has obviously been in a loving home.
 
jay said:
Thanks Jacks-Jane. I haven't been that careful...will be now. Mine are only vaccinated against Myxi and VHD.

Came down this morning to a few small, hard poo's so I went and picked some herbs, chopped them onto a plate, filled plate with water and the bunny tucked in. An hour later and we have normal, big healthy poo!

Have asked bro where he found bun and will contact nearest RSPCA. This is a baby bunny who is used to being cuddled - in fact he is friendly than my two! So he has obviously been in a loving home.
Click to expand...

He may be microchipped, so I'd get him scanned xx
 
That's fantastic! Well done for looking after him.

Yes sounds like he's been a much loved pet. I hope he manages to be reunited with owners :love:

Out of interest Jane, if your buns are vaccinated against Myxi, RHD2 and VHD is it still possible for them to contract the diseases from a bun carrying it? Essentially do the vaccs only reduce the risk? I always thought it meant they were completely protected. Thank you (also confused with new vaccine as Mickey hasn't been in yet)



jay said:
Came down this morning to a few small, hard poo's so I went and picked some herbs, chopped them onto a plate, filled plate with water and the bunny tucked in. An hour later and we have normal, big healthy poo!

Have asked bro where he found bun and will contact nearest RSPCA. This is a baby bunny who is used to being cuddled - in fact he is friendly than my two! So he has obviously been in a loving home.
Click to expand...
 
JessBun said:
Out of interest Jane, if your buns are vaccinated against Myxi, RHD2 and VHD is it still possible for them to contract the diseases from a bun carrying it? Essentially do the vaccs only reduce the risk? I always thought it meant they were completely protected. Thank you (also confused with new vaccine as Mickey hasn't been in yet)
Click to expand...

Jane - Feel free to correct me :)

JessBun, as far as I understand the vaccine does not mean they are 100% protected. The vaccine basically shows their body what the virus looks like & gives it a chance to figure out how to beat it. This way, if bunny does become infected with RHD/Myxo/RHD2 the body already knows what its meant to do to fight the virus meaning bunny shouldn't suffer as much, and should recovery quickly.

(Bit like a flu vaccine - you can still get flu but it shouldn't be as bad as if you didn't have the vaccine)
 
JessBun said:
That's fantastic! Well done for looking after him.

Yes sounds like he's been a much loved pet. I hope he manages to be reunited with owners :love:

Out of interest Jane, if your buns are vaccinated against Myxi, RHD2 and VHD is it still possible for them to contract the diseases from a bun carrying it? Essentially do the vaccs only reduce the risk? I always thought it meant they were completely protected. Thank you (also confused with new vaccine as Mickey hasn't been in yet)
Click to expand...

No vaccine can give 100% protection, but it is very, very unusual for a vaccinated Rabbit (vaccinated with the Myxo-RHD Combi Vac) to go on to contract RHD1. I believe it is stated that the same applies regarding the RHD2 Vaccine. A tiny percentage of Myxo-RHD Vaccinated Rabbits might contract a 'mild' form of Myxo' but they usually make a full recovery. AFAIK with the combi vac it is even less likely that a Rabbit will go on to contract a 'mild' form of Myxo', unlike when the single Myxo vaccine was given. That may be in part due to the fact that the 'old' vaccine was derived from the Shope Fibroma Virus rather than the Myxo' Virus- ie the level of protection relied on cross immunity. If you see what I mean !!
 
Thanks so much for both of your replies. So VHD vaccine is the RHD vaccine? And The RHD2 covers both types? I want to ensure I'm making sure he's getting everything he needs when I go. I do have a very good vets near, but when it comes to their health I don't rely on them to tell me what I need, I want to make sure myself.
 
JessBun said:
Thanks so much for both of your replies. So VHD vaccine is the RHD vaccine? And The RHD2 covers both types? I want to ensure I'm making sure he's getting everything he needs when I go. I do have a very good vets near, but when it comes to their health I don't rely on them to tell me what I need, I want to make sure myself.
Click to expand...

yes - VHD is another name for RHD
I don't know if the RHD2 vaccine covers both - I believe it does, but i'd still have the combi vaccine once a year for protection against myxo
 
JessBun said:
Thanks so much for both of your replies. So VHD vaccine is the RHD vaccine? And The RHD2 covers both types? I want to ensure I'm making sure he's getting everything he needs when I go. I do have a very good vets near, but when it comes to their health I don't rely on them to tell me what I need, I want to make sure myself.
Click to expand...

