HI there, yes I know that some people choose to do their own vaccinations, but we feel that it is important that a Vet physically examines the bunny prior to vaccinating to give them an MOT first.
I sometimes assist the Vet with vaccinating in his presence, as we have 26 bunnies to do, but I understand that in reality Vets are not legally supposed to allow you to vaccinate on your own accord, as some of the drugs, especially the one for VHD (Cylap) is dangerous if you should accidently stab yourself with the needle.
We would not therefore recommend vaccinating without a Vet present for all the above reasons, and those that choose to vaccinate themselves often lack the funds for a Vet to do the vaccinations properly. I suspect that the view may be, that it is better to vaccinate (and not involve the Vet) than not.
This is not the best option for the bunny though in our view, as the Vet needs to check a Bunny Health and teeth periodically,and pre vaccination.
The RWA is best place to find a list of good Vets, but if you go on line and pop rabbit friendly Vets into Goggle you may come up with a list.
When we moved here, we phoned around Vets surgerys to ask if they had a Vet who specialised in small animals, and although this took a bit of time, it was well worth it in the end.
We tend to use a typical Vet for most things, but if we feel surgery is needed or some unusual illness appears, we go straight to a rabbit Specialist.
This is not required most of the time though.
I think the key is to read up on typical rabbit illnesses when you first have a rabbit and The RWA gives excellent post operation advice in leaflets, and how to manage a common condition in bunnies, gut statuis for example.
It is a good idea to enpower yourself with knowledge and then you can ask the Vet questions and suggest things(for example we always ask for fluids under the skin when a bunny is poorly, as it helps stop them getting dehydrated) but many Vets do not suggest this at that time.
You have to remember that Vets have so many different animal types to deal with that they cannot really specialise in them all.
A working relationship with a Vet is a two way street ,and if you find one you can work with well, and who is happy to exchange ideas with you, and spend time looking up things they do not know to be able to advise you best, then you cannot go far wrong.
Hope this helps
Ps. Find a Vet who will buy the vaccines in bulk for you, I believe they can buy in batches of five, and find a rabbit owning friend to have their bunny at the same time to use up any of the spare vaccines from a pack of 5 (if this makes sense?) and then you reduce the cost as far as possible.
Please do shop around for Vets supplying vaccines though as we paid just under 1000 a year to have all our Sanctuary bunnies vaccinated against Myxo (twice yearly) and VHD, and have since found a very helpful Vet who buys the vaccines in bulk (selling any spares to other folk in his surgery) and has cut our annual bill in half.
Plus Vets will visit your home to vaccinate a group of bunnies to avoid stressing them, and I think it is well worth the Vets call out charge if you can afford it, as the bunnies remain calm , remaining in their home territory.