This is the latest advice from the RWAF:

As always we must emphasise the need to vaccinate rabbits against myxomatosis and RVHD1&2.

View this map to see what has been reported in and around your area. Click on a marker to view details

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1b_zCIMmtSKNdsYt3RiEOkHjgH8Y


Red = confirmed RVHD
Yellow = suspected RVHD
Black = myxomatosis

We have to stress that these are only the cases that have been reported, there are very likely many more that haven't been diagnosed or that are not reported to the map owner.

Advice from our vet Richard Saunders is that all rabbits need to be vaccinated whether they live indoors or outside.

Both Nobivac and Filavac are needed. Leave 2 weeks between the different vaccines. In areas of high risk it's recommended that Filavac should be given 6-monthly rather than annually. Check this with your vet. Your vet should be able to order Filavac any of three wholesalers, NVS, Centaur or Harry Schein, or direct from Filavie in France if they prefer. We do know that some vets already have it in stock and have begun vaccination programmes

If you haven't already seen Richard's very informative webinar, that is still available here http://therabbitvet.com/webinar/vhd-rhd-2-update-rabbit-haemorrhagic-disease

We have been sending out some information with FAQs to vets as well so that they can answer your queries. Here are the FAQs which you may find helpful:

Do existing RHD1 vaccines work?

Because the mortality rate is lower with RHD2, any test using a small number of rabbits could easily show protection just because none of them were going to die anyway. There is some anecdotal evidence that RHD1 vaccines have some short term effect, but nothing peer reviewed.

How much will the vaccine cost?


This depends on vial sizes ordered, the number of rabbits one has, the specific vaccine used, and the pricing structure of your veterinary practice. Please discuss this with your veterinary practice.

How will you get it from your vet?

NVS have asked us to slow things down as they are getting overwhelmed. Please only go through your vets, and ask them to look out for our updates before calling NVS, to avoid overwhelming them still further.

Your vets will need their own license, which, now all the info is on the VMD site and is approved, should be straightforward to do. However, this is not as simple as writing a prescription, and your vet may not see enough rabbits for this to be a practical option for them.

What dose regime is suggested?

Please remember that the use of these products is both off licence (although under the Cascade), and subject to the VMD’s directions on importation of immunological products. As a result, although the manufacturers of the Filavac product suggest that vaccination can be at the same time as the Nobivac RHD-Myxo, as long as it is not in the same site or the same syringe, standard advice with immunological products not licensed for simultaneous administration is to space them out by at least 2 weeks.

The manufacturers advice is to administer a single dose of the vaccine, followed by annual boosters in low risk situations, and 6 monthly in the case of breeding does at high risk. In the UK, I would suggest that high risk situations include rescue centres and breeders, unless they have a strict quarantine policy, and those rabbits which have greater contact with wild rabbits, as well as any geographical location where cases have been reported recently.
 
daphnephoebe said:
Jane - Feel free to correct me :)

JessBun, as far as I understand the vaccine does not mean they are 100% protected. The vaccine basically shows their body what the virus looks like & gives it a chance to figure out how to beat it. This way, if bunny does become infected with RHD/Myxo/RHD2 the body already knows what its meant to do to fight the virus meaning bunny shouldn't suffer as much, and should recovery quickly.

(Bit like a flu vaccine - you can still get flu but it shouldn't be as bad as if you didn't have the vaccine)
Click to expand...

Yes you are right :thumb:

Frances Harcourt Brown (in Harrogate, who got the vaccine in pretty damn quickly) states that no vaccine is 100% effective.

However, the chances of contracting it will be very minimal.

RHD is the same as VHD, and the vaccine for RHD2 protects against VHD 1 & 2 (RHD 1 & 2)

VHD1 has not had any confirmed cases since 2009, so it's likely that the VHD vets will see in post mortem would be VHD2 - which appears to be becoming the dominant strain.

Good luck with the baby bun :D
 
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